MODENA AND PARMA

The area of Emilia-Romagna that we were staying,
with Bologna being the capital has so
many great choices for a day trip.
Our first choice was Modena, a half
hour train ride. 

I had just read that the Duomo in Modena

was considered one of the top five Duomos

in Italy.  We fortunitely have been to the

other four so I was looking forward to seeing

this one.  It did not disappoint.

On the surface Umberto Panini's dairy

farm and organic Parmesan cheese factory

looks like any other in the northern province.

Walking into the warehouse where they

store the wheels of Parmesan was over whelming.

The fragrance was better than any perfume.

Hidden away in one of the farmhouses

is the most complete collections of

Maserati's in the world.

He also has vintage tractors

wonderful collection of bikes, both motor

and petal

This was a very impressive place to visit.

I loved the sculptures. This was a tree

with a sense of humor.

It had these brass plates hung on the

branches that were in all different

languages

This dog was so still I had to make

sure he wasn't part of the ornamentation.



I couldn't agree more.

"Never forget the stupidity of humanity."

The following day we took the train to

Parma.  This is generally reckoned to

have one of the highest standards of

living in Italy.  It was a Sunday so

all of the stores were closed but

the streets were full of strolling families.

It is so clean you think your on

a movie set.

This area was struck very hard earlier

in the year by two earthquakes.  We could

see the evidence of repair going on.

This was the home to the painter Correggio

where one of his most famouse works,

Assumption is in the Piazza del Duomo.

It was a very hot day and John needed

a rest and also some nurishment.

Nothing like a pizza and a glass of wine

to fix that.  Now he's smiling.

After lunch we found a parade was going on.
Everyone was decked out in these great
medieval costumes.

We saw this sign and could tell it was

a museum, but had no idea what kind

and decided to explore.

This holds the largest collection of puppets

in the world.  We were awe stricken. 

It is a fasinating place.

They have regular puppet shows on Sunday

with guest puppeteer's.

The parade ended in this area where
they had all sorts of entertainment.
It was a very festive crowd.

We felt a little like this dog and were

ready to get back on the train.

BOLOGNA, ITALY

One of my favorites things to do when in

a new place is to go out early in the

morning and explore before the

place is filled with people.

I couldn't wait to do that in Bologna.

We stayed in an apartment in the city

center a short walk from the Piazza Maggiore.

There are enough monuments and curiosities

in this area for several days of leisured

exploration.

This young couple took the opportunity

to get an uninterrupted picture of

themselves before the area was

swarming with people.

No other city in Italy has as many

porticoes or covered walkways as found

in Bologna.  In the city center there are

barely any stretch of pavement not topped

by an ornate, arched covering.  I was totally

taken by them.

In Italy visiting the food stalls are on the top

of our list.  Here they were surrounded by

small food shops.

We found this charming little trattoria to

have our favorite lunch.

Grilled Vegetables and pasta, and wine

of course.  Yes we are on vacation.

John and I are not meat eaters but

in Italy we will eat ham, and the

prosciutto in this region is the best.

Topped with some arugula and parmigiana

reggiano with a splash of some

of the best olive oil.  One word, Heaven.

I got a little obsessed with this

fabulous rusted fence.

Besides being known for their ham,

this region is second only to Sicily

for the amount of fish caught in its waters.

Trying new things is half of the

fun of traveling, we could not

resist ordering octopus ceviche.

It was incredible to say the least.

A little creative photography from our waitor.