I want to start off by saying that I’m very lucky to be sitting in a beautiful little bed and breakfast in the village of Monts in the Loire Valley. It’s not all fun and games, it’s a working holiday — it’s something that my family and I are attempting to make a yearly tradition (this is year two). With the power of the Internet, a laptop and a good wifi connection, I can do my work from just about anywhere. The trick is making sure I sit down and actually get some of that work done and with so much to see and do while on holiday, that can be tough sometimes.
le moulin de Monts — Home for the Summer
As with any trip I take, one of the first places I like to visit is a local supermarket — in this case, it’s the Super U in Monts. While my French language skills are not all that great, I do have a good grasp on which items on a packages list of ingredients to avoid and when traveling I try to stick with as much fresh food as possible. The selection of packaged food hasn’t been that great and I am indeed sticking to the fruits, vegetables, beans, meat, dairy, etc. It’s really not a bad way to eat, but I do miss the convenience of an occasional gluten-free packaged snack.
Watching my wife enjoy a baguette (or my kids with a pain au chocolat) from the local boulangerie can be a little envy-inducing, but I’m happy that they’re able to enjoy some of France’s most beloved staples. I’ve yet to find a gluten-free boulangerie or even a gluten-free baguette for that matter. I know they exist, but I just haven’t found them yet. There are a couple of local restaurants here in the village and most have been very friendly and accommodating and I have had positive experiences all the way through. I’ll be doing some individual reviews of these after another visit or two.
We’ll be heading to Paris in July and I know there are some great choices there with stores like Naturalia and La Vie Claire. There’s also a 100% gluten-free restaurant that I can’t wait to try, Des si & Des mets. We’ll be moving north toward Brittany and Normandy from there and will stop at numerous places along the way. I’m hoping by the end of this trip to have some very positive things to say about living sans gluten in France — I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
