Here are the pictures from our food and wine trip in Northern Italy in September of 2023.
.The map from EF Go Ahead Tours:
Themes of the tour:
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How incredibly old everything is, especially to Americans.
- There is the forum that dates back 2,000 years, and plenty of buildings still standing from the 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th centuries.
- One restaurant we ate at has been serving since before the United States was founded.
- Each province has a long and detailed history, founded by the Etruscans or the Savoy dynasty, and captured, liberated, destroyed, rebuilt multiple times over a thousand years.
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How the Italians really know how to enjoy life.
- They are picky about making sure things are done right: to be called Parmeggiano Reggiano, the cheese has to be made a certain way from specific cows fed a specific diet, only in five regions.
- Overall, they eat well, but they concentrate on quality, while Americans go more for quantity.
- They clearly have a sense of enjoying the simple pleasures, and living to eat and drink, rather than eating and drinking to live.
Pictures sorted by day:
- Day 1 -- Travel Santa Ana to Newark, red eye to Milan.
- Day 2 -- Milan to Turin, welcome dinner.
- Day 3 -- Turin sightseeing.
- Day 4 -- Truffle hunt, chocolate making workshop, Ristorante de Cambio.
- Day 5 -- Italian Riviera, Barolo wine tasting.
- Day 6 -- Cinque Terra.
- Day 7 -- To Bologna, Parmeggiano Reggiano factory, Acetaia Tradizionale.
- Day 8 -- Bologna sightseeing, group dinner.
- Day 9 -- Food walking tour of Modena, pasta making class.
- Day 10 -- To Verona, Serego Alighieri Winery, Garda Lago cruise, Alleria.
- Day 11 -- Verona sightseeing, farewell dinner.
- Day 12 -- Travel Verona to Munich to Chicago to Santa Ana.