Parma Play-by-Plate

Ciao Zio Tony Fans! Maybe some of you picked up my "ZTweets" during lasts weekend's excursion to Parma. That was my first experiment in real-time travel blogging; but, unfortunately (or maybe thankfully depending on your SMS bell tone) it seems that I still have a bit to learn about Italian mobile phone plans. That is, none of my tweets made it out past mid-day on Saturday, cutting the story off just as I was riding back to Parma. Well, if you're curious how the rest of the weekend went, I've recovered the unsent tweets from my phone to make a complete transcript, plus a few pics I took along the way.

So, "There I was ..." (in snipets of 140 characters or less)

Feb 20, 9:30pm "Plotting a Zio Tony pedal, piedi, & Parma weekend. May ye Slow Food faithful turn to pages 486, 488, and 455."

Feb 21, 6:50am ...

Feb 21, 7:40am "On train 2 Parma, low morning sun blushing over barren February fields."

Feb 21, 10:30am "Sono qua! Parma seems nice, large pedestrian center, more on that later- now dropping gear @ hotel, ready 2 ride!"

Feb 21, 12:08pm "Caffe stop, not so scenic yet but Appenines foothills becken, pedaling to Fragno 4 black truffles & SlowFood lunch."

Feb 21, 1:27pm "Sono arrivato alla 'Locanda Mariella' after short 5km climb. Rooster crowed @ my arrival, not much else except hills & sunshine."


Feb 21, 1:48pm "I've been rec'md a Barbera d' Alba to accompany my courses w black truffles of Fragnolo."

Feb 21, 1:56pm "Antipasto: 'polentina con fonduta di formaggi con tartufo nero', polenta seems 2 me the perfect medium 4 truffles, esp w a light fondue!"

Feb 21, 2:06pm "This wkend is carnival; so the lil girl across is costumed as princess. Festooned in bike spandex, I appear as court bafoon."

Feb 21, 2:13pm "Primo: 'cappelletti in brodo', savory stuffed pasta (looking like small hats, "cappelle") swiming in broth."

Feb 21, 2:38pm "Secondo: 'petto di ? w tartufo nero', off menu special of a stuffd game bird breast w black truffles(I shld of gotten the veal cheek)"

Feb 21, 2:53pm "Whew! No 'dolce' until 2nite & a couple more hours in the saddle; so, caffe for the road will do, way back starts w finishing that climb."

Feb 21, 6:02pm Cleaned up & strolling. I’m liking Parma’s “centro”, character of Bologna & Florence; but cleaner than B & less annoying than F.

Feb 21, 6:52pm "Great Find! Din’s not till 9; so, grabbed mortadella&gorganzola panino @ hopping local 'Pepen Panini' (Borgo S Ambrogio)"

Feb 21, 8:50pm "Eyeing the menu in comfy vib of Antica Cereria, after lunch 2day I think this will be relatively light"


Feb 21, 9:06pm "Antipasto: 'Tutto di unpo', a lil bit of everything from their veggie apps, roasted peppers to potato torte"

Feb 21, 9:08pm "Here's a fun juicy red 4 u, 'Monte delle Rosso', although DOC(Parma) it appears 2b just a yummy table red(no varietals listed)"


Feb 21, 9:24pm "Primo: 'Tagliatelle al Culatello' I would describe culatello as a kind of prosciutto, but being in Parma, they’d probably evict me"

Feb 21, 9:44pm "Dolce: choc mousse 'semifreddo', it like cuz gelato’s sooo good, they modestly created semifreddo just to compare w icecream"

Feb 21, 9:57pm "Digestivo: Ahhh yes ... Giovanni Poli. Honestly, the only thing I pity in most of u is not knowing how good grappa can get"

Feb 21, 10:47pm "Buonanotte ZioTony peeps! Hope u had fun. 2morrow’s big day too: morning run, lunch @ del Tribunale & did I mention the chocolate fair?"

Feb 22, 07:41am ...

Feb 22, 09:5oam "Buongiorno! My run’s out of the way; so, now breakfast, then more strolling around Parma until lunch"

Feb 22, 12:26pm "Wow, visits to archeological museums always weigh heavy on my mortality ..."




Feb 22, 12:28pm "..massive tablets&marbles on which ancients toiled unseverable anchors thrown into a fathomless sea - um, this mortal needs a caffe"


Feb 22, 1:50pm "Trattoria del Tribunale is a hidden spot where Parmese go to find the best of 'come una volta'"

( www.trattoriadeltribunale.it )

Feb 22, 2:05pm "Antipasto: 'Misto di salume'. 'Spalla cotta' in the mix, cooked cousin to prosciutto 'crudo', NOT your hny baked ham, a must try when in Parma."

22-Feb, 2:22pm "Primo: 'Anolini in Brodo', 2day’s selection to compare w yesterday’s 'hats' @ Mariella’s. Tibunale wins hands down!"

22-Feb, 2:42pm "Secondo: Passed up veal cheek again for waiter’s rec’md veal 'ripieno'(stuffed) – right choice this time, worth waiting longer 4 the cheeks"

22-Feb, 3:01pm "Dolce: 'Sorbetto di limone', if you need a translation, goto babblefish.com"

22-Feb, 3:10pm "Digestivo: 'Amaro Nocino', a truly palatable herbal “bitter” w essence of walnut ('noci'): 'Dont just ask 4 an amaro, ask 4 Nocino'"

22-Feb, 5:27pm "Clik-a-d-klic, on rails from Parma back to Milano, this time the sun is low & red on the other horizon"

"Who Let the Dog Out?"

"Bau Bau Bau!" Bau-bau Cosmobaubau; bau, bauoooo bau bau "Cosmo!" .... huh?

Ohh, sorry ... it just that I've really been working on my Italian lately and I thought ... well, I mean we spend a lot of time trying to undertanding you and I was hoping that ... oh, never mind, who am I to complain ...

"Ciao Zio Tony Fans!" This is Noblegold Cosmopolitan Jr. Mint AX, MXJ speaking. If that's too much for you to bite off, you can just call me "Cosmo!" Yes, I could tell you what "AX, MXJ" stand for; but, let's just say I'm part of the same superhero crime-fighting league as my pal Zio Tony.


Oh yeah, ZT & me go way back; we've been around the block together a few times. So, when mom asked me if I wanted to go visit my ole' romping buddy, I was like, "Waggggg! Pack up The Big Green Bone and pooh-bags and let's go!".


But, then she added, "So, you really want to go to Italy?", and my ears went up like ... "Wha?" ... I knew peeps like going to Italy, but would a furry four-footer like me like going to Italy?

Well, when we arrived at the airport in Milan you should have seen me jump up and fall over when I saw Uncle Tony! Boy oh boy, I was glad to see him; and, although he didn't shriek and get all waggy, I could tell he was just as happy to see us too. Seemed like old times ... the pack was back!

Seeing that it was around first-feeding time and Mom hadn't slept as well as I did, Zio Tony says what she needs to get her back on her hind legs is a proper "cappuccio e brioche" ... and I'm like "Huh?", 'cause the closest I could translate that to was, "wanna Greenie?" But hey, it get's better than that ...

S00ooo ... we saunter up to a great smelling humanfood place that ZT called a "pistacceria" and then ... without breaking a trot ... we juuuuuust walk right in ... TOGETHER!!!

Maybe that doesn't sound like such big belly rub to many of you. But, having spent my whole life being treated like .... well, let's face it ... a dog in the so-called land of "The Dream" - where every day is as likely as the next to be a nighmarish re-play of that horrible "Snoopy Come Home" scene - being able to walk into that little cafe like a real "best friend" was like ... like walking into a whole new way of life.

Oh yeah, and there were brioche crumbs EVERYWHERE! ^o^


Well, after Mom & ZT had woofed down their cappuccini & brioche and I had licked up as may crumbs as Mom let me get a way with, we high tailed it to the Zio Tony lair to secure The Big Green Bone and then pattered our paws on the pavement, touring the sights & smells of Milano.

Over the next couple of days we did those things that go with being in Milano ... you know, like walking around the Castello and Parco Sempione,



... visiting the Brera District and the Piazza of the Duomo,



... and, of course, shopping.


But the waggiest thing about it all was that no matter where we went, there I was.

What I mean is, whether Mom and Uncle Tony wanted to grab an Italian hot chocolate (Mom would have to tell you why it's sooo much better than the American stuff), browse in a fashion boutique (like when ZT took us to a crocodile skin workshop and ordered me a real bitchin' lead ... ohhh yeahhh, the ladies like it), or eat at a nice restaurant (my new friend at "Ponte de Ferr" gave me HANDFULLS of chicken, CHICKEN I say!), there I was hanging out,


.... and going everywhere,



... and all doing those things that Milanese do,


... even if I wasn't wearing orange pantaloni.



So after a couple days in Milano, I was really digging my new role as an Italian "cagnolino". But, when I saw Mom pack up The Big Green Bone I knew the pack was getting ready to move out on another adventure ... to a Winter Wonderland called Trentino.


Well, I'm no stranger to snow I want you to know. But, the white fluffy snow fields on Mount Bone-Bone-dy (or whatever they called it), was like the craziest make-a-dog-go-zoom stuff you could ever imagine.

BOW, did I get zoomie ...



WOW that was fun!


But, again, the waggiest part of all was coming off the slopes to dry off,
warm up ...


... and hang with my peeps.


So, that's how we spent our days in Trento. But then, we packed up The Big Green Bone again and lit out on the final leg of our "Who Let the Dog Out?" world tour.

And what a curious place we visited next! The moment I stuck my nose into the wind as our big growling waterbus zig-zagged along the water way, past peeps bobbing in boats and waves lapping against colorful crooked buildings (lurking with cats I'm sure!), I could tell we had arrived somewhere like nowhere else.

It was like the city had given up streets for water and we were hopping in & out of boats like they were cars!



And there was always something different to sniff out, wandering off the beaten path, along the quite canals and alleyways which Uncle Tony said make "La Serenissima" one of his favorite places in Italy.



And in the evenings we'd warm ourselves at the bar of a peculiar establishment with a curiously un-Italian name.



What, with beautiful women smothering me kisses, rich men buying me drinks, and white-jacketed bartenders calling me by name (and slipping me chicken-liver croquettes), how could I resist the allure of celebrity?

But such glorious dog days were bound to end. So, having left our mark on the “Leone di San Marco” we returned to Cosmopolitan Milano and then finally back to home-treat-home.

And now, when the day is 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, and done, I lay my head on The Big Green Bone to nap and dream a dog’s dream of chasing cats out of the backyard, zooming around the agility ring, and devouring chew bones & chicken treats ...

... and of laying under the table at yummy restaurants, smelling the sights of old enchanted places, and taking a “cappucio & brioche” with my best friend ...

Because dogs like going to Italy even more than people do.