Oct 6-9 – A visit to see Esmeralda
On the evening I arrived, we went to a birthday party for one of the teachers Esmeralda works with. They were sitting at a very long table together with several bottles of prosecco at hand. It was aperitivo hour and at some time a food buffet would appear – one extra euro when you buy the prosecco. But I’m hungry and when I hear one teacher say she’s leaving to get some ‘proper food’ I ask if I can tag along. The teacher, her sister and the sister’s boyfriend and I hurry across the food to a restaurant inside a market but it’s closed for 45 more minutes and we’re all hungry.
As a rule, restaurants are open for lunch from 12-2 or 3 (I’ve seen a couple that open just for one hour at lunch) and then don’t reopen until 730 for dinner, much later than I’m used to. But some are open earlier for tourists or don’t close at all so we find one that will let us in. I order a gnochetti with clams and rapini. It’s not bad – the rapini is cooked far too long, as usual. But it fills a hole. I talk to the teacher who has arrived six weeks earlier from her last job in Dubai. She says her long apartment is 600 Euros a month and that she’s just getting used to the pace of life here – not rushing, just like the Italians. I’m mostly struck by how different her life and her sister’s lives are. They’re from Liverpool and their idea of going out is to cafes and restaurants. After a while, I’m happy to get back to the noisy pub.
My gnochetti wasn’t a large portion so Esmeralda brings me a plate or two of green beans and chick peas, some eggplant and potato. It’s decent, cheap food to serve along with drinks and I’m glad that I had some clams earlier.
We get along well in the flat. There’s plenty of breathing space but no internet! So glad my phone has plenty of data. I enjoy the independent and girly feel in that flat. I think I miss it. It’s been a long time. Wistful.
The next day we go for brunch and I shock myself by having a burger. It’s been ages since I had meat! It’s not bad at all. Then we wander around the various markets – stalls are selling vintage clothes, housewares, clothing of all sorts, antiques, old stuff. I buy three old scarves for a euro. They’ll do for fabric for my next doll when I get around to it.
Later that night we went for dinner. The menus look pretty similar everywhere. I choose a predictable tagliatelle with ragu (or bolognese, as everyone else calls it) and can’t finish it. We are both stuffed to discomfort so collapse at the flat.
The next day we have a lighter breakfast at a café overlooking the hidden canal in the Jewish quarter. My photos don’t do it justice, but we both daydream about owning one of the flats we can see opposite. I wonder out loud if the sound of water would make me want to stay in the toilet. Sometimes I’m a glass half-empty person.
We explore some of the back streets – the main square is so crowded today. There are large groups of people this weekend and even Esmeralda is curious why. Judging by their age, we think they are either tour groups or new students, or perhaps those who are looking at schools for next year. Bologna’s cobbled streets, porticoes and medieval buildings, churches and towers must seem very inviting. They are to me. It’s like walking into the place you always thought Italy would be.
We have a fast food ‘Japanese’ noodle house sort of lunch. It’s a nice change. We have a lazy rest and go for some pretty decent Sichuan food. It’s been an interesting day!
The next morning we get up, Esmeralda runs off to school and I head for the station, already feeling at home here. The journey back seems faster than the one on Friday. And here I am again in Torino!
