Breakfast Options

It varies with every place what is offered. In addition to what you have mentioned, I have seen cheese, meat, cereals, most times some type of fruit and nearly always milk and juice. Otherwise, the markets open early and have a wide array of fruits vegis and other items.

I can't speak for Spain, but in Italy all the little shops were open. We'd pick up pizza (yes, warm and cooked in the morning, waiting to be served as take-out for lunch, I assume), sliced meats and cheeses. I think for the most part you'd need to go forage for breakfast outside your hotel in order to meet your boyfriend's needs.

You should be able to find things comparable to what he might eat for breakfast at home. Museli, cheese, nuts, or yogurt should be easy to find. There might be an item or two that would be easy to pack. Peanut or almond butter for example.

If you are doing just carry-on, the TSA does not allow the nut-butters through security- and often limits things like cheese. They have to go in checked baggage. However, you should be able to pick up some excellent nuts at a market on your arrival day. Take some ziplock baggies to store things in. Keep these in your day bag as a back-up breakfast and/or snacks. You should also be able to get high-quality cheese at markets or groceries. Crackers or breads, too (he needs to be careful of starches, not totally avoid them). Each day you should also be able to find sandwich-type meats if you want to picnic- and some might be available in the mornings. You might want to check with your hotels now- about nearby markets and groceries. Most small hoteliers are very helpful- especially if you explain why you are asking.

My wife is diabetic also and agrees that hotel breakfast is often an issue. Go with the meats and cheeses if those are available. The cereals are usually high carb, even the muesli with sugared nuts/fruits, and the milk is hardly ever nonfat. Carry some protein/low carb bars from home, if possible. We haven't encountered a hotel that doesn't allow us to use a refrigerator someplace[INVALID]kitchen, bar, wherever[INVALID]to store meds; you could probably store small amounts of the food you need also. Plan ahead and you'll do well. Good luck. PS. When it came to "chocolate con churros" in Spain my wife splurged and shot up extra insulin. :)

The cooler is a good idea. If you already own an insulated, colapsable one, take it. If not, buy a cheap one there. You can either buy the gel packs there and ask your hotel/hostel/b&b to freeze them, or buy ice or get a few free cups at McDonald's. I'd take lots of ziploc bags (for the ice and the food items). You may also find eggs at some shops or on some breakfast buffets or menus he can enjoy. Some delis (here in USA and I assume there too) have boiled eggs, also. They would keep in the cooler, too.

I took a soft sided cooler on my last trip and an ice pack. The cooler compacted nicely for the suitcase. Each hotel I stayed at gladly put the ice pack in their freezer over night. If you took two little ice packs, you could always have one on hand. Just a thought...

Thanks for all the suggestions. He's been able to keep his illness in check strictly through diet (very low carb diet) and exercise. The only carbs he normally eats are non-starchy vegies. He says he will sample gelato on this trip (it is a vacation), but doesn't want to waste his carbs on breakfast. He also swears that whenever he eats starch/sugar, he wants to take a nap soon afterward. The cooler was something we thought about but since we are only taking carry-on, the gel ice packs are not allowed through security.

Even carry-on sized luggage can be checked. Checked baggage versus diabetic shock seems like a no brainer to me. I don't travel as much as most people on this site, but do airlines really loose that much luggage?

Diabetic shock? Where did this come from? I mentioned my boyfriend controls his blood sugar with diet and exercise. No medication, no insulin. He's never gone into diabetic shock in his life (He carries some glucose tabs just in case but has never had to use them.)....We were thinking of bringing a cooler just to keep food cold overnight so we could buy some meat, cheese, and so on the day before rather than having to go out every morning searching......And yes, airlines lose luggage.

We were in Spain in April, most of the breakfasts we came across had platters of assorted meats and cheeses, very similiar to North American buffet style. This is the land of Ham! We bought a soft cooler at Corte de Ingles and ice along the way. We carried our own supplies for picnics along route and left the bag in our last hotel room.

You might want to contact your hotels/B&B's, explain your situation, and ask if they can accomodate a diabetic. I would think that they could, if they knew in advance.