Parma

The weather's dried up a bit, leaving shrinking puddles on the ground. Today being Saturday, there is a market in Reggio. The stalls fill up the squares around the town centre.

A short ride away by train, and I find that an even bigger market is in progress in Parma. You can tell what is important to the locals from what's being traded. In Italian markets they were mainly clothes and shoes. It's important to cut a figura bella in Italy. Fortunately for me, as a traveller and straniero, I can be forgiven looking a bit shabby. Many of the clothing stalls are operated by Chinese, no doubt sourcing their stock from China.

Parma is also famous for food, as you can tell from prosciutto di Parma.

Here are some yummy looking pastries.

The Teatro Regio (opera house) is closely associated with Verdi and Toscanini.

I find Parma attractive. It looks well-maintained and prosperous.

I noticed a self-service laundromat near the station in Reggio. Good, I'll take the opportunity to launder my clothes on my way out tomorrow. I have decided to stay in Modena on Sunday night for a change of scenery. Only problem is I don't know where its address is in relation to the station, so I'll just have to find out when I get there.

And though I'd promised myself not to accumulate more baggage, I couldn't resist picking up Le Avventure di Sherlock Holmes for 2€ at a remainders bookshop. It is one in the series I Grandi Maestri di Giallo. Giallo means yellow, and comes from the distinctive yellow covers first used by the publishing house Mondadori in 1929 for cheap paperback crime thrillers. Eventually giallo became the generic term for a crime or mystery novel.

I know the stories well: Uno Scandalo in Boemia, La Lega dei Capelli Rossi, etc. but it's hard going, even with a dictionary. Still, there's a thrill in recognising something familiar in another language.