8/7 – 8/9. I’d be remiss if I told you we did not have any other adventures. What’s a trip without a challenge? We took a taxi to the train station in Bologna with plenty of time to get on the train. We checked the board and our train was on Binari 1 (track 1) arriving at 12:18pm. Jim received a notice on his cell that the train was late but still on track 1. He kept checking the board and no change on the line. Time goes by and guess what? The train was definitely on a different track and we saw it come in so we went flying down the stairs (you have to go down and cross under the tracks), across and up the stairs only to see the train pulling away. Back to the main area of the station to see when the next train was to leave for Parma. Thankfully it was only a 15 minute wait and we did not have to change tracks so we were good.

We arrived in Parma about an hour later and took a taxi to our apartment. We were a little early so Jim texted the apartment folks to let them know we were in the area. Didn’t hear from them so we walked around some and since it was Sunday, nothing was open. Parma was not crowded and it wasn’t quite as hot so we found a spot to sit outside and the grocery store was open so we went to it to find something to eat. Managed to get a few things for a sandwich and that was our lunch. We sat outside until 3pm when we were to check into our apartment. The apartment was a B&B and located in an office building. Never heard anything from the folks who managed it so I told Jim, let’s just walk across the road and see if we can get a room at that hotel. We went to the hotel and it was stunning. This place had so much character and was beautiful. We went to the desk and explained our situation and they could not believe what happened but they had 2 rooms available so one for us and one for Michele. This worked and again it was nice and quiet! We unloaded our bags and relaxed for a while then went out to see if we could find a restaurant that was open. We found a street with a lot of restaurants with outdoor covered seating so we sat down and had a meal while people watching. Michele was in heaven because so many folks were walking dogs and I honestly thought she was going to jump out of her chair and go play with them. She found one that reminded her of one of the dogs from PAWS and she was so happy. In case I didn’t mention this earlier in the trip, there are many dogs in Italy and they are either on a leash or walking with their human, well behaved, not barking and enjoying life. The people obviously loved their dogs both large and small. I saw so many pocket puppies and oh were they ever cute and some very nicely dressed – yes, they had little outfits on and pranced around like little queens or princes!

We then walked around to see more of Parma. It is a beautiful smaller city and we loved it. Of course we found another church, San Rocco, as well as the Duomo, just beautiful and very different yet again!

After a good night’s rest we were up and ready for our Parmesan Cheese and Prosciutto factories tour. Our guide, Alice Rossi, our tour guide in 2014, visited Atlanta in 2018 so we have become good friends. I knew Michele was going to be in cheese heaven when Alice took us to a factory that is smaller and still run manually. The factory she took us to in 2014 was larger and more automated. This tour was especially nice because we learned more of how the cheese was made before all the automation.

When we arrived we put on our cover-alls so we could walk around the building. The minute you enter the cheese making area, the smell is wonderful. Watching the guys during the process is totally amazing and it is definitely hard work as you will see from the photos. Alice explained the entire process to us and we learned a lot from her. However, we did not write down all the steps or amounts, so please forgive that oversight but Alice can tell you! If you visit Parma or the Reggio-Emilio region. We highly recommend you contact Alice if you do go there. Whether you go on a tour or not, she is an excellent source of info and help for a visit to the Parma area: www.exploraemilia.com.

Check out the different stages of the cheese making process. It begins with gallons and gallons of milk brought in each morning and evening by local farmers. Milk is poured into those copper-lined vats you see in the photos. The vats are heated and after several hours, a big cheese ball forms on the bottom. Two batches of cheese are processed each and every day. Cows cannot stop giving and need to be milked and milk should not be wasted so it goes to the factory, even on Christmas.

After several hours, maybe even over night, the cheese is relocated into a perforated steel wrapping, the inside surface of which is impressed with the Parmigiano-Reggiano name all around the cheese wheel exterior. Other information is impressed onto the wheels but you’ll see that in a later photo. You can see the steel wraps below. You can also see the next step where the wheels are floated in a saline solution after being removed from the steel wrap. The wheels stay in the salt water tanks for up to a month but are flipped over every day. This is where the salt is absorbed by the cheese. Oh, those little blue marks on the top of the wheels indicate the actual number of the wheel and when it was formed – every single wheel has a different set of numbers. I think the ones we saw were something like 7/27 #1 or #2 or on up, meaning July 27th and wheel #1 or #2. Each wheel is tracked all the way to shipment.

We were able to have a cheese tasting after the tour. We had a 12 mo., 24 mo. and 36 mo. piece that we were able to taste and boy were they melt in your mouth delicious!!! The 12 month was creamy and smooth with great flavors. The 24 mo. was a little more pungent and harder and is used to grate on your pasta. The 36 mo. was the strongest and the hardest and used in the stronger sauces such as bolognese. Each one was delicious.

Once we were finished here, we hopped in Alice’s car and headed to the prosciutto factory. The drive was in the country and absolutely beautiful with it’s rolling hills and landscapes of vineyards, rustic homes and olive trees. We also saw a few cows roaming around.

The prosciutto factory had strong aroma’s from the meat and if you are a vegetarian, you might not want to take this tour. Being an animal lover, it was a little tough for Michele but she got through it. Yes, we did have some prosciutto at lunch!

The process for curing the meats is very interesting but it takes time. The amount of prosciutto consumed in Italy and shipped to other countries is unbelievable. You can see just some of the prosciutti hanging while they age. As part of the official process for certification, windows are opened up to allow the air in this area to flow across the prosciutto (left) and culatello (right side.) That air curing is part of the official consortium certification requirement. The culatello is cut from the loin of the boar or pig hind leg and is aged in a beef or hog’s bladder to prevent contamination. You can see that the culatelli do not have the thick skin and fat surrounding the meat.

After our tour we went to a beautiful farm with a vineyard and the location was amazing. This was another Agriturismo farm where up to three rooms are made available to rent to tourists like at a B&B. This helps promote tourism, provides a little income to the farmer and provides an educational experience for the guests. At this place, the owner also manages a restaurant with most tables outside under a carport-like roof. Anyway, the view was gorgeous and the food was terrific. Our lunch was delicious and served with a wine varietal we had not experienced before.

On our way back to the car, we took some photos of the view and landscape at the vineyard. The owner just happened to be moving large boxes of grapes that had been picked and needed to be stored in a cooler place, out of the sun. In other words, being a farmer and not a restauranteur or hotel manager! I was lucky enough to capture a photo of his beautiful grapes!

We then headed back to the hotel where we relaxed before leaving Parma on Tuesday and heading to Malpensa Airport outside Milan for our journey back to the states on Wednesday morning.

This was a trip of a lifetime, filled with great food, beautiful sights, wonderful people and time with our Italian family in Abruzzo, then with our children in northern Italy. It is always difficult to say “Arrivederci” to Italy. Leaving is always bittersweet. We hope you all enjoyed our blog.