Parmesiano Reggiano has been produced in this region for almost 800 years, and it used to take an apprentice 12 years to make his first wheel of cheese. The term "Parmesia
no Reggiano" is copyrighted and can only be applied to the genuine cheeses made in this region. To maintain this copyright withing the EU, Italy must be able to differentiate its famous cheese from all others. This has given birth to a need for a parmessiano scientisist whose sole job it is to determine what makes this cheese unique. He must use sensory tasting to structure the feeling one gets when eating Parmessiano Reggiano. Oh, what a job!Upon our arrival, we found ourselves immersed in a giant flea market all along the street going from the train s
tation into this tiny city. We found ourselves as we stood in the center of a piazza and saw before us a uniquely shaped building which, after we entered and paid admission, turned out to be a baptismal. We then wondered into the church on the which also faced this piazza. I've been in a lot of churches, however there's always some small ceiling or chapel that stands out.
tation into this tiny city. We found ourselves as we stood in the center of a piazza and saw before us a uniquely shaped building which, after we entered and paid admission, turned out to be a baptismal. We then wondered into the church on the which also faced this piazza. I've been in a lot of churches, however there's always some small ceiling or chapel that stands out.
We wondered around a bit and found some other neat buildings, but hungry bellies dictated the afternoon's activities and we decided to discover Parma's culinary delights.
We walked up a street and bought a little of everything that looked good. Including sushi! Rachel got to sample her first Sake (it's also good to travel with someone of asian descent... I'm pretty sure this is why we got good Sake and only paid 3 euro total.
We made our way back to the park to share our delightful little picnic and enjoy the sunshine. Parma also has a wonderful park as well as museums. After making our way around a bit more, we took the train back.
Some other interesting finds included:
A Meat Cafe- ham and cheese plates- dreams do come true.
A Communist Rally
And a medieval festival- complete with dueling knights, old ladies preparing food, prisoners being paraded throughout the streets, and people who like costumes a wee bit too much!
...
Then, tired from all our travel, Helena and I hopped aboard the IKEA shuttle and spent the rest of the evening in nirvana. Being that she's Sweedish, Helena was absolutely giddy as we chose our pillows and drooled over room arangements we want for our future homes. Our trek from the shuttle to the apartment took about twice as long as usual because we were both completely loaded down with things for the household and some goodies from the food market.
Bed coverings and pillow cases made us feel like we were finally making bedrooms truly ours and some much needed cooking accessories- like a dish drainer- made us feel better about our archaic but functional kitchen.
Thoroughly exhausted, we decided to spend the next morning in a cafe having a typical Italian breakfast.
Ooooh yeah.
From there, we had to face the reality of classes beginning the next day and keep up with our readings, but it was a lovely way to spend the last weekend before the rigors of the academic year began.
...
And for the record, a week later, I still have some of that half kilo of cheese left... but I do believe I've found a way to eat some each day. It's fantastic.
Ooooh yeah.
From there, we had to face the reality of classes beginning the next day and keep up with our readings, but it was a lovely way to spend the last weekend before the rigors of the academic year began.
...
And for the record, a week later, I still have some of that half kilo of cheese left... but I do believe I've found a way to eat some each day. It's fantastic.
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