Schools out for summer and we are travelling to the beautiful Aveyron region of the South of France for a spot of R & R.

Top of my mind as always is what we are going to eat. As I have mentioned previously France can be a bit of a challenge when it comes to catering for special dietary requirements, although most restaurants cater for vegetarians now, there is not so much available for anyone avoiding gluten. What do French Celiacs do?

Part of the joy for me when we travel is to visit markets and supermarkets (that might be a bit weird is that just me?), discovering the local produce. My camper is well equipped with every kitchen gadget you could possibly need, and I even take a recipe book or two for inspiration, so I know we will be well fed anyway.

There is nothing quite like preparing delicious fresh fruit and vegetables in the glorious sunshine. It can mean however, that supper is sometimes a bit later than planned, as the pace of life slows.

We are staying at a place called Val de Cantobre, a campsite close to a village called Nant, about an hour from Montpelier, it’s quiet and very picturesque and on the whole has the perfect climate for relaxation.

It has a restaurant, and although we weren’t tempted to visit it last year, we thought we would glance at the menu as we were passing.

A campsite restaurant doesn’t seem like an inspiring place for a meal, but we have had some great experiences in the past, the best being ‘The Auberge’ at Les Ranchisses – the food was amazing (although that was before I was gluten-free).

Anyway, back to today. The menu looked quite interesting, and the possibility that I could have ‘an evening off’, was very enticing. The waiter came over and asked whether he could assist us (so far, so good, I thought!), and so I asked him whether there was anything gluten-free on the menu as I have an allergy. He was very excited to tell me the things on the menu that were unsuitable, that included ice cream and pizza, because of the mozzarella. It didn’t take me long to realize that he was mixing up gluten and lactose. Oh Dear.

There are plenty of restaurants nearby, so I’m bound to find something suitable. In fact, I’m going to make it my business to find a great restaurant in Aveyron, this year.