We walked in to Castel Bolognese to take a look at the town. It was pleasant, if unexciting but had provided us with a very good nights stay for which we were very grateful.
Today's journey was much easier and we weren't travelling far. Reggio della Emilia is on the Via Emilia and its claim to fame is that it is the home of Parmigiano Reggiano, Parmesan Cheese. Like yesterday afternoon, it was very misty so there were no views although, given the very flat land, there probably weren't any good views even when it was clear. We found the car park easily and a notice told us that there was a free bus into the centre. The notice also told us that we had to obtain our ticket from a machine before we boarded the bus. This was easier said than done. The machines didn't seem to want to print tickets and although the machine had an option to change the language to English, the only word that it changed was 'English', the remainder of the instructions remained in Italian. I eventually found a gentleman in the bike shop and he took me to the machine and explained in sign language that the machine wouldn't issue a ticket if you stood in front of it, the car or motorhome had to be stopped in front of it. Surely enough, we drove the motorhome round to the machine, pressed the button and were presented with a ticket. Pressing the button again gave us a second ticket and after parking again we were ready to set off for the city centre. It was a clever idea that ensured that vehicle owners got free bus tickets but everyone else had to pay. Instructions in other languages would have been very helpful!
Reggio is a very pleasant city with lots of lovely buildings and, as always in Italy, the major sights were churches. We walked for a few hours all around the centre and then caught the bus back to the car park.
Dinner tonight was Pollo alla Cacciatora, a chicken dish that I have seen many totally different recipes for. This one consisted of chicken, garlic, white wine, vinegar (balsamic vinegar as we are very close to Modena where it is produced), black olives and anchovies. I think that this is the best recipe that I have tried – it was delicious served with some baked pasta.
Photos: Reggio della Emilia - On the façade of Chiesa di San Giorgio the rather effeminate St. George kills a dragon that looks more like a worm; The Basilica di San Propero with its separate octagonal tower; The very attractive Palazzo Fontanelli Sacrati – the prettiest of all of the palace that we saw in Reggio; The Teatro Municipale Valli with fountains in the Piazza della Vittora.
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