Palmabella's Passions

Another early morning with a 5a.m. wake up alarm. I am doing 3 hrs a week of phone supervision of my three therapist interns in Palm Desert. I have scheduled times each week with all three, and with the time difference, it is a little hard to coordinate. I have alarms set on my i-phone for each of them. One is at 6 a.m. Italy time on Thursdays.

Andrea was to pick me up just outside the city center (a VERY easy walk) at 7 a.m. (before my cafe was open). As I was walking down the block at 6:45, I heard a loud, "Buon Giorno, PALMA!" I turned around to see, Marco, one of the baristas from the cafe, on his way to work! He is adorable!

Andrea and I had an 8:00 appointment at a parmigiano producer. It was really fascinating. I took about a gazillion photos, and need some time to go through them, so I will blog about the PROCESS later. Let's just say, I REALLY enjoyed it, and the tasting part was great. Our guide spoke ENGLISH (yeah, a break...), and was fun and entertaining.

I learned a new word today. The Italian word for sex is sesso. Andrea thought the name of the small town was ridiculous!

It might confuse Brad if I just said, "I had cheese in Sex today." (Sex in cheese, he might believe!) But I digress...

Next, we visited a producer of balsamic vinegar in Modena. The house itself was a beautiful old villa, passed down from generation to generation. He learned to make the balsamico from his nonna. The tastings there were AMAZING! Again, too many photos for tonight!

Did I purchase anything, you ask?
This is what 4 chilo (kilo) di parmigiano looks like. There are four good sized chunks. Yes, that is 8 pounds. The bottle of balsamico was aged in cherry wood, and has a lovely fruity flavor.

We walked around the center of Modena, seeing the Duomo and the Palazzo Ducale, then stopped for a light lunch. As we were walking back to the car, there was a sudden rainstorm, and we were caught in a huge downpour. We were both DRENCHED to the bone, and it even hailed for a few minutes. Of course, as soon as we were back in the car (where there were umbrellas), the sun came out. I returned to my apartment for a couple hours of homework. I decided I need a really nice dinner out! I was pretty hungry, as I had only had half of a panino all day.

On Andrea's recommendation, I walked to the close-by "Antica Osteria Romagnola".
It was quite charming inside, and only about four blocks from my apartment. After I ordered a primi and a secondi, I found out they brought antipasti to each table.I really had to pace myself.

Next, I had a wonderful lasagnette bianca con zucchini. Delicious!

And finally, I had a boned breast of coniglio (rabbit) stuffed with herbs and potatoes, and wrapped in proscuitto.

No, I coudn't finish it! But everything was wonderful! It was a great day! Now I am home to blog and hit the sack!