Benvenuti a Parma!
Our first morning in Parma, Italy, on July 13, 2016, was full of anticipation. After we ate breakfast in our Airbnb apartment, Valentina, our host, stopped by to say she was lining up some potential apartments for us to see in the next few days. She also extended an invitation to us to come to her house for dinner later that evening. We were very appreciative of her hospitality and would give her 6 stars (out of a possible 5 stars) if we could!
In the meantime, Larry and I spent the rest of the day strolling around Parma and taking in the sights. A subject for another blog!
Being with Valentina again, along with her husband, Massimo and two of their three children, made for a most enjoyable evening. As a bonus, their friends, Erika and Luigi came to dinner, too. We had met them last year at Valentina’s house. This time, their middle-school age son came, too, along with a similarly aged exchange student from France.
While we waited for the food to be ready, we sat around their outdoor patio table. It was a beautiful evening, even though the wind would pick up at times, creating a brisk breeze. We had much to talk about, catching up from last summer and talking about our plans for living in Parma. Then Valentina brought out the pesto pasta with zucchini and tomatoes. Food always tastes better when eaten outside, so this was such a treat for us to be with good friends eating an excellent pasta dinner.
As we were sitting around the table, Valentina took a photo of her friend Erika, Larry, her own husband Massimo and me. Next time, we’ll need a photo of Valentina and Erika’s husband Luigi.
Once dinner was done, Larry noticed the boys playing basketball in the driveway. In case you might not know, Valentina Gardellin is a former Italian professional basketball player. She played for Italy in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity, Larry joined the boys playing basketball. Larry had played basketball in high school but had not played much since then. He had a lot of fun shooting hoops with the boys and was ecstatic when Valentina joined them on the court! Larry, Luigi and Valentina versus a pre-schooler and two middle school kids!! Larry felt like he was in the big leagues!! Unfortunately, we don’t have any photos. Until next time…
