Day 4: Milan-Busseto
After breakfast, we make a last trip downtown to do some shopping. Unfortunately, we can't visit Peck and the other specialty food stores since they are closed on Monday mornings. Next time....
I had noticed the "sinagoga ebraico" marked on the map a short distance from the Duomo, so we start walking toward it. This route takes us through the old commercial section of the city, with its narrow streets and less trendy businesses. We stop to do some gift shopping and continue on through a university campus--not like a typical American campus, but a series of buildings and lots of bookstores.
We find the "sinagoga"--it is a substantial building behind an iron gate with a big Jewish star on the front--but it doesn't appear to be open. There is a lone police guard stationed outside and across the street there is a nice urban park. If we had come earlier in our visit, we may have found information about a pro-Israel rally that was held the day before (and on the TV news).
Next we head for the more fashionable shopping area near the Duomo and the Galleria; I need to buy a new set of maps and some guidebooks for our trip. The Feltrinelli bookstore in the basement of the Galleria is immense....Diana is amazed at the selection of English language books--the best she has ever seen in Italy. I get my maps and books easily, we stop to buy some postcards, and we head towards the car rental place. We get on a tram heading for the big Central Station; the car rental office is just around the corner.
However, the tram takes a direction away from where we want to go.....I am afraid that I have misread the route map. We get off and get on a tram in the opposite direction. We then begin to walk towards the station. The route takes us right up to the Pirelli building and we get a close up view of the damage from the plane crash. Unfortunately the area is also blocked off by the police because of the crash and we have to go around the block and approach the car rental office from the other side. As we finally approach the street where the car rental office is, we notice a small sign for Avis saying that their office is located two blocks further north. We trudge on (we should have taken a taxi). At the Avis office, the clerk can't find our reservation so I take out our voucher and she points out that we have booked with Europcar--which is two blocks away (where we have just come from.). I leave Diana at the office and walk back to the Europcar office. On the way, I see the tram stop for the tram we took from downtown. I realize that the tram's route changed because of street closings due to the plane crash--there had been an announcement by the tram driver but we hadn't understood it.
The car is an Audi and we are upgraded to an automatic transmission--Diana will get a chance to drive on this trip. We pick up our luggage at the hotel and head out of Milan. Driving in Milan (at least outside of the downtown district) doesn't seem particularly difficult. The boulevards are wide and the signs are good. We drive down a very handsome boulevard--the Via Majnes--which has beautiful apartment buildings and a green strip of park in the street's median. Even the other streets are well kept with frequent parks and trees--a pleasant city.
We do lose our bearings as we hit the ring road and head north instead of south for about ten minutes.....but we right ourselves and are soon going towards Piacenza and Busseto. We stop for lunch at a snack bar on the autostrada--one of the choices is a McDonald's! The Italian sandwiches are fine (as usual); maybe we can get Autogrill to open on the New Jersey Turnpike.
We arrive in Busseto--the hometown of Giuseppe Verdi--around 3 pm......the countryside is quite flat but very green and agricultural. The road takes many turns in spite of the level terrain and there are small towns dotted around the landscape--each with its large brick church and tall bell tower. Entering Busseto, we try to follow the signs to our hotel, I Due Foscari, but end up going the wrong way up the main street. After turning around and circling the town again, we find our hotel.
The town is quite attractive, with the Town Hall and Teatro Verdi dominating the main piazza. There is a large statue of Verdi seated overlooking the square. The hotel is right next to the Town Hall, made of the same brick with arched windows and balconies. Going inside, the main hall of the hotel is dark and no one seems to be around. There is a restaurant and a large bar-sitting room on the ground floor. The lady cleaning up in the restaurant checks us in and we go up a grand staircase to our room. The room is large and airy--once the blinds are opened--and it looks out on a green park. The furnishings are eclectic--an armoire and bed decorated with vaguely Oriental scenes. It lacks a comfortable chair and a writing desk but it seems fine.
We set out for a walk around the town....stopping for a map at the tourist office in the theater building. The town has one main commericial street which is porticoed on both sides. There are a number of bars, gelaterie, food stores--the nucleus of a nice small town. It seems to be very pleasant, with many people socializing in the cafes and on the streets.
During thentime we will be in town, there is a Verdi vocal competition going on which has its finals the day we leave. Also there is a national holiday on Thursday--Liberation Day--and Jose Carreras is giving a recital on Saturday night. We hope to be able to attend a performance at the theater.
Before dinner, we decide to tour the countryside around Busseto to get our bearings.....we drive through a number of small towns and lots of farms. The area is very fertile and seems prosperous. We decide to eat at restaurant which is written up as having excellent local hams and other cured meats. We have the address and circle around several times, but we can't find it. We decide to eat at another restaurant in the town of Roncole Verdi, right next to the birthplace of Verdi. The trattoria, called Le Roncole, is a very pretty place, with sparkling crystal and a nice ambience. They even ask if we prefer smoking or no smoking. In the non-smoking room, there is one other couple--Germans--and there is no one else in the whole restaurant. How do places like this stay open?
The food was quite good...we have a plate of the local cured meat specialty--culatello, which is not quite as silky as the Parma ham we are more familiar with. Diana has a local version of ravioli--filled with walnuts and sauced with gorgonzola cheese--which was wonderful; I have a regional specialty called pisarei and faso--little pieces of gnocchi and beans in a tomato sauce, which is also very good. The second course was roast veal with a savory minced vegetable sauce for Diana and trippa parmigiano for me--both very good. A cheese course with the local "mostarda"--preserved fruits in a sweet and sour sauce. We had a local wine from the Piacenza hills--Guttornio Superiore--which we enjoyed very much; we will try and find a bottle in a wine shop.
A very enjoyable meal.....and it all comes to about $50 US, a bargain for the quality of food and the experience.
A short drive back to Busseto and to bed.
Jim and Diana
I had noticed the "sinagoga ebraico" marked on the map a short distance from the Duomo, so we start walking toward it. This route takes us through the old commercial section of the city, with its narrow streets and less trendy businesses. We stop to do some gift shopping and continue on through a university campus--not like a typical American campus, but a series of buildings and lots of bookstores.
We find the "sinagoga"--it is a substantial building behind an iron gate with a big Jewish star on the front--but it doesn't appear to be open. There is a lone police guard stationed outside and across the street there is a nice urban park. If we had come earlier in our visit, we may have found information about a pro-Israel rally that was held the day before (and on the TV news).
Next we head for the more fashionable shopping area near the Duomo and the Galleria; I need to buy a new set of maps and some guidebooks for our trip. The Feltrinelli bookstore in the basement of the Galleria is immense....Diana is amazed at the selection of English language books--the best she has ever seen in Italy. I get my maps and books easily, we stop to buy some postcards, and we head towards the car rental place. We get on a tram heading for the big Central Station; the car rental office is just around the corner.
However, the tram takes a direction away from where we want to go.....I am afraid that I have misread the route map. We get off and get on a tram in the opposite direction. We then begin to walk towards the station. The route takes us right up to the Pirelli building and we get a close up view of the damage from the plane crash. Unfortunately the area is also blocked off by the police because of the crash and we have to go around the block and approach the car rental office from the other side. As we finally approach the street where the car rental office is, we notice a small sign for Avis saying that their office is located two blocks further north. We trudge on (we should have taken a taxi). At the Avis office, the clerk can't find our reservation so I take out our voucher and she points out that we have booked with Europcar--which is two blocks away (where we have just come from.). I leave Diana at the office and walk back to the Europcar office. On the way, I see the tram stop for the tram we took from downtown. I realize that the tram's route changed because of street closings due to the plane crash--there had been an announcement by the tram driver but we hadn't understood it.
The car is an Audi and we are upgraded to an automatic transmission--Diana will get a chance to drive on this trip. We pick up our luggage at the hotel and head out of Milan. Driving in Milan (at least outside of the downtown district) doesn't seem particularly difficult. The boulevards are wide and the signs are good. We drive down a very handsome boulevard--the Via Majnes--which has beautiful apartment buildings and a green strip of park in the street's median. Even the other streets are well kept with frequent parks and trees--a pleasant city.
We do lose our bearings as we hit the ring road and head north instead of south for about ten minutes.....but we right ourselves and are soon going towards Piacenza and Busseto. We stop for lunch at a snack bar on the autostrada--one of the choices is a McDonald's! The Italian sandwiches are fine (as usual); maybe we can get Autogrill to open on the New Jersey Turnpike.
We arrive in Busseto--the hometown of Giuseppe Verdi--around 3 pm......the countryside is quite flat but very green and agricultural. The road takes many turns in spite of the level terrain and there are small towns dotted around the landscape--each with its large brick church and tall bell tower. Entering Busseto, we try to follow the signs to our hotel, I Due Foscari, but end up going the wrong way up the main street. After turning around and circling the town again, we find our hotel.
The town is quite attractive, with the Town Hall and Teatro Verdi dominating the main piazza. There is a large statue of Verdi seated overlooking the square. The hotel is right next to the Town Hall, made of the same brick with arched windows and balconies. Going inside, the main hall of the hotel is dark and no one seems to be around. There is a restaurant and a large bar-sitting room on the ground floor. The lady cleaning up in the restaurant checks us in and we go up a grand staircase to our room. The room is large and airy--once the blinds are opened--and it looks out on a green park. The furnishings are eclectic--an armoire and bed decorated with vaguely Oriental scenes. It lacks a comfortable chair and a writing desk but it seems fine.
We set out for a walk around the town....stopping for a map at the tourist office in the theater building. The town has one main commericial street which is porticoed on both sides. There are a number of bars, gelaterie, food stores--the nucleus of a nice small town. It seems to be very pleasant, with many people socializing in the cafes and on the streets.
During thentime we will be in town, there is a Verdi vocal competition going on which has its finals the day we leave. Also there is a national holiday on Thursday--Liberation Day--and Jose Carreras is giving a recital on Saturday night. We hope to be able to attend a performance at the theater.
Before dinner, we decide to tour the countryside around Busseto to get our bearings.....we drive through a number of small towns and lots of farms. The area is very fertile and seems prosperous. We decide to eat at restaurant which is written up as having excellent local hams and other cured meats. We have the address and circle around several times, but we can't find it. We decide to eat at another restaurant in the town of Roncole Verdi, right next to the birthplace of Verdi. The trattoria, called Le Roncole, is a very pretty place, with sparkling crystal and a nice ambience. They even ask if we prefer smoking or no smoking. In the non-smoking room, there is one other couple--Germans--and there is no one else in the whole restaurant. How do places like this stay open?
The food was quite good...we have a plate of the local cured meat specialty--culatello, which is not quite as silky as the Parma ham we are more familiar with. Diana has a local version of ravioli--filled with walnuts and sauced with gorgonzola cheese--which was wonderful; I have a regional specialty called pisarei and faso--little pieces of gnocchi and beans in a tomato sauce, which is also very good. The second course was roast veal with a savory minced vegetable sauce for Diana and trippa parmigiano for me--both very good. A cheese course with the local "mostarda"--preserved fruits in a sweet and sour sauce. We had a local wine from the Piacenza hills--Guttornio Superiore--which we enjoyed very much; we will try and find a bottle in a wine shop.
A very enjoyable meal.....and it all comes to about $50 US, a bargain for the quality of food and the experience.
A short drive back to Busseto and to bed.
Jim and Diana
