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Report 1414: Bologna, Piedmont, late Nov. 2007

By pedalaforte from Utah, Fall 2007

Trip Description: Nov. 17-27 2007, friends gather in Italy to enjoy some incredible food and wine experiences.

Destinations: Countries - Italy; Regions/Cities - Emilia-Romagna, Piemonte

Categories: Hotels/B&Bs; Foodie Trip; Wine Trip; Independent Travel; Small Group: 5 to 9

Page 1 of 12: Introduction (Italy, Nov. 17-27)

Our friends picked us up at Malpensa, and we drove to Fidenza to grab a fifth person at the train station. We had reservations for five at 1pm at the oft-recommended La Buca, in Zibello, in the Po bottom lands, in the Basso Parmense, in tortellini-culatello heaven. I should have named this trip the Burton Anderson/“Treasures of the Italian Table” tour of culinary classics. Anderson’s book has been a staple of my reading diet these last 12 or so years since the book’s release, and its well-worn pages had turned travel guide for this trip. We planned to live six of the 12 chapters in his book, which covers 12 defining Italy food-isms, or better put, 12 masterpieces of Italian cuisine. These 12 are defining at least to Anderson’s mind, and who am I to argue with 45 years of first-hand knowledge. So, we had 10 foggy, misty November days to live chapters on white truffles, balsamic tradizionale, Parmigiano Reggiano, risotto, pasta-of course-fresh-pasta and culatello.