Last Weekend

Our adventure began at 8:15 taking the metro to the last stop on the yellow line where our friends Dave and Linda McCurdy picked us up in their car. Destination Bologna! Jeff and I have lived without a car for some time now and not taken any road trips of late, only train, but have been down this stretch of the A1 before. I suggested a stop at Castell' Arquato, listed in my '101 Beautiful towns in Italy' and we did, and it was. Unfortunately the morning was very hazy and diminished our views.
Back in the car and back to the A1, but first a shop with a giant wheel of cheese and a sign welcoming us to Parma, and we had to stop. This turned into lunch, of cheese, parmesan of course, ham, Parma of course, some bread and a bottle of wine. I had warned every one that this was to be a gastronomical tour and it was starting out that way. Finding our way into the old center of Bologna was a challenge but once accomplished we were off. Bologna has many things to recommend it. The first were the towers. As in other Italian cities the wealthy families used towers on their homes as protection and that led to it being a status symbol. Few remain, but 2 are very close together and you can climb one and marvel at the pitch the other one is leaning. Like all medieval town it has a cathedral, and this one had it's funding diverted and the facade has never been completed. There is a fountain in the square that represents Neptune and when the guide book described the nymphs at the base of the fountain as 'sensuous' they were not kidding. The other unique feature is the abundance of covered sidewalks. We didn't have time to check out the oldest University in Europe dated at 1088, but it's influence was all around us. The average age was 25 at the bars and restaurants. Our hotel even furnished ear plugs, but none were needed. Bologna is very much alive and a worthwhile visit.
Sunday AM we wandered a bit more in Bologna and then headed to Parma. This trip was nicknamed our Grisham tour in homage to 'The Broker' and 'Playing for Pizza'. We only had time to walk into the city center of Parma and find a place for lunch and then it was back to Milan and hopefully beating the rush.