Cars & Black Gold

We spent the first half of the day checking out some of the sports cars that are made in the area. First we went to the Ferrari Museum. It wasn’t busy so Kuah was able to try their simulator without waiting in line. Although it has larger screens and moves as you drive Kuah decided he prefers to just play Gran Tourismo in his rig at home. From there we entered the showroom. There were a lot of cool cars and a lot of people taking many pictures of them. I wonder how often they actually look back at their pictures.

I enjoyed looking at all of the cars and found I like the look of the older ones better. What I did not enjoy was the movie they showed. They put it up on the screen in the main showroom and dimmed all the lights so everyone there had no choice but to watch. It would’ve been better to set it up in a way where people could choose whether or not to watch. While the history of the organization would’ve been interesting this seemed more like a commercial for Enzo Ferrari, which I found to be boring.

After visiting the museum we walked over to Trattoria Hermes for lunch. They are known for busy lunches with home-style food. We were lucky to get a table but were told we only had it for 45 minutes. This was fine as we had another museum to hit soon after lunch. Kuah got the lasagna and I got the veal. What I liked about this meal was when I asked about vegetables they offered some with a shot glass of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. This worked great and is something I can easily throw together at home.

After lunch we headed over to the Lamborghini museum. There was another simulator here that Kuah got to try. Then we walked around the museum. I liked the way this museum was arranged better but I liked the old style Ferrari cars the best. Although I’m sure I wouldn’t enjoy riding in them. I’m spoiled by the comfort of modern cars. Kuah didn’t take pictures of all the cars, and I didn’t take any. But, out of the pictures Kuah did take here are our favorite ones.

After spending the morning looking at cars we spent the afternoon looking at barrels of black gold. Our Airbnb host had recommended a free balsamic vinegar tour at Acetaia Villa San Donnino. There were only 3 other people on our tour so it gave us time to ask plenty of questions. They walked us though how they make and age balsamic vinegar.

A lot of people living in Modena get a set of casks when they are born so they can have their own homemade vinegar. The rest of us have to buy it. For that we learned that a good balsamic vinegar is made only from cooked grapes. So stay away from balsamic vinegar with multiple ingredients. Also the best vinegar is aged for at least 25 years and is DOP certified. Now I know how to shop better.

At the end of the tour we got a tasting of the vinegar. We really liked them and have bought more from their US seller since coming back. They’re a great way to make eating vegetables more enjoyable. The tasting most people enjoy is the balsamic vinegar on frozen custard. Although good I still prefer a chocolate frozen custard.

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