Back From Vacation

I'm back from our 5 week vacation:  

We spent two weeks on a Mediterranean Cruise which had daily stops in ports in France, Italy and Spain, then we spent 3 days in Rome, and then flew to Israel for 2 weeks to visit family. 

It was a 13 hour flight from Tel Aviv to Miami so I'm totally jet-lagged and my post shows it. The photos do not match the story.

I promise to organize my photos for the next post!! 

We sailed on Celebrity Reflection cruise ship for a Meditteranean cruise  and was very pleased with the ship, the food, and the entertainment. 

Food in Israel - hummus with salsa and grilled eggplant ( Recipe to follow)

The cruise accommodated my special eating needs which included a strictly gluten-free diet along with my vegan diet (skip if you are not into what I was able to eat gluten-free and vegan)

What did I eat? 

Breakfast: 

I chose to go to the breakfast buffet most mornings where there was a gluten free section with bread, rolls, and muffins. I usually took the bread, got some sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and capers. I asked for guacamole to spread on my bread and enjoyed the meal with a cup of dcaf cappuccino made with almond milk. 

Picnic in Israel on the way to Sefat an ancient town in Israel. My cousin packed the meal.

Lunch: 

Most of the time, we were out touring during lunch time and usually skipped lunch. 

However, when we would return to the ship around 4:00, there was always salad available and gluten-free pizza, GF bread, fruit, hummus, etc. 

Vegan stuffed peppers-  ( easy recipe to follow) from my sister in law

Dinner: 

We always ate in the dining room and I pre-ordered my meal the evening before. We requested anytime dining and  the computer always had my order. 

On the streets of Jerusalem in the old city. A peddler selling bread! Not gluten free!

Indian recipes, Italian recipes, and my favorite dinner was dish of tofu, rice, and vegetables all tossed together. It was so good, I ordered it multiple times. There was also gluten free bread at each meal as well as wine and gluten free dessert.

My cousin in Israel made these delicious vegan stuffed grape leaves

This is how it worked for dinner. The night before, I filled out a menu of what I wanted for the next evening from a list of choices. The Italian spaghetti dinners were just ok because I did care for the sauce- it reminded me of Campbell's soup. 

 More pastries on the streets of Jerusalem - not gluten free- The best place for gluten free was in Italy .

Israel: 

In Israel, we mostly ate in the house of relatives. My husband has 50 (maybe more) first cousins in Israel as well as 3 aunts. We stayed with relatives in Tel Aviv / Bat Yam area,  Jerusalem, Rishon and visited relatives in Sefat and Haifa. We stayed in a hotel in Tiberias with my husband's sister and her married children and grandchildren. 

I  was not "gluten-ized" until I ate in a restaurant in Israel. We were on the beach in Bat Yam (near Tel Aviv) and decided to eat in a very charming beach front restaurant. 

I asked the waiter if anything was gluten -free. 

He went into the kitchen and returned saying that the kitchen said adamantly not to eat anything on the menu because of cross contamination. 

But I thought. What could be in a plain salad? 

So I ate a salad and the was the first time in all of the travels that I had severe stomach pains and "Shil-Shul" (Hebrew for diarrhea) for about 2 hours- not fun!!! I should have listened!! Europe and Israel take gluten-free very seriously.