We took a tour of a small farm/cheese making factory in the Parma region.
Parma is the only place in the world that is allowed to make Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
They claim the flavor can not be re-created as everything (the milk and the grain the cows eat) is local to the region.
And also the guide claims they have the 'passion' that makes the flavor just right. The sprinkle of love that goes into a recipe that no one else can imitate.
We got to taste the difference that aging has on the cheese. 1-2 years is just right. 3 years makes it a much stronger "spicy" taste. Any spicy food we've had since then Preston has asked if it was aged 3 years.
After our tour we found a park for a picnic.
We then continued to Carrara where we got to take a jeep ride up to the top of the mountain where carrara marble is quarried.
This marble is famously used for many statues and buildings included Michelangelo's David, Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus, the Pantheon and the Rome Italy Temple.
The mountains in both directions are all marble, so despite exporting a millions tons of marble a year, they said it would take 450 more years before they reach the limit of 5% they can quarry.
After leaving the quarry we stopped at the beach for another picnic and time to play before heading to out next stop for the night in La Spezia.
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