I'm "Abundant", not "Fat"

L'appetito vien mangiando.
Appetite comes with eating.

Today we wandered Bologna's old marketplace with Carmelita, who shared her insights about all things Bolognese. One of the first things she admonished is not to call Bologna "fat". While nicknamed "La Grassa", she noted that the adjective means "abundant" due to all the richness of its produce. She also lectured us to avoid GMO tomatoes, or as she put it: "tomatoes wearing lipstick".

I would, however, be fat if I lived down the street from this artisanal chocolate factory. The shop closes from June through October because good chocolate cannot be made in the heat.

The last stop on our tour was a wine shop serving meat and cheese where Carmelita introduced us to "Salami Rossa", a delicious sister to Parma ham.

Following our food tour we ventured up to the Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca (so called because there is a portrait of Mary in the church said to have been painted by St. Luke). While other more athletic souls hiked up the hill, we took the tourist train.

But we got our exercise climbing up to the viewpoint on the church roof. The staircase was a hair-raising experience and my legs were still jelly hours later.

But the view over to the Apennines and Tuscany was stupendous.

Returning to the city we took in Bologna's other side: "La Dotta" (The Learned). The Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio is the campus of the first university of law in the western world. The building includes the Anatomical Theatre where human dissections were carried out under the keen eyes of students seated on wooden benches overlooking the surgical table.

6000 coats of arms of professors and their students cover all surfaces.

Bologna is fascinating in all her facets.

The Learned, The Red, The Fat | Welcome to Bologna!

Chi vive  vede molto,
chi viaggia vede di più.
Those who live see a lot, those who travel see more.

Buongiorno from Parma. On the day following our arrival in Bologna we took the train to Parma to join a culinary tour. Betsy welcomed us to her home in the countryside outside of Parma. While we were jet-lagged, she seemed very content with her local hay and alfalfa breakfast. There are four types of cows whose milk can be used for accredited parmesan cheese. Her milk is also used for a specific "red cow" variety of parmesan that I will be searching the shops for.

We watched as the master cheesemaker at Borgo del Gazzano and his assistant worked to produce two rounds of parmesan. It takes 500 litres of milk to produce one round.

That's a lot of work for Betsy and her girlfriends out in the stable!

Leaving Betsy, we were driven high into the foggy mountains to learn the process for making prosciutto.

We have been indulging in a LOT of Parma ham, which necessitates long walks along Bologna's colonnaded streets. Colonnades were mandated by the state in order to address a housing crisis: the colonnade allowed for additional floors of apartments while still allowing traffic and pedestrian flow at ground level. Each building owner chose their own decorative patterns so our walks are filled with interesting sights.

We inadvertently visited a private residence, thinking the open door looked welcoming. There was a beautiful courtyard and this staircase to the piano nobile (the first floor). How lovely the other half live!

We join locals and visitors for the evening passeggiata (evening stroll) to aid digestion.

Bologna's main piazza remains alive with lovely music of young buskers and children playing with coloured flashlights.

I will end with a photo of my daytime gelato . . . as differentiated from our after-dinner evening gelato. ;-)

Several tastings have all been exceptional.

Buonanotte!
Good night and sweet dreams!