Parma, Italy

Parma ended up being our first stop in Italy, although it was almost completely unplanned. The first city we arrived in was Milan, and per our usual style, we didn't make any sort of reservations in advance. This was the weekend that Milan was playing in the champions league final, so nearly all the hostels near the center were booked and the cheapest hotels available were in the 200 Euro per night range. We really didn't like the vibe that we got from the city, so after about an hour or two of walking around we went straight back to the train station and caught the next train to somewhere interesting, which ended up being Parma.



Parma was our first taste of Italian food, and it didn't disappoint - after all, Parma is the city where Parmesan cheese was invented. We ended up eating out every day, which was pretty pricey, but definitely worth it. We had lot's of great coffee, bread, wine, pasta, pizza, etc.





The city itself was very nice. It wasn't a very big city, so it had a nice relaxing feel to it. There wasn't much of a party scene there, but there were a decent number of bars and places to hang out at night. We weren't looking for anything crazy at the time, so it was fine. We did end up watching Milan win the Champions league there, which was pretty sweet. We tried to catch the last train back to Milan to pull an all nighter partying there but missed it by about 6 minutes, so we just stayed in Parma to celebrate.

Other than that, there isn't a whole lot more to say about the city. Here are a few other pictures: