Fall Italy/Spain 2024

We have found ourselves taking a few more guided tours on this trip.  This may suggests we are getting lazier  wiser. Here are a few of our tours:  Modena vinegar factory .  We may never again settle for balsamic that is not properly aged.  Age of basalmic really matters... kind of like people, only balsamic gets sweeter as it ages.  Samples followed😁, no wine😭. Prosciutto ham factory.  It's quite the operation and highly controlled. We had to dress in full Italian Health Department gear... hair nets and sanitized overcoats.  We made quiet the fashionable couple.  I'll spare you the photo.   Wine and samples followed. 😁 Parmesean Reggiano Cheese Factory This odoriferous  detailed tour started in huge barns with hundreds of cows.  We then got a an exacting explanation and demonstration of the cooking, forming, and aging process. Wine and samples followed.😁 Postojana Caves Hard to believe but yes, another cave for us.  This included taking a 3.7 km ride to the bottom of the c...

Who wouldn't want to attend an Eel Festival?  We couldn't pass up this unique opportunity!   Our first week of side trips from Ferrara were by train.  For week two, we rented a car.  This has allowed us to explore areas not easy accessed by train or bus.  One of these trips included the annual Eel Festival in Comacchio.   Comacchio is know as the "little Venice".  It's a small town about 40 minutes outside of Ferrara.  It sports charming canals, bridges, restaurants, and a robust eel fishing industry.  Hence, the annual eel celebration.  Residents set up food and drink stands along the streets and canals.  The smell of grilling eel and polenta permeate the air.   Prior to this experience, I thought I was not fond of polenta.  I now realize, I am far more fond of polenta than eel. Eel had a pungent fish odor, soft flesh, and a somewhat gelatinous layer of fat around the skin.   As we dutyfully ate our portion, I did a little internal food rating... Taste 3/10 Textu...

The longest Portico in the world is in Balogna... So back to Balogna we went on Friday.  The Portico de San Lucas is 3.8 km long (2.3 miles) and ends in a chapel on the top of a beautiful hill.  Sounded like a great way to get in a little walk and see yet another UNESCO sight.   What we failed to recognize prior to starting our little "stroll" was that the uphill portico flucuates between a 10.5 and  20.6 gradient.  The Portico is a combination of stairs and steep ramps.   As we huffed and puffed aggressively hiked along, we noticed a few natives with leg weights on their ankles and rocks in their heads  apparently training for God knows what.  Very impressive.   It took us 47 excruciating minutes to make it up to the top.  I was clearly somewhat delusional by the end.  As we rounded the last stairway, I saw a white kiosk.  My first thought was, "Oh thank God, they have a gelato stand up here next to the church!  We really deserve some after this up hill torture."...

Lucky us!  We revisited Balogna in the sunshine.  Amazing what you notice when water is not pouring down your face  upon a revisit.  The piazze and porticos are themselves UNISCO designated sights. We added a side trip to Padua and visited both the Roman ruins because of course we havent seen at least 30 by now  and the Scrovegni Chapel with gorgeous 14th century frescos.  Not to be missed. Both cities were well worth the visit and revisit. A few additional observations about Italy:  Trains...  They function like clockwork.  They can be counted on to be on time and to sell twice as many tickets as there are available seats.   You may find yourself  riding on someone's shoulders  in "cozy" quarters for most the trip.  Taxis... I don't even know where to begin.   It appears that Italy's taxi drivers are trained at the Evel Knievel School of Wreckless and Life Endangering Motor Vehicle Maneuvers  to rapidly deliver passengers to their desired destination ( heaven).  ...

We arrived in Ferrara Tuesday October 7, in afternoon.  We had a chance to explore some of the old town before it started raining.  Rain has been the name of the game for the last 5 days.  None the less, I looked for a food tour in Balogna on the day forecast to have the least amount of rain. Italian weather forecast are about as reliable as campaign promises.  We went from 30% chance of scattered showers on Thursday to the following hourly forcast:  We started our trip to Balogna trudging through the driving rain and wind from our home exchange to the bus stop who knew we'd ever be grateful for a packed public bus that smelled like wet dog.   We then transferred to the train, and on to Balogna and then on to another pack bus smell wet dog here again   to the location of our food tour.   Along with seven other undaunted travelers we spent 4.5 hours dodging driving rain and wind, streets running with water, and muddy puddles.  And guess what... It was a delightful day, filled with ...

We are ending our first week in Italy.  I have already learned so much.  I will generously share my pearls of wisdom.  1) Trieste is a fabulous city with much to see and do, including visiting nearby Croatia and Slovenia.  Lesson learned: One week is not enough time to enjoy this city and area. 2) Wine is cheaper than water. Lesson learned:  Drink more wine. 3) Italy makes some amazing chocolate. Lesson learned: Eat more chocolate.  4) Most women's bathrooms in Italy have no toilet seats.  I asked why, and was told this was done in an effort to help keep the bathrooms cleaner. Seems to me that whoever planned this, failed to ask the critical question, "What could possibly go wrong with this strategy? " Lesson learned: Women... Practice using the restroom standing up at all times.  Please let me know how this works for you.  5) Italian restrooms NEVER provide toilet paper.  I have no idea what they are thinking with this one.   Lesson learned:  Pack lots of those little do...