Italia: Day Fifteen

This morning I got up at 5am so that I could get ready to go to the Milan airport. It was a two hour drive from the hotel in Novellara, so we had to leave early to make it for our eleven o’clock flight. I had to sit next to an older man on the plane, but at least I got a window seat so I was able to sleep and read in peace.

When we rolled into Atlanta it was kind of sad saying goodbye to the group. I'll probably never see most of them again. I kept going on the tram after all of them got off. It’s nice to be alone, but at the same time it’s weird. My flight to Detroit will board soon after though, so I didn't have long to think about.


Truthfully, travelling is great, but it's just good to be home.

Italia: Day Fourteen

Today, I got up at seven so that I could run out in the countryside one last time before leaving Italy. I ended up getting lost and, in the process, running past a cow crossing sign. It was really strange because I was in the middle of a vineyard. I didn’t know they kept farms and vineyards so close together.

After my run, I showered and was really disappointed that the hotel didn’t have any of the chocolate cake that I’ve been eating the past few days. I ended up indulging in some ham and cheese with a side of the mini pound cakes that I’ve been gorging on for the whole trip.

We took the bus into Parma for the day and were able to walk around the shops and see a new city. We went to a supermarket and I was able to buy some of the pound cakes I’ve been eating. They were actually really cheap though, only 88 cents per package of six. We stopped at a bar after shopping and had a morning drink. We bought our last Bacardi Breezers (not available in the United States) of the trip as well.

Parma

The streets of Parma

We showed back up at the bus and carried our breezers on, which may not have been the best idea considering we drove over to meat factory afterward and saw them packaging meat. The smell was terrible. I wanted to gag. They took us down into the meat cellar too and it only got worse. I was so glad when they told us it was time for lunch because it meant that I got to leave the smell.

The meat was literally touching the top of my head in the cellar

Lunch was actually pretty good. I sat next to the people who had joined our tour group. It turns out Jeff, who was on his honeymoon, is a small town farmer from a valley in Idaho. He was telling me a lot about cheap ways to travel, which gave me something to do during the meal.

I’ve decided that I really like risotto, which is a rice dish with various things added into it. We had it for lunch yesterday and today and I couldn’t get enough of it. I really liked this meal in general though, except for the meat. The pasta was divine and they provided us with tons of white wine and the best bread ever. It was so greasy, buttery, and delicious - something that I've noticed severely lacking in Italy to this point.

The delicious risotto

After the meal, we headed back to the hotel to chill out for a couple of hours. We left just before five to go over to Andrea’s house again for a demonstration on how to make pasta. It was boring watching his mother make the pasta, but I got the recipe in case I ever want to make pasta:

Ingredients:

400g flour
3 eggs
Make volcano shape with flour
Windy/winter - about 1tsp olive oil
Add about half cup of warm water also

Instructions:

Use fingers to draw eggs and flour together
Knead with heel of hand and thumbs for about 10 min or until smooth
Wrap in saran wrap and let sit for 10 min
Roll dough until paper thin
-and-

Wait 1-2 hours for pasta to dry
Can then cut into shape
-or-If stuffing pasta, put spoon sized piles on dough when still moist
Roll dough to cover mounds
Cut dough from roll
Make sure to close all sides

Cook 8-10 min on high, will float to top when done

Mixing the ingredients

Adding the stuffing

Shaping the pasta

The group after making pasta

After the demonstration, we went back to Bar Roma, where we had lunch the other day, and had a much larger dinner that involved some delicious chips. I have missed my salt. I’m just now realizing Italian food doesn’t involve much of it.

The inside of Bar Roma

I’m ready to go home tomorrow though. Italy is not my place. It’s nice and all, but I much prefer Ireland or at least a colder climate.

Italia: Day Thirteen

We got to sleep in today, so I went for a run around town this morning. I got sort of lost and ended up running in a lot of circles because it seems like every road runs into the town center of Novellara. It’s kind of weird.

When I got back we took a bus to the cheese consortium, which is an official office where they determine whether or not the cheese that is presented to them is of accurate quality and production methods for certification. The presentation was really boring, but it was nice to be in a high quality, air-conditioned building for once. I feel like Europe is kind of behind on the air conditioning, but I guess that’s because so many of their buildings are so old. I made sure to take some of the cheese and chocolate they had out as souveneirs before we left the consortium.

Outside the cheese consortium

We went for pizza at sort of a high class place afterward, but the food wasn’t very good. It was supposed to be a “pizza tasting” so they brought out many different kinds for us, but the ham here is kind of strange in a lot of places and they also put weird bologna-like meat on pizza, so we didn’t eat a lot of it. Then we rushed over to a local education center where they specialize in teaching teachers how to use different methods in their classrooms to approach learning with a new attitude. The woman who gave us a tour around the facilities couldn’t speak English, so I found it really boring. I’ve learned that I need someone to speak English to me without translations for me to be able to pay attention otherwise I lose interest.

Pam, Chelsea, and I entertaining ourselves at the education center

I was relieved when the tour was over, even though it meant that we had to walk around in the city to kill time before dinner. None of the places were open, for some reason, so after we bought gelato, we were forced to walk around in the heat until we found a place to sit. We couldn’t even find a bathroom to use because everything was closed! It was kind of annoying because Pam, Beckie, Chelsea, and I, “the quad”, had decided to wear dresses today in honor of the floral prints three of us bought in Florence. It was a good idea, it was just too hot to be happy in any sort of clothes.

The "Quad"

For dinner, we went out to a newly opened ranch on the top of a mountain where they produce and bottle Lambrusco wine. We received information about how the wine is bottled and chilled for sale before indulging in a short dinner, compared to the others we have experienced in Italy. There was only three courses with an appetizer, main course of lasagna, and desert of rum cake. I didn’t really like the meal or the red wine, but the ranch was beautiful.

On the mountainside before dinner

Italia: Day Eleven

With yesterday’s incident behind me, I got up at 6:15 to run this morning and try to see a different side of Florence. I ran in the opposite direction of downtown because that’s where we walked around yesterday and ended up getting lost because I couldn’t find the river to follow along. I was endlessly relieved when I stumbled upon a familiar looking place and, soon after, the hotel. I wanted to hug it. Miraculously, I still managed to make it back in time, so I wasn’t late meeting the group at 8:15 to walk over to the Ufizzi Art Museum.

I don’t know why I went to the art museum though. It was sooooo boring. We had a guided tour that included a headset so that you could listen to the tour guide anywhere within the same room. I ended up sitting on benches and listening to him talk while reading a book. I just got up and switched rooms every time they moved. I definitely do not appreciate art or visiting museums when I'm travelling.

Locks of Love, symbolizing the everlasting love of the couples whose names are inscribed on each lock, located on the river

I was so glad when we finally left. Pam, Chelsea, and I walked over to the Boboli Gardens and explored a bit. The gardens are actually a lot like the University of Michigan arboretum. I was surprised at how similar. The main difference was the six euro entrance fee. We took a lot of pictures while we were wandering around. I found an empty statue post near an overlook, so we all pretended to pose for some photos too. 

Inside the gardens

A view from the gardens of Florence rooftops

The statue post

After buying some more Bacardi breezers, we walked back across the Ponte Vicchio, a bridge with expensive storefronts on it, and along a pathway where artists had set up stands selling original paintings and sketches. I purchased a picture of one of the bridges on the river before we headed back to the hotel.

Dr. Fink and Kimberlie showed up at the last second to give us enough money for a meal at a nearby pizzeria. We all got sandwiches and water before picking up our bags at the hotel and loading them onto the bus to Novellara. The bus ride was really long, but it was through scenic countryside so when I wasn’t writing my journal entries or reading, I was entertained.

The hotel in Novellara is really cute. It’s small and quaint, stuck in the countryside but a small town is within walking distance. It is the picturesque Italian village that you read about. After arriving at the hotel, we hung out in the room for a few hours before Pam and I walked into town to get our daily gelato. I’m really getting sick of ice cream in general, but I just discovered the amazing flavor combination of fragola and ciccolato, which is strawberries and chocolate.

After desert, we gathered with the group to go to a dinner hosted at the local production site of balsamic vinegar. The dinner was really weird though. The wine kept coming and the food was very different. We passed all of the plates, so it never really seemed like there was a main course, just a series of appetizers. Pam and I ended up pretty tipsy at the end of the three hour meal. Her having five glasses of the white wine and me six. It would have been fine if only there had been more food.

The group before dinner at our host, Andrea's

Dinner

We came back to the hotel after dinner and passed out.