Want to buy an umbrella?

So my title - to what does it refer? Well of course I shall tell you. Yesterday, like I said, it rained. It rained today too. When I went out last night, and when I was walking home from class in the evening, I saw all these men carrying umbrellas around offering to sell them to people... ohhhh the opportunism. I can just imagine, they are all the same ones who normally sell the fake purses and sunglasses on the streets, but they also carry umbrellas, just waiting for the sky to open up on the tourists who didn't bring anything because it never rains and the sky is always beautiful in Tuscany... or at least I like to imagine it going that way. Last night and today I was all set though - brought my umbrella in both instances.

I stayed out later than I wanted to, because it was Franz' last night and we kept saying we were going to go home soon but well, we all know how that goes. So I got back to the house maybe around 2:30 and crashed. I also let myself sleep more than I was planning to and changed my plan for the day a bit. I ended up taking a train from Firenze that left around 10:30 and got to Bologna at 11:30. The train ride was fine, and scenic, except it was cold. There was air conditioning and it was a rainy day today. I just didn't think of layers because it has been SO hot most of the time I've been here. After I found my way out of the station, I remembered the map in the guidebook and followed the directions to get to Via dell'Indipendenza, the "main drag" of Bologna. (I also had the guidebook with me for reference.)

In the first piazza I came to, there was a market of various goods from all over Italy, from different regions and all that. I tried some sort of condiment made from truffles (tartuffi) and a sweet cookie thing from Sicilia. I love how wandering around Italy you see all these markets where you can try legit artisan made food products... it's sooo, Italy, and it really happens! Tomorrow if the weather isn't too bad I might try to go to one selling organic food products here in Firenze, not too far from the house.

Anyway, first impressions of Bologna. All the sidewalks are covered so it is like you are in a promenade as you walk down the street. Really useful on a rainy day, actually. And on Via dell'Indipendenza, there was shop after shop after shop. As I might have written, my biggest reason to go to Bologna on this particular day was the fact that I needed clothes, and I knew that H&M was a place that would have clothes I liked for prices I liked. So in a way I guess you could say it was a small pilgrimage. I had to walk a ways down the street, but I just took it all in. Bologna seemed much more authentically Italian than Firenze. Not so many crazy tourists, more just Italians out shopping on a Saturday afternoon. It was nice. Eventually I got close to where I knew H&M must be, and there they were, the bright, lit letters in the familiar logo. I walked by the first time though, to go take a look at the main piazza in Bologna. There are sort of two connected piazzas actually, one called Piazza Nettuno with a large sculpture/fountain of Neptune in the middle. On all sides there were very medieval looking palaces/government buildings. As I walked a little further I saw the large church in Piazza Maggiore, named something like S. Petrunio (I have to look again sorry). It was very impressive and slightly unusual - more plain than your average cathedral. But certainly, very striking. I took some pictures and then decided to return to H&M.

And at H&M I did the usual shopping thing... right away I could tell there were a lot of fashionable type things that I hadn't seen before. I will spare you the details but share that I ended up buying 2 dresses and 1 shirt. The shirt is black so it can go with plenty of things, and I can wear the dresses for multiple types of occasions I think. It is just nice to have some more variety in the wardrobe...

After that I walked back through the same piazzas, couldn't find the street I was looking for, and consulted my map. After getting back on the right track, I eventually arrived at a pizzeria named for its owner, Gianna, about which I had read in my guidebook. It was highly recommended and it said one could watch Gianna roll out pizza dough while seated at the counter. Sure enough, when I arrived there she was. There was a couple there, and she was speaking some language other than Italian with them... not sure what. She asked what I wanted and gave me a menu when I didn't really know. Eventually I ended up ordering a pizza with tomato, mozzarella, and onion. It only cost 4,50 Euros. She made the pizza right then and there and put it in the oven. Within a few minutes, it came out steaming hot and she handed it to me right over the counter. Mmmm. It was good, and I also just loved the very homey atmosphere. There weren't very many customers - in fact the whole street didn't have a ton of people on it - but that made it more cozy in a way. After I finished and paid, the couple was leaving too, and Gianna gave us all free shots of limoncello. That's Italy for you... in America they won't let me buy or drink alcohol in public, in Italy they give it to me for free. Go figure.

After lunch, I didn't do much besides take my time returning to the train station. Once there, I bought a ticket for a train leaving in 45 min-1 hour from that point in time, went to get a caffe (espresso), found the platform for the train, and came back to Firenze. Not very exciting. But in general, it was just a really nice thing to do today. Some girls from the school were going to Siena today, but I had my reasons for Bologna and stuck with that plan. I realized during the day that even if it sounds lonely in a way to take a day trip by oneself, for me in this instance it works. I really enjoyed the chance to take in Bologna on my own, at my own pace, changing the plan on a whim just because I felt like it. This type of day is really what I had imagined for myself when I pictured this year abroad. And now I have seen one more small piece of Italy!

Tonight for dinner, my Italian family had Bridie over, a girl who stayed with them two years ago and is a Georgetown grad. She is now a TA at the Villa program in Fiesole (very closeby) for all the Georgetown students there now. She was really nice, and it was good to meet her because I'd heard about her. Also the whole evening was good "togetherness" time, and through talking with the family and Bridie at the same time, I got to know them better.

We all (me, Cristina, Federico, and Lisa) plan to sleep in a bit tomorrow and take it easy. I am thinking of going to mass at 11 am at a church very close by here (I pass it every day on my way to the bus). I am interested to see what it's like. I might go to the market I mentioned earlier, and try to do laundry if Cristina has time to show me how. I don't even know exactly where in the building one does it... But in general I am in need of some sleep to catch up after the week/last night/today, so it will be nice to relax.

That was today... definitely a success overall!

Thinking of you all!