The Driver's Visit Italy: Parma

The next day we woke up early and headed to Parma to visit a Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese dairy. 

These are the cows whose milk is brought in every morning and evening. 

This is where the milk that comes in goes before it drains into the cauldrons. 

The milk is then pumped into these copper cauldrons. It takes 550 liters or about 145 gallons of milk to make one wheel of cheese.

They then add whey and an enzyme that cause the milk to coagulate. This process of knowing when it is ready is all done by hand. 

They start the "mixer"which breaks down all the granules. After the milk reaches 55 degrees C the cheesy granules start to sink to the bottom and form one large cheesy mass.

After resting for 30  minutes, the men work together to get the hunk of cheese into the cheese cloth. One wheel of cheese weighs almost 86 pounds!

Here the guy is cutting in half.

The cheese in this form tastes like milk and is a little rubbery.

The cheese is placed in these molds which give it its final shape. These plastic cylinders can be tightened. This helps extract the excess whey from the cheese.

This special marking band is put around the cheese which labels it with the month and year of production, the dairy registration number, and inscription of Parmigiano Reggiano.

After a few days of sitting, the cheese is immersed in a water and salt solution. The whey is extracted out and the salt moves in.

And then finally it is placed in long rows in the maturation room. It is on these wooden shelves that the cheese forms a natural crust or what we call the rind. 

The wheels of cheese must be brushed and turned over continually during this maturation period. They have these machines which do the job for them.

They are cleaned because they accumulate dust and they also grow this hair-like mold on the outside that has to be brushed off.

Dad found his birthday!

Now on to the cheese tasting. Yum!

So much cheese!

After our cheese tour we had to deal with some mechanical issues with the Saab. Luckily my dad was there and he was able to put the belt back on! Then we were off to Rome!!

The Driver's come to Italy: Venice

   This past July my parents made the long trip across the big pond for a visit! My dad was here for 1 week and my mom stayed 2 weeks. We had such a great time and saw a lot! We started inVenice, the next day stopped in Parma on the way to Rome for a few days, then stopped in Pisa on the the way to the Cinque Terre for a few days! I picked them up at the airport and we headed straight for Venice. I loved showing them around one of my favorite cities! 

We took a ferry over to the island of Murano which is famous for it's glass. We were able to catch a short glass demonstration.

He made this horse, called a Ferrari, right in front of us! It was amazing!

Their first experience with having to pay for a European restroom. It was especially expensive this summer!

A gondola traffic jam.

Pictures in front of the Bridge of Sighs.

In front of St. Mark's Basilica.

There were so many boats out today.

The famous Rialto Bridge. 

One of the many many gelatos we had in Italy!

Croatia- girls trip

      How do you survive a 9 month deployment while living in Italy?? Girl's trip to Croatia!!!!! Seriously though, it is important to keep yourself busy and plan things to look forward to, which isn't really hard when you live in Europe! If you follow my blog you might remember the post about the nude beach?? Well this is the same country, just a different town! 

The participants on this girl's trip were me, Mary Kathryn, Anna, and Kaitlin. Kaitlin and Anna are both fellow army wives and their husbands are also deployed. Mary Kathryn is Anna's sister who is here to visit during summer break before her Senior year in college. We had such a great time together!

1 small Jetta + 4 girls = 1 packed trunk!

We stayed in a small town called Medulin which is right outside of Pula. We rented an apartment/condo and thought they would have bowls right? Nope. Thus Mary Kathryn eating her cereal out of a large pot.

And me eating mine out of a small glass. 

The first full day we were there we hung out at the pool. 

Later that afternoon we walked to one of the few sandy beaches in Croatia. Almost all of the beaches in Croatia are rocky, but they brought a lot of sand in for this one!

Once you walked out in the water about 10 feet your feeties hit rocks. Water shoes in Croatia are definitely a good idea!

We were treated like royalty at dinner! It was hilarious! Guys were fighting over our table and they were bringing us endless shots of this pear flavored liquor native to Croatia.

Crepes filled with nutella and dusted with powder sugar? Yes, please!

The next day we drove about 15 minutes to a state park type place. We found ourselves some semi-flat rocks and enjoyed the day!

The water here is b-e-a-utiful!

We enjoyed our picnic lunch and pre-made strawberry margaritas!

That night we walked around the small town before going to dinner. They were having a carnival and there were lots of people out. 

I got a kick out of this sign for a Dance show spectacular they were having. Notice below Hotel Medulin it advertises that is is half-airconditioned! After living in Europe during the summer, this is definitely something to advertise!! :)

We had a great time in Croatia and enjoyed getting away for a few days. I'm looking forward to many girl's trips in the future!