Italia

Yesterday morning was my first morning in Italy and when I was offered coffee, chocolate yoghurt, bread, cake, chocolate biscuits and fruit for breakfast I should have known what I was in for. Food over here is a whole nother world.

After breakfast we went for a walk to one of the churches in the area and once again I made a rookie mistake with the clothing.  The church was on the top of a big hill and I had known for days that the weather was going to be about 30 everyday I was in Italy so I still dont know why I wore jeans. When we got back I had my first taste of Italian pasta for lunch. Then meat skewers. Then a bowl of tomatoes. Yes, just for lunch. Then Elisa asked me if I was able to ride a bike into the city of Bologna because she wanted to show me around. Of course I can ride a bike but it still didn't feel right riding a 40 year old bike on the wrong side of the road with no helmet on amongst traffic on the narrow streets of Bologna. It was a pretty amazing start to the day.

We had a look around Bologna, stopping for coffee then gelato by which time I was feeling pretty Italian. That night is when I started to realise how different Australia is from Italy. Elisa's mum is a high school teacher and it is tradition here for the graduating students to take all their teachers out and pay for dinner a week or so before the final exams. To me this seemed like a pretty obvious attempt at bribery but I went along with it (I realise that i'm not a teacher or student but somehow managed to get an invite). I was the only one at the table who thought it was strange for the teachers to be pouring glasses of wine for their students, probably because if a teacher did that for a student in Australia they would be facing time in jail, not being thanked.

Then pasta again. Ate my second serving of pasta for the day, then a different kind of pasta, ate that, then one more kind of pasta, ate that too. So after my fourth serving of pasta in one day, I was stuffed. Then 5 minutes later a tray of meat came out. Had one tiny bit of that, (didn't want to be rude!), then another plate of hams and sliced meats. By this time I had realised how Italians eat, first pasta, then meats, then vegetables, then dessert, all accompanied by wine. Sure enough after the 3 servings of pasta and 2 servings of meat it was vegetable time. So out came the olives, chips, capsicums etc. And everyone just ate and ate. Then cake. keeping in mind that Italians don't usually start eating tea before 8:30/9 by the time we finished all the food it was almost midnight. On a Wednesday. And the restaurant was still half full. Going to an 'Italian Restaurant' will never be the same for me again. 




Today we went to Florence, about a hour and a half by train from Bologna or about 5 minutes if you sleep through it. I just looked back over all the photos I took of the city and was very disappointed. They don't do the buildings that took decades to build and have been standing for centuries any justice. I'll still put some up anyway but really they have to be seen for yourself. I was looking at some weird American guy carrying an American flag and talking into a megaphone wondering what the hell he was thinking when Elisa pointed out that he was the tour guide for Jersey Shore and that that's why there were camera crews running around us. I don't think that telling locals to move because they're ruining the background shot of an American tv show is the right way to make friends in Italy though.

And just now I've returned from a family dinner, where we had the usual couple of servings of hand made pasta, meat and vegetables with home-made wine. Even better than last night. Then out came a cake with 'Welcome' on it that Elisa's Nonna baked specially :)

And finally, tomorrow I am heading off on a voyage without my personal tour guide / translator, to Venice! I've learnt a few random words in Italian so i'll be able to test them out tomorrow.