Greece and France at 5 months out?

[Clematis]

My finger is poised over "send" for the payment on a tour to Greece in early April. It's a UK tour out of London to archeological areas in Peloponnese -- b'fast and dinner with wine included. After that, I'm thinking of shooting over to Paris for 5 days, and a day here or there in London before and after. I'll be traveling solo.

My concerns...

What if I can't eat what they serve? As of today, there is not much solid food I can eat without pain and puking. For example, last night I made an Atkins recipe of stuffed peppers. I had a quarter of a small pepper. I managed the hamburger and ricotta and cheese filling OK (I think) but the green pepper came back up. (Well at that point so did the filling but I think the offending item was the pepper.) I realize a lot can change 3 months from now but I am a bit scared never the less. God only knows what they will serve for dinner but I'm sure it will be carb-centric. I hope I can find cheese and lamb at lunch to meet protein requirements.

What about WINE? Greek wines... meh. I can live without them. But no wine in PARIS? I've never been to Paris and want to take an afternoon food and wine tour (essentially breads, cheeses, wines and a dessert -- no actual meal). Clearly this is stupid if I can't have even sips of wine. Would I just get tanked on a thimble full, or will I suffer liver damage?

Is it too early to make this trip?

I'm in such a quandary.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Personally there is no way I would have enjoyed that trip and would have been miserable. It would have been a huge waste of money for me.

 

[VDLT]

Can you contact the tour operator to see if they will give you a better idea of what they usually serve with the included meals and to see if they accommodate dietary restrictions? Maybe you can get a different package that does not include the meals and you can order a la carte? I am VSG not DS but I would jump on going if the timing was right. I like to travel and figure I could always figure out something from any menu. I am three months out and have not encountered any foods that give me problems so my situation again would be different.
Just a suggestion that if this is the right trip for you (timing wise, set up group good for a solo traveler, etc) that maybe you investigate more to see if you can be accommodated. I am not a big drinker so skipping the wine would not bother me, but again, that is just me.

 

[BebeZed]

Alcohol of any sort for me has VERY nasty results and add to it more carbs than normal and that would be a recipe for disaster for me. Since you're still having issues with eating, and eating and drinking is really an intrinsic part of this trip, I'm not sure I would attempt it at this point, but again that's ME. You can usually find something that's appropriate to eat but I would check to see how much leeway you have with that. If you have some leeway and wouldn't feel cheated if you can't drink the wine, by all means go for it, but otherwise I'd pass. As with everything, YMMV.

 

[Larra]

Can I come with you? I don't drink - never did - so I could be your designated driver.

Seriously, I think travel in and of itself is ok, but you need to be able to control what's on your plate. If they will allow for that it should be ok.

 

[southernlady]

What about WINE? Greek wines... meh. I can live without them. But no wine in PARIS? I've never been to Paris and want to take an afternoon food and wine tour (essentially breads, cheeses, wines and a dessert -- no actual meal). Clearly this is stupid if I can't have even sips of wine. Would I just get tanked on a thimble full, or will I suffer liver damage?

While drinking alcohol of any kind is frowned on until you are at least one year out, a few sips during a wine tour isn't out of bounds. BUT the issue may be, how your system handles it at that point. That is why we tell people to do their first attempt at alcohol AT HOME near a bathroom.

 

[DianaCox]

I did a 2-1/2 week trip to Paris, London (and surrounding areas) and Edinburgh when I was a little over 3 months out. I was a bit slow, but we did a reasonable amount of sightseeing (and I gave a talk at a conference in London, which was the excuse for going over there in the first place). As for food - I had no problem. I was careful about what I ate, but I didn't bring anything special with me. I snacked a lot.

However, I did NOT drink - and I would not have considered it - even the free champagne in business class on Air France .

 

[Soonerjoseph]

I can tell you that for me personally, I wouldn't have any hope of enjoying food that close to our surgeries. I don't know if this will ever change but eating food isn't fun anymore. And you know from messages that I can and do eat anything I want even at this point (except for alcohol, I rarely drunk any before the surgery so...)

If the trip would be fun even without eating or drinking anything locally than I'd set the date. At 2 1/2 months out I still associate eating=fun though.

 

[Clematis]

accommodate dietary restrictions

They may accommodate vegetarians, but not meatetarians. I don't think asking for "more meat, sir" would go over well. But since I can barely eat an ounce of anything, I doubt I will want more than the portion served.

first attempt at alcohol AT HOME near a bathroom

Yep, copy that. (So far, I have had no bowel issues from anything I've eaten. Not even gas from carbs.)

even the free champagne in business class on Air France

DAMN I forgot I'll be flying global first class. WAAAAAA!! My stamina is back, pretty much. I'm back to walking 4 miles day. I'm just worried about the food.

eating food isn't fun anymore

Eating certainly isn;t fun for me as I can't eat too many things. So food for you is just fuel now? Is it not fun because you can't eat volume or the taste is not fulfilling or what?


Thanks for all your input. I still don't know what I'm going to do. But I only have a day or two to decide. (sigh)

 

[Soonerjoseph]

I can't get full. The 1-2 ounces I can eat just doesn't do it. I just eat enough to get my protein in.

That's really awesome that carbs don't give you gas. There's been some nights I've almost made myself sick from the smell if i eat the wrong foods.

 

[DSRIGGS]

I can tell you that for me personally, I wouldn't have any hope of enjoying food that close to our surgeries. I don't know if this will ever change but eating food isn't fun anymore. And you know from messages that I can and do eat anything I want even at this point (except for alcohol, I rarely drunk any before the surgery so...)

If the trip would be fun even without eating or drinking anything locally than I'd set the date. At 2 1/2 months out I still associate eating=fun though.

It absolutely changes. Don't get down, you will be over the rough patch before too long. It gets better every day starting soon

 

[DSRIGGS]

As far as going on the trip, Clematis. I think it is all about how you feel. If you have strength, aren't nauseous and feed generally pretty good then by all means go. yeah, the alcohol isn't going to be something that is going to feel good, but if the trip is important to you and you feel good...do it. If you don't think you will feel good then you might want to wait. The lats I checked Greece and France aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[Clematis]

I've almost made myself sick from the smell if i eat the wrong foods

But then I've developed BO that Mitchum's Extra Strength doesn't fully tame. (I swear I NEVER had BO before.) Armpits and skin folds have a dead thing smell, not Eau de Taco Bell. (I think it has something to do with the whey protein.) My husband says he doesn't smell it but many years ago I sneaked 3 packs of cigarettes a day and he never smelled that either.

 

[DSRIGGS]

But then I've developed BO that Mitchum's Extra Strength doesn't fully tame. (I swear I NEVER had BO before.) Armpits and skin folds have a dead thing smell, not Eau de Taco Bell. (I think it has something to do with the whey protein.) My husband says he doesn't smell it but many years ago I sneaked 3 packs of cigarettes a day and he never smelled that either.

Holy hell! How does one sneak 3 packs a day?

and my wife tells me I have a stench sometimes, but honestly I don't smell anything unless I don't shower for a day or two (on occasion when not feeling well) and then I smell it. Funny thing was early on after surgery she smelled to me, I had a smell that I noticed and didn't like and I was sensitive to a lot of smells.

 

[Clematis]

Holy hell! How does one sneak 3 packs a day?

It was a special skill. I went to the bathroom a lot. And he wasn't home during the day. I had quit the year before (and secretly restarted) and he assumed any odor was lingering smoke in the carpet and furniture. (But there was a huge CLOUD of smoke in the house.) In a non-smoking hotel room which we had because I, ahem, didn't smoke, I'd stand on the edge of the tub, grip the shower curtain rod and blow the smoke up in the fan. One time he came in the hotel room, went to the bathroom, stormed to the phone and demanded they fire the housekeeper for smoking in the room because he had found a cigarette butt in the toilet. I had to do damage control on that one.