my first half marathon

after a less than ideal injury ridden and holiday disrupted preparation i actually managed to race my first half marathon on Saturday 8th March 2014.

after a fairly quick internet search i narrowed my race options down to two – the first; a local event that is all trail, first half up hill turn around and come back downhill and the second; a “mainly trail” “undulating” course around the scenic Sandalfords vineyards in the Margaret River wine region. the second sounded far more appealing and consequently included a weekend away which really sold it so I signed myself up.

on the morning of the Sandalfords Half Marathon we pulled into the venue to register and the butterflies in the stomach started… these weren’t “undulations” they were hills, all hills, i couldn’t see any flat ground anywhere! it wasn’t “mainly trail” it was all trail and a few paddocks! not great when most of your training has been pounding the flat pavement! too late to pull out now right!

it was a two lap race to make up the 21km distance. i started well and despite the hills was keeping up a relatively good pace, the issue thou with two laps is mentally its so much tougher as the second time around i knew how many hills there were and i knew how tough they were! at about the 13km mark i started to hit the wall, my hips were seizing up and i was having almost a full argument with myself in my head…. “you could just walk for a bit” “you CAN’T walk you need to beat 2hrs”…

i sucked it up and pushed on plodding up the hills and taking full advantage to gain some speed back down them. i started passing people at the 15km mark which spurred me on and was determined by this point to get under 2hrs. my dodgy maths skills mid run meant i though i was going to be cutting it very fine so i pushed on as hard as i could passing more people with plenty of encouragement from the other competitors and the volunteers on the course.

i crossed the line at 1.55.05. knackered. dirty. sore. happy. relieved. thirsty. planning a full marathon in the near future!

many thanks to my husband, my cheerleader and paparazzi @ jared faint photography

gluten free amsterdam

our last stop on our awesome european tour. by the time we got here all i wanted was some fresh fruit and veg… and cheese – i can always eat cheese!

wagamamas

was pretty excited to see that amsterdam have two wagamamas. these guys offer ‘contemporary japanese’ food in restaurants all over the world that is fresh, relatively well priced and exactly what i felt like – ended up going for lunch one day and dinner the next. conveniently they all have a separate gf menu which makes life easier for us bubble kids! the menu is slightly different to our one at home which was a shame as my stomach had decided on the spicy chicken itame… it definitely fillsatisfied my craving for veg. the first meal was quite plain – the sauce had gluten in it so instead of adding other flavours instead (fresh herbs? lime? chilli?) they just left it bland, the second meal had waaaaay too much sauce and not enough of the veg and rice noodles. its not fancy but it definitely filled the hole and satisfied my craving for veg!

amsterdam cheese museum

some amazing cheese and plenty of free tasters – almost didn’t need to eat again this day, hubby had to drag me out! as they vacuum seal the cheese, most of their cheeses can go unrefrigerated for a period AND can be imported into australia (bringing any food into perth can be pretty tricky due to very strict quarantine laws).

well thats it! thats my personal gluten free guide to europe! as promised i am going to start detailing what i think are the best gluten free options in perth… would love to hear your opinions!

gluten free bruges

ahhh bruges. a ridiculously pretty little town that is known for its frites, chocolate, beer and waffles, not known unfortunately for its abundance of healthy or gluten free food! a few things to note when visiting bruges, whilst i do recommend a visit, i really enjoyed wandering the town, you do need to plan ahead – about half of the town centre shuts down on mondays and tuesdays and bring your cash because there are no cheap feeds…

firstly, the chocolate. amazing, as expected! make sure you ask around thou as many of the pralines and truffles will contain gluten. secondly, the frites. also amazing but again high risk of cross-contamination depending on where you get them, make sure you know whats on them and what else they are fried with. third, the beer. i don’t actually like beer so it doesn’t bother me but i was interested to note that ‘the bottle shop’ and ‘2be beer wall’ both sold a gf beer if you’re keen. finally, the waffles. can’t help sorry – you’ll just have to enjoy vicariously through others!

chez vincent

essentially fancy fast food but offers a ‘choose-your-own’ meal menu at a comparatively affordable cost (as i said previously all of bruges is pricey!). i chose the grilled prawns with frites and salad and was assured that they were all gluten free. the prawns actually tasted really fresh, the frites were perfectly cooked and a bit of salad was refreshing.

the habit

eclectic would be the very diplomatic description of this place!! the bike hanging from the ceiling and the almost life sized richard branson cardboard cutout at the toilets (which actually made me jump it surprised me so much!) are just for starters! that being said,  the owner / waiter / chef (his chef didn’t turn up that night so he was covering all bases) was incredibly warm and welcoming. i had heard so much about the mussels or the ‘moules’ that i really wanted to find out what the fuss was about. after explaining gluten free, he asked a few questions about what flavours i like; garlic? white wine?… “ok, i make you something” and off he went. he came back with a large pot of mussels served with celery, onion, garlic and white wine. honestly, not particularly exciting but fresh and gluten free and on a monday night when almost everything else was shut – i was just happy to be fed!

well that almost concludes our european tour, coming up next to round out our holiday is amsterdam…

the great parisian macaron hunt

after extensive research (also known as a 10min google search) i narrowed down the top macaron contenders in paris and picked up a select two from each to judge and enjoy…

ladureé 

founded in 1862 and considered to be the creator of the ‘double decker’ macaron. famed for their more traditional macaron flavours of which they sell over 15,000 every day. if traditional is what they do best then traditional is what we would try… after much deliberation we bought a chocolate and a pistachio.

pierre hermé

‘the picasso of pastry’ started his own business under his name in 1998 and famed for his unusual macaron flavour combinations. salted caramel is always a favourite and couldn’t walk past pedro ximenez with golden raisins.

gérard mulot

a french patisserie that is as well know for its cakes and pastries as its macarons. i picked purely on colour here as i couldn’t read the french labels, selecting (as google translate later told me) a chestnut butter cream and a pink grapefruit.

the results…

6th – in gérard mulot’s defence i HATE grapefruit… in french “rose pamplemousse”. doesn’t that sound pretty, it was a lovely pink colour and i mistakenly assumed it was rose flavoured (bad mistake) until i bit into it and it had that same awful aftertaste that grapefruit has so googled it immediately and it all made sense. so subsequently – last place!

4th – tied in 4th place are ladureé’s pistachio and gérard mulot’s chestnut butter cream. i usually love anything pistachio but honestly i found it a bit ‘meh’ and the chestnut just didn’t match the others in terms of flavour or texture – a bit grainy and hollow.

3rd –  ladureé’s chocolate, essentially lovely but not remarkable.

2nd – pierre hermé’s salted caramel was just delicious. these macarons were on another level. they we so filling for a such a small pastry, had a perfect crust and then amazing cream centres. unlike the macarons i am used to at home it wasn’t overtly sweet but it was super tasty.

1st – pierre hermé’s pedro ximenez and golden raisins. hands down freaking amazing. my hubby and i took a bite each of this one and just looked at each other in awe. honestly, i don’t know how something that size could be so good. so good in fact, i went and got another one…

well another 3 actually!

a lemon and cedar, a passionfruit, rhubarb and strawberry and another pedro ximenez…

pedro still won but damn these guys are doing something right! i don’t think i can ever eat a standard macaron again. if only they would open a store in Perth! or maybe not because id end up fat and broke!!

photo credit to jared faint @ blogger or flickr

gluten free paris

ahhh paris… the home of croissants, baguettes, eclairs, profiteroles and macarons. so much glorious gluten!! so whats a coeliac supposed to eat in this incredible city? plenty, apparently! we stayed in a self contained apartment on the île de la cité which was amazing in itself, we were within a short walk of so many amazing eateries and a short metro ride away from many more. we had breakfast and made a lot of our own dinners in the apartment and splurged on lunch and desserts during the day which worked really well for us. i think i could have survived the week purely on cheese and macarons alone – the fromagerie on the île st louis was incredible! a dedicated post for my macaron adventures will be up next…

love and credit to my husband who’s pics are scattered through this post… find more of his stuff @ jared faint photography or jared rambling

les deux magots

we actually didn’t eat here but just stopped to enjoy a cup of tea, escape the weather and watch the world go by. beautiful silver service and prime seat in the heated, enclosed annex made for a perfect morning stop. can’t comment on the food but my mother tells me that the crème brûlée is amazing and by default should be gluten free.

aux ducs de bourgogne

we stopped in at this tiny restaurant that is famed for its galettes at about 2pm. the lovely owner greeted us and showed us to thankfully the one free table left squeezed in the corner. when he came to take our order i went to pull out my gf travel card and before i had even handed it too him he knew exactly what it was about ‘ah yes gluten free, no problems, we will make yours special…’ which is always incredibly reassuring. we both ordered the lunch special which included a savoury galette, a sweet crepe and a bowl of cider (galettes are made from buckwheat or ‘sarrasin’ flour whilst the crepes are wheat flour, be careful thou as many places that serve galettes will also add a percentage of wheat flour as i’m told it makes them easier to cook well… so obviously no crepe for me but  sweet and savoury 100% buckwheat galettes). they were lovely and at less that 15euro for the meal really good value. it is a really sweet, cozy and friendly place, wish i had time to have gone back again!

cafe pinson

didn’t realise this place was vegetarian, my husband picked up on it straight away despite not being able to read the french menu’s ‘what, no meat again!’ i should have guessed thou, it had such a cool, hipster vibe to it! had a gorgeous pumpkin risotto cake served with carrot and macadamias and a green smoothie, very tasty, not huge portions but sufficient for a lunch meal and despite the lack of meat my husband enjoyed his too.

willi’s wine bar

as the name suggests these guys have an incredible wine list and some pretty good food to match. the waitress was helpful and double checked all the gluten free options with the chef. i wasn’t overly hungry so just had an entree size prawn, mushroom and black rice dish. the mushrooms and prawns were amazing and fresh but the rice was just plain and a bit bland in contrast. check out the amazing yearly wine posters on the walls, they commission an artist each year to do up an ‘advertising poster’ which are much more than just a poster. they have prints that they sell but unfortunately were sold out of my two favourites.

breizh cafe

more breton galettes! all 100% buckwheat. plan your days around visiting this cafe – its closed on mondays and tuesdays and opens at 11.30am. don’t arrive too much after that, we got there at about 11.45am and easily got a table but literally 15min later and the place was packed out. we understood why thou! amazing galettes, really great gourmet flavours. i had the ‘bretonne’ a bacon, mushroom and cheese galette – who knew those simple ingredients could taste so good!

st regis cafe

located on the western bridge entrance to the îll st louis this just epitomises paris for me. we stopped for a hot chocolate and a fresh croissant for my husband on our last morning in paris. it was essentially melted chocolate in a cup – just how it should be!

helmut newcake

the best for last. if you are coeliac and your in paris this place should be higher on your ‘to do’ list than the eiffel tower and the louvre! just incredible. spent way way to much money here – which probably had to do with the firsts, seconds, more to take home for later… and then returning later in the week!! i also think i can almost single handedly attribute my european weight gain to this place but TOTALLY worth it! they were all amazing but standout favourites were the  profiteroles the lemon curd tart and the choc molten cake. oh and they also sell bread and savoury food but no time for that – i just wanted cakes…

gluten free barcelona

two of my favourite things… paella and sangria. needless to say, i loved barcelona!

mercat la boqueria

the famous markets down la rambla provided my breakfast every morning. a beautifully colourful array of fruit salads, juices and smoothies that i just couldn’t walk past, open bright and early every day except sundays!

forn boix

a bakery, down carrer de l’hospital (just off la rambla) that is in someways just punishment for those on a gluten free diet but also stocked a large range of gluten free breads, pastries and biscuits that were fresh daily…

txikiteo

wandering the streets looking for some paella on the night we arrived and we were somewhat herded into this restaurant. was dubious at first as it was quite empty but soon learnt that no one in barca eats dinner before 8pm! the waiter was very helpful with the assistance of the spanish gf travel cards and i had the sangria and the seafood paella. both were very tasty but the paella was probably just a touch on the salty side for my liking.

teresa carles

stumbled across this very cool place literally around the corner from our hotel. had to wait about 15-20min for a table during the lunch rush. the service was efficient although not overtly polite – will put that down to how busy they were. they had a fantastic looking menu, all vegetarian with lots of gf options well marked. husband and i shared two meals – a black rice pilaf with soy aioli and a risotto cake with baked pumpkin. the photo doesn’t do it justice, the flavours were amazing, very tasty and very cool vibe.

centric canalla

we had walked past this little tapas bar several times a day and it always looked full so thought we’d better check it out. another very cool bar, great interiors and lovely waitstaff. only stopped for a wine and some snacks but thoroughly enjoyed our cheese platter and jamon iberico ham.

restaurante cullera de boix

was recommended by our hotel with a ‘10% off meal’ voucher and was apparently a good stop for paella…. it wasn’t. don’t often give a bad review but service was ridiculously slow (they left us standing in no-mans-land out the front of the restaurant for 20min and said the restaurant wasn’t open yet but on finally being shown to our table two other tables were already filled), the meals were relatively expensive, the paella was awful – fairly well inedible as it was sooooooo salty (lucky for them i was hungry and too polite to ever send anything back) and the sangria was average (how do you make bad sangria? i didn’t think it was possible!). don’t go. enough said.

sagarra

again just wandering through the boqueria area looking for somewhere to stop for dinner and husband chose this place. wouldn’t have been my first pick as i judge ‘books by their covers’  and its interior was clean but lacking that cool eclectic vibe. the waitresses were lovely and friendly and double checked on the gf status of the paella before taking our order. the paella was amazing, literally scraped the pan clean! they don’t do sangria, but had a lovely wine list which kept husband happy. we had grand plans of eating a different paella every night but after the disaster of cullera de boix we ended up coming back again on our final night and the paella was even better than the first time! happy, happy memories!!

 

 

rome & the best gluten free pizza ever

after florence we made our way down through tuscany to rome. we spent 3 nights in rome and for the first 2 days i didn’t eat much other that fruit and salad as tummy was still pretty unhappy due to the unintentional ‘glutinification’ in florence. by the third day and final day in italy i wanted some proper italian food!

La Soffita Renovatio

this little restaurant is just near the vatican city, you enter down the stairs off street level into a slightly eclectic but very welcoming space. the waiters all had a great understanding of gluten free so their was no issue at all with ordering. we started off with a grilled artichoke on their recommendation, which was lovely but maybe a touch under seasoned. then for the pizza, i pulled out my best begging and convinced my husband to also order a gluten free base so we could share. So glad i did because his quatro fromage (4 cheeses) pizza was seriously amazing- the best EVER! don’t get me wrong thou, i had the tomato, mozzarella, parmesan and rocket pizza and it was also fantastic! the base was so tasty, not too thick, not to thin, perfect crust -the best gf i have ever eaten by a mile and the flavours were spot on, highly recommend it!

Grom

i wrote about grom gelato in gluten free venice but i snuck in one last visit before i left the country… if your in italy and regardless of if you are on a gf diet or not – check this place out! so good!

 

gluten free florence

we had 2 nights but really only 1 day in florence to explore, unfortunately i became really acutely unwell – glutinfied! not sure where or how but really wiped me out totally for the one day we had, struggled on for another few and then just flat and tired for another almost 2 weeks. i had almost forgotten how bad it is as its been a good few years since i was sick (last big holiday in NY!) and it doesn’t seem to matter what you do – buscopan, paracetamol, plenty of water (i even resorted to taking phenergan hoping it might possibly help but preferably knock me out for a few hours!) – nothing helps or does it? does anyone have any remedies for the pain?!

i started getting hungry albeit still feeling very sick after not eating for basically the whole day so sent husband on a hunt for plain white rice and coke (seemed like a good idea at the time)… not the easiest things to find in the heart of florence but got to love him his so good to me!! (and it was a waste, threw it all back up a few hours later!)

residenza giotto

we stayed at this cute b&b which was right in the centre of the historical part of the city, the photo shows the view ofthe duomo from the breakfast balcony! they provided a wide range of gluten free options with breakfast, all of them packaged and highly processed but i really appreciated the effort.

ciro & sons

they pride themselves on their gluten free pizza but just a note – you do need to email ahead to ‘reserve’ a gf pizza. if pizza isn’t your thing thou they have plenty of other pasta options available that don’t require a reservation. they waiter serving us was very helpful and had a great understanding of gluten free and perfect english! we started with garlic bread to share, i then had mushroom, ham and mozzarella pizza and for dessert couldn’t say no to the nutella crepes.

 

gluten free venice

i had read good things about italy… i’m still not sure how much is true and how much is folk lore but apparently coeliac disease is considered a disability and as such sufferers receive both a disability pension and extra days off work to ‘source’ gluten free food and you can get gluten free products from almost any pharmacy (in my experience usually the Schars range, although there wasn’t always a great deal of variety but its good to have a fall back plan!). so with my google map, my italian gf card and a few key italian phrases in hand we were off to explore venice!

firsts things first, it is really pretty – photos just don’t do it justice. it is also really easy to get lost, particularly as it gets dark – so many little lane ways, bridges and canals and they do start to get confusing if reading off a map (had to laugh as a local gave a lost tourist instructions ‘just go down the narrow path, over a bridge and your there’ pretty sure that explains every path on the island!). so, a word of advice if your searching for restaurants, or any attraction really – try out the tom-tom GPS phone app, we used it to calculate walking routes all over europe but really really helpful in venice (and once its downloaded it doesn’t use data only battery).

rialto markets

i wandered through here a couple of times, picking up fresh and dried fruit to snack on but really wishing i was in a self-contained apartment with a kitchen so that i could cook with the amazing fresh produce. the seafood looked incredible and the vegetables looked as fresh as could be… maybe next time!

mea libera tutti

we had a bit of trouble finding this place (lots of different addresses all over the net and sorry i didn’t end up writing it down when i finally found it) but was well worth the search! an entirely gf store with goods ranging from breads, pastas, biscuits, lollies through to cake decorating ingredients. i stocked up – couldn’t help myself! the owner is lovely and very helpful – she gave me a few different restaurant options and their directions.

l’osteria all ombra

this was a pretty cheap, casual restaurant, its nice and central, always had tables available and had free wi-fi. its not flash and not particularly traditional but the food was quite nice, tasty but a bit light on the meat according to husband (the bolognese was essentially just pasta and tomato sauce) and the house red wine was average at best unless you like your reds cold and super sweet! we ended up coming back a couple of times and tried something different each time. unfortunately when we were there several things weren’t available on the gf menu which was a shame as i was super keen to try the profiteroles but no luck.

osteria dal riccio peoco

very small, very friendly, minimal english but a gf menu (hand written on a piece of cardboard!). they didn’t have a few things available but they did have some sandwich type options and some pasta available. i had the lasagna, it was actually really lovely and perfect for a late lunch on new years eve! it was a bit slow but the owner of mia libera tutti – who recommended it – explained that they probably go a bit ‘overboard’ to avoid gf contamination – no complaints here!

grom

a-m-a-z-i-n-g. seriously these guys are good. they are all over italy (and i attempted to visit all of them!) and have a couple of other stores across europe and they know coeliac… a glove change, a sealed box of separate cups, tubs, spoons, scoops, the gelato they served me was from under the normal tub all to prevent cross contamination from the cones. and the best bit? all the flavours were gluten free! even the cookies and cream! they also make all their own gf biscuits which they sell – the pistachio and the choc fondant were both so good. the hot chocolate was ridiculously lush, they serve it with a spoon which is apt as it is so thick and rich and perfect on a cold venice afternoon. i would be a serious fatty if they ever opened a store near me! don’t miss it!

gluten free st anton am arlberg

We were lucky enough to spend a white christmas on the austrian ski slopes which we were both really excited about but despite ongoing attempts, my google searches were coming up empty for gluten free options, and really, who wants ‘just the salad’ when its -10°C and snowing outside!

Hotel Rundeck

we stayed in this gorgeous hotel which is right in the centre of town only minutes walk from the ski lifts. the staff were amazing, very warm and welcoming – highly recommend it! breakfast was included in the room rate and i got my monies worth. it was one of the best spreads i’ve seen and they included gf breads and muesli for me each morning.

Pomodoros

we had a quick scout around the town on the afternoon we arrived to suss out gf dinner options and we found this pizzeria offering gf pizza and pasta about 2 minutes walk from our hotel… sold! both the pasta and the pizzas were tasty and resonably priced (in comparison to most places in St Anton) and came in large serving sizes which is exactly what we felt like after a full day of snowboarding!