More baloney, wry

Saturday night is Free Food night here. Around 8 o'clock, as the butcher and cheese shops are getting ready to close, they put out plates with all sorts of samples -- mortadella, cooked sausages, cheeses. And from out of nowhere about thirty thousand old people appear, pushing their way to the freebies. Ever seen the old ladies who roam the aisles of Whole Foods shoving the free crackers and cheese into their handbags? Those sweethearts have nothing on the Bolognese whitehairs. Little old ladies, barely 5 feet tall, clawing and elbowing their way, using their toothpicks as both weapons and tableware. I managed to shove a couple of them to the sidewalk so that I could sample the salami in Bologna, and it wasn't bad. Alas, no piccies.
If the world has a sweeter sounding than Italian, I haven't heard it. The sound is musical, and it really doesn't matter what someone is talking about, it always sounds good.The planet would be a better place tomorrow if everyone stopped speaking their own stupid language and switched to Italian. Grazie.

So I'm strolling around and here's this guy playing the glass harmonica. That's a curious instrument, often home-made, in which a bunch of different-sized glasses are filled with varying amounts of water, and the instrument is played by rubbing the fingers on the rims of the glasses. The sound is amazing, not real easy to describe (ever try to describe how garlic tastes?), but there has actually been a fair amount of serious music written for it.


Meanwhile, back at the main square, it was community dance day. Lots and lots of people, all having a good time, doing tangos, line dances, and anything/everything else that suited their fancy. The main square is such a welcoming, wonderful space. And because so many people actually live in the city center, the square is always filled with people and life. The whole area is a pedestrian zone, so it's just a perfect, safe place to hang out.






Off to Venice tomorrow morning, no clue if I'll have Internet access. The place I'm staying at in Bologna is fantastic. It's a small hotel (4 floors, 4 rooms/floor) on a quiet dead-end street 5 mins from the main square. My room is huge for Italy, modern furnishings, WiFi, and a staff that seem to go out of their way to be hospitable. Hotel Novecento. The end.