The flight home left from Milan at 6:45, so we had to be up at 3:30am in order to make our flight. We flew from Milan to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Houston. Our layover in Amsterdam was very short and on the other side of the airport. But we made it to our gate just in time as the last people were boarding. I had the most wonderful time in Italy and I really hope to return very soon!
Our last day in Italy we spent in Parma at a local authentic parmesan cheese factory. We got a short tour of the facility where they make the cheese and soak it in salt water. We then saw where the cheese was aged. The cheese can be aged for a minimum of twelve months and up to eleven years or more. After the tour of the facility we were able to sample cheeses that had been aged for various amounts of time, which included twelve months, twenty four months, and thirty six months. As the cheeses aged they developed a stronger flavor.
After the tour of the parmesan factory we headed to downtown Milan. I was looking forward to spending time in Milan shopping but we only had an hour and a half to spend there before we had to leave for the hotel.
Today we spent the day in Bologna. We first had a walking tour of the city where we saw some of the art and architecture. We also had a tour of the University of Bologna. The inside of the university is beautiful!
In the university we saw an autopsy theatre where they would perform autopsies in front of the students. After the walking tour we headed to pasta making demonstration at a restaurant. They still hand make all of their pastas everyday.
After the demonstration we ate lunch at the restaurant where we had a four course lunch and got to taste some of their different pasta dishes.
After lunch we had the rest of the day to spend as we liked. So I took this opportunity to explore the city. I walked all over and I was able to really enjoy and see the entire city!