Welcome to Eataly

Today it's all about food because we were at Fico Eataly World - a food theme park 😋

On the way there, I had a happy and excited Finn next to me. It opened at 11 am and we arrived shortly after because we only had a 10-minute drive 😍

At the entrance, we took a picture with the mascot - a fig. Then we went through various themed areas. It started with fire, then moved on to ham and animals, Parmesan, pasta, fish, wine and beer, oil and vinegar, and finally, sweets. In each themed area, there were corresponding restaurants, decorations, and interactive stations with facts and quizzes. It was also exciting that the smell mirrored the area. There were also production facilities, but most of them were not active as they only produce when the park needs new products. However, some animated videos were shown. 🫒🧀🍗🐟🍝🍪🍷

At 1:15 pm, we had a tasting tour with another couple from Poland. Our guide told us a lot about each station, and we got to try 4 things. Bologna's typical Mortadella, cannoli (Sicilian pastry), Confetto (sugared almonds, a bit like caramelized almonds), and white wine at the end. It was delicious 😌😋

After that, we took a short rest and sat near the big (artificial) tree with water. Eventually, we started to get hungry and went out to the street food festival. It was not as cool as I imagined, but we could try four different things with our coupons. There was a piece of lasagna, Gnocco Fritto (fried dough with ham), meat skewers, and fried tortellini. We also had Hugo and Aperol 🍴🍹

We started the shopping spree and finally ate the long-awaited Arancini (fried rice balls from Sicily) 🙈

We bought a fig mascot, gifts for home, crispy ham, BBQ truffle sauce, and the almonds 🛍🛒

Back home, we took a rest again. It was quite exhausting. But at least there was air conditioning because it was too hot outside. Then we went to the hotel spa, which was not what we expected. But at least we tried everything. First steam bath, then alternating showers and foot baths, sauna, cold? whirlpool (a bit strange), and the relaxation lounge 💧🧖🏽‍♂️🧖🏼‍♀️ After an hour, we left.

After a quick shower, we went to the restaurant across the street. Tigellas, another typical dish here, were served as appetizers and later with Nutella as dessert. They are small bread rolls that can also be described as thick pancakes. They are sliced open and filled as desired. For the main course, we had lasagna and tagliatelle Bolognese 🍝

Now we're packing, watching a bit of the sports studio on ZDF, and will go to sleep soon 😴