BolognaMar 6, 2011
|
|
| Today I woke up in Milan. I got a little bit of a late start because I made my room completely black last night so the sunlight didn’t wake me up for once. Not like I slept that late, I still got up at 7:30. I went and got the rental car. It is so cute. It’s a little white fiat. It has some really cool energy features like when you sit at a light and take your foot off of the clutch and put the car in neutral it shuts off. Then when you touch the clutch it starts back up. Needless to say that freaked me out the first couple times it happened. I had no clue what was going on. After getting the car I went and grabbed breakfast at the hotel (Which was included in the room rate –yay me! …I didn’t actually know that until after I ate so it was an added bonus). I had the BEST cappuccino. It was sooooo yummy! I had to have another one. After filling up I hit the road, on my way to Bologna. I printed out directions but it was actually extremely easy to find so I only needed the directions to find my hotel. The hotel is pretty nice in side but it is in the ghetto!!! It’s by the airport which is about 20 minutes from downtown. I’m not complaining because it was free (cashed in hotel points). After checking in and making sure there were no bedbugs, I jumped back in the car and followed the signs to the city center. Apparently I passed a stadium where there was a Bologna soccer game because it was packed with fans parked ALL over the place. Downtown was interesting. It’s very historic looking but pretty dirty. There is graffiti everywhere, even on monuments. I found the outdoor market I had on my to-do list. I didn’t buy anything. Nothing really called my name. I also got a freakin parking ticket! I am not an expert in Italian or anything but I can certainly read signs. It said no parking from 0030 – 0600. It was 2pm. Errrr! Oh well, hopefully they don’t find me. :) After the ticket I drove to the other side of town and found a parking lot where I happily paid my 2 Euro and headed out to explore. There was a big Carnivale celebration going on in the town square (or what I assume is the town square). All of the kids were dressed up and there was loud music and candy stands and later in the afternoon a parade rolled through. (The funniest parade I have ever seen) After walking around aimlessly for an hour or so I finally found a place to grab some lunch (They eat very late over here) I had a cantallonni and moscato. My new thing over here is drinking flavored champagne. I actually wanted a coke but the person that ordered before me got the last one. Haha After lunch I had my first espresso. I ordered it because I heard Italians don’t drink cappuccino after breakfast so I decided to try to fit in a little. I am still a bit too shy to practice any of my Italian. After lunch I headed back to find the car and came back to the hotel. I decided I needed to get in a quick workout so I went to the hotel gym for a bit. After the gym I got ready for dinner, which I assumed I’d have around 7. I went down to the hotel restaurant to find out it didn’t open until 7:30. So I decided to have a drink at the bar and read my book for a bit. The drink was disgusting so I didn’t finish it. Before I knew it the restaurant was open. I went in the restaurant and the host asked me if I was alone. …and because I was, I had to sit at the single table section. Basically they have a row of little tables facing in to the restaurant so everyone stares at you while you eat. (come to think of it they were probably looking because I kept taking pictures of my food –lol) I wasn’t the only one in the loser section thank God. There were at least 6 of us. I had tortellini. It was delicious and the perfect size! Although I’m pretty sure it was probably just one of the 10 courses I was supposed to eat but I stopped at that one. I did the very un-Italian thing and left right after eating. No espresso or dessert. LOL …I have an early morning tomorrow. My cooking class starts at 10 and I am an hour and a half away from the city it is in and I have to drive there and then walk 30 minutes to where I am meeting the host. Tomorrow I will be in Firenze (Florence) |
Advertisement 
|
