Mercato Storico Albinelli, Modena, Italy

The thing that I love about this region in general and this city in particular is that it is all about the food. The region is rich in local specialties, and they are all on display in the market. The day we spent in Modena was the worst weather we experienced the whole trip, with an all day rain on top of an already cold day--but the market is indoors and a great escape from the elements.

The thing that we came for, and what we left with as well, was the parmesan. We tasted quite a few of them, bought a wide variety, with variations in the length of the aging for each, the cow milk that the cheese is made from, as well as different parmesan makers. In addition to this we bought a kilo of a blooming rind cheese we tried and liked, as well as a truffled pecorino that was amazing. The cheesemonger said it is a truffle experience at an affordable price, and he was right on about that.

The thing that we did not get, but I wished I could have were the the tortelloni that we saw everywhere--maybe going forward we can work on getting better at this!