Best Western Farnese Parma

... no match! (Kristin I've had most likely more then 7 pizzas at the point!!) Then off to the Pub for some beer and live music, and here, I am able to relax, here where the noise level makes communication revert back to basic gesturing, which suits me just find. The Band plays a mixture of songs in English and Italian, and a additional muscian wanders around the dance floor with a drum held between his knees, pounding out a beat that is sometimes so wild ...

... their spiky center. Even with gloves on I got poked quite a bit, but it was such a satisfying feeling to crack open that shell and see the nuts inside. I didn't realize it, but chestnuts are actually 3 to a shell, but usually only the middle one is big enough to keep. It was almost like fishing, we'd throw out the little ones. It was misty and grey, but the forest was so green, and then the chestnut sea urchins were a brown contrast-it was so ...

So we decided to wing it today and just got on the train for a day trip to Parma. This was one of the places that was on my must do list. We tried to find the tourist office but it was closing in 10 minutes and we (as usual) didnt know where we were going. Almost everything shuts down in the afternoons over here and i guess the tourism office was no different. We had some time to kill so we got a bit of ...

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 ...

... us to FRESH Parmesan cheese which is drizzled with balsamic (we will definitely be sharing this with family and friends once we get home!) After dinner we went for a walk with Lorelei and Arthur through town for a brief overview of Reggiolio when we got back to the apartment we finished the evening with some gelato (chocolate/pistachio/vanilla).<br>

For a nice little day trip, Zoe and I decided to go to one of the main cities in Emilia-Romagna (the province where our father hails from): Parma.<br><br>The city is reknowned for parmesan cheese and Parma ham, or as we call it, prosciutto.<br><br>If you like quaint churches and little shops, this place is great to visit!<br>

... its own inter-city family gang wars. Then Parma recognized the advantages of feudal politics. The ruling class were buttwads for the most part, but they were better than whatever was in second place, which, during the 13th century, was pretty much survival interrupted by invasions. The Spanish Barbarossa family was one of the first dukedoms in Parma. They defended the city and started a tradition of culture that continues 800 ...

... until 5 and sometimes for the day. Here, in Italy, there are many things that will not be open until Monday which means that we bid goodbye to Parma for now. Vittorio, the owner of the palazzo we are staying at, told me that he has a house in the nearby hills should we ever want to return. It is tempting! Patti??? We have loved Parma--if you like the cheese, let me tell you there is nothing that compares to the Reggiano that is available here. It is sad to ...

... the opposite way when it wasn't. But, I guess I wanted to let you know the things we did, and the small adventures we had. A grocery store is not an adventure until you try to go and order bruschutto with no knowledge of the language. Regardless, I will try to be more sparkly but rest assured, there is no boredom to be had here. Every building is a work of art, every piece of food a delicacy. However quietly, I am living this trip to the fullest.

... 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!