Monthly Archives: April 2012

A Hill Town in Umbria

Posted on April 29, 2012 by msraaka

Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia Last week we took the train to Umbria, where we’ll spend our last month in Italy. We are very fortunate to have an apartment in the old center of Perugia, an often overlooked city in … Continue reading →

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Slow Food

Posted on April 18, 2012 by msraaka

The cellar of Trattoria La Buca You can find many restaurants in Italy that would qualify as Slow Food, but we decided to have lunch at La Buca, which, after reading many outstanding reviews, sounded like the real deal. The … Continue reading →

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Another Side Trip

Posted on April 16, 2012 by msraaka

Beautiful Cremona Another easy side trip from Reggio is the town of Parma, about 15 minutes west by train. Like most of the neighboring towns of Reggio, it has the same hexagonal shape with a few ancient city portals still … Continue reading →

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Side Trips near Reggio

Posted on April 13, 2012 by msraaka

St. Anthony’s Basilica in Padua Padua is not in our region—Emilia Romagna, but the Veneto region is our next door neighbor and an easy side trip by train. We rented a car because we had a concert to attend and … Continue reading →

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A Northern Cheese Experience

Posted on April 9, 2012 by msraaka

Fattoria Scalabrini cheese round When Bob asked our friend Roberto where we could see a cheese factory, he recommended Scalabrini Fattoria, a smaller, family-run business, just outside of the town of Reggio Emilia. It was about a fifteen minute drive … Continue reading →

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Returning to Reggio

Posted on April 9, 2012 by msraaka

Piazza Prampolini in Reggio Emilia This is our second stay in Reggio Emilia, a typical Italian town midway between Bologna and Milan. The city is located in the Po River Valley along the Via Emilia (an ancient Roman road) and … Continue reading →

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Vale la Pena

Posted on April 5, 2012 by msraaka

Talking with Giulio, the cheese maker in Sant’Ambrogio, Sicily In Italian, the expression, Vale la Pena means, literally, it’s worth the pain. But the general meaning is, it’s worth it. Learning a second language is definitely worthwhile—especially if it’s Italian, … Continue reading →

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Sicily Side Trips

Posted on April 1, 2012 by msraaka

Thanks to Carmelina, who operates Sicilian Experience, we had one of our best excursions yet, on the back roads of Sicily. She told us about an Art Hotel, where the owner, Antonio Presti, had commissioned well-known contemporary artists to create … Continue reading →

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