Aligned in Andalusia: A Journey of Gluten-Free Bites and Cultural Sights with Alyssa

Hi! My name is Alyssa! I have been solo traveling the world with Celiac Disease for 2 years now! My mission is to inspire women to stop waiting and start living their biggest dreams, fearlessly and independently.

Before I started solo traveling, I was terrified - both of doing such a big thing alone, feeling lonely in the process and of finding safe gluten free options in new places (the thought of being sick abroad held me back from traveling for way longer than I'd like to admit).

Through forcing myself to take the action despite my anxieties, my entire life changed in the most amazing ways. I joined group trips as a solo traveler, stayed in hostels, and connected with new people through social media everywhere I went. Not only was I not lonely solo traveling, I felt more connected and more fulfilled in all of these new international friendships forming than I did staying put back home.

It's hard to make friends as an adult, especially when we are all in such beautifully different stages in life with families, children, careers, etc. and not everyone can just pause life to catch a flight in the same way. Traveling and meeting new people along the way allowed me to open up a whole new world and network for myself.

Through forming these international connections while solo traveling, I've now built up an entire network of travel friends that I can text anytime and have someone to meet up with for an adventure. One of my main goals in hosting these group trips is to provide that same type of community and connection to YOU! It's a safe place to be able to meet and grow friendships with others you would not have come into contact with otherwise.

Additionally - I know how isolating needing to be gluten free can be. No matter how supportive our gluten eating friends are, it's always in the back of our head that we may need to sacrifice good food for safe food and that sometimes we may not even be able to eat anything at all in some social settings.

After being gluten free for 15+ years, I have done a really great job of taking the emotion out of food and having the mindset that it's the company I'm with that matters and I can eat before or after a social setting BUT if I'm being super honest - I do sometimes miss the days where I was allowed to have that emotional connection to food and look forward amazing food experiences without worry or having to feel like a burden.

It was really important to me while planning this trip that it be 100% gluten free. I want us to allow ourselves to get excited about the food we will taste and experience and for once in our lives to not have to worry about asking our friends to eat somewhere they really don't want to because of the safe options we want to try. I wanted to create an environment where being gluten free was the norm and not the exception!

There is such a different level of understanding and empathy in connecting with others in the same position as you when it comes to being gluten free and I've been extremely lucky to build my own community of gluten free friends and so that's another thing I really want to be able to share with you.

Connection and community are what make you the most rich in life in my opinion. No matter what is happening in the world or in your personal life, if you have the right people surrounding you, everything is figure-outable. I'm so excited to meet you and to help you start building your very own gluten free travel community and to welcome you into mine.

Travel well, live fully, connect deeply. xoxo, Your Wellness Bestie, Alyssa