Beautiful Views and Delicious Food

     The weekend after Fall Break, Caitlin and I explored Florence and visited the nearby cities of Parma and Modena.

     On Friday afternoon, Caitlin and I climbed to the top of Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral (the Duomo) for one of the best views of the city. The climb up was a constant spiral and thus a little dizzying, but it was really amazing. At two points we entered the inside of the church and were right below the beautiful frescoes that cover the inside of the dome. It was incredible. Not only could you see the church below, but you were so close to the fresco's that you could see the individual brush strokes. Everything painted in the scene was so much bigger from this point of view than from looking up into the dome from the floor of the church.



Climbing the stairs

Right below the frescoe!



      When we finished admiring the fresco we continued our climb. After a few more flights of stairs we finally reached the top. The view was spectacular. Because it was a nice clear day you could see for miles. You could see all the major monuments in Florence, the hills surrounding the city, and Caitlin and I were even able to spot our apartment. We took tons of pictures and were lucky enough to see the sun set behind the Tuscan hills. It was a great experience and if you ever visit Florence I would definitely recommend climbing to the top of the Duomo.



  

View from the top- Santa Croce in the background

     On Saturday Caitlin and I went on a school trip to Parma and Modena to learn about the production of some of Italy's delicacies. Parma is famous for their prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and Modena is famous for their balsamic vinegar.
     Our day began very early... at 4 in the morning to be exact. We had to be in Parma at 8:00am so we had to leave Florence by 5:30am. Caitlin and I weren't too thrilled about getting up this early (especially me since I had to register for classes at 2 in the morning!), but our trip ended up being well worth our lack of sleep.
     Our first stop was a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory in Parma. When we arrived we were given
 cute little biohazard suits to wear into the factory so that none of our germs got into the cheese. Next, we went inside to see and learn about the cheese making process. Some interesting things I learned were that the vats in which the cheese is made cost 10,000 Euros each (this factory had 4), the cheese must age for a minimum of 2 years to be considered Parmigiano-Reggiano, and one wheel of cheese costs 480 Euros and weights about 85lbs. Once we had finished with our tour we were able to taste some Parmigiano-Reggiano that had aged for 22 years and had some nice wine to go with it. It was delicious.

Caitlin and I in our biohazard suits

Rows and rows of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

     Our next stop was a prosciutto factory in Parma. We saw each stage that the prosciutto goes through before it can be eaten. It must be salted, washed, hung to dry, and then aired for a period of up to 18 months. As we were walking through the factory there were thousands of prosciutto legs hanging everywhere. The owner told us that his factory produces 50,000 every year. When we asked him if any of his prosciutto was shipped overseas to the United States he replied, "No, this prosciutto is too good for America." lol. Some interesting facts I learned while there was that a leg of prosciutto costs around 130-150 Euros, and that the region of Parma produces about 10 million legs of prosciutto each year.
     After we toured the factory we were treated to a nice lunch which consisted of some of the factory's prosciutto. Of course it was delicious and proved to intensify my love for one of my favorite Italian dishes.

Prosciutto legs everywhere!

Lunch after our tour

  

   Our last stop was the city of Modena. Here we got to tour a balsamic vinegar factory. Balsamic vinegar is made from the juice of grapes, boiled down to create a concentrate, and then placed in wooden barrels where it is fermented through a slow aging process. In order to be considered traditional balsamic vinegar it must be aged for a minimum of 12 years. This balsamic vinegar is more expensive (The more it ages the more expensive it is). They also have balsamic vinegar that has been aged for less than 12 years (For example, 6, 4, and 2 years). Although it is not considered "traditional" balsamic vinegar and is not as expensive, it is still very tasty. After our tour we got to taste a variety of balsamic vinegar ranging in age and flavor. We tried an orange and apple flavored balsamic vinegar, as well as balsamic vinegar ranging in age from 6- 50 years. The older the vinegar the more thick and sweet it was.

    Being able to tour the different factories in Parma and Modena was such an awesome experience. It was really cool being able to see how such staples of Italian food are made. It definitely made me appreciate Italian food so much more... and is perhaps part of the reason I have gained a few pounds!