There’s always something happening in the center (C’e’ sempre qualcosa in centro)
Monday, October 3rd, 2016
I’m trying a new feature of my blog (with the help of the ever-patient Monica). I’m writing in both English and Italian. I’m sure that you’ll have no trouble telling which is which:-).
Sto cercando di dare un nuovo taglio al mio blog (con l’aiuto della sempre paziente Monica). Scriverò sia in inglese che in italiano. Sono certo che non avrete problemi a dire quale lingua sia quale. 😉
While it’s true that there is always a lot of activity in the center of Bologna, this is especially true on weekends. Some of the principle streets are closed to all kinds of motor vehicles so they are full of pedestrians and bicycles. Sometimes it seems like a big party every weekend. I especially like to go there on a Sunday, when I usually have little else to do just to see if there’s anything new and I’m rarely disappointed.
Sebbene sia vero che ci sono sempre molte attività in centro a Bologna, questo e’ specialmente vero nei weekend. Alcune delle strade principali sono chiuse a tutti i veicoli a motore, quindi sono piene di pedoni e biciclette. A volte sembra che ci sia un grande party ogni fine settimana. In particolare mi piace andarci di domenica, quando ho poco altro da fare, solo per vedere se ci sia qualcosa di nuovo e raramente resto deluso.
The first thing I came upon was a demonstration of dances. At the time it was a school of tango. I really had never seen tango up close so this was quite something. First there was only one couple: instructors from the school. The steps for both sexes are quite precise, elegant and even sensual. Then there came students from the school, often of a “certain age”. While not as accomplished as the instructor they were all pretty good and clearly enjoyed themselves.
La prima cosa in cui mi sono imbattuto è stata un’esibizione di ballo. Questa volta si trattava di una scuola di tango. Non avevo mai visto il tango da vicino e quindi è stato un gran spettacolo. All’inizio c’era solo una coppia: maestri di ballo della scuola. I passi per entrambi i sessi sono molto precisi, eleganti e persino sensuali. Poi ci sono stati gli studenti della scuola, spesso di una “certa eta'”. Sebbene non così abili come i maestri erano abbastanza bravi e chiaramente si divertivano.
I continued wandering around and at the intersection of two small streets found a Dixieland Jazz Band in full costume. Not only that but there were other dancers, some also in costume dancing in the “swing” style of the 40’s. One woman especially looked as though she could have just stepped out of the pages of a magazine of that era.
Ho continuato a vagare e all’incrocio di due piccole strade ho trovato una Dixieland Jazz Band in costume. Non solo, ma c’erano anche altri ballerini, alcuni ugualmente in costume, che ballavano lo “swing” dagli anni Quaranta. Una donna in particolare sembrava essere appena uscita da una rivista di quell’epoca.
To make it more of a circus there was also a juggler. I arrived a little late but he obviously had continued juggling three balls while taking off most of his clothes. He was really very good and went on to juggle up to 5 balls at a time. As any good street juggler does, he also involved members of the crowd.
A farne qualcosa di ancor più simile ad un circo c’era anche un giocoliere. Sono arrivato un po’ in ritardo, ma ovviamente lui aveva continuato ad esibirsi con tre palle mentre si spogliava di quasi tutti i vestiti. Era proprio bravo e ha continuato a fare il giocoliere fino a cinque palle per volta. Come ogni bravo giocoliere, ha coinvolto anche membri della folla.
That evening there was a festival of jazz scheduled so one of the bands was doing a rehearsal. I stayed for a couple of numbers that they completed without interruption as well as a couple where they stopped to make some adjustments.
Quella sera c’era in programma un festival di jazz e uno dei gruppi stava facendo una prova. Sono rimasto lì per un paio di brani che hanno finito senza interruzione oltre ai due in cui si sono fermati per aggiustare alcune cose.
There was still more to see: a street artist using nothing but spray cans, a skillet and a putty knife, vintage racing bicycles and a little track for pint- sized bicyclists. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.
C’erano altre cose ancora da vedere: un artista da strada che non usava nient’altro che bombolette spray, una padella e una spatola, bici di corsa vintage e un circuito per piccoli ciclisti. Lascio che le foto parlino da sole.
Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of the two language approach and whether you know any Italian or not.
Per favore, lasciate un commento e fatemi sapere cosa pensiate dell’approccio bilingue e se sappiate un po’ di italiano o no.
October 5th, 2016 at 3:47 am
Hi Joe,
I’m Emiliano and I’m from Bologna. I really enjoy your blog because I’m always interested in what people from other countries thinks about Italy and Italians (as you know, the stereotypes “Pizza, mafia & mandolino” aren’t so close to the reality). Since you often talk about my beloved city, reading your posts is like watching in a mirror… so, thank you. 😀
For what concerns the current bilingual post, I can say that it’s surely a good idea if you wish to spread your words to non english speakers (or readers 😉 ), in my humble opinion, however, the difference between the two languages shoud be more noticeable… maybe the italian part could be written in a smaller font, or with a different alignment. But it’s just my opinion! 😀
Bye
Emiliano
October 29th, 2016 at 5:13 am
Ciao Emiliano,
Sorry to be so late in responding. I’m very glad to have any readers and especially happy to have Italian ones. I did a subsequent post with the Italian in a red font. I think that makes it easier to differentiate and I hope that you agree. Let me know what you think.
Joe
November 9th, 2016 at 4:39 am
Ciao Joe,
Don’t worry about the delay… I think that from this day on, for the next four years, we all will have some other stuff to be worried about! 😉
I think that the red font increases readability 🙂
Bye
Emiliano
November 14th, 2016 at 3:40 pm
Yes, sad but true. Thanks again for the comments.
Joe