Arrivederci, amici!

On Saturday we had our last lesson (lessons, really, because we do them separately) with Franca, our wonderful guide as we try to fumble through the mysteries of the Italian language. As you can see, she is adorable.

Now we are departing this morning, Monday, to head to Orvieto. We will miss Franca and, even more, our invaluable guides to all things Fidenzan and Italian, our old (though not as old as we are) friends Pam and Romano. They have been extravagantly generous with their time, their savvy, and their kitchen since we arrived eleven days ago. Which is a very long time to be hospitable.

 Here they are during our outing to Trattoria La Frasca, the culinary high point of our visit so far...

...and in situ in Piazza Garibaldi, the main square, waiting for us to turn up so we can all go get some gelato. 

Yesterday we drove into Parma with Pam and, after a Chinese-Japanese-Thai lunch and a visit to a few of our favorite sights (the cathedral, the baptistry), went to the Conservatorio de Musica to watch Romano direct some of his students in a production of "Cosi Fan Tutte." It was fascinating to watch, beautiful to listen to, and a wonderful conclusion to our visit with them. We're sorry we won't be here for the premiere later this week. But we know we'll be seeing our friends in Fidenza again...and perhaps in not too long.