It's time for another Monthly Recap!
May and June were BIG MONTHS for traveling with celiac!
Between my birthday, the Confident Celiac Community Retreat to New York City, a celiac meet up and hosted restaurant visit in Boston, my trip to Europe, and a hosted visit at the Inn Berlin in Maryland....
A lot happened for travel and food the last two months. So because of that, I've decided to do a joint recap for May/June!
Let's get to it!!
All of the monthly food & travel recaps on the blog can be found here.
TNF Travels In May & June 2023
Number of States Visited: 5 (Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maryland)
Number of Countries Visited: 3 (United Kingdom, Italy, France)
May and June were HUGE months of traveling for me.
After celebrating my birthday with Dylan here in Salem, a few days later I was off to New York City to host the first ever gluten-free retreat for the Confident Celiac Community. It was an incredible success, and such a great weekend of food, fun, and friendship! We ate at a lot of the places inside my New York City guide here, but the most special meal was the one we all shared at Senza Gluten on the Saturday night.
Want to become a member and get the details first (plus a discount!) on the next gluten-free retreat? Sign up here to join CCC!
And just a day after returning from NYC, I was invited to Capo South Boston for their gluten-free night in honor of Ken Oringer's new cookbook! He's a well-known amazing chef in the Boston area whose daughter has celiac. And the food on this particular gluten-free night was UNREAL! They sanitize and deep clean the kitchen every Tuesday for their gluten-free night, and it's a huge success every time.
You can read more about it inside my gluten-free Boston dining guide. Definitely make a reservation, it gets busy!
Then a few days later (I know, can you believe how crazy this month was?) I hosted a meet-up at Twist Bakery & Cafe in Burlington for some local celiacs in the Boston area! We had a fabulous time and someone even thought we were a high school reunion (HA!) Well, as I always say - you get a group of celiacs together, and the conversation always flows easily!
You can read about Twist inside my gluten-free North Shore guide here.
And then, the following week, I was off to Europe for a 2 week adventure through London, Florence, and Paris!
I've been to all of these places before, but it was great to visit them again. London I hadn't been to since 2004, and Paris since 2010. Florence I visited last year, but Dylan and I both got COVID and our trip was ruined, so this felt like a do-over. And this trip was SO much better.
I also got to meet up with lots of gluten-free friends, including Matt of Gluten-Free Street Gang, Sarah of Endless Distances, Morgan of How To Coeliac, and Catalin of Celiac in Italy! I ended the trip in Paris with my parents for a few days, and it really was lovely. So much great gluten-free food, amazing sunny weather, and a chance to travel solo. I wish Dylan could have joined me, but I am so glad I went!
I've got a full guide to eating gluten-free in London right here, and a guide to eating gluten-free in Florence as well. I'm still working on a Paris guide, so check back for that!
In June, I barely had a chance to rest (a week!) before Dylan and I headed to The Inn Berlin in Maryland for a hosted visit! I know, it really was a wild two months! We had a relaxing weekend, went to the beach at Assateague, saw some wild horses, and ate TONS of delicious gluten-free food. I shared two full recaps of the weekend on my Instagram here, or you can read the blog post about the Inn Berlin right here.
After the Inn Berlin, I had 2 weeks to just *chill* before we once again, went somewhere! We visited my best friend Kristen and her family on Long Island. Traffic was crazy, the weekend didn't go according to plan, but we still made the most of it and had fun! Plus, I got to try a restaurant that was like my childhood in gluten-free form, which I'll share below.
TNF Eats in May & June 2023
Since there was SO MUCH food I tried and ate the last two months, I'm not going to list it all here. However, I will do a favorite from each place I visited!
New York: Modern Bread & Bagel
It's just the absolute best! I'm not as big of a fan of their other baked goods, because their bagels are the #1. If you can't make it to New York or Los Angeles anytime soon, they also ship! More details about Modern can be found in my New York gluten-free guide.
Recently they upgraded their breakfast tacos to have this cute little tray, and I love it! Scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado, arugula, and pico de gallo? Sign me up, I'll eat them by the dozen. More details about Twist can be found in my North Shore Boston gluten-free guide.
This place was UNREAL. I am not a big waffle person (I will always pick pancakes) but my mind was blown by the amazing waffle I had here with caramelized peaches, bacon, pistachios...I almost licked the plate clean! More details about Utter Waffle can be found in my London gluten-free guide.
I dreamt about this sandwich for a year. Came back for the exact same one. Mortadella ham, mozzarella cheese, pistachio cream. With an aperol spritz. It was perfection on a plate! You can read more about Sgrano in my Florence gluten-free guide.
This bakery was beautiful - so many different pastries, baguettes, sandwiches, and cakes to choose from. The staff was equally lovely too!
Long Island, New York: Rustica
A gem on Long Island that takes great care and effort to prevent cross-contact. The typical neighborhood Italian pizza & pasta place that I grew up going to as a kid on Long Island - but this one in Garden City has almost everything on the menu available gluten-free, including their own GF dough for pizza and calzones. Amazing!
TNF Reflections on May & June 2023
There was a LOT going on these last two months. I did so much traveling, along with Celiac Awareness Month, the retreat with the Confident Celiac Community, the hosted stay at the Inn Berlin...it was busy! In general, I really did enjoy all of the adventures I had, and even my solo trip in Europe. It reminded me of my study abroad days, giving me more confidence in myself and my abilities to navigate unknown situations, language barriers, and celiac disease. Travel is the best lesson you can learn outside a classroom. It's a gift that keeps on giving, and once you have some of it, you just want more!
TNF Travels for July
Considering the whirlwind that was May and June, July will definitely be a lot more chill! So far we've got a week planned in Vermont and New Hampshire for 4th of July, but nothing else yet. I'm kind of happy about that, so maybe we can do some hiking around here, or even hit the beach. It's summer in New England, and it's always too short!
You can read the previous month's recaps on the blog right here.
Be sure to follow me on Instagram @thenomadicfitz for updates on what I'm doing, where I'm traveling, and what I'm eating.
Looking for more celiac travel posts?
Avoid these five mistakes when dining out with celiac disease!
Flying somewhere and worried you'll be starving in an airport? Not to worry, this post on flying with celiac disease has you covered!
Do you have celiac AND IBS? I do too. Here's how I manage both when traveling.
Get my gluten-free travel guides to Boston, New York, Madrid, Buenos Aires (plus many more) here!
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