We leave Milan. A beautiful train station which has been renovated. I am anxious as with Anna another time in Europe we missed a train. Bill is not very patient with my anxiousness and says we have plenty of time. Something from the past I have not put in the past and I am looking forward to being with my family. We haven't seen Lachie for 5 months.
Finally, we got on the train. Bill has booked his favourite number - number 8 carriage and no 8A/B seats, We also left from the no. 8 platform. My anxiousness subsides. Phew. Our "fast train" trip takes 44 minutes. (Ed: Shame it wasn't 88 minutes.)
Lachie and Chiara pick us up. It is sooo good to see them both. We head to Chiara's family's house for lunch. This home has been in Chiara's family for 50 years. Chiara's Mum, Manuela is an only child so the house has stayed in the family easily. Manuela and Paolo are great home makers. They have done a few renovations in the last few years.
Nonna, Chiara's grandmother lives upstairs. She is 93. She lives independently and has caregivers to assist her too. She is not so mobile but has a walker and cooks her own meals. She doesn't get out and about from the house too much. She does embroider and sew alot. She knows we are coming and welcomes us.
Manuela and Paolo, and Chiara and Lachie, have prepared a beautiful lunch for us. They have recently been to southern Italy. Manuela and Paolo have made pasta from the region and salad. Chiara and Lachie have made a dessert from the region. Wow is all Bill and I can say about this. This was the most epic lunch I have had in Italy. Family catch-up was the best and the food was exquisite. We had all the balsamic dressings (Paolo's specialty, and more about that later) and prosecco as well.
This is Paolo's own balsamic vinegar. One is "Bold", the other is everyday. Some has been in the barrels for more than 20 years. We are very lucky to be served it.
Paolo is opening the bottle of prosecco as the photo is being taken.
His timing is amazing! We didn't know, we hear the pop and are not sure where the cork is going. I still don't know where it ended up but it made for a photo with a difference!
We had an olive pasta. This is foglie d'ulivo with a sauce from the region of Puglia.
Then we had a delicious sald, and then a dessert that took more than an hour to make. Lachie and Chiara made it together. The name of the dessert is zucotto, from the region of Tuscany. It will now become a Christmas dessert for the Kermodes, whenever Lachie and Chaira are with us anyway.
Inside the zucotto - ricotta cheese and cocoa. Delicious.
The liqueur that went into the dessert.
Three generations.
After lunch (it was about 5.30 by now) we walked to the hotel in the centre of Reggio Emilia. Manuela and Paolo are driving around with our bags.
We are staying in Hotel Posta on the central city piazza. There has been a building here since 1281. It has been a hotel or tavern since 1515. The current ownership has been unchanged since 1919.
I wonder who were the people over the centuries who have stayed in our room. We are the room with the balcony in the picture.
That evening we went out for a drink in the main square with Nicky Murphy. She is the Kiwi daughter of one of the ladies, Gill Murphy, who comes to our Tuesday drinks over at the Northern Club from the International (our apartment block) in Auckland. She lives in Reggio, and knows Paolo and Manuela and Lachie and Chiara. We met and talked. It is all a bit of serendipity.
Nicky is a bit of a chip off the old block - vivacious, bubbly and smart about a wide range of topics. Here we all are enjoying a balmy summer evening together.
Nicky and me, this photo is for Gill ❤️❤️.
We headed back to our hotel, 5 mins walk away.