
La Ragazza Italiana
Le avventure di una studentessa italoamericana in Italia
Parma.
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Parco Ducale
It was 10PM the night before that I booked my trip to Parma, Italy. I do not have class on Wednesdays, so for only 11 euros I bought my train ticket to travel for the day. Parma is about 1.5 hours away, south of Milan, and my decision to go was largely based on fantastic food reviews.
Upon arriving, I was extremely hungry so I headed towards "La Forchetta"- a highly rated restaurant on TripAdvisor- for a meal with fresh parmesan. The experience started off with the softest, freshest Italian bread I have ever had. My meal, accompanied by a glass of sparkling white wine, was an assorted tortellini plate sprinkled with tasty parmesan cheese. The tortellini flavors included pumpkin, herb, and potato. Finally, for dessert, I ate hot chocolate soufflé, drizzled with raspberry sauce, sprinkled with chocolate shavings, and balanced with refreshing coconut gelato. It was among my top 3 favorite meals in Europe- alongside the Mediterranean wrap I ate in Malta and fettuccine with truffle sauce I ate in Rome.

It was a bit cold out, as the weather has started to shift in Italy, but I managed to walk through the city for an entire day. Parma is a fairly quiet city without many tourists, so I moved around at a slow pace to take pictures of the architecture and stop at every famous landmark. In regards to site-seeing, I made it to the following: Teatro Farnese, Museo Giauco Lombardi, Basilica di Santa Maria della Staccata, Cattedrale di Parma, the Governor's Palace, Musei della Pilotta Parma, and Parco Ducale. Parco Ducale was very peaceful- as you can see in the video posted above. It is a very large, famous park with many trails to walk and bike, so I found enjoyment in taking a long walk to conclude my day in Parma.
As I was walking back to the train station, with the usual 8% battery and no wifi, I spotted 2 very important things. First, town officials were beginning to decorate the city for Christmas. I was, admittedly, a bit enchanted to find myself walking through streets strung with Christmas lights like the ones in the picture below. It was extremely beautiful especially as it got darker outside. Second, and possibly more important, I spotted 3 Italian greyhounds during my walk back. They were obviously not as cute as Nina, but it was an equally mesmerizing and relevant part of the trip...