Dreaming In Italian

As usual I get lost in the moment and forget to take photos of memorable occasions. The lovely K and I had dinner with several friends when in Bologna. In most cases they spoke excellent english which made it easier for K since her Italian is very minimal at this point. The first was one with Renata and her husband Gabriele at Osteria Botegga. It is a place to get some of the best Bolognese food. I plan to go back there on our one full day in Bologna before the flight back to California. The K has not yet had tortellini in brodo which is especially good there and is VERY bolognese. I also had dinner with my friends Vittorio and Barbara and the crowd that they hang out with. I’ve gone to dinner with that group a number of time now and, especially as my Italian has gotten a better, I have gotten to know them and even remember their names (an accomplishment for me). I have no picture unfortunately for two other dinners. One with Liu’  (that I know from the main library in Bologna (Biblioteca Sala Borsa), her guy Giuseppe and her sister Monica. This was at a little restaurant called Vagh in Ufezzi. I forgot to ask about the curious name. Maybe it’s bolognese dialect or something. In any case it’s a little place totally apart from most other commercial areas with no set menu. There were just the offerings for the evening, each written on a separate small piece of paper, and taped to the window. We had crescentini, which are squares of bread fried. They puff up into little pillows and are served with a variety of salumi. It was a pretty impressive plate of salumi and a separate mountain of crescentini for the 4 of us that ordered it. We had a lambrusco to go with it making the complete meal very regional. The remaining meal in Bologna was with Marco and his wife Claudia at their home in Casalecchio, a suburb about 4 miles outside of Bologna proper. Marco is the guy with the day job as an investment adviser at a big Italian

Left to right – me, Karen, Barbara, Vittorio (barely visible), Carlo (ditto), Davide, Paola and Cesare. There was an entire other table as well!

Left to right – Gabriele, Renata, ,me and Karen

Just the two of us

bank with the other life as yoga master. Claudia teaches english at a school in Casalecchio.

I’m calling it Lorenzo’s place although it’s not really his. He was heavily involved in starting this really charming place in Giardini Margherita. It’s one of the more unique bar/cafe that I’ve ever seen. I went there for aperitivo one evening with Claudia because she said that there was a place among the “orto”. There are two words for garden (as we know it in English) “giardino” and “orto” the latter refers to a vegetable garden rather than a flower garden so I was intrigued. It is indeed among vegetables. It appears to have been an abandoned “orto” and greenhouse space that has been very creatively re-purposed. The serving area is made up of a bunch of found objects, old doors and other reclaimed wood of various types including at least one table made from a large old door. Prices are reasonable and on a warm night it is truly an enchanting place. Naturally (and unfortunately) I forgot to take pictures the time that I went there at night with Claudia but went back another day and took some photos. By the way, the Lorenzo that I refer to is a fellow that I stayed with for a week a couple of years ago. It turns out that I found his apartment was too noisy due to the busy street and hadn’t seen him in a couple of years. It was a pleasant surprise to run into him at “his” place. Unfortunately it really doesn’t have a website as yet. It’s part of a number of community projects collectively known as Kilowatt (as far as I can tell). This project is called “Le Serre dei Giardini” (the evenings of the gardens). There are several interesting projects but it’s only in Italian. In any case, here is the link to click and poke around. You can understand a surprising amount without knowledge of Italian.  It’s a place not to be missed if you go to Bologna!

Repurposed greenhouse now houses kitchen and bar. Bar build from found objects and wood panels

Seating amongst the veggies

Dance/music space plus a screen for movies

Adirondack chairs in Bologna? What a surprise!

There’s that woman again! Seated at a table made from a big old door.

Water lilies I suppose – not being a plant person.

Yet more art in progress

Water lilies I suppose – not being a plant person.

An artsy area

More art in progress

San Petronio is the patron saint of Bologna so there are always some special festivities. This year it fell on Saturday so it was busier than usual. The streets in the center are always closed on weekends anyway so there is usually a lot of pedestrian traffic but this year they were really packed. The highlight of the day was groups of costumed flag squads (troups?). I don’t really know what you’d call these groups that wave and toss around big flags but it was certainly interesting to watch. They were very good at it and must spend a lot of time practicing but probably not in that medieval dress.

Waving the flags around. Lots of artful ways of doing that.

Throwing flags to one another

The nobility I suppose. This performing flag troupe is from Florence

I strolled through this garden really only once in the past, and then only briefly. This does not count the day two years ago when fear of earthquake aftershocks made the school administrators at ALCE have morning classes out in the open in the garden. I also had never really noted that the name is “Girardini” with is plural. I don’t know why they refer to more than one garden, but it is the largest park in Bologna and has a lot interesting areas.

Water in the park. Was it a canal in the dim past?

Mini cars for kids and even a protective parent

Snacks and gelato.

Another view of the water.

Merry-go-rounds for the little ones.

A little more detail of the play structure. Makes me want to be a kid again.

Water in the park. Was it a canal in the dim past?

Carp and frogs inhabit this somewhat stagnant water.