My Last Week in Parma

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Well I just finished my last week in Parma and I could not have asked for anything better. On Wednesday the professor that I have been interning for could not take the Parma heat anymore and decided to take Jackie and I to the sea side. We drove 2 hours (in his Porsche) to cooler weather and had a great night and day there. For dinner we ate along the canal which was designed by Leonardo, the canal goes right through the city and is lined with sail boats along its edges. We had this traditional fish dinner which instead of being fried fish like I thought it was really more like fried "everything you can find in the ocean".... Not so great but at least I was branching out. We had a delicious dessert which was a nutty vanilla mousse thing with chocolate melted on top. Then we went on to the hotel we were staying in which was right along the Adriatic Sea. The room was amazing!!! We had a huge balcony overlooking the sea with lounge chairs to relax in. But I probably have to say the best part was the rainfall shower which I found hard to drag myself out of.

The next day we started off with this huge breakfast buffet at the hotel. This included every pastry, meat, cheese, spread, and juice that you could think of. Then we walked along the ocean enjoying the warm sun but the nice breeze that was present as well. We ate another local favorite which was a sort of wrap but with handmade dough (of course, its Italy!) stuffed with cheese and tomato and warmed. Then we retired to the roof top pool with its teal blue water and laid out the rest of the day... Ah it was wonderful. Unfortunately I am paying for it now with a bad sunburn was it was worth it. We arrived back home late in the evening to a terrible rain storm with unrelenting thunder and lightning.

On Thursday Jackie and I went to Verona to see Aida at the Arena di Verona. The city was so much bigger than I thought and I was taken back by all the tourists that were there. The Arena is a Roman Colosseum and it was absolutely breathtaking. Aida takes place in Egypt so the set was beautiful and very elaborate. We sat through the first act not understanding anything that was going on so we gave in and bought programs with the English translation. The entire opera lasted 3 hours and didn't start until 9:15 so it was a long night but so worth it. Everything about the show was so amazing... The cast, the costumes, the setting, the warm Italian night.... Oh I could go on and on. But almost better than the opera were the kebabs we had afterwards. OMG! They were huge and included french fries. I haven't had a good kebab since my Australian trip and this kebab most likely takes the number 1 spot.

The next day we walked about Verona.. Saw Juliet's house and famous balcony.. even though it is most likely not her house the little courtyard it was located in was so beautiful and the walls were covered in ivy. Much to my dismay there was no place to put love letters like in the movie (Letters to Juliet) but they did have a mail box where you can leave letters. We walked about the rest of the city which unfortunately was wet because of the downpour during the night but the city was beautiful.

Well tomorrow I go on to Rome and am so excited! On Monday I will be celebrating my birthday with a pool party and a traditional Roman pub crawl 😊 My roommate Kelly and friend Tahnee are meeting me in Rome and then we go on to Florence.

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Comments

[Rochelle]

Sounds like an amazing last couple of days. I want to lay out in italy and then end the day with a delicious kabob! lucky!