3/04/23 Ferrara and Parma Italy

Greetings from beautiful and sunny Bologna Italy! Yes, after our snow/ rain downpour Wednesday we have been enjoying sunny weather. Highs around 58 degrees, so very enjoyable.

Frescoes, one of many churches in Parma, Italy

You didn’t think tour guide Cindy was going to let me sit on our lovely patio, enjoy some wine and read a book, did ya?

No, we’ve got places to see and stuff to eat! Let’s goooooo!

First up, Ferrara.

We’re training to these locations. It’s much simpler than driving and parking in these ancient cities.

Ferrara, like all the cities in this area, is very old, 600 BC or so. The history is long and brutal, as is the worlds. However, the majority of the sights we’ll be seeing were built in 1,000 AD when Ferrara was at the hight of its power.

Castello Estense was built in 1,000 and rebuilt in 1400 when it was destroyed by fire.

The Castello is one of 4 Castellos with a functioning moat. This is the actual drawbridge!

It’s now a museum and city offices, very cool!

Walking now, we’ve already walked from the train station. The steps are adding up🥵

The cathedral is located in the Piazza Trento e Trieste

The cathedral is under full renovation, but still beautiful.

Porticos and garden of the cathedral museum.

Ferrara is a beautiful city, clean, wide streets, but filled with bicycles. Bikes are everywhere!

Yes, your right, I’m not leaving until we see the food scene.

As we discussed, this area of Italy is famous for Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s fantastic, peppery, and a nice smooth flavor. The Italians like it finely ground, like dust, it delicious.

The local butcher, selling all things meat!

This area of Italy has fantastic salami’s, the famous Prosciutto hams and Capocollo.

Ok, back to the train and then home. 25,000 steps! I need some wine😜👊✔️

Parma Italy, 1600’s.

Ok, up bright and early! We going to Parma, Italy on the train today!

We going to train to Parma, it’s about one hour from Bologna by train.

Parma is a beautiful city that’s famous in Italy for its fantastic food. When we tell Italians we are visiting Parma, where should we eat? They all say, “There’s not a bad restaurant in Parma, they wouldn’t survive”.

Parma is featured in a John Grisham short novel, “Playing for Pizza”. It’s the story of an American football quarterback who rediscovers his love for football and life in Parma.

This is Parma’s Duomo, it’s spectacular. Parma is a noted university city and also world renowned for music and culture. The locals dress to the 9’s everyday. It’s a wonderful place to visit.