Hotel Residence Parma

... on something else, Anything else to make the pounding go away.<br><br>When we left the train station, due to the rain, Greg and his friends decided we were going to the mall to see some of Parmas finests offerings. I could do without the mall as I have no space to put anything that I may buy (sorry everyone, no sovenirs from this trip =) We peruse some stores, as these men trail off into different shops looking at price tags and admiring the sales ...

... people at the top as well, and I was so happy to be able to do this without the crazy crush of tourists. I took lots of pictures but then hurried back down, knowing Nonna was waiting for me. I was on Cloud 9 by then, but then we went in the duomo. As soon as we walked in, tears sprang into my eyes. It was breath-takingly beautiful, it was so gorgeous it almost hurt. High ceilings were adorned with paintings and statues, every single inch of ...

... then returned to the hotel and read some more before walking to the train station. <br><br>They've done a lot of work at the train station since we were last here. They installed moving sidewalks to access the upper level&#8230;a huge improvement over having to climb about forty stairs in the past.<br><br>We had no problem finding our train and our compartment. We met a group of five young men who were from ...

... snack lunch and sat down in a piazza to eat. There were pigeons everywhere and we once again asked eachother why the hell there were so many school kids all over the place. School ends around one o clock but they go on Saturdays too. We finished lunch and wandered a bit before we made it to the office. We started looking for information on checking out the regions specialties - proscuitto and ...

... then they actually take your cameras away from you before the tour begins... wow.)<br><br>The F1 engine tech's are busy assembling motors from plans that are covered up by workers once we, the tifosi, get to close. The F1 Body shop has 3 new stalls. These are the spots that the cars are race prepped, and repaired once the current race is run. One Stall for Alonso, one for Fisichella, and yes one for Massa ...

... After our tasting we drove to an aging room a few miles away to see 15,000 wheels of cheese that are aged in the open air, tested and cleaned with a machine that lifts them from their shelf once a week for 2 years. It is hard to imagine wheels of cheese from floor to ceiling row after row.  <br><br>Tomorrow I will continue our journey.<br><br><br><br> <br> <br><br>< br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <br ><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br>

... heavy rain cutting our visibility. I was definitely fortunate enough that Hoges had asked for directions at a service station near Brescia (not something my pride normally allows), as that made spotting the turns we needed to make so much easier. Once in Iseo we met Hoges&#8217; mate Gerry who was renting an apartment here for a couple of months, using it as a base for his family on an extended holiday, and who was toiling away to cook up a great feed for all of us.

... La Barricata Osteria on Borgo Marodolo. Ernesto ordered our dinner without any menu, as he stated this was one of the few restaurants he likes in Parma. We started with a platter of mixed meats (proscuitto, salami, etc.), followed by tortelli with ricotta and spinach in a butter sauce. Santy and I had cookies for dessert. This was a small restaurant and no tourists! The food was excellent and the pasta was probably made that morning. Santy ...

Parma is home to some of Italy's finest products, such as Parmagiano Reggio, or Parmesan Cheese as we know it. It is also home to some of Australia's finest footballers, in Marco Bresciano and Vince Grella, who play for the local side in Italy's Series A. It is probably no coincidence that Parma sits lowly on the table this season. I decided to make a day trip there from Firenze, including a stop off on the way back in Bologna at my ...

... 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!