If you are living in Belfast, you might have seen some new bus stops - now called "halts"- and in the last few days, some new modern buses with a distincive purple colour. This is the Glider, the  new way of transportation through Belfast.

The Glider is a bus service that will connect the East with the West and the Titanic Quarter, faciliting the transportation of locals throught the people and making public transportation more accesible for everyone.

These new purple buses are eco-hybrid with low carbon mobility, thus reducing the carbon footprint. Thanks to the latest hybrid diesel - electric technologies, it emits low noise, low vibration and low levels of pollution.

Each vehicle has a capacity for 105 people aprox. and there is a designated order to board: wheelcharis use the first doors, where a specifc ramp is installed to facilitate the access to the bus. Buggies will board through the last door and the rest of the passengers will board through the main door.

One of the first things that passengers notice is that the driver is in his/her own closed cabine, as if it was a subway wagon. Tickerts are no longer bought through the driver, they must be purchased and validated prior to board the bus. This way, the time to board on the bus is reduced, facilitating a faster journey.

Additionally, there are many USB chargers (that will come very handy to recharge our devices batteries) and free Wi-Fi on board is also provided.

There are cameras installed throught the inside and outside of the bus to make a safer journey for all the passengers, as well as screens and audio to inform about destination announcements.

This vehicle looks like a hybrid between a modern bus and a subway wagon that really honours its name, as it truly glides smoothly through the city with minimum noise.

Glider buses will start operating next Monday 3rd September 2018, welcoming the city of Belfast into the future of transportation.

The buses will run every 7-8 minute intervals throughout most of the day and will provide real time journey information. It will circulate among bus lanes and will benefit of priority at traffic signals. This, in combination with the new ticketing system that requires to purchase and validate the travel tickets prior to board the vehicle, will reduce the travel journey in 25%.

There is a 90 minute window time to board on the bus since the ticket was first validated, which gives a very welcome flexibility (and even the opportunity to perhaps to grab a coffee with your friend that you just bumped into the halt )

The new bus stops (now called halts, were designed with everybody's comfort in mind. There are high reclined benches to help support those who cannot sit or just want to lean a little beat and traditional benches with handrail support to facilitate the incorporation of people who might be in need of assistance. The halt structures, that provide shelter from the weather as well, was designed by the School of Design at Ulster University, engaging local creative talent.

*The new Glider halts have been funded by the European Union

I was able to ride one of the shadowrunners and I have to say that I am impressed. Having lived in a very big city and using buses and subway dailiy, I was very excited to jump into one of these new modern vehicles. I can really tell you the the glide is real, the name fits perfect for this vehice that glides smoothly with almost no sound. The new ticketing system, that might be seen as futuristic for people who hasn't use the subway, really helps in reducing the boarding time and thus, improving the overall experience as travel journey is reduced. The two floors buses with just one entry seem now a thing of the past. These new buses are very comfortable, even for the middle connection. The complimentary WiFi on board and the USB charges are also a very useful addition that many passengers will appreciate. Using public transportation is a good way to reduce pollution and create a more friendly city with less congestion. I am very happy for this revolutionary change coming to Belfast to improve the public transportation experience.

Are you ready to glide through Belfast with the Glider?

​Elisa is an experienced gluten-free traveler that always brings a very curious item with her: a little device that can test if there’s gluten in the food you are about to eat. 

I was doing my groceries when I suddenly laid my eyes on a nice piece of mango at a very good price, so I told myself “let’s do something out of it and try new stuff”.  I had previously tasted mango, but I remember not being especially fond of it and preferring papaya in lieu, which I found more appealing to my sweet tooth. But sometimes your taste evolves and you find yourself surprisingly enjoying foods for which you didn’t feel that attraction earlier. I’m glad I was mistaken about mango, because oh boy, where have you been all my life?

Something happens in Madrid when temperatures start to dwindle (and most likely in many other Spanish cities) as a curious phenomenon takes place at breakfast time. Let’s have a look at the cafeterias, shall we? Surprisingly, the café con leche is no longer that popular as a deeper, richer and more comforting drink has replaced it: a wonderful hot chocolate! Which comes of course with a side of lovely churros.  

These pancakes were going to be part of my review of VIPS restaurant new gluten-free menu, but then I realized that these beauties deserved their own entry. Don't you agree?

I was checking the new IKEA catalogue when I came accros a very interesting page that inmediatly caught my eye. Curiosly, it was not featuring furniture, but a new food arrival to their restaurant and food section: new veggie balls that not only are vegetarian, but also gluten-free and lactose-free.

I have to confess that I wasn’t very enthusiast about gazpacho until recently; despite its popularity I just couldn’t understand the hype about it. I would have to add that my experience was limited to the buy-at-the-store versions.
 
But this summer the heat hit quite strong and was calling for refreshing foods.  Then (perfect timing) I had the opportunity to taste a fantastic, homemade organic gazpacho and I just fall in love with it. Now I understood the greatness of this amazing yet simple cold tomato soup: healthy, delicious and very nutritious. Oh, did I mention that it’s also vegan?

Hello everyone!

Today I would like to welcome you to the new Glutenacious Life site, or as I like to call it, Glutenacious Life 3.0.

In case you hadn’t notice during the past weeks, the webpage address has changed from myglutenaciouslife to www.glutenaciouslife.com, hope this will make it easier for you to track me on the net.

It wasn’t that long ago that I became aware that gluten can be hidden in cosmetics and toiletries as well, so it’s nice to find companies like Evolution of Smooth  (eos) offering cosmetics not containing gluten in its ingredients.

Bonjour!

So you wanna visit the City of Lights and are wandering whether you'll be able to keep up with your celiac diet and to which places you could go?

Fear not, having being myself in Paris recently, I am more than happy to share with you those places I went to. Here it is my essential guide for gluten free dining around Paris, enjoy and bon appetit!

Oh, tapas, the quintessential feature of the sweet Spanish life. Let me take you on a tapas crawl in the madrileño neighbourhood of Lavapiés. Beware, because these aren’t just the regular tapas you can find everywhere, but an international version to eat your way around the world (and of course, they are celiac friendly).
 
 Are you ready to taste some delicious tapas? Let’s go!

Hello everyone! Summer season is not over yet and temperatures are still up, what about cooling it down with this fresh and delicious oeufs mimosa? It can be served as an appetizer or main course and it's a classic in my family during Summer time.

The recipe is easy peasy and you'll be surprised on how little time it takes, so it's perfect for when you don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen and rather enjoy the lovely weather outside.
So let me share with you my family recipe of these beautiful oeufs mimosa, which of course are gluten-free. I hope that you will like it as much as I do.

Are you traveling this summer and feeling a bit anxious about the incoming trip?

You know I love to travel, and being coeliac hasn't stop me doing so, but it's true that it requires some planning: which restaurants will you go to; talking in a different language when traveling abroad;  explaining the staff what you can or cannot eat; venturing to do the grocery on your own in a different country- which products will I be able to eat? Are they really certified to be gluten free?

When traveling abroad there are many unknowns about the "gluten free situation", and it's normal to feel a bit anxious, after all we want to enjoy our trip as much as trying the local cuisine, no stress attached. Luckily, our friends from Goodness Direct and Coeliac UK have prepared this lovely infographic with tips, key phrases in other languages, local gluten free brands and the stores where to buy them, for most popular destinations in Europe and America. 

Hello everyone and happy World Book Day!

To honour this day I would like to share with you a very special and unique event I had recently the opportunity to attend: a Books and Coffee pairing.

Wait, what did you say? Matching books and coffee? Yes! Come along and enjoy this selection of coffees and books.