balsamic vinegar | The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

Yes, the featured image is AI generated…

Happy Thursday, everybody. This morning, we got a video from Bill’s younger daughter. She started our day off on a very tasteful note.

A few weeks ago, younger daughter was telling us about how she didn’t understand why people like olive oil so much. She said it was bitter and watery, and even though it’s supposed to be “healthy”, she just didn’t think it was very good.

Having lived in the United States ourselves, and tasted what passes for “olive oil”, we had a feeling that she had never experienced the real thing. So last month, when we went to Ramstein to get my stupid eye exam done for the driver’s license renewal, we stopped by a really cool Italian shop in the Ramstein mall.

The woman who was working that day had a super thick accent, and she told us about her family and how she wound up in Germany. For years, she worked in Nuremberg, but eventually found her way to the Ramstein area. Her store was chock full of Italian goodies, straight from the source.

I think the lady in the shop got a kick out of watching us load up on stuff. She asked if we were getting ready to PCS. We said we weren’t, but we just enjoy authentic Italian products and happened to be at Ramstein. We left the store with several bags of Italian pasta, olive oil, orange liqueur, and balsamic vinegar.

*I already shared this photo on the day we bought these goodies, but here it is again. Some of it went to younger daughter, who is just now tasting real olive oil and balsamic for the first time.*

As is his habit, Bill got a few things in Greece for the kids, while he was working there. We added a bag of pasta, some olive oil, and balsamic vinegar to the box. They got it a few days ago, and opened it on camera. I got a big kick out of watching the grandkids discover things from Europe.

This morning, younger daughter said she had tried the olive oil on some homemade breadsticks she made. She was shocked by the difference in flavor and consistency. And then her husband said, “These are the best breadsticks ever. Just like Olive Garden!” 🫪 🤣

Of course, that just makes me want to take them to a real Italian restaurant. I’ll bet they would be blown away by what Italian food from Italy actually tastes like. I do like American style Italian food, too… but it’s really not the same and does not compare to food from the actual source.

On the other hand, I did find out firsthand that, in spite of contrary popular opinions, it IS possible to have a bad meal in Italy. But they are few and very far between!

Anyway, it’s a real pleasure to see Bill’s daughter experiencing new things. Her eyes are opening to new ideas and horizons far beyond what she’s experienced thus far. And her kids are getting to try things like real olive oil and balsamic vinegar at a much younger age.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Bill was able to get too many souvenirs from Spain, but maybe we’ll have the chance to go there together. I just wish we could send her some Iberico ham. That would probably really blow her tastebuds!

We will be going back to Ramstein on June 13th, because I’m going to go get a full eye exam. It will be among the last offered by the optometrist there, because he’s leaving. According to the very nervous technician who took care of me last month, they aren’t backfilling him… so I’m going to get an “over 50” eye exam and get a new prescription. I don’t look forward to it, but I am looking forward to seeing things better. Clearer vision is always a good thing– literally and figuratively.

By the way, I got my new driver’s license this week! It’s good until 2034!

Meandering around Modena…

I mentioned in the previous post that Bill had decided against visiting Bologna on this trip, mainly because parking can be tricky there. Bologna has an area where it’s strictly prohibited for non-residents to park their vehicles. The areas supposedly aren’t well marked, and fines are steep. So, since Modena also looked like an interesting place, he decided we’d go there.

Modena, which, like Parma, is also located in Emilia-Romagna, is on the south side of the Po Valley. It was about a 40 minute drive from our castle accommodations, which took us through some areas that reminded me a little of Mississippi. Probably the most traumatizing thing about our drive to Modena was when we passed a roundabout where there were cop cars. There were dozens of shattered wine bottles on the road, because a guy in a truck went too fast around the corner and lost about half his load. The police were sweeping up the glass and directing traffic as we passed. I wasn’t prepared to take a picture, which is just as well. It was a very sad sight indeed.

Modena has a huge parking garage outside of the walls of the city. From the parking garage, it’s easy to access the town with a short walk. Modena is known for its balsamic vinegar and expensive sports cars. Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and Maserati are either based there now, or were in the past. Lamborghini has since moved from Modena to Bologna.

Again, because of COVID restrictions, we didn’t have any big plans to see anything specific. Our goals were to get a feel for the city, have lunch, and people watch. One thing that I noticed and liked about both Parma and Modena, but especially Modena, is that the town did not seem touristy, at least during our very brief visit. I didn’t hear any Americans at all during my visit to Modena.

Maybe it seems wrong to write this, since I am myself an American, but it really is nice to be in a very authentic Italian town where there aren’t shitloads of my countrymen milling around, talking too loudly, and being obnoxious and obvious. On the other hand, I remember being that way when I was a lot younger and less aware of myself. But anyway, if you like places that aren’t catering to tourists, Modena is a good bet. And there’s plenty to look at and smell while you’re there. Modena was the one place on our entire visit where I routinely caught the aromas of things that smelled heavenly. I think it was mostly pizza, though…

In the photos, you might notice several young people wearing garlands on their heads. I’m not sure what that was about, but I got the sense it had to do with graduation. Modena has a university that was founded in 1175.

Here are some photos from our visit…

Right after I took a picture of the anti-dog poop street painting, we discovered our lunch spot, La Brusca Caffe, which happened to be near the pizzeria take out place that was giving off such heavenly aromas. This little hole in the wall was nothing fancy, but offered good food at inexpensive prices. We took our time and sat outside, enjoying the atmosphere of “the real Italy”. By that, I mean this is a place where you can get an authentic feel for Italy.

As for the food… it was okay. I would say it was nothing to write home about. Looks like some people on Trip Advisor agree. But it satisfied us and didn’t cost much at all. And they had decent wine. If we ever go to Modena again, we will make a different restaurant choice.

For some reason, these tables were closed.

We walked around a little bit more, then made our way back to Torrechiara. We stopped briefly at a rest area outisde of Modena, as we both had to process lunch. I note that when we stopped, mask rules were still in place. And, as is the custom in Italy, in order to leave the building, we had to walk through the food and gift store. On the way back out of Italy, a few days later, we stopped at the same rest stop. At that point, masks were over.