To Italy and Beyond: Ham and Cheese May 29th

Tired from the ride yesterday and since we had had such a big lunch, we had pizza for dinner downstairs. Early to bed on the 5th floor with a great breeze blowing through the apartment.

Woke today with a tour of the countryside planned. We are in prosciutto country and Parma Ham territory. Downstairs and across the street is a pastry shop that could be on 5th Avenue NYC. What a way to start the day. And next to it is a butcher shop/bakery where we were able to restock the apartment with essentials.

Butcher/bakery shop

Then off to the countryside.
Confession time. I had mapped out a route through prosciutto country before we left, but never was able to test it. The way points often took us to places not related to our wants and needs. We stopped in the first town and bought fruit. So nice to have little shops like this every little town. Most people bike to them whatever their age is.

Reguardless, we were able to find the true home of prosciutto, tour their little museum, and then go for a great little lunch. Are beginning to see a pattern here?

My lunch.

Afterwards we drove to a 15th century castle on a hill above the town and wandered around it. Wonderful frescoes still on many of the walls. We had the castle all to ourselves.

In one of the first towns we stopped in, Mary Ann and Linda got directions to a prosciutto factory so we could tour it. We had stopped at several but they said because of sanitary reasons, no tours were available. We were resigned to not getting to see prosciutto being made when we found, after many wrong turns and long wait at a railroad crossing, the one that had been told to Mary Ann AND Linda hours ago. It was to be our last stop on the way home no matter what.

After entering in what looked like a service door, we found ourselves in a shop that sold prosciutto and other cured meats. We bought some small pieces and Mary Ann convinced the owner to allow us a small tour. Her Italian is really getting good.