They Can't All Be Winners

Monday, April 10, 2017
Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Parma; synonym for food.

This afternoon, we took a city tour with our guide and new friend Giulia.

Item: At the Cathedral of Parma, (1196) an impressive Duomo if I ever saw one and I've seen plenty, the door is flanked by impressive lion sculptures. Over their heads is a sculpture portraying the slaughter of a pig, the oldest known depiction of someone working with pork meat.

Item: At the Baptistery diagonally across the square, a cycle of months is celebrated showing people growing wheat, harvesting grapes, reaping turnips and making suasages.

Item: Nearby is the Magistrale di Santa Maria della Steccata—a church. Above the altar, there are several food-related images including paintings of crabs, doves, shrimp, goats, scallops and fruit. There, food was blessed for the spirit.

Item: In 2004, Parma was appointed as the official seat of the European Food Safety Authority. I suppose there was an abundance of qualified potential employees nearby.

Local food is often centered on egg pasta, the traditional pasta of the region: tortelli d’erbetta, tortelli di zucca and anolini in brodo. Everywhere there is Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma; I mean everywhere. There are other cured meats to be sure, Culatello and Salame Felino among many others. If you can handle it, there is quite a bit of horsemeat on the menu at the restaurants we’ve seen.

Tonight, it is Trattoria Corrieri, a few blocks away from last night’s venue but still within a fifteen minute walk of the Hotel De la Ville. We stopped by just in case they might be open and have a WC for B4. The door was open so we walked in. Not only did the chef who was prepping for dinner offer the facilities for her, they offered me an espresso which I happily downed in the Italian style: no milk, no sugar.

On the way back to the hotel, I bought a shirt just to get even with the two purses acquired by you know who. You are, of course, familiar with the expression, "You can never have too many purses," a truism frequently cited by the love of my life. I admit that I had not heard it before meeting her.

Trattoria Corrieri was a disappointment. Garish LED lighting in the main dining room reinforced my effort to be seated elsewhere. Even though multiple empty tables existed, I was denied. Then, a party of twenty or more—a birthday perhaps—sat immediately behind me; multiple children included. Not only was the noise cacophonous, the party was up and down, bumping into the back of my chair every time. I offered the maître d’ 10 Euros to seat us elsewhere.

We were moved to a nicely lit table…situated between the swinging kitchen door and the toilet staircase—which was an improvement. The service was perfunctory and brusque. The food was just OK. We started with Fried Bread (a pillow-like light pastry) with a variety of Parma hams and salamis, then a selection of large raviolis (potato and mushroom, spinach and ricotta [my favorite] and pumpkin [her favorite]) followed by pork shoulder (ham slices) with mashed potato with a side of roasted potato. Strange.

A lesson to all: Go to Gallo D/Oro but skip Trattoria Corrieri.

Icing on the cake: B4 had time to successfully take her conference call at 10:00pm as we walked back to the hotel. I heard, “So moved,” “Aye,” and “Bye.” She is non-stop; no confidential information was revealed.
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Comments

Mandy, aka Black, aka B1
2017-04-10

So, you have posted all these amazing photos, Paul ... but none of the handbags????

Linda Lee
2017-04-11

Then you were not paying attention...because the end of that statement is.....and SHOES"

Sandi Raff
2017-04-11

The food sounds so beautiful. You have made me hungry!!!
Glad you are enjoying Parma. I always enjoy Italy: the visual beauty, the food, the history, the people. So glad you are having fun!!!!

2025-02-11

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