Vai In Bici? Ma Perché?

That was the reaction I got from everyone I told about my trip to Carpi, a small town that is still part of the province of Modena. "Your going to bike there? But why?" They seemed to think it was too far--20 km. It wasn't too bad. If we hadn't gotten lost so many times in the first part of the trip, it might not have taken so long.

The most important part of the trip occurred before the bike riding began, however.

This puppy.

My friend Victoria lives in a flat in the center of Modena. The owner of this puppy lives in the same apartment complex.

I think this is the happiest I've been since I came to Modena. LOOK at that puppy.

Anyways, we finally tore ourselves away from the cuteness and were on our way. After going on the wrong road for a while, we realized we had to cross the train tracks some how to get on the right path.

To do so, we had to go into a creepy underground tunnel that had stairs with little bike lanes attached.

I had significantly more trouble accomplishing this feat than Victoria.

We both had significantly more trouble than the 70-year-old man that swept through that tunnel like, perhaps, a 20-something.

The trip was very beautiful, especially once we were pretty sure we were on the right track (always a good feeling).

Getting so close!

OH MY GOD. Puppies and horsies all in one day.

I couldn't get anywhere near the ponies, but seeing them made me happy nonetheless.

Woohoo!

When we finally made it to town after about three hours of bike riding (my butt was quite sore), we needed to reboot.

We got lunch in the second largest piazza in Europe.

Then we did some site-seeing. Love this statue thing.

Turns out Carpi is pretty quiet, but very cute. Except for these mannequins. Why on earth would you buy clothes at (or even enter) this store after seeing them???

We decided to take the train back. It was a good idea, except when we realized that we actually had to get our bikes on and off the train, and up and down the stairs to get to the right platforms (because god forbid the elevators be working).

-Meri

Final Adventures with Beth and David

Beth, David, and I had lots of fun in their last few days in Italy.

Bethy showed me the Anatomical Theater in Bologna where they used to do surgeries. So creepy.

There was stadium-style seating all along the walls of the room, allowing the audience to view the operation table perfectly. Still creepy.

We went to Ferrara!

The castle had a moat. I don't think I've ever seen a real moat before...

I love Italian cities because pretty much all of the sites (at least for smaller cities) are in one spot--the historical center. It makes it very easy to reach everything by foot. Like this beautiful cathedral!

On Saturday, we tried to go to Florence. We failed. The tickets were completely sold out. I've never experienced that before.

So we went to Ravenna. It actually turned out to be a good last-minute decision--it's a great little town and much less packed than Florence would have been.

Dante's tomb!

We were looking for a place for lunch, but not in a very efficient manner. We were wandering without any destination in mind. At one point, I realized we had wandered out of the center and there didn't appear to be any restaurants around anymore. So I brought up my googlemaps and noticed a trattoria right around the corner. We checked out the menu and decided to go for it.

Thank God we did. It was one of the best meals that I've had in Italy. And it was served by the most adorable Italian man of all time.

At Trattoria al Cerchio we got prosciutto bruschetta to start. Incredible bread drizzled with olive oil served with freshly sliced prosciutto. Like everything here, it was totally simple and completely delicious.

I got passatelli, one of my favorite new dishes. I have a feeling that one of the reasons you don't find it in American restaurants is because it isn't pretty enough.

This one was delicious, with the tastiest chicken broth. We got two vegetable sides and veal as seconds. I was full, but I still finished both plates of perfectly cooked veggies.

My aunt and uncle told our waiter/host that the meal was delicious. He didn't speak English, but told me in Italian that all the food was made from the heart. Seriously. The most adorable human on the planet.

Ravenna is famous for mosaics.

Well, this one's a painting, but it was in the basilica with other mosaics.

There's a mosaic!

That is some amazing craftsmanship.

We had our last meal together in Bologna. Roasted veggies to start.

Then gnocchetti for me with tomato, mozzarella, and basil. Like little pillows of happiness, those gnocchetti.

Then Bethy convinced me to take a sip of Lemoncello. I then proceeded to spit it out/choke on it. Blech. You just can't take me anywhere.

Beth and David were supposed to fly out yesterday, but their flight got cancelled. Hope they arrive safely today!

-Meri

Wait, Your Family Is Still Visiting???

Yes.

My family comes in droves. You think we're traveling in a large group, and then we add some more.

Last Friday, my aunt Beth and uncle David arrived in Bologna and we've been having fun ever since. My parents left on Tuesday, but in the meantime we accomplished a lot. And ate a lot of food.

Our first meal was made up of pizza and panini. It was my parents' first experience of an italian panino--they were surprised it wasn't grilled on a panini press.

Then we got some gelato at K2.

They were all quite pleased.

Beth, mommy, and I went to my favorite cafe to get some mammolini--a fabulous beverage.

We went out to dinner with my friend, Federico!

Bethy is trying to add her cat, Pi, into this next picture by showing her photo on her iPad. Can you see her?

On my parents' last night, we got aperitivo...

Then we went out to Pepperoncino for some delicious pizza with Federico and his parents.

We also got gelato after having aperitivo, antipasti, mussels and clams, and pizza. I didn't take a picture because I was in too much of a food-coma.

Beth and David are leaving Monday morning. I don't know what I'm going to do without having a massive group of people around me...

-Meri

Osteria Francescana

Yup. We went to Osteria Francescana for my mommy's birthday dinner last Thursday night. It is ranked as the third best restaurant in the world right now. I am aware that I'm INCREDIBLY lucky.

First, we got to choose our wine for the night. Dad got this massive menu and was so intimidated that he didn't get past the first page. He also didn't realize that the first page was just the table of contents.

That was a fun surprise when one of our many waiters came to take the wine order. He had to help dad turn to page 84 when dad asked for white wine.

We eventually got some kind of wine. Happy Birthday mommy!

Some pictures of the menu. There are some great choices on there. My personal favorite: "Think Green: an evolving landscape through the seasons." I really want to know what that means...

We all went with the first tasting menu: Traditions.

They first brought their house-made bread accompanied with Tuscan olive oil.

Then the "Memory of a Mortadella Sandwich." (That name still makes me giggle.) It was a piece of thick focaccia with whipped mortadella, accompanied by crumbled pistachio and a cream of some kind that I don't remember.

They kept bringing out bread. It was all super fresh and delicious.

Next was the plate with prosciutto, salami, and some kind of candied orange that was slightly spicy.

It was served with "focaccine," little rolls of warm focaccia.

This next course was not on the original menu, but the chef--Massimo Bottura--added it for the night. Oh, I forgot to mention that the chef comes out and talks to all his clients and takes orders.

He swore we would love this next dish.

It is one of the craziest, most incredible things I've ever eaten. It was five versions of parmigiano reggiano, all at different ages, temperatures, and textures. You see this spoon of foam right here? That tasted like a spoonful of parmigiano. Insane.

Next, traditional tagliatelle with a meat ragù.

Then traditional modenese tortellini cooked in broth and served with a light cream sauce. I cannot get enough of the fresh pasta in Italy.

What we thought was the last course were these short ribs. They were slow cooked so that you could press them lightly with your fork and they would fall apart. Topped with balsamic vinegar and served with creamed potatoes and celeriac.

The chef also added this dish to the menu for the night.

Millefoglie: A thousand leaves. It was all different leaves like basil that were candied and served with creamed hazelnut and chestnut and all kinds of other stuff.

Then they brought out my mommy's birthday cake! When I made the reservation online, the restaurant asked if I wanted a special cake prepared for my mom's birthday. Well, duh. Of course I did!

The chef presented the cake and then took it away to plate it.

So delicious. It had a vanilla sponge cake bottom and then a kind of mousse/gelato filling. The chocolate ganache on top was pure decadence.

Then a plate of cookies, truffles, and jellies. My favorite was the truffle filled with chestnuts. Yum!

And my daddy gets the bill.

It was most certainly the experience of a lifetime. I will NEVER forget that meal.

-Meri