A speed date in Italy

Bellisimo! Ciao and all that from ham and cheese country. We decided to stay three nights at Parma as part of our trek from deepest Austria to our next destination La Belle France. Daughter Sarah and her husband Ben had passed through here last year on their honeymoon. Our Italian host had spent his own honeymoon in Australia so we took that as a good sign for us.

 

The objective of escaping winter down under has been achieved in spades now. Every day now for the last three weeks has been 30 degrees or over. More variable experiences and more interesting than Queensland, and cheaper too if it comes to that. Good choice Ben and Sarah.

It took a day to change our touring habits - Italy seems a bit different to the Germanic countries - but now we have adjusted. A slow start for the day over bread/croissant/muffin and proper cappuccino followed by a quick and regular bus trip into the centre of the city. Five or ten minutes strutting our stuff in town amongst the locals, avoiding the many bikes and scooters getting around. Then perhaps a museum or gallery before getting to the shops just as they close for lunch. Good timing Randall - and in any case we have no more space in our luggage for things like clothes.

So now for lunch a choice proscuitto, parma ham, salami with great fried bread or perhaps proscuitto and melon. Acqua frissante to compliment. Then back on the local bus to home and an afternoon nap (as the locals do) or a blog update.

 

 

Towards the end of the afternoon we head back into town for a spot of shopping, maybe a cool drink or ice cream before exploring the alleyways in town for dinner. Not a bad life for some and three days rest from driving.

White wine and rose are not the best here we find. No beer like in Austria and Germany but a good light red does the trick here. Lambussco here is refreshing and goes with the food so why not?

 

We are almost two months into the trip now and over the inevitable hump that does come for some travellers who lose touch with family and friends. With a wifi computer and two smart phones we can keep in touch easily. And although back home we have changed from one poor Prime Minister to another poor Prime Minister and a Government that is way behind the eight ball we are not missing anything in the way of events and news.

Perhaps we should try for longer trips in future?

But first we need to deal with autoroute travel in peak holiday season as we head for Bordeaux next.