Spagna

Last week was Spain. Monday through Sunday we traveled around Andalusia, eating tapas, lots of good fish (which is always a nice departure from landlocked, pig centered Parma), and plenty of jamon iberico di bellota (the most expensive ham in the world.) The sun was out all week and provided a nice background to all of our activities. We visited pigs, a caviar farm, a fish auction at an oldschool port, a brandy/sherry producer, and enjoyed a few days in Sevilla. Though Italy is still at the top of my list, Spain made a good showing and perhaps ranks in the top 5 of my favorite countries. I just need to learn Spanish and it might move up a spot or two.The Andalusian countryside

A caviar lunch. I'm really not as excited about the caviar as I look. Just thinking how great it is to be eating about 100 euros worth of organic caviar, like getting away with some sort of heist. Apparently, this is the appropriate way to taste caviar- place on hand then suck off of hand. Try it at your next cocktail party!

Sneaking a taste of the syrupy leakings from a REALLY old barrel of sherry...mmm....

BEFORE...

...AFTER

Film Fest

Last week after 2 days of class, I headed to Bologna for the annual Slow Food on Film. It's a festival that included shorts, documentaries, and everything in between, all relating somehow to food. It was not an actual planned school event, though they provided entrance (cool VIP type badges), a very basic hotel, and the all important convenience of no scheduled classes. It was fun to spend some time in one of my favorite cities and drop in for a film or two when something good was playing. So Wed. through late Saturday night I was in Bologna, and now I unpack, do laundry, and leave for Spain tomorrow.
In other exciting news, I have purchased a bike, a used thing that just needed a little love. The ride between Colorno and Parma takes about an hour, and in Parma, it is THE way to get around. Everyone and their mother (really, even if she is 90 years old) rides their bikes in Parma. Now I can fit in, get some good excersize, and fantasize about taking long distance bike trips all over Europe.

Liguria e il sole

I have been slacking with these updates, so quite a bit has happened since the last post. After Easter we had two days of class then headed out again. We attended "Slow Fish" in Genoa, which is an annual 3 day event to celebrate all things fishy and slow foodish. After all day Sunday at the convention, we loaded back onto the bus to head slightly south for our Liguria stage. We stayed in a hostel in Porto Venere, a beautiful town right on the water and not quite as "gone" as the Cinque Terre towns. We spent a day climbing the terraced vinyards that give their unique beauty to the Cinque Terre, visited the Cinque Terre co-ops, and walked the mandatory stretch on the Via del Amore from Manarolo to Riomaggiore.

View from the top

The second day we took a boat tour of the La Spezia gulf and visited some more local producers. The final day we visited some olive oil mills (I think that make about 20 since I've been here...and really they are all the same!), biodynamic wine makers, and a guy that makes testaroli in a shack decorated with slow food paraphanalia. Testaroli is an ancient form of bread that is a cross between a pancake and a crepe, made over a wood fire in a cast iron pan. It is cut in squares and tossed with olive oil, basil, and parmigiano. Tasty!


After returning from Liguria we have had classes on the history of wine, global Italian food (more like the cultural identity of food), and more semiotics. Except for a stretch of about 5 days, the weather has been beautiful (finally!) and I am lucky to have two friends who are also former high school athletes. We have procured a whiffle ball and bat, a frisbee, and a softball with 3 mits. There are plenty of nice parks in the area, and even though we get stares, it's so nice to get outside a play!

A German Easter

I must apologize for the lack of updates and assurances after the terrible earthquake last week. I have been very busy recently, first attending Vinitaly in Verona then heading to Germany for Easter. First, Vinitaly is like Disneyland for wine lovers. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but once I developed a strategy I never wanted to leave. Imagine 4 convention centers put together, all dedicated and filled to the brim with Italian wine producers, all with plenty of tastings to offer.

Below is a classmate and myself enjoying the Piemonte area. Then taking a break...preparing to enter the Veneto (which is that entire building on the left)
After returning from Vinitaly and one day of class, I left for Germany. I went home with a classmate to Saarlouis, a small town near the French border. It was very relaxing and her family was very hospitable, I enjoyed some good homecooking, and a nice change in scenery. We took several day trips into the Mosel area for some great Riesling and spent a lot of time with a beverage in the very welcome sunshine. Germany was great and I would love to return, but after 8 days and a very uncomfortable night train, it was nice to come back home to Italy.

Aceto Balsamico

Last week was pretty calm after returning from Sicily. It was mostly filled with a class on how to "Brand" so my project was creating an imaginary agriturismo in the hill country and I must say, everyone wanted to go there by the time I was through making it up. I guess my branding strategy worked! One day was spent on a stage for Balsamic Vinegar, which can only be produced in the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena, bordering Parma. It was very low key compared to other stages, we saw the barriques and learned about the process, had lunch, and basta. I do have to say, if you've never tried real traditional balsamico, please do at least once in your life. It is not the brown watery stuff that is sold in grocery stores for $1.50. The real stuff has the consistency of syrup, it is sweet, acidic, and complex. The problem is that it is also expensive. But if you ever get the opportunity, please take it. Or next time you're visiting the Wolf house, ask for a taste of the stuff. Other happenings- I stayed in Parma for the weekend and participated in "family dinner" on Sunday afternoon. My contribution was some good southern gravy. I think I made some fans. Thanks Grandpa! (from whom my mad gravy skills came)

Sicilia

The 6 days that I have just spent in Sicily were some of the most exhausting, incredible, stuffed, and bizarre of my life! The trip was planned by the "Regione Sicilia" which is basically the Sicilian government (whereas all other university trips are planned by the university) therefore it was an odd mix of sales pitches, back scratching, and putting on a good face with a little slow food thrown in on the side. From the moment of arrival, it was uncommon for us to have an entourage smaller than 10 people, some from the region, maybe one slow food leader, and lots who probably just heard there was free food. A camera man and a photographer became daily instalments, even on our bus. By day 4 our questions were finally answered about why in the world these strange men were following us around. The region is making a video which hopefully can be seen on you tube soon. The only problem is that my self esteem might suffer this next week without anybody in my face trying to take my picture! But over all, the trip was like a dream. I ate lots of cannoli, a good few kilos of ricotta, lots of fish, wine, more ricotta, olives, oranges, another cannoli, and more oranges. And that is all in one day (or so it seemed). I did Marsala tastings, olive oil tastings, fish farms, had a Palermian spleen and lung panino, and saw cheese made from the sheep to the final product all within about 12 feet of distance and a few hours. And a lot of waiting around for the Sicilians to show up, feeling suspicious if we were less than an hour and a half behind schedule, and making up conspiracy theories in the back of the bus about who all those men in suits and sunglassess were!

I left home with a 6 kilo bag and returned with 17. Everywhere we went we were given products and brochures. Here are just some of the
products I received!

Also, raw sheep milk is really nice if anyone's curious!

Cheese and Chocolate

I have to admit that school-wise, this last week was ridiculously enjoyable. Cheese Tasting, Italian, Wild edible herbs (during which we foraged around the park with an ethnobotanist), and Chocolate tasting. Then Friday, one of the classes had graduation, to which we were all invited, after a talk by Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food. Mostly though, I've been getting excited about this next week...Sicily. We leave tomorrow on a flight out of Milan, and we'll be there until late Saturday. The schedule is packed and I will probably not be able to eat anything for several days after I return. I think we have a dinner planned with just about every slow food chapter in the entire western half of the island. This is what last week looked like...