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. ;)