Day in Bologna

We'd originally ruled it out as a day-trip destination because of its distance, but we found out last night that Bologna is a lot closer to home than we'd originally thought.

We're returning home now, just passing by Firenze's Campo di Marte station. The people and cuisine in Bologna and Milano are drastically different than those and that of the other regions we've visited. My North Face jacket identifies me as an American almost everywhere I go, but today was much worse. It seemed like everyone walking the streets, young or old, rich or poor, had a keen interest in fashion. Walking along Bologna's streets is what it might be like to be trapped in a Calvin Klein magazine spread.

The food is notably different, too. Living in Toscona, I've grown accustomed to the fact that tomatoes are everywhere: sauces, salads, markets, etc. Bolognese cuisine lacks this tomato dependence. We had a great lunch (or dinner: it was around 16:00) just a stone's throw from the city's leaning tower. As has become a common practice, we shared everything on the table, multiplying the dishes that we were able to taste. Our first course was a Lasagne prepared Bolognese style and Tortellini. The Lasagne's sauce contained traces of hints of tomato, but that was its extent. The Tortellini was in a cream sauce, something that has been virtually unheard of this semester thus far.

The second course was either quail or pigeon. Of course, we hope it was quail, but it was delicious even if it was the latter. The birds were stuffed with a sausage concoction and served on a bed of herb-roasted potatoes.

We finished the meal with a Caffè Correcto and a piece of Strudel. It always seems like an awful lot of food whenever I describe one of our meals, but then I remember that we had foregone three more plates of food. The meal, as prescribed by the menu and common practice, begins with a drink and Antipasti, moves to the Primi Piatti, then the Secondi Piatti, and then after-dinner drinks and dessert. I'm not even sure how a person is expected to stand up after a meal like this, not to mention make the walk home.

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