This week, we’re taking things slow in Emilia-Romagna.

This region in northern Italy is sandwiched by the Apennine Mountains in the south and the River Po in the north. It’s these features that create the perfect conditions to produce some of the most amazing and famous foods in Italy.

Things here are done slowly, especially the food. Mouth watering Parma Hams and Parmesan Cheese are aged for 18 to 24 months whilst traditional Balsamic Vinegar needs 12 or 25 years to reach thick, inky black perfection. Meanwhile, Bologna is famous for Mortadella and of course a certain ragu sauce known the world over.

Driving appears to be the one exception to the rule as Emilia-Romagna is the home of Ferrari, Lamborghini and also Ducati motorbikes.

One thing that’s true for everything here is that it’s made with passion.

Parma

Leaving Lake Garda, we travel about two hours south to reach Parma.

Our home for the next couple of days will be the friendly little Sosta on the edge of the city. In keeping with the ‘taking it slow’ way of life, we ditch the Autostrada for local roads to get a better feel for the countryside.

This, it turns out, is a mistake.

The quality of the roads in Italy can be….. well let’s just say it’s mixed. The route we chose was a collection of potholes, collapsing curbs with bridge joints that felt like we were driving over crevasses. By the time we arrived, everything in the kitchen and bathroom had bounced onto the floor and as we opened the fridge to make lunch, the entire contents including the shelves slid out onto the floor.

Suffice to say, we now have a special ‘driving in Italy’ section on our checklist which includes packing everything away and firmly strapping Merlin down.

The Sosta in Parma is lovely and we got such a happy welcome from the chap that works there. Just like the other stops, there was space when we arrived but it was full by the evening time. Clearly a lot of people are still touring in Italy during October.

It’s still really warm here and the indicated 29c feels much lower than reality when the suns out. After a stroll around the city taking in the Cathedral and Baptistry the highlight of our day was undoubtedly lunch at Gallo d’Oro.

To start we shared rough chunks of Parmigiana Reggiano (Parmesan) served with balsamic vinegar and local honey. I surprised the waiter being keen to try to local fizzy red Lambrusco which was great with the cheese and Sally’s main of colourful Ravioli stole the show. (Yes, we were those people who take photos of their food)

Tarrachasia Castle

Our enthusiastic host recommended we visit the renaissance castle at Tarrachasia so we planned a detour there.

Hopefully you’ll agree it looks spectacular and so different to English Castles of the same period.

The castle has fresco’s painted over almost every wall. They’re impressive to be sure although I’m not sure they all date back to the 1500’s. The views out from this hill top fortress are however well worth it.

It’s midday and heating up when we get on the road to Bolgona. The sat nav says its about 2 hours but this time we opt for the Autostrada.

Bologna, the first time

Arriving in the city, we reserved a place at the campsite as Sally was working the next day. Despite positive initial impressions, it actually proved impossible for us to fit into any of the spaces. In two years of full timing, this is the first time this has happened to us.

40 minutes of trying spaces all around the campsite had us both hot, sweaty and really fed up. We ended up in a scorching hot carpark with no shade, by the back of the restaurant which is less than ideal but by that point we’d both well and truly had enough.

This was also the first time we’ve used the air conditioning. It doesn’t do a great job but when it’s so hot and there’s no breeze, we’ll take it. It gets a lot more use over the next few weeks.

I use the next day to do a few chores and head over to the Ducati Factory shop. If you’re a Ducati fan, the shop is amazing. I went in to buy a cap but very nearly ended up with a new motorbike.

Unenamoured with the campsite, we head out of the city for the weekend. We’ve got plans to come back and meet Emma and Ben here next week and we’ll find somewhere else to stay.

Fast Cars and Slow Vinegars

For the weekend, we stop at a locally run, and free, Sosta just outside Modena. It’s really close to a small town called Maranello, the home of Ferrari.

Too excited to wait, we hop on ‘Sons of Anarchy’ to check out the museum.

It’s actually more of an art gallery than a museum. It’s all super posh and there’s a collection of Ferrari’s from road and track through the ages on display. I used to have posters on my walls of the 90’s cars but they’re better in real life. The engineer in me loves the engines on display and I can remember most of the F1 winning cars that are lined up in the trophy room.

Something is missing though. There’s no noise or oily petrol smell. It feels too much like an art gallery and I can’t help but think the exhibits would rather be out, breathing fire around a race track. Ferrari actually have their own track just behind the factory and it’s possible to take a test drive. This would complete the tour but as the coffee mugs are €40, we decide not enquire how much a car would be.

We learn that to make traditional vinegar needs a set of barrels and the type of wood used helps to create the unique flavours. Some of these barrels are 150 years old. The vinegar starts to age and slowly evaporates in the largest barrel and is then transferred to the next smallest barrel and so on. This process repeats through all the barrels until a few precious litres escape the final barrel after 12 to 25 years.

Traditionally, the vinegar ages in the loft to keep it as far away as possible from the wine in the cellar. This means it’s subject to the changing temperature of the seasons which all helps to create the taste.

It’s a slow process. And an expensive one. Even considering the price of these little bottles of black gold, it’s done for love rather than profit.

Knowing more now about Balsamic Vinegar than we ever thought we would, we eventually get to try some, on porcelain teaspoons.

Oh wow. The taste of the 12 year old vinegar explodes. It’s like a little concentrated fireball which does something different to all of my tastebuds yet feels velvety smooth. I’ve never tried anything like it.

The 25 year old vinegar is even bigger. Somehow smoother but the flavour is unbelievable. It momentarily takes your breathe away.

Bologna, the second time

Our friends Emma and Ben are in Bologna on Monday so we take the opportunity to meet them before they fly out.

Although we get off to a slow start as there’s a city bus drivers strike, we catch up for coffee and take a tour through the historic city centre.

There are a lot of portico’s in Bologna. Miles and miles of them in fact. They are super helpful for getting around the city without being run over and avoiding the heat which is still a bit much for all of us in the direct sun. I read somewhere that they had to be built high enough to accommodate a horse and rider which is partly why they look so majestic.

A real highlight was the food markets and street cafe’s of Via Pescherie Vecchie. All of Emilia-Romagna’s delicacies are on offer and the smells are heavenly. It’s best not to attempt to walk around here when you’re hungry. Ben succumbed and brought Mortadella and I was unable to walk past an enormous chunk of Parmesan.

With rumbling tummies, we take a local recommendation for lunch. Unsurprisingly, it’s a slow lunch which suits us all just fine. A mixed platter of meats and cheese to start washed down with a bottle of sparkling Lambrusco. Ben orders us some of the delicious fried bread that we had seen in Parma which is fantastic. For main, I go for Tagliatelle al Ragu which I had to try in Bologna and which tastes more amazing than I hoped it would.

Our lunch ends up being so long that Emma and Ben have to hustle a bit to make their flight home. It’s been so good to see them both.

Needless to say, the bus drivers strike means there’s no rushing for us.

It’s ok, taking it slow is the Emilia-Romagna way.

All the best,

Sally, Toby and Merlin

Useful Links

Parma Sosta

Bologna Sosta (we preferred this to the campsite)

Ferrari Museum and Tickets

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar working museum