We decided to head through Varese on our way to Parma and then back to Tuscany. There wasn’t much open, as it was the day after Christmas (St. Stephen's Day) but we managed to stumble upon an amazing Sicilian bakery, called imaginatively ‘Pasticceria Tipica Siciliana’ (Typical Sicilian Bakery).
After we awoke from our carbohydrate comas, we got back to the car and continued south to Parma, where we were spending the night. About an hour from Parma, we ran into fog, that apparently is pretty much a feature of that region during Autumn and winter.
We arrived at our guesthouse for the night - a converted 14th century abbey.
The fog definitely added to the ‘atmosphere’.
The next day was much the same.
After sampling some local parmigiano reggiano we headed into the city of Parma to a sandwich shop we had heard about - Pepèn Parma. There was a line out the door when we arrived.
And it was even more crowded inside.
It’s famous for (among other things) their raw horse meat panini.
So, of course that’s what I ordered.
It was very similar to beef tartare.
After eating our sandwiches out on the street we got back into the car for our last two hours back to Siena. About twenty minutes from home the fog cleared and were were treated to another stunning Tuscan sunset.
And then we were home.
