Back from the land of the roses.

Sorry it's been over a week, I had no idea how hectic my holiday would be!
To say I need a holiday from my holiday is an understatement. We packed a lot in, especially food.
Before we left to visit my parents in Bulgaria, a friend of mine asked me if I ever worried about my food restrictions when I go abroad.
I'll be honest when I say that, at first, I was a little concerned but with the help of my family it has been quite easy to navigate.


Before my first trip away from the UK I spoke to some of my family who also have problems and asked their advice. One of my Uncles has severe coeliac disease and hasn't eaten the bread made here in the UK for many years, but when he travels to Turkey he can eat as much Turkish bread as he likes. As daft as it sounds the species of wheat they grow is totally different to ours and he's found that he can tolerate it quite easily.
 With this in mind I decided to try the bread in Bulgaria ( Turkey and Bulgaria are quite close to each other) and I found that, in small quantities, I can enjoy a piece of bread with little difficulty at all. I was nervous about it but as it turns out, if I'm careful my digestive system is able to cope.
 Not that I'm saying this is appropriate for everyone, but it has certainly proved the case with me.
 Of course there are some things I just cannot eat, things that are the same there as they are here.
The way I found to get around guess work and trying to decipher labels written in the Cyrillic language of Bulgaria was to lean on good old Google translate and find out what the word for corn was ( my only real problem food).
This helped me avoid it when buying any food, pre-packed or otherwise, but to be fair the Bulgarians don't fill their food with added unnecessary ingredients like we do.
Aside from all that, when eating out in any country the obvious rules apply:

1. Don't order anything in restaurants that has a sauce with it.
2. Don't eat pre-packed wheat products - Even if you can tolerate the local wheat that doesn't mean the pre-packed pasta and stuff is made from the same wheat, most countries import dried pasta.
3. If in doubt stick to plain meat, fish or vegetables.                                                                           And lastly, although not related to food intolerance but to food poisoning:
4. Whatever you do DON'T EAT THE RICE in restaurants. You can't guarantee it has been re-heated properly and trust me, no matter which country you go to they never cook it from fresh, just for you.

The only way to really make sure you can enjoy your holiday abroad is to opt for a self-catering apartment and take as much food with you as you can. I was lucky enough to be visiting family who, not only know my limits but also know directions to the nearest Lidl supermarket - they have rice cakes there :)

The point I am trying to make though is don't be afraid to travel abroad because you have a restricted diet. With a little bit of research and some common sense, you can enjoy a sunshine holiday just like everyone else.