RE: Re: Summary of My Trip to Europe - Part II - London/Paris/Edinburgh

[Guest guest]

Sophie, are you saying that my post of my Summary of my Trip to Europe - Part II - London/Paris/Edinburgh did not come through on the celiac bay area group to begin with? If that is true, I have cut and pasted it again into this e-mail. Let me know if it comes through okay. (Makes me wonder if the other posts came through - I did three in all.)

I have already e-mailed about how wonderful the Hilton Metropole Hotel is. Even with all my research of wonderful restaurants in London, we ended up eating a lot at the Hilton Metropole Hotel restaurant (Fiamma) restaurant because they were so accommodating. We did, however, eat in a few London restaurants that were terrific. Be sure to make reservations and tell them you will be eating gluten-free.

LONDON - PJ'S GRILL - This restaurant was WONDERFUL! It is a really nice restaurant in the Covent Garden of London. Nearly all of their courses were gluten-free AND they had gluten-free chocolate cake that was delicious! I have to tell you that I do not remember what I ate for dinner there, but I do remember the delicious chocolate cake. It was probably some kind of chicken dish with potatoes (that's what I usually order). (Address-30 Wellington Street, London; Phone-0-20-7240-7529). We also had "high tea" at THE SAVOY at the Fairmont Hotel on the Strand in London. I had e-mailed the hotel's restaurant about a month before we visited London. Their bakery chef made the best g-f pastries for me for the afternoon tea (be prepared - afternoon tea is about $50 a person, but I had heard that they made g-f pastries, and I was hooked.....). I had g-f brownies, cookies, scones and tiny sandwiches on g-f bread. Not sure I would do it again, but it was wonderful to walk in there and be served THREE plates of g-f goodies! (Address-The Strand, London WC2 in the Covent Garden area; Phone-0-20-7420-2669; E-Mail: svy.dining@...). We also ate at DA MARIO'S RESTAURANT, again in the Covent Garden area. I had gluten-free spaghetti, and they know all the issues of gluten-free. (Address: 63 Endell Street, Covent Garden, London; Phone: 0-20-7240-3632.

Through my research, there were other restaurants in London that were supposed to serve gluten-free food. Notting Grill, Sophie's Steakhouse, Garfunkels, Giraffe, Est Est Est, La Tasca, Leon, Nando's, Texas Embassy Cantina, JD Wetherspoon, Pitcher & Piano and Slug and Lettuce. Unfortunately, I did not make it to any of them - I was very content with my four personal chefs at the Hilton Metropole Hotel!

As far as London supermarkets go, Sainsburys and Tesco were supposed to have tons of g-f food on their shelves. The only Sainsburys and Tescos I saw were smaller stores that did not stock g-f food. Their bigger stores only stocked the g-f food - and I never saw any of them, unfortunately. I did go into a couple of food specialty stores called Marks & Spencer and found some g-f packaged goodies.

PARIS- We took a quick day trip from London to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. It was comical trying to eat lunch at a Mcs in Paris. The people at Mcs would NOT order a cheeseburger for me without a bun and adding lettuce and tomato. Since it was not in the register, they were not going to order it for me. After begging and pleading for about 5 minutes, I finally got a plain burger with cheese on it on a piece of paper. I tried putting it between crackers with my own packets of mayonnaise and ketchup. It was awful! I couldn't eat it. I fed it to the pigeons as we ate at the tables outside the Mcs (which got the Mcs people mad ) I then munched on some french fries and then ate some of my own peanut butter and crackers. The lesson here is always to go prepared with food in your purse!

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - We took another day trip to Scotland from London. Through internet searching, I found a restaurant in Edinburgh called 's Bistro which could serve a gluten-free meal. What a delightful man Wencker turned out to be. We had lots of e-mail exchanges, not only of assuring me of a gluten-free meal, but about America and Scotland and what to see when we visited there. He even started calling me "Peggy Sue." We toured the Edinburgh Castle and then took a cab to his bistro, about 15 minutes from the castle. I'm afraid I cannot even remember what I ate there, but it was good and gluten-free. I do remember the dessert he made for me though (of course I remember the desserts), creme brulee, and it was delicious. It was just so touching finally meeting and we even exchanged presents. I gave him some See's Peanut Brittle candy and a "San Francisco" key chain, and he gave me a beautiful plaque that said "Fantastic Friend." We took a picture of me, my husband and outside his bistro, and I will treasure it forever. (Address-88 Commercial Street, Edinburgh, Scotland; Phone: 0-131-553-5933; E-Mail: danielsbistro@...).

My g-f dinner on the British Airways flight back to California included a fillet of fish entree with potatoes and veggies swimming in fish juice. I have never liked fish - even the smell of it. Unfortunately, I didn't eat my dinner on the plane coming back from Europe. I contentedly munched on some g-f food I had bought in London instead. I didn't care. I was coming home from a trip of a lifetime!!

Sue