palm beach + the best gluten-free sandwich i ever ate.

soooo let's just take a second to ignore the fact that i have completely neglected this little blog here for the past month or so (read: entire summer) and that i really, really meant to post this at some time much closer to july 12th. 

but you know my favorite mantra... better late than never, right? so we're just going to pretend for a second that it's july 12th, and i am wishing my darling cousin josie and her kind husband jeremy the happiest of first anniversaries! remember they're beautiful summer wedding photos i took in mesa, arizona last summer?

in honor of their anniversary, i though i'd share one of my favorite memories from our trip to australia to visit them earlier this year!

josie + jeremy were the perfect aussie-american tour guide duo and really showed us the best what sydney had to offer. one of our most picturesque australian adventures took place my second morning there (let's talk about jet lag, for a sec! the germany to australia time difference was a doozy). 

josie and jeremy took us on a hike to visit the lighthouse at palm beach in new south wales, and it was gorgeous. 

there was the most unique scenery combination at palm beach, with an almost-tropical vibe and plenty of unique vegetation. i loved the color of the water and how much prettier the views got, the higher we climbed. it was so cool to see where the waters nearly touched, too! 

we finished off our morning adventure by stopping at nourished. (in the local beach town of avalon) for an early lunch. we noshed with the (likely, according to my in-the-know australian sources) next prime minister of australia, which was the coolest. and by "noshed with the next prime minister," i really mean creepily eyed him from a few tables over, as he had also stopped in avalon for brunch while on his bike ride. but really, what's the difference? 

the food was to die for, and i was so excited for all of the gluten-free options! in fact, eating gluten-free in sydney was actually not too terribly difficult. in avalon, i ate the best gluten-free sandwich of my life... grilled cajun chicken on toasted gf bread. and jeremy even ate gluten-free... their blueberry compote pancakes were beautiful and so tasty. 

it was a perfect morning. i mean really, is there anything more ideal than family, good food, a nice hike, and the beach? oh yeah, and australia! perfect. 

gluten-free rome, pt. one: pasta in piazza della rotonda.

so, by now you probably all know that i'm a bit of a travel addict. i am obsessed with experiencing culture, and for me, half of experiencing culture is experiencing new foods! but being a gluten-free eater, it's always significantly harder to find food i can actually eat while i'm traveling. i often find myself eating nothing but ice cream (not complaining, but some real food is nice on occasion!) fortunately, the whole celiac and gluten-intolerant movement is growing, so it's becoming even easier (remember how hard it was to eat last time i was in italy?) 

that being said, it's still not easy. especially in carb-heavy italy. though i read blog post after blog post reassuring me that it wouldn't be hard to find gluten-free food in italy-- that a lot of italians are gluten intolerant-- i wouldn't say that was really the case. although all of the restaurant owners were aware of celiac, it was actually pretty difficult to find restaurants that sold any sort of gluten-free pasta or pizza (anything different than just a salad or risotto or meat dish). 

and i mean, when you're in italy, you want pizza and pasta. am i right? 

so i'm going to share a few travel secrets from you guys of my favorite gluten-free tips and stops whilst on my around-the-world trip. and i'm starting with the most pleasant of lunches i shared with my lovely friend hannah in rome!

after wandering from restaurant to restaurant, searching for gluten-free pasta, we stumbled upon piazza della rotonda, which just so happens to be the home to the stunning pantheon. a charming italian waiter tried to sell us on the idea of eating at his patio in the piazza (directly facing the pantheon, might i add), but we were hesitant. as a rule, eating anywhere near a big tourist site in any european city is costly and often of low quality. 

but signore waiter showed us the menu (bruschetta + pizza or pasta + drink for ten euro), and we looked at the view, and we couldn't turn it down. 

so we found ourselves at restaurante neopoli, and i found myself eating gluten-free pasta in rome. 

really delicious gluten-free pasta in rome, might i add. 

the sauce was fresh and full of herby, tomato-y goodness. and the pasta was cooked perfectly. hannah had a delicious-looking (and she will back me up on this) bruschetta and margherita pizza (to be pictured on another post!) 

the warm march sun surrounded us as we enjoyed our food, the surroundings, and each other's good company. it really felt just idyllically roman, in the most touristy of senses. it was just simply pleasant. 

want to know a funny little detail? aforementioned charming waiter came over when we asked for the bill and said, "you don't have to pay." we said that we wanted to pay, and so he responded, "okay, you come back and pay tomorrow?" although he was pretty insistent on the idea of us returning the following day to pay (we weren't sure if he was part of the mafia and trying to trap us or just didn't really know how to flirt), we paid our bill and made our way to explore the inside of the pantheon. 

which, for the record, was incredible. 

moral of the story?: when in rome, do as the (celiaca) romans do. eat at neopoli's and visit the pantheon. 

more gluten-free eats abroad to come... next gluten-free friday! XO. 

why gelato is good for the heart.

sometimes, your heart hurts so much and you feel so overwhelmed...

there's one too many things to do on that check list, and there's really no end in sight. 

and suddenly, you're transported back to italy. to the best gelato shop in rome. to a weekend of exploring and eating and eating and exploring. 

and even though i'm back in the states and trying to be a bit more health conscious (call me regina george, but i really just want to lose three {or ten} pounds!), i'm feeling all the better, just looking at these photos and remembering my weekend-long love affair with italian gelato. 

and for the record, there actually are gelato shops on every street corner of rome {if you've ever been to seattle and seen the plethora of starbucks, it's comparable}. 

but all gelato is not created equal. 

by far, we were the most impressed by giolitti. it was recommended to us by several individuals-- tourists and italians alike-- and there are rumors circulating that the last pope loved it so much that he had it delivered to his home,

so naturally, we had to try it out...

one or two or... okay, maybe four times!

seriously, though. it's absolutely worth the calories, and it's really quite reasonably priced.

another benefit of gelato?  while we all know that eating gluten-free in rome isn't always the easiest task, you're pretty much a guaranteed a gluten-free option at any gelato shop. 

and did i often use this as an excuse to eat nothing but gelato for lunch? 

absolutely.