Day 26: Parma

A late start today.  Everyone was a little tired and flat this morning.  No one was saying why, but I think it was obvious we were missing our companions.  We headed out for some croissants and coffee.  A weird Italian woman started talking to the kids just as were were leaving and I got the impression she was trying to pick pocket us.  She wouldn't let up and kept asking questions trying to engage us.  In the end, she kissed Scarlett on the cheek (revolting) and Rick promptly moved everyone along.  There are nice shops everywhere.  The streets are wide and its the cleanest city we've been in so far.  It has an upmarket feel and its a lot less hectic than we have experienced. Interestingly, it has a high population of black people, not beggars or hawkers, just men hanging around in the parks or along the streets.  I'm wondering if they are students perhaps, as there seems to be quite a young population in general and I think there is a big university not far from the city. Anyway, it has a calm about it that I haven't felt in Italy and I get the impression that there aren't too many tourists around. We hired some bikes for Scarlett and Maxie as the apartment had two we could use which included a seat for Zachary. So the day soon became about riding through the gorgeous streets of Parma and the kids just loved it. It felt like we were in a dream as we rode over the cobblestones past the plethora of restaurants, gelateria's and fruit shops that are "everywhere".  They don't call it the food capital for nothing. We stopped at a restaurant listed on both Trip Advisor and The Lonely Planet as a must and weren't disappointed. I had an incredible plate of carciofi and raddichio for starters and a selection of unbelievable salumi and the trademark parmesan and pecorino cheese that are specialties for the area. Rick had Vitello Tonnato and Carpaccio of Beef which was a little too meaty this time for my liking.  A bottle of vino later (7 Euro and it was pretty tasty), we were back on the bikes exploring and enjoying the cooler weather and scenery. We came across a craftsman building a cobblestone road and I think he was surprised that I was so appreciative of his efforts.  It was very interesting to watch and I felt like asking him to come to Australia to do my driveway.  What an incredible art.  I was in awe. We continued on through a big park on the other side of the "dry" river and then back into town for a gelato before calling it a day. The two bikes cost us $7 to hire and we'd had them all day.  I left the bike shop thinking it was a front for something more sinister. I dinked Scarlett and Zachie on the way home and Rick took Maxie.  It was fun but hard work pushing two kids with pasta bellies over the cobblestones and I can feel my cullo is sore already. Home to finish the endless washing and catch up on some chores.