Lunch with Random Stranger and other Bolognese thoughts
I have learned why eating is actually a social thing. Eating alone is okay, and I often write in my journal to keep myself occupied, as if I were talking to someone, but in the end, I really really enjoy sharing meals with others.
So today, when I found myself on a Bolognese street cafe, ordering the traditional tortellini in brodo (tortellini in broth) and a cheese plate, I soon felt overwhelmed with all the food and the lack of company to share it with. My solution was to wave over a Japanese traveller who had wandered by the restaurant three times to check it out. His decision making skills seemed akin to mine, so I invited him to sit with me and share the cheese. He ordered his own tortellini and finished it off, but I still had half of mine left over, and we did not finish the cheese!
I must say, cheese in Italy is not as good as in France, except for the parmaggianno cheese.
I spent the afternoon (am still spending it, actually) hanging about the Piazza Maggiore, where I see all kinds of people doing everything from kicking around a soccer ball, so chasing pigeons, to sleeping on the sun-warmed stone ground. Only here have I seen a woman in her late fifties, with very blonde hair, a dark coat covered in bright pink flowers, fishnet stockings, a mini skirt, and hot red high heels riding a bike through the street. Iàm pretty sure she was not working the streets.
There is free internet here, which I find terribly civilized and convenient. I just had to sign up for a card.
I thank everyone for the gastronomical suggestions. Had I planned a bit more, I would have made it out to Modena and other places for sampling the fare. As it is, I will now go hunt for a gelato sandwich of some sort that my brother tells me about.
The main church of this square, San Petronio, looks half finished, and it is. The top half is missing it;s marble facade. Funny to think something begun more than seven hundred years ago is still under construction! Inside the church, which is massive, there are no less than twenty small chapels, each with their own altar. I donàt understand why these churches were whitewashed at some point. Thankfully, some restoration shows the iconshidden beneath, though I also wonder why they do not restore all of the walls.
I would really like to be in one of these grand churches for an actual service, instead of as a tourist.
….Now for that Gelato Sandwich….
Tags: 1, Italy
blueskies
Hi! Bologna is neat. Go into the public library which is right off that Piazza Maggiore, next to the big wall of pictures of revolutionaries (or something — lots of little pictures). The library is totally great design, but in an ancient building with a glass main floor so people can see the excavated remnants of an even older building. On the third floor of that library is an exhibit that explains the urban planning vision for Bologna; it puts what we do here to even greater shame. Super interesting stuff — made me want to go there to be a public servant. Also cool is the first ever anatomy lecture theatre in all Europe. Check it out. I hope you find the Gelato sandwich. It is lovely. L xo