Italy!

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After Venice, Kai and I took a train to Bologna. We ate a delicious lunch - I had pasta with ham and asparagus, one of the best meals of the trip. We were only there for an hour waiting for our next train. We arrived in Parma a few hours later. We were visiting Kai's friend Gabe. Gabe was an exchange student in Kai's high school 4 years ago. He was home with his family in Parma for the holidays. He picked us up at the train station and brought us to his house. He and his family are really nice and gave us a free place to stay. After getting settled, we walked downtown through the outdoor Christmas market. It was really crowded because it was a few days before Christmas. We met up with Gabe's friend Micela and had appertivos (finger food and mixed drinks before dinner time). It was really nice. We walked back to his house and had dinner there. Kai's other friend from high school, Max, was visiting Italy with his family from St. Paul and Max came to Parma as well. We picked him up at the train station later that night. The next day we went downtown Parma. We went inside a beautiful church and walked through the park. We got an amazing lunch after. Parma is well known for its Parma ham and Parmesan cheese. Gabe ordered us each a platter of assorted meat and cheese with champagne and bread on the side. It was an awesome meal, very filling! After a relaxing afternoon, we went to Tabago for a few drinks. We ate dinner at the house again and met up with Gabe's friends at a great Cantina (wine bar). They have 2,500 different kinds of wine to offer with 200,000 bottles in their basement cellar!! I had the best wine I will probably have for years to come, it was from Sicily. I also had my first shot of Sambuca, not sure if its Italian or not. This kind of shot is special because of the procedure to actually drink it: I lit the shot, covered it with my hand allowing no air inside so the flame would go out. I pulled my hand off (forcefully because of the suction created) and drank the shot. Then I breathed in the air inside the glass. It's so strong! I guess the gases from the burned alcohol really make it special. It was really funny and one was all I needed! Gabe's friends are really nice and I would love to go back to visit them with a little more knowledge of Italian. Their English was pretty good though. Kai, Max, and I left the next morning by train to Florence (pronounced Feer-en-zay for Italians). We climbed a tower next to Duomo to get a great view. Kai bought me a wine bottle stopper made of Murano glass as we walked up to Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge with stores like the Riolto Bridge in Venice. We had lunch at a cute little place and ate panini sandwiches and wine. We took another train that evening to Cortona in Tuscany. That is where Max's family was spending Christmas. We stayed with them in a beautiful villa that night after going out to dinner. I had the assorted meat plate of duck, boar, rabbit, and chicken! It was delicious! In the morning, I was suffering from allergies. Max's dad noticed and he told me about a remedy he uses called NETI. He filled a little white ceramic tea pot with warm water and sodium. He showed me how I could clear my sinuses with it. I put the spout to my nostrel and tilted my head, letting the water pour into my nose. The water went up through my sinuses and out the other nostrel!! Some water came out my tear ducts. After pouring all the water, I did it through the other nostrel and blew my nose. I felt so good!!! I've never felt so clear! He said I can get this at a whole food coop somewhere, so I'm definitely going to get it when I get home. Cortona was a picturesque town in the Tuscan hills and I'm very glad we could spend a night there. I really enjoyed going to some smaller towns in Italy. I definitely recommend it! I hope I can go back to all of these places someday.

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Photos

Florence
we climbed this tower to get the great view

Locks of Love
couples lock a padlock to the bridge railing and throw the key into the water