Off to Parma
Trip Start
May 11, 2006
1
4
9
Trip End
May 29, 2006
Parma,
Italy
Thursday, May 18, 2006
I got up about 8:30am and after dressing had my breakfast in the hotel. They had a nice selection of food, although similar to the breakfast I had in Florence. Since my train didn't depart for Parma until 12:30pm, I had a little time to go out. I went to the Internet café to send out a message to my family and friends, and then walked around the market streets checking the food one last time. Bologna is certainly the capitol of food in Italy.
I took a taxi to the train station and caught the 12:23pm Regionale train to Parma. It was just about an hour ride to Parma. Tony's cousin Ernesto and I planned to meet at the train station when I arrived. I selected this particular train schedule so he could pick me up during his lunch siesta. I had to call him about 45 minutes later after figuring out how to use the pay phone. He forgot about me! He forgot about me! He arrived quickly with many apologies. He had been home having his lunch.
The weather in Parma was hot and hazy. My allergies kicked in for the first time on this trip. After dropping the luggage off at Ernesto's and meeting Santy, his fiancé, we drove into town. He lives just on the outskirts of the center of town, but only a 20-25 minute walk. He dropped me off so I could do my touring while he went back to work.
Parma is a beautiful city with many small streets. It is very clean too. As I walked to the center of town, I bought some pistachio gelato and it was wonderful. That happened to be my lunch since it was in the late afternoon. I had meant to buy some food for the train ride but at that time I wasn't really hungry.
I toured the baptistery, which the ceiling was fabulous, the Duomo (with its façade covered in scaffolding), and a museum next door. I enjoyed a glass of wine and wrote a few postcards at a café. Ernesto had given me one of his cell phones to keep in contact, which I really like having. He called me around 4:30pm and had me walk to one area of town so he could pick me up. We met up and walked to a café for drinks. He was nice to take a few hours off from work to spend time with me. He normally works till 8-9pm. They eat every late and get up very early. He also works 1/2 days on Saturday. After our drinks, we walked home. We had stopped at Santy's office and gave her the car so she could go on a job interview. She usually rides her bike to work. It was a nice walk back walking along the river.
Dinner was great and of course, I couldn't pay. I tried! Even when Ernesto and I were having our drinks in the afternoon, he wouldn't let me pay. I was getting up to go to the restroom and he said, "Don't pay" shaking his finger at me. For dinner we went to a tiny trattoria: 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 also ordered a delicious fried cheese, shaped into a bowl, which was filled with a creamy rucola.
Parma Friday May 19th
I didn't sleep well last night because of my allergies. I took some medication, which helped me through the day. Also, the day was much drier than yesterday. After Ernesto and Santy went to work, I walked to the market at Piazza Ghiaia, which is located along the river. It took only 20-25 minutes from the apartment. I saw lots of neat things and some wonderful meats and cheese. The market is only open until the early afternoon. I picked up a snack for breakfast.
I spent the rest of the morning visiting the archeological museum (2euros and the theater Farnese, a beautiful teatro built of wood. Both are located inside the Palazzo della Pilotta, a very unappealing building. The teatro was used only eight times.
Ernesto called me and told me to meet him at the Piazza Garibaldi. We met up just as Santy showed up on her bike. We had a nice lunch outside at Trattoria del Tribunale. Later, they went to work and I walked around the Park Ducale, which is quite large. On the way back, I ran into Santy on her bike heading back to work. I stopped along the way having a drink while waiting for a jewelry store to open (3pm). I saw a pair of beautiful earrings that I wanted to buy. Well, I went to the store at 3:15pm and it was still closed. I guess after my ring incident in Greve in Chianti, I guess I wasn't mean to buy any jewelry on this trip.
Near the house I found an internet place and sent out a few message.
Back at the house I relaxed for a few hours reading my book on Venice and writing some journal notes. Santy came home about 6pm and we went out to shop at the COOP grocery store. Ernesto wanted to buy something for me having asked me do I want food, drink or gift? Food! Santy purchased a nice wedge of Parmesan cheese and proscuitto, both vacuum-sealed for the flight home. Santy suggested that she would make dinner at home and I thought that was a nice idea. She then called Ernesto to make sure he was fine with that. No! He wanted to take me out to dinner.
We went out around 9pm to a wonderful seafood and pizza restaurant, S. Martino. When we arrived, most tables outside were filled. I ordered the mussels in white wine followed by the spaghetti with clams. Everything was delicious. Ernesto ordered a bottle of white wine from Naples and for an after dinner drink, I had a shot of limoncello. Behind me were two men, who were drinking grappa from an interesting looking container. As I looked at it, one man offered me a taste. I gave him my empty limoncello glass and had a small taste of the grappa. It's not something I would drink. Santy was surprised I had some.
