Urgent help please -- Food Tour in Paris and Resturant help, Hotel has been useless.
Sep 11th, 2018, 01:07 PM
#41
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It is indeed true that for most of us Europeans, allergies are virtually unknown, thus the friend who tells us 'don't cook this or that because I'm allergic' is considered as a PITA.
To be treated as other PITA's like vegans, people who don't like snails, or don't digest oysters... who force us to cook something special ;-)
(one daughter eats no snails, the other one used to be vegan, none of them eats oysters). They all jump on foie gras, though.
To be treated as other PITA's like vegans, people who don't like snails, or don't digest oysters... who force us to cook something special ;-)
(one daughter eats no snails, the other one used to be vegan, none of them eats oysters). They all jump on foie gras, though.
When I was growing up, supposedly "nobody" had allergies, and yet, I would usually find at least one other friend with an allergy at school, camp, or college. One adult cousin in his 60s is deathly allergic to peanuts. I grew up on a farm and ate a significant portion of my diet from home grown food without pesticides. I also never needed an antibiotic until college. That is not to say pesticides, antibiotics or even plastics are not also a culprit--but perhaps in conjunction with a genetic tendency. Only my theory though. While I am sure more kids are being diagnosed, I think it is also true that we were brought up to keep quiet. Thibaut nails it as yes, it was considered a PITA, high-maintenance request. One of my English friends told me that allergy has become more prevalent in Europe among children. This article seems to bear it out.
https://www.foodsmatter.com/allergy_...ics.02.11.html
Sep 11th, 2018, 01:46 PM
#42
NO I did not have a minute to do research on restaurants ahead of time.
Well I'm sorry you feel attacked and are defensive about this. But because the situation with your son is so serious and limiting YES I would have researched restaurants more thoroughly. Even if it meant you didn't do as many tours, or whatever else you were busy arranging ahead of time in the area you were staying.
So much of the upset and stress you encountered was because of you not being well enough prepared, and could have been avoided if you had pinned down more options of places to eat ahead of time.
For those posting they don't research restaurants in advance, neither do I, but I don't have a son who needs special/restrictive foods.
Well I'm sorry you feel attacked and are defensive about this. But because the situation with your son is so serious and limiting YES I would have researched restaurants more thoroughly. Even if it meant you didn't do as many tours, or whatever else you were busy arranging ahead of time in the area you were staying.
So much of the upset and stress you encountered was because of you not being well enough prepared, and could have been avoided if you had pinned down more options of places to eat ahead of time.
For those posting they don't research restaurants in advance, neither do I, but I don't have a son who needs special/restrictive foods.
Sep 12th, 2018, 03:39 PM
#43
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Thank you for taking the time to explain your experience. It is a shame that there are probably mostly only "general" travel websites and not enough dealing with issues such as travel with allergies. It would be a good idea for someone to create a travel website devoted to the problems of allergies.
Of course one problem is the fact there are so many more allergies in countries that eat mostly processed and GM foods, and of course the fact that in these countries, children are not exposed to a sufficient variety of foods at a very early age. The fact, for example, that Americans are told not to give small children peanuts out of a fear of choking probably contributes to the extremely large number of American children who are allergic to peanuts... But that's just a detail. The end result is that many of us from other countries have difficulty understanding all of these allergies which are really quite rare in Europe.
Therefore, the blame of incomprehension can be shared -- Americans not understanding why they are disparaged for all of these allergy posts, and Europeans for being rather unsympathetic concerning a very real problem.
Of course one problem is the fact there are so many more allergies in countries that eat mostly processed and GM foods, and of course the fact that in these countries, children are not exposed to a sufficient variety of foods at a very early age. The fact, for example, that Americans are told not to give small children peanuts out of a fear of choking probably contributes to the extremely large number of American children who are allergic to peanuts... But that's just a detail. The end result is that many of us from other countries have difficulty understanding all of these allergies which are really quite rare in Europe.
Therefore, the blame of incomprehension can be shared -- Americans not understanding why they are disparaged for all of these allergy posts, and Europeans for being rather unsympathetic concerning a very real problem.
Thank you for your honest assessment.
If you return to Europe, you might discover (with very careful testing) that your son is not allergic to certain things to which he is allergic at home. (But then again, might it be dangerous for him to start thinking that there are certain products that he no longer needs to avoid?). One thing that a lot of people have reported here is that even though they are allergic to dairy in the United States, they discovered that they are not at all allergic to European dairy products. There must be other products like this as well...
If you return to Europe, you might discover (with very careful testing) that your son is not allergic to certain things to which he is allergic at home. (But then again, might it be dangerous for him to start thinking that there are certain products that he no longer needs to avoid?). One thing that a lot of people have reported here is that even though they are allergic to dairy in the United States, they discovered that they are not at all allergic to European dairy products. There must be other products like this as well...
Sep 13th, 2018, 01:49 AM
#45
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Kerouac--not sure if you opened my link above but it Britain is no different than France, the UK and the Netherlands.
"The prevalence of allergies in children varies from 1.7% in Greece to 4% in Italy and Spain, to over 5% in France, UK, Netherlands and Germany. "
"About 17 million Europeans suffer from food allergies, with 3.5 million of them less than 25 years of age."
" The number of children with allergies has doubled in the last ten years, and visits to A&E have increased seven-fold. "
"The prevalence of allergies in children varies from 1.7% in Greece to 4% in Italy and Spain, to over 5% in France, UK, Netherlands and Germany. "
"About 17 million Europeans suffer from food allergies, with 3.5 million of them less than 25 years of age."
" The number of children with allergies has doubled in the last ten years, and visits to A&E have increased seven-fold. "
Sep 15th, 2018, 01:59 PM
#46
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NO I did not have a minute to do research on restaurants ahead of time.
Well I'm sorry you feel attacked and are defensive about this. But because the situation with your son is so serious and limiting YES I would have researched restaurants more thoroughly. Even if it meant you didn't do as many tours, or whatever else you were busy arranging ahead of time in the area you were staying.
So much of the upset and stress you encountered was because of you not being well enough prepared, and could have been avoided if you had pinned down more options of places to eat ahead of time.
For those posting they don't research restaurants in advance, neither do I, but I don't have a son who needs special/restrictive foods.
Well I'm sorry you feel attacked and are defensive about this. But because the situation with your son is so serious and limiting YES I would have researched restaurants more thoroughly. Even if it meant you didn't do as many tours, or whatever else you were busy arranging ahead of time in the area you were staying.
So much of the upset and stress you encountered was because of you not being well enough prepared, and could have been avoided if you had pinned down more options of places to eat ahead of time.
For those posting they don't research restaurants in advance, neither do I, but I don't have a son who needs special/restrictive foods.
I have allergies, as does one of my kids. I do think she should have tried more. On the other hand, I have had mixed results in finding restaurants ahead of time overseas. Often their websites don't post details. One restaurant I researched had been bought, the menu changed and no one bothered to change the website.
The things that have helped me:
1. Find someone who is fluent in the language of the country you will be visiting. Ask them to help you write a note about your condition. Talk to them about what you want the note to say about your allergy. Ideally meet with them in person to make sure you are understanding each other.
It helps so much if it is in writing. They realize that you went to some work to have the note written, that this is serious. Also the message is clearer without a language barrier. Take photos of the note so you can't lose it!
Don't let "I don't know anyone" be a barrier. Go on Facebook and ask your friends... Does anyone know someone who is fluent in German/French/Italian/etc? You would be surprised.
2. Pick a hotel where the service gets very high marks in reviews and email the hotel staff in advance to find out if there is a concierge fluent in English, and what hours he/she will be there. I don't believe the calls this hotel made were very effective. I have had regular hotel clerks help me more, not even counting a concierge.
Sep 16th, 2018, 12:21 AM
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Sep 16th, 2018, 03:42 AM
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Also as the parent of an Allergy child who is currently in the process of planning a 6 week trip to Europe it is definitely difficult to actually pin down specific restaurants that will adequately cater for allergies in advance. I have had a year to plan and have still found it difficult so please don't be too hard on the original poster. That said there is a growing awareness about food allergies and there are some wonderful resources out there for allergic travellers.
The PITA response that is so common from people is very deflating for anyone dealing with life threatening food allergies. For us we manage my sons food allergy by staying self catering when ever possible and source fresh food.
There are a couple of great allergic traveler Facebook pages that have a wonderful community offering advice behind them. Allergy Travels and Peanut & Nut Allergy Travel Tips are two that I have used extensively in planning our holiday. There are also some great travel bloggers who have food allergies out there writing about there experiences which offer great real life experiences and tips to draw from.
A Hard copy Translation/chef cards and allergic translation apps for our phones are a must. We have both in the languages of the countries that we will be travelling too.
And A list of the closest emergency hospitals to us in each place and the ambulance numbers in each place we are staying
I hope some of these help. I'm glad the original poster managed to sort things out in the end.
The PITA response that is so common from people is very deflating for anyone dealing with life threatening food allergies. For us we manage my sons food allergy by staying self catering when ever possible and source fresh food.
There are a couple of great allergic traveler Facebook pages that have a wonderful community offering advice behind them. Allergy Travels and Peanut & Nut Allergy Travel Tips are two that I have used extensively in planning our holiday. There are also some great travel bloggers who have food allergies out there writing about there experiences which offer great real life experiences and tips to draw from.
A Hard copy Translation/chef cards and allergic translation apps for our phones are a must. We have both in the languages of the countries that we will be travelling too.
And A list of the closest emergency hospitals to us in each place and the ambulance numbers in each place we are staying
I hope some of these help. I'm glad the original poster managed to sort things out in the end.
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