family
Given our lukewarm feelings for Padua, we decided to skip exploring the city further until tomorrow and we headed out to Venice. In the deep of summer post COVID, the city was only moderately busy (but still very busy). Here we are in St. Mark's Square.
italy
Well we had our walk through Padua and the environs. It was viciously hot and humid way more unbearable than Bologna. Our landlady even was complaining it was unlivable now until late September.
art
Our trip to Verona was a success in enjoying the incredible beauty of the touristic center of the city. Outside of the city center the city was less enthralling than either Genoa or Bologna. So that leaves r=today's trip to Padua to see if we can unseat
art
This is how the opera in the Arena ended. 10 minutes left in the first opera, Cavaleria Rusticana at midnight. There had been two rain delays and we were waiting inside as so many people (stretching back to the Roman Empire) had done before us, though probably without the masks.
family
We took a little detour because Minne wanted to stop in Ferrara, which he heard was a very beautiful town. I must've admit I was a little shocked but what a wonderful place it was to visit.
bologna
Our last big Bologna highlight was visiting the Anatomical Theater and one of the sites of the oldest universities in the world.
art
Our last day in Bologna we visited two amazing sites: the Sanctuary of Santa Luca, which was perched on a hill overlooking Bologna ...
italy
Update: in my description of Balsamic Vinegar IGP below... Tuesday 20 July is suppose to be the first full day in Bologna. So what do we do? We drive to Modena. In Modena we have an appointment for the tour of a Acetaia Di Giorgio, which I assume is a
bologna
One small detail I left out of the cheese tour is this picture. Every wheel before it goes on sale, is tested by the cheesemaker with a mallet to make sure the wheel sounds good and there are no air pockets found. The air pockets do not effect the taste;
family
The process of making Parmigiano cheese is quite amazing. You see these copper vats that they churn milk. The process goes quite quick as it goes from ivory white to a creamy yellow. Then it begins too look like batter as the milk congeals into curds...
family
Late in the afternoon, Minne and I went alone on a last walk in Parma. This was a much nicer tour and I saw a lot to really love about Parma. We saw more medieval and renaissance parts of Parma as well as more interesting streets. We also stopped into
family
Not much to write about the last two days. There was too much family drama. Which is resolving itself by Sarah taking a plane back to Amsterdam on Tuesday. Parma started with so much hope, including a rainbow greeting last night: You'll see little record of yesterday evening&