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

[Guest guest]

cant read this post. Does it work now?

Sophie.

--- In , " Hersom, A. " <susan.hersom@...>

wrote:

>

> 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

>