As I am on the train now to France, passing the rolling hills and grape vineyards of the Tuscan countryside, I find myself already reminiscing about the amazing trip I had in Italy. The food, running, nature, sights, food, and food were so incredible, and I feel the need to tell you all about it.
The flight from L.A. to Italy was long, but we packed a lot of things for our comfort. We brought lots of healthy homemade snacks, fluffy pillows and Mint-Rose spray for hydrating our skin. Primally Pure sent this spray to me a few months ago, and I saved it for the flight. Whenever my mom took it out and sprayed it on me during the flight, I felt refreshed and my skin glowed. Once in Tuscany, we carried it around and used it to cool off in the heat!
As you may have noticed from my Instagram posts lately, I’ve been eating a lot of gluten on my trip! After being 100% gluten-free for six years, I decided to eat a little bit of gluten in Europe and see how it would go. So, on my first night in Italy, at this amazing restaurant that we found in our town, I ordered a gluten-filled truffle ravioli. Umm… yes please! I did this as a little experiment to see if I could tolerate the wheat in Europe, and sure enough, I COULD! I enjoyed the ravioli thoroughly, and with absolutely no stomach issues afterwards. As it turns out, many people with gluten allergies tolerate the wheat in Italy just fine. How amazing is that?! If you want to learn more about why the gluten is tolerated differently in these different places, check out this article.
The highlight of my entire time in Tuscany was definitely taking a pasta-making class out in the countryside with Vilma, a renowned pasta chef. She makes all of the fresh pasta for the restaurants in the surrounding towns, and was kind enough to teach us how to make gluten-free pasta! My mom and I, with Vilma’s help, learned how to make tortelloni, ravioli, spaghetti and fettuccini. It was a surprisingly easy process, and the result was phenomenal. Afterwards we ate it al fresco, looking out into the grape vineyards. It was an incredible experience! You can expect many homemade pasta recipes coming soon to the blog because I can’t wait to share with you all how easy and fun it is to make.
The gluten-free pasta we made!
When recapping my trip, it is important to note that 99% of my family’s time was spent eating food. I found that when in Italy, this is the main activity! And I was not at all mad about it 😉 However, I also did one non-food related activity: running. The scenery in Tuscany is so stunning, and I was so grateful to be able to run there every day.
Our first run there was in a full-on rainstorm—with sunshine! It was so beautiful that I literally couldn’t wipe a smile off my face the entire time! We ran five miles in the hills, but it felt like nothing because it was so beautiful out. I believe that here’s no better way to explore an area while abroad than by running through it. I got to see so much of Tuscany- the vineyards, olive groves, castles- all by foot!
My trip has been so enjoyable so far, and I can’t wait to see what France has in store for me. Stay tuned for a blog post all about my France trip! Have a great day, and enjoy your summer 🙂
2 Responses to “My Trip To Italy: Pasta, Running, and Natural Beauty”
This post rocks 🙂 keep killin it!
Thanks!