Day 1- Part 2

I had suspected that the photographs of the apartment presented it in its best light - and I wasn’t wrong about that. It was much smaller that it looked in the pictures, which was fine. After all, it was just me. Antonia led me from room to room, explaining any peculiarities. She also emphasized that I should keep the doors closed in each room to conserve the heat. I was surprised to find that the apartment was pleasantly warm on a chilly day. The longest presentation came in the kitchen, where my host endeavored to explained the different bins for the different types of material that need to be recycled separately. Once again, I was struck by how much more seriously our European brothers and sisters care for the environment. The last - and perhaps most important - lesson was the operation of the Nespresso machine. This was going to be the source of my morning coffee, so I paid close attention. Antonia left me at that point, telling me to come to the restaurant whenever I was ready.

The apartment is the one with the long balcony

I did not have much to do in the apartment, so I walked over to the restaurant after about 10 minutes. I was seated in the bright, sunny room that obviously had been , at one time outdoor seating. I was handed a menu, but I said to Antonia, “What should I have as my fist meal in Parma?”  Her recommendation was that I should have the plate of mixed cured meats with the ‘torta fritta’ and the dish with their signature two types of tortelli. I added a mixed salad for good measure and sat back. A higher power decided the order of my meal, so the tortelli arrived first. They look like ravioli, but don’t call them that in Parma. You WILL be corrected. The classic version is filled with ricotta, Parmigiano and swiss chard; the second with winter squash puree. Both were lavishly covered with butter and aged parmesan cheese. They were both light as feathers and delicious. Then the cured meats arrived with a basket of ‘torta fritta’. Let me explain. Torta Fritta is a rectangle of bread like dough, which is fried so that the middle puffs up. They look like dough pillows and are usually served warm. In Emilia-Romagna, they are the traditional accompaniment to cured meats. They were delicious. On my plate was prosciutto di Parma, culatello, coppa and salami di Felino. They were all amazing. For me, though, the striking difference was how less salty the prosciutto was. I washed down all of this with a ½ bottle of the restaurant’s house Lambrusco, Emilia Romagna’s slightly fizzy red wine. As far as I know, Emilia-Romagna is the only region of Italy that does not have its own, local still red wine.

Cured meats, torta fritta and salad, my first meal

After lunch, I resisted the very strong temptation to take a nap. It was close to 3:00 by now and there would not be many more hours of sunlight. I wanted to take advantage of those remaining hours to get something of an orientation to my new surroundings. I also need to get a few provisions for breakfast. I soon realized that the historical center of Parma was fairly compact and that I could walk easily to almost any place that I wanted to visit. You can never really tell that from a map. After about an hour, I headed for the two shops that Antonia had recommended and bought water, fruit and yogurt for breakfast and a bottle of wine and few pieces of pizza rustica for a dinner/snack. I walked back to the apartment, put my things away and took a nice hot shower. I was in for what I knew would be an early evening.

Piazza del Duomo - As seen from the apartment