Monday, November 2, 2009

We Make Our Way to Stradella


Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #20 - September 28, 2009 - 7:00 am

The Duomo is one of two major tourist attractions in Milano. The second one is a fort, several hundred years old. We drove by but did not go in because we were all excited to get to Stradella. Before leaving the city, however, we stopped for lunch at a favorite restaurant of Barbara's. Here, we had a traditional Milano meal. We started with bread served like a pizza with no toppings -- only spices and olive oil dribbled on the top. The main course, however, was osso bucco and risotto milanese. The osso bucco was exquisite. It was incredibly tender. The meat fell away from the bone with just a fork. And the risotto was cooked just right - slightly al dente. I wonder how they managed to cook it to such a perfect consistency! We have been so incredibly spoiled by the food on this trip.

After lunch, we drove around Milan a bit, and went past La Scala, and then headed south to Pavia and Stradella. the drive was longer then I expected - over an hour. We drove pas
t a very old bridge, and Dad had us get out and take a few photos. The bridge ran over the Po River which is the main river that runs through the plains of Pavia Province. This, by the way, is wine country, but more about that later.

When we arrived a Ca' Rossa - Rosita's house, we were greeted by Rosita and her daughter, Renza, who lives here with her. Within about 10 minutes, we were next joined by Chiara, Renza's daughter. We visited with Rosita briefly and then went to lay down for a rest before dinner. We were all going out to eat at a favorite restaurant of the family. Chris and I watched a movie while trying to rest. We watched "The Italian Job," because we wanted to compare the opening scenes (which were shot in Venice) to the real thing -- since we'd just been there.

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