Shopping Day One: Parma

Every year, there is a post or two on this blog that my sister probably anticipates reading more than others. While some of you want to read about cycling up mountains, my sister, who works in the fashion industry wants to know about cloths (I guess?) So here is it, part one:
I like eating, I like cycling, I like music, I like talking a lot, and I like shopping. Shopping in Italy, where the style is generally great and the cloths actually fit me is lots of fun. Today, I had a lazy start to the day, went to the bakery to stock up on my focaccia for the day, then walked around Parma, down back streets, in and out of shops. I checked out everything in the central area, from big chains like Coin (basically Italy's Macy's) H&M, and Zara, to little one -off stores, which are usually my favorite. I stumbled upon more records stores, some vintage and antique shops and of course a few more salumerie.
It's amazing how somehow, after having a great ride yesterday and being in a much more positive mood, my eyes were open to a whole new Parma. I saw things I hadn't seen before, felt more inquizitive, more explorative. It was nice.
The first order of business was to try on a jacket sweater type thing that I saw in the window at Zara. Luckily for my wallet, a lot of cloths look a lot better on the mannequins than they do one me. The jury is still out on the jacket. I like it, just depends on how the budget is going after tomorrow's shopping trip to Milano. Anyway, I stopped in H&M, tried to find something I liked, and ended up leaving with... a hoodie. H&M hoodies are the best and they're cheaper here than in Philly. Plus the store isn't a mess like the one in Philly so I made that purchase. I also tried on a few sweaters at Coin, including a grey high neck cotton/ cashmere blend that I loved. I loved it because it looks exactly like my favorite CK sweater that's Italian wool and wearing out a bit. The jury is out on that too. If only I had an unlimited budget, I'd just buy another suitcase and fill it up with Italian clothes.
On my walk around before lunch, I checked out a few very interesting record/cd stores. The highlight was this incredible stack of cds and records. I've never seen anything like it. There's actually a person back behind there!

I also saw this cool record store. At least I think it was a store. Nothing was categorized, it looked like the person had stepped out for a bit because no one was in there, but they had one of those amazing super isolated turntables that you see in the "I'll never be able to afford this" section of Needle Doctor's website. The sounds coming out of it were incredible. I vowed not to buy any vinyl, since it is expensive here and a bit impractical to carry back to the States, but it was cool to look in.

My final stop of the day was at a salumeria. The people there were super nice. I tried some Parmignano and had to explain to them that I wouldn't be trying the prosciutto, since I am a vegetarian, and that the real reason I stopped in was the giant urn of dried porcini in the center of the store. The man told me they just arrived today and told me they smelled beautiful, which they did. I bought an etto, which is 100 grams. Again, depending on how the budget goes with shopping in Milano tomorrow, maybe I'll go back for another etto. They were the highest quality I've seen anywhere. Big aromatic pieces. And they told me to store them in the fridge, and had lots of advice about them. I was beyond pleased with their products and service. It's places like that, family-run joints that make Italy great. It's like going into Claudio's and having the old guy wait on you. You'll get to try everything!
One store I didn't get to, but I hope to visit before I leave here is a vintage shop just on the other side of the train station. Apparently, they specialize in vintage cycling jerseys. Their website has over 800 listed. I have to see that in person.
Like I said, tomorrow I head to Milano. I will try to stop in the Duomo as well to at least get something cultural out of it, since I won't be shopping at Prada, Ferragamo, Versace, Dolce e Gabbana, etc. Shopping at Camper, Coin, Bata, Puma, etc is not quite as culturally stimulating. I might even try to make it out to Rossignoli's bike shop and some other neighborhoods that my sister and I didn't make it to last time. Look for a post tomorrow about cloths, shoes, and a better dressed but poorer me.

Over the Hills and Far Away

I'm sitting here listening to Robert Plant's new album steaming on NPR, putting an end to a perfect Italian day.
It's amazing how much of cycling, and well anything really, is mental. I have not been particlarly motivated to ride these last few days. I was getting a little bummed out with the food in Parma, the lackluster roads, and for the first time in all my trips to Italy, feeling a bit homesick. Crazy, I know. After yesterday's failed ride, resulting in the plan to ride across the Apennine Mountains to Italy's west coast, I was really excited to ride this morning.
The ride started identically to yesterday. It's basically one road, Strada Statale 62, all the way to La Spezia on the Tyrrhenian Sea. The first 16 miles of that road suck. It takes 12 miles to get to where the Autostrada splits off, then it gets marginally better, but it's not until mile 16, where you turn out of the valley and immediately start climbing, that the road doesn't suck. But, once you get to the climb, it's beautiful. Mostly decent pavement all the way, two wide lanes and no traffic. I think for the next 25 miles, only a dozen motorcycles and a half dozen cars passed me. It's was silent!

The climb was long, gradual, if you can call 8-9% gradual. It never got above 10%, but it went on for a long time. Perfect in my book. With a few sections of downhill respite, it was basically an uphill battle from mile 16 to 40. It was everything I have been seaching for in a road the whole time I've been here. The scenery was amazing, climbing out of the valley up into some real mountains. There were a few spots where I probably should have stopped and taken some photos, but in the mountains, they never come out to looks as dramatic as they are in real life, especially with only my iPhone camera. You just have to imagine. Although the mountains here aren't as high as near Lago Maggiore, the views were remarkable. Like I said, besides the mountains at least on the Emilia-Romagna side of the pass, lie miles of perfectly flat land. You can see forever. The iPhone camera can't. That's part of being here, you can't capture it all, that's why you have to come here yourself. Plus, I was on a mission today. I only stopped once to pee... and once to make sure I wasn't off course. I wasn't stopping to take any photos, sorry.
I climbed forever, but I was having so much fun. I started climbing in a town called Salita, which ironically means climb in Italian. Eventually that turned into another climb, then another. It's all one road but different parts have different names. Eventually however, I reached the sign that said Passo della Cisa, Dipartimento di Firenze, Toscana. I dropped it down a few gears and sprinted for the top. I knew from that point, it'd be 30 miles downhill to the sea. I swear, once I crossed into Tuscany, the sun broke through the clouds, the road smoothed out, and of course, I began going downhill. It was a perfect welcome back to my favorite part of Italy.
The first part of my downhill journey, was the actual descent of the pass. It was the best. Super wide, mix of sweeping no-brakes turns and then a series of switchbacks! It was a blast!! Eventually I reached the next town and it was, for the most part, a gradual downhill false flat for miles on end. I was absolutely flying! Finally I reached the town of Aulla, which is where I turned off onto SS330 and climbed up a bit before the final shot down into La Spezia. The little climb really hurt, and despite that most of the previous 20 miles was downhill, it was not steep enough to not pedal and I was really pushing it. Once I got to La Spezia, the road was flat along the coast. I vowed not to let up and stop the clock until I saw the sea.

By the time I saw the marina, just over four hours of riding had elapsed, 77 miles, just under 5500ft of climbing (RideWithGPS said 6100?), and my average speed was 19mph. A bit of mental motivation goes a long way. I kicked ass today. It was the epitome of Italian cycling. Crossing a mountain range, through three provinces, perfect roads, great weather, you couldn't ask for anything more. It was the ride of the trip!!
Once I got to La Spezia, I cruised around for a bit, checked out the town, and decided upon this cafe to get some lunch. And, lunch was awesome. Canolloni filled with spinach and ricotta. Perfect! I followed that up with a giant cone of really good gelato (Nutella, Bacio, and Fondente) then road around some more. I rode up to the castel, I road down to the marina, and checked out all the windows in the shops in the gigantic pedestrian zone more than a few times.

Eventually, I decided it was time to get the train back. Unforutunately, getting there in the middle of the day, I missed all the bakeries but was also too early for some handmade trofie at an Osteria. I decided, I better just head back. Once I found the station, I realized that I had over an hour until the next train back to Parma. With that, rather than sit around at the station, I ended up going back to the seafront and found a stand selling traditional Ligurian focaccia. I bought 1.50 Euro worth of focaccia with fresh tomato and sat by the sea for the better part of an hour, relaxing.
The train ride back was long. Two hours is a long time when you just want to get back and out of your salt covered cycling cloths. By the time I made it back to Parma, it was just about dark. Luckily, restaurants here are open late because everyone eats dinner at the earliest 8:30.
I consulted Trip Advisor and found a little Trattoria on the other side of the river. The reviews were good, so I decided to give it a try. Finally, I found so food to get really excited about in Parma. On this little back street this place was hiding, but hiding not that well. Even at 9:30 on a Monday, I had to wait to get a table. For a grand total of 18 Euro, I got a big plate of chicche (little gnocchi) with pesto and tomatoes, the cover (all restaurants charge this in place of having to leave a tip) grilled vegetables, a big bottle of Pellegrino, and an incredible semifredo of mint with chocolate sauce. Everything was fantastic. I'm going back tomorrow for the tortelli filled with chard. I bet the tagliatelle ai funghi and risotto are good too.

That's my day. It was everything that I could have hoped for and more. I needed this day. I'm tired, but I needed that ride and the good food to keep me interested in this place. I know that sounds crazy. It was a great start to the week. I don't know if I'll be able to do another ride that great, but I know that the one way ride to a great destination in the way to go. It keeps me motivated. Having to ride the same road in and out of the city is really depressing to me. I don't want to see the same thing twice. I don't know what else to tell you, I ready for bed.
PS, funny story. I got back to the apartment today and I noticed that the door was not double locked. I could have swore that I double locked it. I entered the apartment and much to my surpise, someone had come in and given me new towels, new sheets, and cleaned the whole place top to bottom. I was not expecting that. I figured I was on my own. I've never had service like that in an apartment. I could tell that the cleaning lady was clearly an Italian mother. Not only was the place spotless, all the dishes and pots on the drain board were put back in the cupboard. The things I had on the table, like my vitamins, oil, vinegar, salt pepper, Nutella, were all placed neatly in the cupboard as well. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not a messy person and I like organization, so nothing was dirty or messy, but somehow, this lady made it even neater. She even went so far as to fold some cloths I had laying out that I had only worn to dinner last night. She even un-cuffed my jeans that I had left so they wouldn't get wrinkled. It was awesome, but also a little creepy! I don't know what it is, but Italian women know how to clean. I've never seen so many old women sweeping the sidewalks or washing the outside of the buildings. Everything gets a daily scrub down. If they don't have a sidewalk, I've even seen people sweeping the shoulder of the roads! It's great, but it's also maybe a bit crazy. Yet another reason I love Italy!

Making the most of every day.

People always tell you, make the most of every day, especially on vacation. Well, I'm here to tell you that's not always possible.
When you go on vacation for three weeks and stay in apartments, some days are destined to be quite a bit less magical, more routine, more like.... real life! Some days you're tired and need to sleep in, some days it rains, some days you have to do your laundry, some days you need to go the grocery store, some days you need to take a nap, and everyday there are dishes to wash and garbage to take out. It's not all prancing around the countryside and rambling around ancient city streets. That's just how it goes. Today was one of those days and I think it was quite in keeping with the vibe here on a Sunday afternoon in Parma.
I slept-in today until about 10. Yesterday was a long day. I realized that once I started to pedal- but more on that later. I went to the grocery store, then gradually got myself together to get out for a ride. About 20km into the ride, the sunny skies of Parma turned very dark. Over the hills that I planned to ride into, big black clouds acted as a dramatic backdrop with the sun already shining from the northwest of the sky. Then it started to rain. Not heavily, but just enough that I started thinking about bailing on the ride and hopping on the train back to Parma. Luckily I had not yet reached the hills so I was able to get under cover and to the train station. Of course, here in Parma the sun is still shining. So, today was a bust.
That's ok though. My legs were really feeling dead and I was planning on taking a shorter route today. I'll try again tomorrow. I have to do my laundry anyway and I'll be cooking dinner from the apartment tonight so I'll do that and have a nice quiet night. Parma is really dead on Sunday so I feel like I'm right along with everyone. Every shop is closed, I think even the supermarkets close early, and there are so few people out on the streets you can ride your bike down the middle of the main roads and no one in a car comes along for several minutes. It's actually kind of strange.
The one thing I realized is that I might want to take the train out towards where I was today then ride from there. This way I can get in better quality riding, rather than wasting 50km of a 100km ride on flat, crowded roads completely devoid of anything resembling scenery. Of course due to the failure of the Garmin Connect app, I can't make any new routes and load them to the Garmin with my iPad so I'll have to plan ahead, take screen shots on my phone and use my memory to freestyle around Emilia-Romagna. We'll see. I'm thinking my days this week might be spent in Firenze, Cinque Terre and maybe Milano, shopping and site-seeing because riding around here is really boring. It's like riding in the plains or something. Not many back roads and lots of industrial agriculture and manufacturing too. Maybe in a big peloton riding these flat roads would be fast and awesome, but alone, they're just dreadful. I miss the mountains, that's for sure.
PS: I've decided tomorrow I'm just going to ride all the way to the sea. It's 130km, or 80 miles with 6000ft of climbing. Long gradual climbs on wide provincial roads. For the first time since being in Parma, I'm really looking forward to this ride. It will take me through Emilia-Romagna, Toscana, and Liguria, over the Apennine Mountains. It's gonna be tough but I'm hoping for a big plate of trofie al pesto when I get there! Then the train back.

It's not Italy unless you climb at least one tower.

Today did not go according to plan. If you recall, I was supposed to meet Roberto outside of Modena. Somehow, our email correspondence broke down and I wasn't able to confirm with him any plans. But that was ok, I took a day off the bike to travel to to some of the famous cities of Emilia-Romagna.
Emilia-Romagna is defined by cities along what was an anciet road that stretched on a big diagonal across north-central Italy. Between Piacenza, just south of Milano, and Rimini, on the Adriatic coast, are a few cities you've probaly heard of. Of course, Parma, where I'm at now, known for Proscuitto di Parma and Parmignano-Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese. Then there is Modena, famous for it's Balsamic vinegar, and finally Bologna, famous for its mortadella, or as some call it, baloney. But, Bologna is famous for many other things, and being the half-way point between Piacenza and Rimini, it's the biggest city on the Emilia-Romagna chain.
My day started, confusingly. I woke up to an alarm for only the second time in two weeks, checked my email, but instead of going back to bed, I switched gears and decided today would make a great tourist day. The sun was shining and Sunday is always the better day for cycling when all the shops and museums are closed anyway.
I first stopped in Modena. Modena is similar to Parma, in both size and character. There is a big old palace there, but instead of being used as a museum, like the one in Parma, it's used to house something with the Italian military. Modena was also the home to Luciano Pavarotti, so there is a theater that bears his name, a very distinct Duomo and tower, and many narrow streets and sunny piazze. The center was a bit of a walk from the station, but quickly the wide boulevards turn to little vias and you knew you were in the center.
I didn't do much there besides walk around, climb a small tower, visit the church and then purchase some cheese at a big food market. The market was great though. For 3 Euro and change I was able to buy five bastoncini (cheese sticks) made of smoked scamorza and a half pound of baked lemon ricotta "cake", one of my favorite things in the world!
But, here's where we have to clear things up. In the US, scamorza is not at all like scamorza here, except in shape. Scamorza here is like smoked mozzarella at home, where as scamorza at home is really more like small caciocavallo. The thing is, mozzarella here is always in water. It's not something you can buy in a rubber-like block (I don't eat that shit anyway). So, if it's drier, and/or smoked, it scamorza, but if it's aged longer like scamorza in the US, it's caciocavallo. And then there is the provola, which can also be smoked. Sometimes I think smoked provola is the same as smoked scamorza. I don't know. I've never seen smoked provola at home. But, I think provola is a more southern Italian thing, whereas northern Italian cheeses are more like Swiss and French cheeses, then of course here in Emilia-Romangna you have Parmagnano. We'll anyway, cheese is super important here, but I think sometimes it's just a matter of what the "right" name is.

Where was I? Modena, right! The highlight of Modena for me was finding this great Balsamic shop on this random street outside the center of town. The shop sold nothing but Balsamic (traditional and vinegar) and some wine. The Balsamic was definitely more expensive than the wine. Balsamic is often confused with Balsamic Vinegar, that stuff that is barely aged, has cooked grape must, wine vinegar and caramel color added. That can be attained at any grocery store for a few dollars. And there is nothing wrong with it. Real Balsamic is traditionally made by aging purely uncooked grape must in oak barrels for a minimum of two years. The longer it ages, the more it reduces, the thicker it gets and the sweeter it is, and of course the more expensive it is. Then there is Aceto Balsamic which is best made with grape must and wine vinegar. It can be aged for similar amounts of time, but has more acidic bit, due to the wine vinegar. After much debate, I settled on a 12 year old Balsamic and a 10 year old Aceto. I tasted each of them, and they were my favorites. I didn't really taste anything older because I couldn't afford it. The oldest that they had was 100 years old, was sold in hand numbered 3oz bottles and cost 500 Euro. I did not add an extra zero, 500 Euro. And you thought wine was expensive! I read recently that they discovered an over-300 year old bottle of Balsamic somewhere in Italy. A few very lucky people got to try it. Honestly anything over 15 year old Balsamic is probably best consumed only on a spoon. It's that good.
So there I go again, rambling on about food. From there, I got back on the train to Bologna. Bologna is big, I knew I wouldn't see everything, but I had no intention of doing that. I don't have my Rick Steves guide book with me and frankly, I don't care. I'd rather just roam the streets, step into shops, check out cathedrals, continue my possibly endless search for that past machine, and of course, climb a tower!

Like any city, Bologna has changed a lot of the years. At one point the city was surrounded by walls and there were nearly 200 towers erected to help Bolognans ward of attacks in Medieval times. Central Italy was a feaudal mess back then, so rich familes built towers. Only a few still stand today. The tallest one is open for tourists to climb. Every trip I've take to Italy, I've climbed at least one tower. It's really fun. They're steep, kinda dangerous, definitely wouldn't be allowed in the US. Even the ticket booth was half-way up a narrow spiral staircase. It was sketchy to say the least. The wooden stairs were worn down, uneven and certainly built for people with shorter legs and smaller feet (not that mine are that big). At times, it was like being on a ladder...with traffic. Once you got to the top, the view was spectacular. Always worth the climb, just like in cycling.

Believe it or not, by the time I got back to Parma, it was well after 8pm. Perfect Italian dinner time. Everyone eats around 9:30 here it seems. I have to say one thing though: although the restaurant I ate at tonight was very good, I still think Souther Italian food is the best. Aside from the focaccia and pesto, the pizza and the olive oil and the fresh vegetables are what make the south the best. Firenze actually has a good balance. Since we're not surrounded by olive trees, instead by dairy farm of the flat land, food here is very heavy on the cheese and butter. I know, it sounds great, but honestly I am really missing my olive oil. I'm getting sick of cheese. This region may be regarded as the gastronomic heartland of Italy, but I want a marinara and something with a lot garlic and hot pepper. I want Napoletano pizza and zeppole. Southern Italy has all the best desserts too. Cookies are fine, but sfogliatella, zeppole, any type of fried dough, that wins in my book. And I'm dying for some simple semola pasta, no more tagliatelle with 00 flour and eggs. That said, my next trip to Italy will definitely include Bari and Napoli and somewhere in Calabria and Sicily too. The roads for cycling might not be as well paved, the art and architecture may not be as refined, but the people will be even warmer, probably a bit fatter, and poorer, but certainly happy.
Anyway, tomorrow has turned into today. I'm really tired from walking easily 15 miles today. Tomorrow I'll sleep in, take it slow, go for a ride and I think I'll cook myself some rustic southern Italian food for dinner.

Cycling Emilia-Romagna

When I started planning this trip, I decided that I would go places in Italy that I had never been before. I figured as much as I love Firenze, I'd try somewhere new. After-all, Italy is a pretty big country... well, it's diverse anyway. I try to do the same when I go to restaurants, or bakeries, etc. I want to try them all. But I never do. Diversity is good, but I think when you find something you like, it's worth sticking with.
Every day in Verbania, I went to the same bakery. Yes, it was down the street, but it was clearly the best bakery in town. By noon they were pretty much sold-out of focaccia, and half the bread was gone. Customers were loyal. And it's the same thing here, even though Parma is a lot larger. I've inspected many bakeries around Parma, but I'm convinced that the little bakery on the next street over is the best, at least for me. In Firenze, I went to the same bakery every day too. It's nice to have that routine. When you find something that works, stick with it.
With that in mind, I think that restaurant on some little back street in "my neighborhood" is going to be my spot. Sure, there may be many great restaurants in Parma, but I had the best risotto I've ever had there and the place was way cheaper than the touristy spots in the center of town. I think Osteria da Beppo is going to be my Osteria Cento Poveri of Parma (Osteria Cento Poveri in Firenze is the best restaurant I've eaten at in all of Italy, I'm considering going there one day next week just to eat there). That said, I think sometimes you just have to go with your gut and if you really like something forget about that diversity crap.
I don't know, Parma is getting a little boring. It's a Friday night and the town is dead. In Firezne, every night of the week, every piazza is filled with people. I miss that. I wanted to go somewhere different, and part of going somewhere different is realizing that maybe the place that you love is not the place that you love because you've seen nowhere else, but it truly is this spectacular place. Firenze is definitely that place for me.
But, it's not like I'm not having a good time here. I'm settling in. I've seen most of the city worth seeing, and I've gotten a good feel for what cycling is like here (Firenze wins in this regard too. Tuscany may be the best place to ride a bike in the world). I think now that I'm settled and I've explored, maybe it's time to go to the grocery store and do my own thing for dinner. You might think that it's crazy to cook your own food in a place like Italy, but with access to great ingredients, a decent size fridge, and a gas range, I think I might be better off eating from "home".
As far as other plans, I am going to spend a day in Milano, I'm going to spend a day in Bologna. After that, I could also go to Cinque Terre. It's a pretty quick train ride out there. And of course, if I really can't resist, maybe Firenze too. I don't know. I really want to go to the Mercato Centrale to buy Porcini, I want to go to Mercanto di San Lorenzo, and I want to go to Osteria Cento Poveri. We'll see. The thing is, I'm on vacation, right? It's not like I have to cycle every day for training. Yes, I came here to ride. Yes, the countryside is best seen by bike. But, if I spend time shopping and being a tourist, I came here to do that too, and I won't feel guilty about it.

So, cycling Emilia-Romagna as the title says. Remember that thing Saliscendi that I talked about? They were talking about Emilia-Romagna when they came up with that. I don't think I rode a flat road all day. It was actually kind of miserable. Up and down, and up and down. 4700ft of climbing in 58 miles. The scenery, of course much different from that in Piemonte, is beautiful. It's all hill after hill. But not rolling like at home. Short and steep, but not really that short. Gone are the long 20km long climbs, instead the strangest combination of roads that go on for 30km at 2-3% then turn off onto a wall at 16%. It's strange.
The landscape once you get 30km our of Parma doesn't make sense. It's like nothing I've seen before. It's different than Tuscany. The roads are super narrow, the pavement isn't always too great, and it's farm land. In Tuscany you ride through acres upon acres of forest, of vineyards, of olive groves. Here, it's hay fields to feed the cows that make the milk that makes the Parmigiano cheese. The whey from the cheese making is fed to the pigs, which become Prosciutto. That cycle is very evident by the landscape.
The highlights of my ride came in positive and negative.
Positive: the scenery. Because everything is farm land and the surrounding area is pancake flat, once you get to the top of even the shortest climb, you can see for miles. That's pretty cool. Also. the last 30km back to Parma was downhill at 1-3%. It was fast!
Negative: Short and steep is not much fun for me. I miss those really long climbs. They were really steep in spots too, but you get in a rhythm. I think only on one climb did I get that today and just barely. That's my favorite thing... long climbs with switchbacks.
The other negative was this one descent. It was so steep I couldn't believe that my back wheel was staying on the ground. I don't even know how it was a road. I felt like I was mountain biking. I think I went almost as slow on that descent as I did going up the other side. I'm usually a very good descender, but this was crazy. Luckily, unlike in the Alps, where if you go off the road, you're surely dead, here you're just going to ride off in big field and get covered in what I presume is probably 60% dirt- 40% pig shit. So, yeah, I guess that's not as bad?

That was my ride. It was hard, it was hot, and I was completely fried when I got back. Luckily there was a lot of focaccia waiting for me. After lunch, I showered and went to check out this record store. It was pretty cool. Certainly no PREX, they had mostly cds, though they did have some good vinyl. I was tempted but I decided what's the sense risking ruining a record in transit back to the US. Instead I picked up a copy of Badmotofinger for 10 Euro. I've been obsessed with that album and I don't own it so I figured what the hell. I walked all the way there, might as well buy something.
Tomorrow, I am planning to take the train to Modena and then ride out to Castelnuovo Rangone to meet up with Roberto Romagnolo. Roberto is this guy that I know from Strava. Michael Crocker told me about him, since he "knows" him from there, as they are both mega-mile maniacs. I'm excited to meet him. I don't know what's in store for me as far as miles. Like I said, I did about 60 miles with 4700ft of climbing. Roberto did 100 miles with 7500ft of climbing today. He should be tired, but considering he's already done over 18,000 miles this year, I doubt it. 18,500 miles so far this year? That's beyond comprehendible to me. If I ever get up to 10,000 miles a year, I'd be beyond happy. You can do the math, he'll do nearly 25,000!!

That said, I'm going to bed. I need all the rest I can get to be recovered from today and ready for Roberto tomorrow! After the ride I hope to cruise around Modena a bit before I get back on the train, maybe find some good Balsamic along the way. Yum!

Wandering around Parma

Today I kept it simple. I wandered around Parma, the historic center, a bit of the neighborhood that I'm staying in and beyond in both directions. I started the day looking for a Forno to get some breakfast and foccacia for lunch. A cream filled brioche and a chocolate muffin started me right up and I was ready to do a lot of walking.
After crossing the river into the center, I made my way through the courtyard of the old palace towards the main cathedral. On the way, I stepped into another cathedral called Santa Maria della Staccata. I've seen a lot of beautiful churches all throughout Italy, but this one I found to be the most beautiful. While I was there, a few singers were rehearsing with the organist for an upcoming musical service. The acoustics of the room and the sound of the organ made the architecture and art all the more beautiful. It was the highlight of my day.
Then I wandered some more, finally ending up at what I guess is the Duomo, the main cathedral. The interior had one of the most ornaitly decorated thatched roof cielings I've seen. Ironically the exterior was bland as anything and looked in major disrepair. The other feature of the piazza is the baptisery, but I did not have a chance to go in before lunch time, for which they closed for a few hours.
As I made my way back around, out towards the outskirts of the historic center and then back towards my side of town, I found a big cheese shop and bought myself a mezza kilogramma of Parmigniano Reggiano. So good! Aged 30 months, it is the tastiest I've ever eaten. Maybe I'll bring some back home.
After lunch I went back out and wandered some more, furhter north, further south. I did a lot of walking today. I also must have done a lot of eating today because somehow, I'm not really hungry. I think I'll stick around my apartment tonight, snack on some food I have here, and get to be early. I hope to get out of town on my bike tomorrow to see what cycling in Emilia-Romagna has to offer.

Here are some photos of my day:

How does a cyclist get an upper body workout?....

Besides fitting stubborn tires or attempting to get up to 100psi with a mini-pump when he flats?.... carrying a bike bag 1.5km from the train station to his next vacation apartment (after lugging it around all day). That sucked! Then, carrying 15 liters of water, 630g of Nutella (only in Italy do they sell-out of smaller jars of Nutella, but at least I didn't get the full kilo jar!) and a bunch of other crap back from what I thought was the closest grocery store. I didn't look that far on the map!
Anyway, my skinny arms and shoulders are sore. Several people look at my skinny ass and then the giant bike bag and they can't believe I manage the thing. What I lack in arm strength, I have in leg strength, and when I "drop them" on the stairs they understand! But seriously, I don't know how I do it. I just look at it like a long climb; you just climb to the next sign, then the next, and eventually you get there. Same with the bike bag... but I'm convinced that carrying the bike is more of a workout than riding it. Ironically, it's not the bike that is heavy, it's all the other stuff I've amassed, which isn't much, yet!

I'll tell you right now, this is going to be a bit of a disjointed post. I really didn't do anything exciting today except ride buses, trains, subways, etc. Aside from everything running late, and getting to Parma nearly three hours later than planned (don't plan if you come to Italy, just go with it, you'll save yourself a lot of stress), I had a pretty cool day. As chance would have it, a man in Verbania was traveling to Parma (and beyond) to start a new job outside the city at a meat packing plant. He was waiting endlessly with me for the right bus to get us to the station and it happened that he spoke English. Turns out he's from Sri Lanka, and very long story short, he's here after separating from his Italian wife, who he met in Sri Lanka. From what I understand, he's got a degree in garment merchandising (they make a lot of garments in Sri Lanka, ever notice?) and studied English as well. Seeing as how we both spoke the same language, both were traveling the same path, we spent a lot of time talking. It was pretty cool. He had a very interesting story, very nice guy and seeing how he lugged my bloated carry-on bag all the way to Parma, I was more than happy to volunteer to pay part of the leg of his journey from Milano to Parma. The $15ish was well worth the camaraderie and the enormous help.
We spoke of many things; his experience trying to find a job in Italy, his desire to work in England or the US, he told me all about Shri Lanka, I told him about the US, our politics and issues, Italian food, etc. It was a long journey made short. I was very glad to have his company. Most interesting was what he told me of racism issues in Italy. The difference of perception being from Shri Lanka and having darker skin changes a lot for him. He said that even being educated and an English speaker who is learning Italian, it is hard to find work here aside from odd jobs. He said friends of his from America basically get their asses kissed by the Italian government and get way better visa opportunities. It sounded very unfortunate, but he wasn't complaining about it at all, and he's working his ass off to make it happen to stay in Europe. He's willing to take the risk, putting himself through a lot of hardship and sacrifice to make a different life for himself. I was very impressed.
Speaking of this, when I arrived in Parma and mentioned my travel companion for the day to the lovely young woman who managed the apartment, she was very surprised and half-jokingly said she hoped I checked my pockets. While I am sure there are all types of people who take advantage of tourists, it's really unfortunate that the racism is so blatant that she would assume that he's a criminal just because he's foreign and dark-skinned, even just as a joke. I don't know, it exists everywhere, and it's not like I'm one to just trust anyone like an idiot, but after spending the better part of seven hours with this guy, I was really impressed with him and I hope that one day I can have his tenacity to take on new challenges in life's adventure as bravely as he.
So, I'm in Parma, right? Back to that. I haven't seen anything really except for a few streets, the inside of a Conad grocery store, and a plate of Risotto ai Funghi Porchini. But, what I have noticed is that I'm located just over the river (I haven't figured out which one it is yet but there's no water in it) from the central part of this small city. I'm right near the University, I'm on the same quaint street as Auturo Toscanini's birth house, I must be also near the African/ Middle Eastern neighborhood and it's beautiful. I'm loving the youthful vibe of the place, the diversity. It's much improved over the stuffy German/ Swiss tourist population in Verbania. I can't wait to explore this place. But, here are a few quick observations:

The food is going to be great! I stumbled upon a little Osteria that specializes in Risotto. They must have had a dozen types on the menu and all fresh pasta. There are lots of restaurants to try in this great food city, but I'd go back there for more!
Italians are much better about attempting to save the earth. This is how their trash system works: There are four trash cans downstairs. One for garbage, one for plastic and metal, one for organic waste, one for paper, and one for glass is just outside down the street. It's the law that they do this here, but also in most other places I've been in Italy. Really, let's get on with it America! Our ""just throw it all away, recycle if it's convenient" system is disgustingly irresponsible.

I feel like I'm in Holland. The city is pretty flat, and there are bikes everywhere. Kids riding bikes, girls sitting on their boyfriends' back-mounted bag racks, dogs in bike baskets. And at night too. And through the park, it seems like people are so active. Being such a famous food city, they must subscribe to the adage, ride/ run more so you can eat more! Just tonight, the roads department was out creating more bike lanes!

Only in Europe will you get keys to a brand new apartment with modern locks and they'll look like this:

Another observation about Italy is that people are very old school. In many ways, I think this is great. Family-time, culture, preservation of the antiquity, food culture, etc are still very much intact. But in other ways, it's strange. Dare I say America is much more progressive. I've noticed this over the years here. Gender roles are still very "antique" shall we say. I mentioned to the girl who managed the apartment that I was really happy to see a gas range, rather than the annoying electric one in the past apartments. She said, "You're gonna cook?!" And I don't think she meant it like, "You're in Parma, gastronomic heaven, and you're gonna make your own food?!", she meant "You're a man, you know how to cook?!" Chefs can be men, but the home cook must be a woman? Yes, I know how to cook, it's not that radical!
And finally, yes I know, I have a great ability to write a lot about nothing. Anyone who knows me, knows I talk too much, but I'll leave you tonight with this: I don't know yet, but from what I can tell so far, Parma might take over from Firenze as my favorite Italian city. It seems a lot less touristy, the people seem very nice, the scenery and architecture is gorgeous, apartment is awesome, the shower could double as a pressure washer, and of course the food...I'm having a good feeling about this place! Tomorrow I explore!