Vime Aquamaris Benessere Parma

... on something else, Anything else to make the pounding go away.

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 ...

... reggiano. I found a brochure for a place that was too far for us to reach unless we had a car so I asked if there was anything closer to town or in the town itself. We were sent a block and a half over to this place that would have been impossible to find. We walked in and there was no one around. Then we heard footsteps coming down the stairs and the guy who ran the place appeared. I asked him if now ...

... and did a little shopping. On our way out of Parma we stopped at an Ikea yippee! (Where I accidentally set off an alarm by going out of the wrong door). We spent the evening at the apartment and said goodbye to Lorelei and Arthur. As a side note not sure if I mentioned this earlier you might want to ask David how the womens restrooms are in Verona and Parma haha

... just thought that the town was full of history and great interest...I do not wish to taint other's opinions should they consider coming to Parma in the near future!!


My original entry------No fun, Parma dud. Town all closed. Only Restaruant open, was a dud.

Do no visit Parma....We thought parma ham would be draping the town and would be on plates everwhere...

Anyway, those of you planning a trip, give this a skip...

... we parked in front of a rustic wooden building and climbed to the second floor. The view from the terrace looked out over the vineyard and valley.  . 
 As we sat at a small table, Anna provided us with samples of different aged cheeses, hams, olives and large glasses of local lambrusco wine. Lambrusco is produced in Emilia-Romagna is nothing like the super sweet wine one thinks of that was popular in ...

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.

The city is reknowned for parmesan cheese and Parma ham, or as we call it, prosciutto.

If you like quaint churches and little shops, this place is great to visit!

We stayed in Parma for 2 nights with Italian friends Nicola & Giulia who we've known for years but never met....long story. They live in a historic 16th century apartment which even has frescos on the ceiling in the lounge. Their district only has vehicle access for local residents so we had to park our car in a car park. We were treated to great traditional italian food and wine at home and at one of their favourite restaurants. On Sunday ...

... to lake avernus (supposedly has submerged ruins you can see snorkling there) but that turned into a mission with no camping spots so we ended up at a services instead. Day 81 and we drove to Formia and spent another lazy day at the beach (ah the serenity) before meeting up with the others at Cassino. Had a few drinkies and a bbq that night, some sore heads in the morning but found a McDonalds to help with the hangovers - they had deep fried brie, oh yeah! We have a great ...

... and bread in the air, and felt so..at peace with the world. People rode by on their bikes, grandmas swept up sidewalks, lovers walked hand in hand through tiny alleys. It made me long to give up the rushing and tight scheduling of the world I know to trade for this gentle existence. But, I have a feeling that I am too ingrained in the hustle of life in Chicago and would miss it. I did wish I had someone to share that moment with, but without my phone ...

... for dinner. It’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’t like my ordering a French liqueur! The hotel was one of the nicest on our tour.

We left our window open and it was actually cold when we got up!