The Spoils of Travel

I live in a small Midwestern town, which has more resources available than many it's size, but one of the very best things about traveling away from this town is bringing back the things that we enjoyed about our destination that can be transported back with us. There are so many things that cannot--an abundance of seafood being the thing we love to indulge in when we travel. When I retire I hope to live in some cities for longer than is possible as a full time employee, and the cities that I dream about doing this in are almost universally on the water--not quite all, but over 90% of them. This is the haul from a recent trip to the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, where we opted out of much in the way of clothes (our apartment had a washing machine and a very good drying rack) and instead brought home the three things the region is known for--proscuitto, parmesano-reggiano, and balsamic vinegar (not pictured, as we had it shipped). It has been such a treat to have these on hand and available. Now we have to try to perfect our tortelloni game, and eat a bit more pasta than before we went and the trip will live on!