This morning we toured one of the premier makers of culatello. Â They showed us the process from the pigs to the selection of the best meat to the curing. Â The meat hangs in the cellars for several years before it is sold.
Eight of us, including our bus driver, began our excursion down the Po River.  There has been so much rain this year that the roots won’t hold the trees up.  A lot of trees at the edge of the bank have fallen over, so now they won’t ever stand up again.
We stopped to have a picnic lunch in a park by the shore.  We we each given several  boxes of food from a one star Michelin rated restaurant.  There was way too much food for each of us, so I saved what was left of mine for dinner.  We also celebrated the other Carol’s birthday.  She blew out a candle on her mini cake.
Our captain has written a book about some pieces of pottery and bones that he has found in the Po River. Â The pottery dates back 2000 years and the animal bones are thousands of years older than that!
When retuned to our hotel, Grand Hotel de la Ville, I got my clothes and bags ready to leave tomorrow. Â Sadly, we will have to say good-bye to Alessandro tomorrow afternoon when we arrive in Lucca. Â I hope the guide for the rest of the trip will be just as much fun and knowledgeable.
