This morning we found the Mercato delle Erbe – amazing how a few days in a new city can simplify finding one’s way around! In one way it was just another market complex; but in another, it was interesting to look at the butcher shops and be able to “see” how the various cuts of meat were labeled. It also made me wish we had a kitchen – so many beautiful fruits to cut up into a fruit salad, and so many vegetables ready to be chopped, sautéed, or roasted. As at many markets, it was clear which merchants had what the locals felt were the “best” items – large . crowds lined up at two or three of the vendors, while others languished for lack of patronage
One vignette that made an impression – as we passed one stand, I saw the vendor remove one stalk from a head of celery and add it to the bag of an elderly customer – Bill and I wonder if you can buy as little as a single stalk of celery, or if this was a small bonus for a regular patron
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As we exited the Mercato we found a wonderful bakery/café with wonderful looking pastries in the window – and decided a second caffe would taste just wonderful. Which it did – along with the pastry cream filled croissant I had to order to go with it, and Bill’s marmelata filled one!
We strolled along via Ugo Bassi heading back towards the Piazza del Popolo, enjoying the window shopping along the way. I love the window displays – they are often works of art; even the mannequins are different - the female models elegantly made up, the male models with wonderful muscle definition! (ok – I may be old, but I ain’t dead!).
Bill had mentioned earlier that he realized he had forgotten to pack his bathing suit, and there were many displayed in shop windows, but I couldn’t talk him into looking for one when he saw prices ranging from $3o – $60 and up (more for a Dolce and Gabbana model). But we will have a pool in Bagni di Lucca and will probably go to the beach with the kids at some point so when we passed a UPIM (Italian chain department store) I suggested he see what they might have – and when he found they were having a sale and he could get a respectable suit for only 10 euros, he was pleased. While he was trying on suits I browsed the menswear department and was impressed by the style, variety and reasonable prices. Here, as in the window displays everywhere, the prevalence of purple was notable – it is definitely the color of the season.
We wanted to make a visit to the shrine of Tamburini, a deli mentioned in every guidebook as having the most amazing variety of salumi in Bologna, which we had somehow missed on our first visit to the area. The aroma as we walked into the shop was amazing – as was the variety of products offered. We admired it all, and then moved on – but not far, for right next to the deli is a small wine bar owned by the same folks, offering a menu of meat and cheese plates that we could not resist. There was sidewalk seating with wine barrels serving as tables, where we sat and watched the world go by as we enjoyed a sumptuous lunchtime “snack” of prosciutto, salame, mortadella, coppa, pecorino, squaquerone, piadine, pane and more! A veritable feast of local products. It is a good thing that we have been walking miles every day – the exercise helps offset the indulgence.
While we were eating we were reminded that Bologna, like the rest of the world, has its share of disenfranchised. We had been approached a few times during our stay by someone looking for a few soldi; while we were enjoying our lunch, a sad looking individual wandered by asking at each table for a handout – he hadn’t yet reached us when the waiter came out and in no uncertain terms ordered him away – then came towards us shaking his head and mentioning that the person in question had been known to steal food off the tables. Sad!
We detoured after lunch to the nearby Biblioteca Communale di Archiginnasio, where in the courtyard there was an interesting exhibit of local schools’ “clean up the city” projects. My feet were complaining, so I didn’t join Bill, who went into the library and saw the original medical school surgery to be found there.
From the library we wandered without a specific objective in mind, enjoying window shopping and people watching. A rather random path found us somehow back at the Due Torri, just in time for a mid afternoon gelato break. From there we again followed a suggestion from Matt’s Bologna article, and detoured through the former ghetto area – where the noise and hustle and bustle of the town is muted, somehow. We saw several craftsmen’s shops, and a wonderful men’s shoe store where all the shoes are made to order. The workmanship was amazing, and there was a wide range of styles on display.
Back at the hotel there was time for some journaling, a brief rest, a shower, and then we were off to meet Sharon, Ed abd Sandra for a mini GTG. We had arranged to meet for dinner at Teresina, a restaurant praised by other Slow Travelers. It was lovely to see Sharon again, to meet Ed, and to meet Sandra.
We were seated at an outside table, and frustrated our waiter by spending so much time getting acquainted we didn’t have time to choose our meal. Finally, however, we decided to concentrate on the menu and were able to placate our hovering waiter. Prompted by Sharon’s reminder that it was a speciality of Bologna, four of us ordered the tortellini in brood as our primi – Bill ordered an eggplant parmesan which he reported was very tasty (and indeed, it disappeared very quickly, before I could snag a taste). I didn’t take note of everyone’s choices for secondi – I know Bill had a lovely looking branzano (fish) with a shell of thin slices of potato; I had a lovely frito misti of calamari, prawns and vegetables that was absolutely delicious and non greasy; Sandra had a pasta dish, but I do not remember what Sharon and Ed had. We were all busy sharing our trip experiences and getting to know one another a little – as usual, there was no lack of interesting conversation. We gathered when the restaurant opened at 7:30, and it was after 11 when we finally said our good byes.
For Bill and me it was back to the hotel to pack and get organized for our morning departure
