Managing an allergic reaction is hard during your travels.

However, these preventive steps will assist you in exploring preparation culture and keep you healthy.

If you are allergic to gluten and even have a light farm allergic reaction, and although I’m a frequent individual traveler, it’s not invariably obvious what dishes have either (or both!) once I’m in an exceedingly new place and consume unknown foods.

Dr. Alyson Pidich, the medical director of the Ash Center, in the Big Apple, NY, and a food allergy specialist, is allergic to shellfish and, like me, knows firsthand that even so-called “safe” foods will have trace allergens that may cause you to get sick.

So what’s an allergic reaction sufferer and voyager to do? Here are some of Dr. Pidich’s tips, all of which she keeps in mind for her own travels.

Carry a food allergy card in multiple languages

Have a card handy that lists your food allergies within the language or languages spoken at your destination. You can create your own cards with simple notecards or sturdy paper,

Make sure that your cards clearly list what foods you can’t eat, instead of simply stating what you’re allergic to. For example, my allergic reaction cards don’t simply say that I’m allergic to protein and farm, they say that wheat and wheat-based products, such as soy and anything containing milk, including yogurt, are off-limits.

Similarly, Dr. Pidich’s cards say that she can’t eat clams, shrimp, or lobster. She learned the difficult way that it was necessary to be super specific on her cards: her allergic reaction card, once she traveled to Tulum, Mexico, many years ago, simply stated in Spanish that she was allergic to shellfish; however, she was served a dish with shrimp, causing her hives everywhere on her body.

Order with an abundance of caution

This may sound obvious, however, it is a perfect situation; you mostly travel with allergic reaction cards, and therefore the folks serving you perceive what you’re not allowed to eat.

But say you forget your cards or think “Oh, this looks fine” because your trigger foods aren’t on the ingredients list. Dr. Pidich says you simply still shouldn’t assume that what you’re consuming is safe. Certain foods and drinks, as well as sauces, dressings, soups, and cocktails, hide common allergens such as wheat, nuts, dairy, and shellfish.

Restaurant cooks, most often, use flour to thicken sauces, for example, while soups can have shellfish broth, and dressings are blended with soy sauce or nut oils. Ask any vegetarian, it’s a surprise and shock once their dressing has cheese in it, or the petite marmite has been made with chicken stock, then you’ll understand what it’s like. In short, notwithstanding how you think that you are, be extra cautious.

Travel with a food supply

There’s nothing worse than going hungry on your trip as a result of not being able to find enough safe food to eat. Dr. Pidich suggests packing many snacks and many meal replacement choices on your trip if you can.

Consider nonperishable snacks that are carry-on safe, like fine-grained macromolecule shakes (go for pea macromolecule powder as a result of its simple digestion and therefore the least matter, compared with other, typically whey-based, powdered proteins), low-sodium jerky, low-sodium powdered soups that can be rehydrated with hot water, roasted chickpeas, nuts (as long as you’re not allergic to nuts!), and dried fruits or crisp vegetables.

Consider a bedroom or an Airbnb with a room

Having access to a room suggests that you’ll have the possibility to prepare some meals for yourself. This additionally cuts down on the strain of not having the ability to search out allergy-safe food to eat.

Take your allergic reaction card with you after you go food searching in order that the folks acting at the grocery store or farmers’ market are able to steer you far from something you’re allergic to, and make sure to follow our general tips to stay healthy while traveling.

Don’t forget your allergic reaction drugs (but carry them legally

Even if your allergic reaction isn’t severe, you shouldn’t leave home without your allergy medication. Sure, you’ll be happy to have it just in case you have an uncomfortable reaction like hives or haptic sensation, but you shouldn’t assume you can buy what you need locally, depending on where you go.

In most common destinations, you can, but Dr. Pidich states that it is prudent to pack some in your carry-on.  If you have a travel companion, have them carry an additional dose or 2 of the drugs just in case you lose yours. The same goes for an Epi-Pen if you employ one. Finally, make certain you acquaint yourself with your destination’s rules and rules regarding prescription (and nonprescription) medication, so you’ll be able to pass customs with your drugs.

and it was amazing! I loved the vibrant, exciting lifestyle of this city. The shops are absolutely amazing with all the top names in fashion, my favorite place was sitting by the plaza next to the Cathedrale; what an amazing structure! I could have sat there all day people watching, they come from all over the world to visit this place.

We sat near the Cathedrale on the terrace of this restaurant and had the best pizza I ever ate, and I have eaten quite a few, and also made quite a few! this one was perfect¨, the crust was light on the inside and crusty on the outside, the toppings were fresh Pomodoro, a great quality mozzarella, and fresh basil.

I was a bit worried about driving into the city after hearing some of the comments from friends that visited before, but to my surprise, it was easier than driving around Zürich in Switzerland where you really have to watch out for pedestrians (they are the kings when it comes to the right of way¨) plus the trams and buses coming from all directions, god forbid you are sitting on a tram track when one of them decides to come your way!

The best Pizza we eat at this restaurant in front of the Cathedrale

Milan, however, was great the main streets are wide and drivers were not as crazy as it was described to me! Parking was great we followed the sign that brought us to a parking garage right in the center of town, not far from the main plaza.

I already put a date on my calendar to return to Milan soon to explore the parts I haven’t seen yet.

Planning a Trip to Europe?!

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As we get older we tend to reflect on certain places and moments back in time;

one of those places and moments was my time traveling to the Island of  Bermuda.

After completing my chef apprenticeship in Switzerland and the mandatory Swiss army duties, I applied for a chef saucier position at the Holiday Inn in St.Georges, Bermuda.

Meeting with Interpol👮‍♂️

June 12th, 1972, was to be my first flight abroad. During the checking at the Zurich airport, I did cause a bit of turmoil because security freaked out after opening my luggage which contained my chef’s knife case that my parents had bought me after the successful completion of my apprenticeship as a chef. The case contained a complete set of chef tools that consisted of several knives and utensils.

They confiscated the case and gave it to the pilot before takeoff until we reached Bermuda where I was told, I would be able to retrieve them.   On arrival at London Heathrow Airport, right after leaving customs, Interpol was waiting for me to escort me into a back office to question me about the knives. I was sitting in an interrogation room for several hours, while they called Switzerland to check on my background and to verify my story about having a job in Bermuda. Due to that incident, I missed my connecting flight to Bermuda that day and had to stay overnight in a hotel, compliments of Interpol, to continue to Bermuda the following morning.

Bad timing!🔪

Upon arrival in Bermuda I was greeted at the airport by the Executive Chef of the Hotel, Rene Schiegg, he told me that the day before my arrival, the governor, his aid, and his dogs were assassinated at the governor’s mansion! Now I know why they were panicking at the airport finding my knives!  ( Sir Richard Christopher Sharples, Governor of Bermuda 1972-1973)

After arriving in St. Georges about 20 minutes later I was amazed by the sight of the hotel, sitting on top of a hill overlooking the Atlantic it looked like a structure out of the far east!   Bermuda is located 300 miles off the coast of New York, at the time of my arrival, there were approximately 50,000 inhabitants on the island which is about 20 miles in length and 1 mile wide at the widest point. It is a sub-tropical climate with wonderful fauna, perfectly white sandy beaches, and kind, friendly folks.

After settling into my staff quarters and getting used to my job environment I met one of my co-workers by the name of Thomas, a native of Antigua, a few days after my arrival it was Thanksgiving, the American Holiday, and Thomas asked me to go with him and visit some of his friends on the island, I think I never ate so much food in one day! everyone we visited was feeding us turkey and its trimmings! That was all new to me since we don’t celebrate that holiday in Europe.

I shall never forget the hospitality and kindness of the Bermudian people, taking me in as if they knew me for a long time, I didn’t even speak a word of English yet.

2 1/2 year vacation🏖

Working in Bermuda was almost like being on vacation daily, I spent most of my free time on the sandy beaches or cruising around the island on my Yamaha crossroad bike, sometimes stopping over in Hamilton, the capital city, to stroll around or do some shopping. My work schedule was from 2 pm to 11 pm, 6 days a week at the Gourmet Supper Club of the hotel.

However, after getting into an accident with my bike, hitting a beverage truck head-on! I landed in the US Army hospital on the island with a bruised back for about three weeks. Shortly after that, I joined two co-workers to take on a job at the El Casino in Freeport, Bahamas. it was the stepping stone to the USA. Which is worth another blog altogether; to be continued!

The Island of Bermuda 

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