24 gennaio 2017
We couldn't get out of that apartment fast enough this morning! For breakfast we stopped at the grocery store below our apartment building and I got some focaccia. It was horrible! Dry, crumbly, and flavorless. I guess cheap bread is cheap bread no matter where you are. I put it in my purse to give to a homeless person, and sure enough I was able to give it away quickly. The homeless man's gratitude for the bread was so sweet- unlike a haggard woman in Florence who walked up to everyone moaning “per mangare!” (to eat) and shaking her little cup of coins in your face. When I gave her a sandwich from my purse, she almost didn’t even take it! She finally did, begrudgingly... But then went right back to asking for money "so she could eat"! Stick to your story, woman...
We went to a modern art museum and it was pretty entertaining. My favorite was a video presentation made in 2004. It was footage of hundreds of tourists trying to get a picture of the Mona Lisa, at the Louvre in Paris. Lots of pushing and showing and shouting. Everybody was staring into their camera screens or fixing their hair for their picture with the painting. It was really long footage, and even though people came and went the behavior was always the same.
It reminded me of our experience at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, with a swarming crowd staring into their camera lenses and shoving their way to the front. Girls stared into their screens, making their eyes big and their lips puffy so they could take the perfect selfie with the fountain. Photographers walked around bugging everyone to buy a photo from them.
It made me think, “why are they here?" and then, "Why am I here?” I don’t want to be a vanity traveler, showing up to take a pic and then leave. I took a lot of pictures this trip, mostly because I felt like I hardly took any when I was in France last summer and I wanted more physical memories for myself. I guess I’m still looking for the perfect balance between appreciating the moment and documenting it for the memories.
After the museum we went to a nearby park where Giuseppe had spent a lot of time doing contacting on his mission. It’s turned into a different social scene over the years... the second we walked in, a guy approached us and asked (in English),
“do you guys want the stuffs?”
“What stuff?”
“You know, the stuffs.”
“No man, thanks, but we’re good.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah man.”
I guess just being in the park means you want “the stuffs” because almost everyone was eyeing us with a grin, waiting for us to approach them. Giuseppe said, “it seems like all you have to do to send the wrong message is accidentally nod in someone’s direction-“ and sure enough, as he nodded, a guy came over and said, “are you looking for something??”
So funny! Haha this poor park was really at it's worst. Dead trees, debris, dry fountains, meandering youths, graffiti... Haha not at all how Giuseppe remembered it.
Anyway, lunch was AMAZING. We went to a cute restaurant and ordered homemade tortellini. I got a butter and sage dish and it was amaaaazing. The food in Bologna really is the best.
One of the coolest things in Bologna is a really old tower in the center of the city, a tower that isn't quite 90 degrees. We climbed up to the top! It was freaky climbing up the ancient rickety wooden stairs. There were SO MANY of them! The view from the top was beautiful, especially because it was during golden hour.
We then toured a bit of the college campus- it's the oldest university in the world that is still in operation! We spent most of our time in the very old anatomy classroom.
We asked someone if they knew of a café nearby to get some drinks to warm us up. A wise old Italian man put his arm around Giuseppe and told him, in depth, exactly how to get to a nearby café. This happened yesterday too when Giuseppe asked for a nearby pizzeria. Giuseppe said the men here really like to take on the role of the wise old man guiding the youth. I couldn't understand any of these conversations of course, but they did seem to be quite philosophical. We ended up at a Emporio Armani café... And it was just as designer as you'd think! Haha.
And of course we toured the grandest basilica in the city!
Our Airbnb host Pierre-seriously the nicest guy- directed us to a great place for dinner with homemade pasta, steak, and dessert. It was so cheap too!
We had the best time at dinner! I'll never forget it. We stayed for almost two hours, enjoying every course and talking and laughing and getting to know our server. I wish every dinner of my life could be like this! It was fun to eat leisurely and just talk and talk.
Giuseppe taught me how to say, “I’ll have a small salad” in Italian and I made up a song to remember it. We still can’t get the little jingle out of our heads! “Facho una insalata picola”.
The best part of the meal was our waitress! She was the cutest, most passionate Italian woman. She reminded me so much of Giuseppe’s mom! She had her exact eyes, mouth, and facial expressions. I couldn't stop staring at her! I wish my mother-in-law could have been there and met her. She was so excited to hear Giuseppe speak Italian. I think it's funny how in almost every restaurant we've been too, we really bond with our server! Everyone here is so friendly and passionate about the food.
Today was magical! I love Italian culture. I wish we could be here longer and get to know more people and experience more cities. But alas, tomorrow is our last day...
We couldn't get out of that apartment fast enough this morning! For breakfast we stopped at the grocery store below our apartment building and I got some focaccia. It was horrible! Dry, crumbly, and flavorless. I guess cheap bread is cheap bread no matter where you are. I put it in my purse to give to a homeless person, and sure enough I was able to give it away quickly. The homeless man's gratitude for the bread was so sweet- unlike a haggard woman in Florence who walked up to everyone moaning “per mangare!” (to eat) and shaking her little cup of coins in your face. When I gave her a sandwich from my purse, she almost didn’t even take it! She finally did, begrudgingly... But then went right back to asking for money "so she could eat"! Stick to your story, woman...
We went to a modern art museum and it was pretty entertaining. My favorite was a video presentation made in 2004. It was footage of hundreds of tourists trying to get a picture of the Mona Lisa, at the Louvre in Paris. Lots of pushing and showing and shouting. Everybody was staring into their camera screens or fixing their hair for their picture with the painting. It was really long footage, and even though people came and went the behavior was always the same.
It reminded me of our experience at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, with a swarming crowd staring into their camera lenses and shoving their way to the front. Girls stared into their screens, making their eyes big and their lips puffy so they could take the perfect selfie with the fountain. Photographers walked around bugging everyone to buy a photo from them.
It made me think, “why are they here?" and then, "Why am I here?” I don’t want to be a vanity traveler, showing up to take a pic and then leave. I took a lot of pictures this trip, mostly because I felt like I hardly took any when I was in France last summer and I wanted more physical memories for myself. I guess I’m still looking for the perfect balance between appreciating the moment and documenting it for the memories.
After the museum we went to a nearby park where Giuseppe had spent a lot of time doing contacting on his mission. It’s turned into a different social scene over the years... the second we walked in, a guy approached us and asked (in English),
“do you guys want the stuffs?”
“What stuff?”
“You know, the stuffs.”
“No man, thanks, but we’re good.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah man.”
I guess just being in the park means you want “the stuffs” because almost everyone was eyeing us with a grin, waiting for us to approach them. Giuseppe said, “it seems like all you have to do to send the wrong message is accidentally nod in someone’s direction-“ and sure enough, as he nodded, a guy came over and said, “are you looking for something??”
So funny! Haha this poor park was really at it's worst. Dead trees, debris, dry fountains, meandering youths, graffiti... Haha not at all how Giuseppe remembered it.
Anyway, lunch was AMAZING. We went to a cute restaurant and ordered homemade tortellini. I got a butter and sage dish and it was amaaaazing. The food in Bologna really is the best.
One of the coolest things in Bologna is a really old tower in the center of the city, a tower that isn't quite 90 degrees. We climbed up to the top! It was freaky climbing up the ancient rickety wooden stairs. There were SO MANY of them! The view from the top was beautiful, especially because it was during golden hour.
We asked someone if they knew of a café nearby to get some drinks to warm us up. A wise old Italian man put his arm around Giuseppe and told him, in depth, exactly how to get to a nearby café. This happened yesterday too when Giuseppe asked for a nearby pizzeria. Giuseppe said the men here really like to take on the role of the wise old man guiding the youth. I couldn't understand any of these conversations of course, but they did seem to be quite philosophical. We ended up at a Emporio Armani café... And it was just as designer as you'd think! Haha.
And of course we toured the grandest basilica in the city!
Our Airbnb host Pierre-seriously the nicest guy- directed us to a great place for dinner with homemade pasta, steak, and dessert. It was so cheap too!
We had the best time at dinner! I'll never forget it. We stayed for almost two hours, enjoying every course and talking and laughing and getting to know our server. I wish every dinner of my life could be like this! It was fun to eat leisurely and just talk and talk.
Giuseppe taught me how to say, “I’ll have a small salad” in Italian and I made up a song to remember it. We still can’t get the little jingle out of our heads! “Facho una insalata picola”.
The best part of the meal was our waitress! She was the cutest, most passionate Italian woman. She reminded me so much of Giuseppe’s mom! She had her exact eyes, mouth, and facial expressions. I couldn't stop staring at her! I wish my mother-in-law could have been there and met her. She was so excited to hear Giuseppe speak Italian. I think it's funny how in almost every restaurant we've been too, we really bond with our server! Everyone here is so friendly and passionate about the food.
Today was magical! I love Italian culture. I wish we could be here longer and get to know more people and experience more cities. But alas, tomorrow is our last day...
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