An early start today to be up in time to catch the train. I walked to the workshop to meet Claudio, who drove me down to Stradella station. At the station I bought my ticket and waited for the train; the 8:51 to Piacenza. Eventually it came and I boarded. Immediately the guard wanted to see my ticket. When I gave it to him it was evident that something was wrong and he started speaking to me, so I told him I was English and didn't understand. He wrote something on it and gave it back to me.
I had to change at Piacenza, where I eventually worked out which train I was supposed to catch to get to Parma. At Piacenza station I saw lots of little machines on the wall. It soon became apparent that these were for validating your ticket, which I had failed to do. I assume this is what the guard was trying to tell me.
Romano and one of his daughters, Emilia, met me at Parma station. For those of you who don't know, Romano is my accordion teacher. His parents are Italian and his mum still lives over here. They come over to stay with her almost every school holiday. The drive to his home took about an hour and a half and finished with lots of small, winding roads through hamlets, for their hour is in a hamlet way up in the mountains (800m elevation). The weather today was absolutely glorious and subsequently the views were stunning. The scenery and the surrounding area were gorgeous, too. I'm fast running out of adjectives, here!
Romano took me on a tour of the grounds after a spot of lunch. After the tour we set out for a tiny chapel in the mountains, alongside which runs a freshwater spring. The water was so refreshing and tasted great! Next we went to "località" Cocrovoli where there's a house belonging to Romano's father's side. He explained the inheritance situation in Italy and the reason why he only owns a third of a quarter of the house, which causes great problems. We popped into the local town of Bardi on the way back. A bit of football with two of Romano's five children and a long chat about accordions later and we were ready to head out for dinner. The five kids had all showered and came down in their glad-rags, looking adorable! At the restaurant I had 'anolini in brood' (mini ravioli in a broth/stock), "Stinco in forno con purè" (slow roasted pork shank with mash) and a caramelised cinnamon apple with mascarpone sauce.
Today's been a great day. Fabulous weather and good food shared with some good friends. I'm now heading to bed on a sofa bed next to a dying fire.
Vado a letto x
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