I have been trying to read up on the itinerary that my husband and I are planning for our one year anniversary trip to Italy and I have some questions that I was looking for input on from the frequent travelers out there.
I read EvenMary's trip report which was very helpful since we are planning on going to Rome, Tuscany and Venice (with possibly a quick stop in Florence) for about 2 weeks. (we decided to do Rome first on EM's point that they were too tired to really enjoy it at the end of their trip!)

I have a few questions though, should we go to Rome before Easter or after, given that is the 2 week period we will be going to Italy (for more time off at work)?

My husband has a food allergy, eggs, I realize it is going to be hard eating in restaurants (since we barely go to italian food here since no one gives a truthful answer to "are there eggs in this dish!) but will he be able to find some menu choices? (or should we go to another country b/c of the difficulty we will find)

How do we get tickets to the Papal audiences (and possibly easter mass)? should we go through one of the "tour group companies" who promise to get us reservations?

Thanks for your help in advance!

For papal audiences, go to www.santasusanna.org.

Your husband should get a card that clearly says in Italian that he is allergic to eggs and that he will become extremely ill if he eats them. He should hand that to the waiter.

If you stick to meats and fish that are roasted and grilled and not sauced, you will be fine. If you ask for vegetables (verdure, contorni), make sure you show the card to the waiter. But I would suggest he avoid pasta and gelato. He should, however, be able to eat pizza.

It is the Italian custom, as you know, to have a pasta dish before the meat entree. But if you order an antipasta with your entree, you can easily skip the pasta. Antipastas are usually simple (cured meats, tomatoes and cheese, etc.)

As for whether you should go at Easter, it depends on your tolerance for crowds and whether you are much interested in seeing the Vatican. It will be a mob scene there, but there is more than enough to do elsewhere in Roma. But if you specifially want to see the pageantry, Easter is the big one.

mrsnagrosst,
Many places in Italy offer rice dishes or soup in addition to pasta for the first place. Your husband can eat very well in Italy.

Here are a couple of trip reports that include Rome and Tuscany:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34494897

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34608686

Henry

Pici is an eggless pasta served in many Tuscan restaurants.

In general, the serving staff in a small Italian eatery is more aware of how a dish is made than you would find in America. But regional differences and family recipes vary so much, I would still recommend that you ask or alert the waiter to your allergy.

Risotto (which you are more likely to find in Venice than Tuscany) is indeed a good eggless choice for a "primi."

Thank you all for your help! nessundorma, that is a great idea. I have gotten the translation of "I am allergic to eggs" but trying to explain is difficult when you don't know the language. We were mostly worried about eggs in the pasta itself as in the states we generally know which pastas are made with eggs and which aren't (No to rav and fettuccini). Thanks again!

For some reason I am logged in under my old account! thanks!
mrsnagrosst

There are fluent Italian speakers at the Slow Travel website you have more than once helped people with allergies write the text for a card to present to waiters. You can try their message board.

When you get to Italy and look at a menu, you may have difficulty recognizing all various names of pasta (trofie, taglioni, papparadelle, etc.) So that card will come in handy. It should say that you are allergic to ALL eggs, however they are used in any recipe.