Astoria Executive Hotel Parma

... speak Italian' looks. I can't imagin what it must be like living in complete silence, I think it must be different from Lonelyness, because even though I am alone, sometimes I am comforted by the soft sounds of the birds twittering along their tree branches, or the nearby children screaching as they race through a herd of pidgeons, and my almost obsessive attachment to my iPod during my time away from home. Interesting thoughts no?<br><br>xoxo<br>B<br><br>

... up and we drove in mostly silence, interrupted occasionally by someone saying a word or two she knew in the other's language. Parking was hectic, but finally we got out and started walking towards the center. Because it was a Sunday, it was extremely quiet, nothing was open, there were hardly any people out on the streets. Then we turned a corner and BAM, the duomo, tower, and baptistery rocked my socks off. They are on a piazza and by that ...

... a good time for a degustazione and he whisked us upstairs into a hybrid dining room and temporary art gallery. Sat us down and asked us if we want some wine. We did so he brought out something local. It was a sparkling red, something niether of us had tried before and it was nice. So far so good. Then the meat and cheese came out. Five different varieties of pork products. Some lean some really ...

Today we ventured into Parma we had better luck parking today. It had to be the nicest parking garage ever. Each spot had either a green/unoccupied or red/occupied light right above it and there was music playing over the loud speaker very cool! We had a lunch of tomato and basil pasta with a dessert plate of the meats of Parma. We walked around Parma saw a ...

... countryside. The drive took about 2 hours. We met our hosts Lorelei and Arthur at the Reggiolo exit. We followed them to their apartment (which is beautiful pictures to come later) where they cooked us a wonderful dinner of lamb chops, fresh Caesar salad and roasted potato's which we ate outside in their courtyard with some Italian wine. They also ...

... in general, even the stuff that is not recognizable looks like it would taste good. And so far, it does. China feeds a hungry person, Italy makes hunger obsolete. Humans settled in Parma as early as the 17th century BC. Romans liked the place, established the town on the Via Emilia in 183 BC, with a population of about 2000. Sheep, pigs, wool and produce supported a growing population. Parma flourished during Roman times with a ...

... lucky enough to arrive as a baptism was about to take place, and it was wonderful to see an historic building being used for its intended purpose and not just as a relic of art. My time at the internet cafe is being cut short, so I will finish this entry later. Ciao, Laura

... I have a ton. For me, its about self reflection, seeing some of the most beautiful sights in the world and filling my heart with them, because for right now, they are just mine. I guess that might sound selfish, but I have the rest of my life to share those with my husband and eventually children, but right now, its all me, looking at the waterfalls, buying clothes, stumbling through broken italian, and eating tartufo and gelato ...

... for dinner. It&#8217;s a beautiful spa town and smells good! I took a long walk through the park and had a Gran Marnier on the patio. Peggy had Amaretto which pleased the bartender/host. He didn&#8217;t like my ordering a French liqueur! The hotel was one of the nicest on our tour. <br><br>We left our window open and it was actually cold when we got up!