Things You Don't See in the US #2

Zero o'clock:



(It didn't remain singular. What do you know about that? I know it didn't remain singular.)

Bologna

Yesterday, we took a day trip to Bologna, one of the culinary capitals of Italy (home of Bolognese sauce, called ragu' there, and baloney, called mortadella), and only an hour's train trip away from Florence. Of course we ate a good lunch there, but most of the day was spent taking in the city's sights, which in typical Italian fashion, consist mostly of churches and other religious sites. I admit that after seeing such a wealth of impressive ecclesiastical paintings and frescoes, I'm starting to tire a bit of them and wouldn't mind seeing some post-16th century art every now and then. But the early art does get quite interesting at times, especially when depicting hell or martyrs, such as in the beautiful Oratory of Santa Cecilia. Other times, there's stuff who's meaning I must be missing, such as the depiction of the heads on platters in the magnificent woodwork in the choir of San Domenico (which houses the remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Dominican order, by the way).
Also fun was the Medieval Museum, which in addition to more ecclesiastical paintings and sculptures, had some elaborate choirbooks, and a few rooms of medieval weapons and armor, as well as a visit to the oldest university in Europe (dating back to the 11th century), including its anatomical theater, where dissections were carried out in public. The landmark of the city are two towers preserved from the middle ages, one of which is leaning precariously -- maybe they had the same engineers as the Pisans? Finally, on the central plaza is a fountain with a statue of Neptune, on a base of women with water squirting out of strategic places.
So, all in all, Bologna is definitely a city worth visiting, and a nice contrast to the Tuscan towns we've seen so far, with far more red brick and less white marble (which is why its nickname is la rossa, which apparently also applies to its politics). Oh, and did I mention that there were far fewer tourists than in Florence?

Things You Don't See in the US #1

(This might remain singular, but I'll call it #1 anyway.)

3-wheeled vehicles:



People drive on the street in these things.

New Music Recommendations

Since CDs are massively overpriced here (17 Euros for a new release?!) and Amazon doesn't exist in Italy, I'm relying on some MP3 blogs and the iTunes free song of the week to get some new music to listen to. Here are a couple of tracks that I've been listening to a lot recently:

• Rodrigo y Gabriela: "Diablo Rojo"
  I know I'm a few years behind on this one, but I just discovered this song. Catchy, foot-tapping, flamenco and folk-inspired, with amazing guitarwork.
• She & Him: "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"
  Nice, slightly sugary, summery indie-pop.
• Dengue Fever: "Hold My Hips"
  An American band covering hits of Cambodian pop music.
  
• Nation Beat: "Nago Nago"
  I've listened to some albums of Brazilian music recently, such as Forro in the Dark and Brasileirinho, and it's much more than just samba and bossa nova. On this track, Nation Beat combine Brazilian music with... bluegrass?!! Hey, it works. You can download 3 songs on their site for free under "download"
  

blog

Yeah, but I had a blog before it was cool.

(Since I think some of you are, sadly, not sufficiently familiar with the Simpsons:
Lisa: You do Yoga?
Jesse: Yeah, but I started *before* it was cool.)

Another perspective on Italy

"As for Telecom Italia, it is an entire conglomerate founded on the Mafia principal of extortion. They have been milking their customers since the day Meucci got a dial tone."
-- from the blog Burnt by the Tuscan Sun

I found this blog while searching for other people who have had bad experiences with Telecom Italia (and there are plenty). It does a good job in detailing some of the absurdities of life in Italy and offers a nice counterperspective to the dozens of overly cheerful expatriate blogs.

Lucca

Today, we took a day trip to Lucca, another one of those must-see cities in Tuscany. This time we went by bus, which was more convenient, since the bus stop was closer to our apartment than the train station, and more comfortable, since the air conditioning actually worked and the seats were better. Lucca is still surrounded by its city walls, and the historical part is pleasantly without cars. There are also a lot less tourists than in Florence, and the buildings seem in better shape than the ones in Pisa. So all in all it's definitely a beautiful place to visit. Some of the highlights were the elliptical Piazza Anfiteatro, which is probably the best known tourist site in Lucca, the cathedral with its marble inlays in the facade, San Michele in Foro with an equally impressive facade, and San Frediano, which had the somewhat creepy mummified body of Saint Zita, a 13th century saint, exhibited in a glass case. As in the other places we've visited, there's an overabundance of art on display, and I won't even begin to try to remember all the famous and not-so-famous works we saw. In addition, we got a loaf of buccellato, a delicious sweet bread with raisins and anise that's a local specialty, and ate some of that while sitting on the city walls waiting for our bus back.