Oct 18 in Bologna: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debstah1/sets/72157622495984701/
Oct 19 in Ferrara and Bologna: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debstah1/sets/72157622627170574/
All further pics will have to wait til I'm back "on the grid" :(
Showing posts with label Bologna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bologna. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday Oct. 18 Bologna Pics (first half up)
Bologna Oct 18 pics (first half): http://www.flickr.com/photos/debstah1/sets/72157622495984701/
Off to Parma tomorrow where it should be my last day with internet. I'll try to at least get all my Bologna and the day in Parma pics up :/
Off to Parma tomorrow where it should be my last day with internet. I'll try to at least get all my Bologna and the day in Parma pics up :/
Italy 2009 Trip Day 6 - Monday October 19
Woke up at 7:30 to my alarm on my ipod. Went down to breakfast and set out to find the Mercato delle Erbe. I knew it was on via Ugo Bassi but I didn't know where. I wandered up a ways and couldn't find it. I should've asked someone :) Instead I walked up to the train station and got on the 10am train to Ferrara, arriving at 10:30. Conveniently, I was able to find a poncho in the Ferrara station's market. As an aside, there was an American family in the seats across from me. The kid was probably about 10 or 11 and the things he was saying clearly suggested they've been in Italy for an extended time…doesn't he have school?
Followed signs to the Castle in the center of town and the walk from the train station was farther than I thought it was going to be. But I made it in about 15 min and the castle is quite an impressive building. Wandered around a bit more, found the tourist info office inside the castle, got a map and asked where the Jewish museum was and set out to find it. The tour was at 12 and it was about 11:30 so I wandered these old alleys a bit. I went into a 99c store! HAHA!! I bought an emery board, since I'd broken a couple nails.
At 12, went in to the museum. There were 2 other couples - both italian. And as an aside, I'd like to note that 3 of the 4 of them were wearing BLUE jeans and ALL FOUR of them were wearing SNEAKERS. So me, the only American, was wearing nice slacks and black shoes. That's all I have to say about that.
Anyway the tour was interesting enough. There was quite a strong/old jewish community in Ferrara dating back to medieval times. They had the keys from the ghetto gates from the 1600s and even a torah scroll from the 1700s. The remaining active synagogue (with 70 members) is quite small and beautiful and the museum contains quite a lot of old memorabilia type things.
I was so hungry after the tour around 1, but on Monday it seemed like 90% of the restaurants in Ferrara were closed. Really annoying. I kept wandering and wandering til about 2ish when I finally gave up and went to a 'touristy' place right on the main square. I just had a sandwich. I tried to go to the castle, and it was closed. Wish I knew about that earlier.
Tried to catch the 2:30 train back to bologna but I miscalculated the time and got a bit lost so I showed up about 2:50. there was a slower train leaving at 3, so I caught that instead of waiting til a 3:30 train.
I'd say Ferrara was a bit of a waste. The Jewish tour was interesting and their duomo is quite beautiful but I should have planned better and caught a much earlier train.
Back in Bologna about 4pm, I took a bus down to the main square, figured I'd just wander around a bit more. Lo and behold, on the bus, I saw a sign for MERCATO DELLE ERBE! So I got off at Piazza Maggiore and wandered there for a few minutes. Went into the famous Tamburini shop/deli and looked at the goods. It was really quiet in there though. Then went back to the Mercato delle Erbe, which would not reopen til 5. Found a coop supermarket right near it and bought a bottle of water and some of the local shape of pasta.
The Mercato delle Erbe is….amaaaaaaaaaazing. It's like the Boqueria in Barcelona, except 100% Italian. There are no bananas at this market. Why? Because bananas don't grow in Italy. I think you get the point. But the best thing about the market is that it's freaking cheap. Many stalls had several types of grapes for one euro a KILO. And they're the biggest grapes you've ever seen. It's also very very un-touristy, and one guy even glared at me for just having a camera around my neck. Whatever dude, I caused no harm. Bought some tomatoes and tangerines for a whopping 1.40 euros, and some Baranese (or something?) green olives. They're delicious!
Wandered around yet a bit more and bought a cheesy magnet to add to my collection - it's a TORTELLINI with the two towers in the middle, I love it haha. Came back to the hotel a little after 6pm and here I am typing at a little after 7. Started packing up so that I can try to do as many pictures after dinner as possible before I leave for Parma.
8:30pm: back from dinner. Managed to get into Trattoria del Biassanot, which is the one that turned me down on Saturday. They said I had to be done by 8:30, well for me that's no problem eating alone. Only a few minutes later they started turning people away. Most of the people in the place seemed to be tourists, but the food was awesome. I had the traditional pasatelli in brodo, which is glorified (but delicious) chicken noodle soup. Then I had pasta, which was also delicious. Interestingly, this place had a cover charge AND then added 10% for service. Whatever. It was still tasty.
Now I want to do as many pics as I can and finish packing up so I can get out pretty quickly tomorrow.
Bologna is different. I don't think it has an attracting heart and soul like Florence, but the food really is indeed the center of this city. I could shop at the Mercato delle Erbe every day of my life. There aren't that many sites and the architecture is not THAT interesting, but it's definitely a cool place that's bustling without the annoyances of Rome.
Followed signs to the Castle in the center of town and the walk from the train station was farther than I thought it was going to be. But I made it in about 15 min and the castle is quite an impressive building. Wandered around a bit more, found the tourist info office inside the castle, got a map and asked where the Jewish museum was and set out to find it. The tour was at 12 and it was about 11:30 so I wandered these old alleys a bit. I went into a 99c store! HAHA!! I bought an emery board, since I'd broken a couple nails.
At 12, went in to the museum. There were 2 other couples - both italian. And as an aside, I'd like to note that 3 of the 4 of them were wearing BLUE jeans and ALL FOUR of them were wearing SNEAKERS. So me, the only American, was wearing nice slacks and black shoes. That's all I have to say about that.
Anyway the tour was interesting enough. There was quite a strong/old jewish community in Ferrara dating back to medieval times. They had the keys from the ghetto gates from the 1600s and even a torah scroll from the 1700s. The remaining active synagogue (with 70 members) is quite small and beautiful and the museum contains quite a lot of old memorabilia type things.
I was so hungry after the tour around 1, but on Monday it seemed like 90% of the restaurants in Ferrara were closed. Really annoying. I kept wandering and wandering til about 2ish when I finally gave up and went to a 'touristy' place right on the main square. I just had a sandwich. I tried to go to the castle, and it was closed. Wish I knew about that earlier.
Tried to catch the 2:30 train back to bologna but I miscalculated the time and got a bit lost so I showed up about 2:50. there was a slower train leaving at 3, so I caught that instead of waiting til a 3:30 train.
I'd say Ferrara was a bit of a waste. The Jewish tour was interesting and their duomo is quite beautiful but I should have planned better and caught a much earlier train.
Back in Bologna about 4pm, I took a bus down to the main square, figured I'd just wander around a bit more. Lo and behold, on the bus, I saw a sign for MERCATO DELLE ERBE! So I got off at Piazza Maggiore and wandered there for a few minutes. Went into the famous Tamburini shop/deli and looked at the goods. It was really quiet in there though. Then went back to the Mercato delle Erbe, which would not reopen til 5. Found a coop supermarket right near it and bought a bottle of water and some of the local shape of pasta.
The Mercato delle Erbe is….amaaaaaaaaaazing. It's like the Boqueria in Barcelona, except 100% Italian. There are no bananas at this market. Why? Because bananas don't grow in Italy. I think you get the point. But the best thing about the market is that it's freaking cheap. Many stalls had several types of grapes for one euro a KILO. And they're the biggest grapes you've ever seen. It's also very very un-touristy, and one guy even glared at me for just having a camera around my neck. Whatever dude, I caused no harm. Bought some tomatoes and tangerines for a whopping 1.40 euros, and some Baranese (or something?) green olives. They're delicious!
Wandered around yet a bit more and bought a cheesy magnet to add to my collection - it's a TORTELLINI with the two towers in the middle, I love it haha. Came back to the hotel a little after 6pm and here I am typing at a little after 7. Started packing up so that I can try to do as many pictures after dinner as possible before I leave for Parma.
8:30pm: back from dinner. Managed to get into Trattoria del Biassanot, which is the one that turned me down on Saturday. They said I had to be done by 8:30, well for me that's no problem eating alone. Only a few minutes later they started turning people away. Most of the people in the place seemed to be tourists, but the food was awesome. I had the traditional pasatelli in brodo, which is glorified (but delicious) chicken noodle soup. Then I had pasta, which was also delicious. Interestingly, this place had a cover charge AND then added 10% for service. Whatever. It was still tasty.
Now I want to do as many pics as I can and finish packing up so I can get out pretty quickly tomorrow.
Bologna is different. I don't think it has an attracting heart and soul like Florence, but the food really is indeed the center of this city. I could shop at the Mercato delle Erbe every day of my life. There aren't that many sites and the architecture is not THAT interesting, but it's definitely a cool place that's bustling without the annoyances of Rome.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Italy 2009 Trip Day 5 - Sunday October 18
5:25pm: Woke up around 8:30 after having not gone to sleep til like, 2:30am or later. Anyway, woke up and got ready, moved the drying laundry to the closet from the bathroom, and went to breakfast. Cappuccino, a couple kinds of pastry (croissant smeared with nutella!!!!!), a hard-boiled egg, and I was off on my way.
Wandered around the Piazza Maggiore area again - took some pictures in the same place I did yesterday - except that today was quiet and empty where yesterday stood a very busy and bustling market. Went to the tourist info office just before 10:30 for the church/monument walking tour. A couple I recognized from breakfast that morning was on there so we started chatting; turns out they're from Palo Alto, come to Italy every year and always stay at the hotel in one of their apartments. The tour was good, we saw two of the main churches, the Due Torre (2 towers), and the main square, and plenty along the way. The church of Santo Stefano is particularly cool - it's actually several churches put together and all in stone and kind of dark.
So after the tour was over, the lovely Jerry and Sandi asked if I wanted to join them at lunch - they were going to a pizzeria they liked called Pino. Luckily it was open today. I had a pizza piled high with prosciutto. It was delicious. It took me 4 days in Italy to have pizza, I know you're proud!
After this, they showed me their favorite gelateria off the beaten track (Gianni). They had awesome names for gelato, including "L'avvocato" or, The Lawyer. HA! They also showed me a big supermarket way off the beaten track, where I bought a few different chocolate bars AND THE GREEN SICILIAN OLIVES I DISCOVERED LAST TIME IN FLORENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That kind of made my day. Anyway, came back to the hotel for a couple minutes, gave them my email address, and talked to the owner a bit. Everyone suggested I go to Ferrara tomorrow. We'll see.
Set off to find the Jewish Ghetto which is right near the Two Towers. The streets (alleys?) are narrower and less open and airy than the rest of town. There was some bizarre procession on the way. At first I thought it was a funeral but people were clapping and watching and they were heading towards a small church, they didn't seem upset. People were burning stuff, there was practically a marching band-type group, and they were carrying something.
Anyway I walked around the ghetto for a few minutes but I decided not to go into the Jewish Museum… just did not feel up to it? Got a small gelato (chocolate and coffee) at the 2nd branch of the Gianni Gelateria. It came in an edible (cone) cup, called "cisterne" - really cool!
Walked around and found the pizzeria I ate at yesterday. They are open tonight, so I might head there for dinner. They have beef on the menu (I think) so I may splurge for that.
Wandered back and into the city's actual Duomo (which unlike most Italian cities is not on the city's main square but near the start of the main road that connects the train station with the heart of the historical center), which was quite beautiful indeed. Also checked out Zara and H&M, and still no sign of a decent-looking cheap pair of sunglasses. By the time I find them, the rain will have moved in LOL! Maybe tomorrow I should look for a poncho instead... Came back to the hotel to write this up, upload yesterday's pictures (which at nearly 7pm now is still not done), and look up Ferrara a bit. Seems quite interesting indeed so I think I'll definitely head there tomorrow - plus it's only a half hour on the train, which I didn't realize!
9:00pm: back at the hotel stuffed to the gills. Went back to the pizzeria I ate at yesterday, it was indeed open! I splurged and had filetto (beef) with a side of roasted potatoes. Oh. My. God. See, the potatoes were just roasted with some rosemary and olive oil. And the steak was just grilled and they brought ME the olive oil and salt to season it to my liking. That's why food is so good here. I was brought two plates that appeared plain. No garnish, no froo-froo. Just real damn good food. You just can't get beef like that in the US. Was it the most tender I've ever had? But it just had so much flavor. By the way, I ordered (or tried to order) the steak "mezzo sanguine" or medium rare. Well, it was fine for me, but it was no medium rare. It was way rarer than probably any restaurant in the US would be willing to serve it! So it was a bit of a splurge, but it was worth every penny and really hit the spot.
A little after 8, I finished dinner and walked around the main square and took some pictures at night. Then I found the main branch of the Gianni gelateria and got a small "cisterna" of nutella and coffee. This place's gelato is so flavorful and so creamy, it's among the best I've had anywhere, really.
So now I am back at the hotel, I will try to go to bed early tonight so I can make it to the food market early tomorrow, so I can make it to Ferrara on the 9am train. The 10am is probably more reasonable though. ;)
Wandered around the Piazza Maggiore area again - took some pictures in the same place I did yesterday - except that today was quiet and empty where yesterday stood a very busy and bustling market. Went to the tourist info office just before 10:30 for the church/monument walking tour. A couple I recognized from breakfast that morning was on there so we started chatting; turns out they're from Palo Alto, come to Italy every year and always stay at the hotel in one of their apartments. The tour was good, we saw two of the main churches, the Due Torre (2 towers), and the main square, and plenty along the way. The church of Santo Stefano is particularly cool - it's actually several churches put together and all in stone and kind of dark.
So after the tour was over, the lovely Jerry and Sandi asked if I wanted to join them at lunch - they were going to a pizzeria they liked called Pino. Luckily it was open today. I had a pizza piled high with prosciutto. It was delicious. It took me 4 days in Italy to have pizza, I know you're proud!
After this, they showed me their favorite gelateria off the beaten track (Gianni). They had awesome names for gelato, including "L'avvocato" or, The Lawyer. HA! They also showed me a big supermarket way off the beaten track, where I bought a few different chocolate bars AND THE GREEN SICILIAN OLIVES I DISCOVERED LAST TIME IN FLORENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That kind of made my day. Anyway, came back to the hotel for a couple minutes, gave them my email address, and talked to the owner a bit. Everyone suggested I go to Ferrara tomorrow. We'll see.
Set off to find the Jewish Ghetto which is right near the Two Towers. The streets (alleys?) are narrower and less open and airy than the rest of town. There was some bizarre procession on the way. At first I thought it was a funeral but people were clapping and watching and they were heading towards a small church, they didn't seem upset. People were burning stuff, there was practically a marching band-type group, and they were carrying something.
Anyway I walked around the ghetto for a few minutes but I decided not to go into the Jewish Museum… just did not feel up to it? Got a small gelato (chocolate and coffee) at the 2nd branch of the Gianni Gelateria. It came in an edible (cone) cup, called "cisterne" - really cool!
Walked around and found the pizzeria I ate at yesterday. They are open tonight, so I might head there for dinner. They have beef on the menu (I think) so I may splurge for that.
Wandered back and into the city's actual Duomo (which unlike most Italian cities is not on the city's main square but near the start of the main road that connects the train station with the heart of the historical center), which was quite beautiful indeed. Also checked out Zara and H&M, and still no sign of a decent-looking cheap pair of sunglasses. By the time I find them, the rain will have moved in LOL! Maybe tomorrow I should look for a poncho instead... Came back to the hotel to write this up, upload yesterday's pictures (which at nearly 7pm now is still not done), and look up Ferrara a bit. Seems quite interesting indeed so I think I'll definitely head there tomorrow - plus it's only a half hour on the train, which I didn't realize!
9:00pm: back at the hotel stuffed to the gills. Went back to the pizzeria I ate at yesterday, it was indeed open! I splurged and had filetto (beef) with a side of roasted potatoes. Oh. My. God. See, the potatoes were just roasted with some rosemary and olive oil. And the steak was just grilled and they brought ME the olive oil and salt to season it to my liking. That's why food is so good here. I was brought two plates that appeared plain. No garnish, no froo-froo. Just real damn good food. You just can't get beef like that in the US. Was it the most tender I've ever had? But it just had so much flavor. By the way, I ordered (or tried to order) the steak "mezzo sanguine" or medium rare. Well, it was fine for me, but it was no medium rare. It was way rarer than probably any restaurant in the US would be willing to serve it! So it was a bit of a splurge, but it was worth every penny and really hit the spot.
A little after 8, I finished dinner and walked around the main square and took some pictures at night. Then I found the main branch of the Gianni gelateria and got a small "cisterna" of nutella and coffee. This place's gelato is so flavorful and so creamy, it's among the best I've had anywhere, really.
So now I am back at the hotel, I will try to go to bed early tonight so I can make it to the food market early tomorrow, so I can make it to Ferrara on the 9am train. The 10am is probably more reasonable though. ;)
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Italy 2009 Trip Day 4 - Saturday October 17
9:20am: Sitting on the train to Bologna. These Eurostar/AltaVelocita trains are so nice. Plugs, comfy seats, lots of leg room. So much better than flying. Of course, at 19 euros for a 1 hour ride, not exactly cheap either.
Woke up around 7:30, took a shower, paid (with credit card!), ate breakfast, and set off for the station at 8:30ish. Claudio said it was best to walk, but when I saw the taxi station in the Piazza…I had to. It was only 6 euros, worth every penny to save my legs, feet, and shoulders (from my backpack). Got my ticket with the self-serve machine with no problem and the train arrived shortly from Rome. The seat next to me is empty, so I have lots of room. Now just waiting for the train to leave, which I think it is finally doing a few minutes late.
Off to Bologna to eat myself sick for 3 days (and in the meantime to hopefully enjoy a bit of scenery along the way)!!!!
11:00am: in the hotel, all settled in and wireless set up easily. Cute little room, though a bit warm. Should be fine at night and I can always crack a window open. Train ride was nice when we weren't in a tunnel. Another glorious day in Italy.
Off to eat (and maybe sightsee a little)!
6:45pm: Phew, long tiring day. At 11, I set out to Piazza Maggiore, the main square in Bologna. Bologna is unique because it's lined with hundreds of miles of arcaded porticoes. Handy if it rains - which it did not today. But this means if it's busy, it feels very packed. And today was a VERY BUSY SATURDAY. It's less than 10 min walk from my hotel to the main area. I set out to find the daily food market, and what a lot of great looking food indeed. Unlike other markets like in Rome where people set up stalls in a square, these are permanent shops that set up things outside their shops. There are also lots of delis, meat, and fish shops interspersed. Wandered around and mostly just looked. The medieval streets are narrow, and busy, so it was kind of a mob scene. Pretty cool for sure though.
Got real hungry around noon and wandered around a lot to find a place that looked decent and not overly touristy. At about 1, I finally found a place called Scalinatella that had a large menu of pizzas and pastas very reasonably priced that didn't seem too touristy. Indeed, I heard no English being spoken inside (I got back to the hotel and while looking for something else I happened to find the name with the information that it is supposed to have some of the best pizza in Bologna…so I might just have to go back!!!)! Anyway I had pasta called "garganelli" - which I'd never heard of before but I've seen it on many menus since - and it was fresh and al dente and delicious with tons of grated cheese. I couldn't even finish it and just now at 7pm I am just starting to get hungry.
Anyway, after lunch, I wandered around the Piazza Maggiore area a bit more - it's lots of shopping so there were lots of locals out and about shopping on their Saturday afternoon. I forgot sunglasses so I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to find a pair of cheap ones. Then I sat in the square for a while and rested my feet until my museum walking tour at 3:30. Met up with the tour guide at the tourist info center, and there was a group of 4 Spaniards supposed to take the tour two… except that they left once they found out it was a museum, not a monument tour (that's tomorrow morning). So it was just me and the guide - like a free private tour of 4 museums! There was the archaeological museum, a museum for the city's art collection in the municipal building, a museum for the 20th Century painter Morandi (zzzz), and a civic medieval museum with artifacts from the city's great university history. 4 museums in just over 90 minutes, this is my kind of sight-seeing! The tour guide was great and refused to take a tip. I felt bad. We were talking about Italian coffee and why it's so good, and she said she had never heard of Starbucks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing (in a good way). I tried to offer her a tip but she refused. So I basically got a private tour of 4 museums completely for free. I have a feeling tomorrow's tour will have more people, but I kind of hope not.
Got back to my hotel around 5:30 and soaked my feet in the bidet for a while, which I don't think helped that much, and researched some places for dinner. Turns out there might be a couple really great places right near my hotel so I will check one of those out.
10:00pm: Tried to go to Trattoria dal Biassanot shortly after 7pm (early by Italian standards), which came highly recommended by my hotel. Only 3 tables were full but he said every other place was reserved…that's the first time I've been turned away from a restaurant in Italy, in October no less! Looked like plenty of other people were being turned away too. Saw another recommended place across the street, and it looks good, but it's one of the few places opened Sunday so I wanted to save it. Walked down a bit and saw Trattoria Tony, which I had read about as being good. The menus for all these places were actually quite similar. Most of the tables at Tony had "reserved" signs, but they seated me. Very cute place, really nice waiters who kept playing with a few kids. By 8pm it was packed. I had a mixed salad (was actually craving vegetables) and the famous tortellini in brodo, which at 9 euros I find quite expensive for basically soup, but considering the pasta's handmade and expensive to buy or make I guess, it's not that bad. I saw it on other menus for as high as 14 euros… FOR A BOWL OF SOUP. Anyway, it was good. Nice meal in a very locals-y kind of place. Several of the people coming in who had reservations knew the owner/manager and gave him a big hug.
Asked my hotel if there was a decent pasticceria around since it was a bit chilly and she pointed me to one around the corner. I got a chocolate sandwich cookie type thing, which was deeeeeeeelicious. They had little mini cake like things which I may have to go back and try before I leave.
Came back here around 9 and did a bit of laundry. So the bathroom has a step in it and I've already tripped about 10 times. I know it will happen at least 20 more. Hopefully I make it out without actually hurting myself. The only English channel I get here is CNN. I've only had it on for a little while and I've almost thrown the remote at the TV multiple times.
So I started uploading my pictures from yesterday a few HOURS ago, and it's still only 75% done. The wireless here is incredibly slow, I guess. And that doesn’t include the few videos I took. I've got today's pictures all ready to go and I will put it all up as soon as possible, or rather, as soon as this connection cooperates...
Oh, one thing I almost forgot. To the pregnant woman who walked past me puffing on a cigarette…really? In 2009???????
Woke up around 7:30, took a shower, paid (with credit card!), ate breakfast, and set off for the station at 8:30ish. Claudio said it was best to walk, but when I saw the taxi station in the Piazza…I had to. It was only 6 euros, worth every penny to save my legs, feet, and shoulders (from my backpack). Got my ticket with the self-serve machine with no problem and the train arrived shortly from Rome. The seat next to me is empty, so I have lots of room. Now just waiting for the train to leave, which I think it is finally doing a few minutes late.
Off to Bologna to eat myself sick for 3 days (and in the meantime to hopefully enjoy a bit of scenery along the way)!!!!
11:00am: in the hotel, all settled in and wireless set up easily. Cute little room, though a bit warm. Should be fine at night and I can always crack a window open. Train ride was nice when we weren't in a tunnel. Another glorious day in Italy.
Off to eat (and maybe sightsee a little)!
6:45pm: Phew, long tiring day. At 11, I set out to Piazza Maggiore, the main square in Bologna. Bologna is unique because it's lined with hundreds of miles of arcaded porticoes. Handy if it rains - which it did not today. But this means if it's busy, it feels very packed. And today was a VERY BUSY SATURDAY. It's less than 10 min walk from my hotel to the main area. I set out to find the daily food market, and what a lot of great looking food indeed. Unlike other markets like in Rome where people set up stalls in a square, these are permanent shops that set up things outside their shops. There are also lots of delis, meat, and fish shops interspersed. Wandered around and mostly just looked. The medieval streets are narrow, and busy, so it was kind of a mob scene. Pretty cool for sure though.
Got real hungry around noon and wandered around a lot to find a place that looked decent and not overly touristy. At about 1, I finally found a place called Scalinatella that had a large menu of pizzas and pastas very reasonably priced that didn't seem too touristy. Indeed, I heard no English being spoken inside (I got back to the hotel and while looking for something else I happened to find the name with the information that it is supposed to have some of the best pizza in Bologna…so I might just have to go back!!!)! Anyway I had pasta called "garganelli" - which I'd never heard of before but I've seen it on many menus since - and it was fresh and al dente and delicious with tons of grated cheese. I couldn't even finish it and just now at 7pm I am just starting to get hungry.
Anyway, after lunch, I wandered around the Piazza Maggiore area a bit more - it's lots of shopping so there were lots of locals out and about shopping on their Saturday afternoon. I forgot sunglasses so I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to find a pair of cheap ones. Then I sat in the square for a while and rested my feet until my museum walking tour at 3:30. Met up with the tour guide at the tourist info center, and there was a group of 4 Spaniards supposed to take the tour two… except that they left once they found out it was a museum, not a monument tour (that's tomorrow morning). So it was just me and the guide - like a free private tour of 4 museums! There was the archaeological museum, a museum for the city's art collection in the municipal building, a museum for the 20th Century painter Morandi (zzzz), and a civic medieval museum with artifacts from the city's great university history. 4 museums in just over 90 minutes, this is my kind of sight-seeing! The tour guide was great and refused to take a tip. I felt bad. We were talking about Italian coffee and why it's so good, and she said she had never heard of Starbucks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing (in a good way). I tried to offer her a tip but she refused. So I basically got a private tour of 4 museums completely for free. I have a feeling tomorrow's tour will have more people, but I kind of hope not.
Got back to my hotel around 5:30 and soaked my feet in the bidet for a while, which I don't think helped that much, and researched some places for dinner. Turns out there might be a couple really great places right near my hotel so I will check one of those out.
10:00pm: Tried to go to Trattoria dal Biassanot shortly after 7pm (early by Italian standards), which came highly recommended by my hotel. Only 3 tables were full but he said every other place was reserved…that's the first time I've been turned away from a restaurant in Italy, in October no less! Looked like plenty of other people were being turned away too. Saw another recommended place across the street, and it looks good, but it's one of the few places opened Sunday so I wanted to save it. Walked down a bit and saw Trattoria Tony, which I had read about as being good. The menus for all these places were actually quite similar. Most of the tables at Tony had "reserved" signs, but they seated me. Very cute place, really nice waiters who kept playing with a few kids. By 8pm it was packed. I had a mixed salad (was actually craving vegetables) and the famous tortellini in brodo, which at 9 euros I find quite expensive for basically soup, but considering the pasta's handmade and expensive to buy or make I guess, it's not that bad. I saw it on other menus for as high as 14 euros… FOR A BOWL OF SOUP. Anyway, it was good. Nice meal in a very locals-y kind of place. Several of the people coming in who had reservations knew the owner/manager and gave him a big hug.
Asked my hotel if there was a decent pasticceria around since it was a bit chilly and she pointed me to one around the corner. I got a chocolate sandwich cookie type thing, which was deeeeeeeelicious. They had little mini cake like things which I may have to go back and try before I leave.
Came back here around 9 and did a bit of laundry. So the bathroom has a step in it and I've already tripped about 10 times. I know it will happen at least 20 more. Hopefully I make it out without actually hurting myself. The only English channel I get here is CNN. I've only had it on for a little while and I've almost thrown the remote at the TV multiple times.
So I started uploading my pictures from yesterday a few HOURS ago, and it's still only 75% done. The wireless here is incredibly slow, I guess. And that doesn’t include the few videos I took. I've got today's pictures all ready to go and I will put it all up as soon as possible, or rather, as soon as this connection cooperates...
Oh, one thing I almost forgot. To the pregnant woman who walked past me puffing on a cigarette…really? In 2009???????
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