We leave Parma and head off to the mountains, for Lucca; however, we stop at Pontremoli, a medieval village, where we meet our local guide for a walking tour.
After our visit, we get back on the van and go for lunch at the home of a lady who makes testaroli , which is a sort of pasta which resembles a crepe. The crepe is made on a very hot stove with no oil. The only two ingredients are flour and water. It is cut up into pieces and various sauces are mixed in; we had pesto, tomato and cheese and olive oil. We also had a potato-leek tarte, and finished off the meal with a cake embedded with choolate chips. We had wine available as well as water for our meal.
Back on the bus for Lucca! We arrived mid afternoon, and checked into our gorgeous room. We strolled a bit as well.
We went to a local place for dinner chosen by Alice. This was not one of the planned dinners, but she often will recommend a place and those who wish can join her. She usually selects restaurants with high quality and low prices. This one was a food-to-table organic place and I ate only a starter – and dessert, of course. I had eggplant-mozzarella stacked up, surrounded with tomato coulis. Delicious and satisfying
Tomorrow we explore Lucca, with a walking tour.