Day 9: Parma

Today, Heather and I jumped on a train to Parma, home of Parmesan cheese. Train rides in Italy are a destination unto themselves for the scenic vistas they provide.

While there wasn’t much to see in Parma, the town is charming and blissfully devoid of tourists. We were able to amble along at a leisurely pace and admire the sights in relative peace:

Baptistery

Piazza Garibaldi

Obligatory "Old Bike Against the Wall in Europe" Photo

San Giovanni Evangelista

For lunch, we grabbed a table at al Corso which was packed with an all Italian crowd. I had the most delicately and beautifully prepared sole in a white wine and caper sauce.  Bellies full and not much left to see, Heather and I gave in to our wackier sensibilities and headed to the National Puppet Museum. Equal parts fun and creepy, the museum did make for some interesting pictures:

Othello

Closest thing I could find to a muppet. (What national puppet museum doesn't have a muppet?!?)

We returned to Bologna to prepare for our dinner at L’Osteria Bottega. Decidedly out of the way (so much so that we thought we were going to get mugged), Bottega has served up my best Italian meal to date. With a boisterous local crowd, the walk through the dicey neightborhood was well worth it. 

On our way home, we noticed that Piazza Maggiore was packed. Why? The festival of Saint Petronius, Patron Saint of Bologna, of course! I marveled at the lack of barricades/police presence. It just seemed like an impromptu gathering. The difference? Italians know how to live life. With the exception of a few open containers, no one was drunk and messy. It was a respectful and joyous congregation. The only people that were total messes were the six drunken and sloppy American girls, each with their own bottle of wine in hand. Given that the Amanda Knox conviction had been turned over just mere hours earlier, one would’ve hoped they would exercise more discretion. I guess not.

Heather and I were situated 100 yards away from deployment of the fireworks. Since these firecrackers were not being shot very high, at the end of 10 minutes, the entire piazza was showered in ash.

Oh Italia, you never cease to surprise me!