Il Secondo Weekend: Rimini e Bologna!!!

Picture descript first: Harriet as pigeon poop target practice; me as spitoon.


Ok, so my week was good. More eating, class attending, blah blah blah. But my weekend, it was great. I left Tuscany! Mallory initiated a trip that involved going to Rimini, a beach town (Fellini's birth place) on the East coast of Italy, on Saturday, and a trip to Bologna on Sunday, all in enough time to make it home for dinner with Sandra.
Rimini
There were two major student-initiated trips this weekend: Venice and Rimini. I wasn't quite ready for Venice yet (also, they were only going to be there for part of the day, and I definitely want to go for a longer period of time), and as soon as I heard beach, I knew I had to go. So I was very excited, you see. But then I started telling actual Italians about my trip (host mom/brother, some of the staff at the Center, my language partner) and I got a completely negative reaction. Basically, Rimini is the crap beach of Italy. I also heard that it is the Cancun of Italy. I did some research, and it is known for its night life. Fine. Va bene. It's still the beach dudes. And if it has a great night life, then fantastic. So I expected a totally dirty beach, rocks everywhere, drunken teenagers being eaten by sharks, etcetera. I was quite pleasantly surprised. The beach was gorgeous. At least by Southern California public beach standards. The sand was soft, the water not too cold or murky, I had a ball. Also, we happened to chance upon this place the day they were holding a kite contest. It was fun to watch (there was a lobster kite, ROCK LOBSTER! ha i was amused) but essentially rather obnoxious. The announcer was blathering in Italian to the ENTIRE beach--things like, "Oh, and this beautiful kimono-shaped kite seems to be taking flight right now. Everyone look. Oh, it is gorgeous. How lovely.--and also it sucked when the giant bear-shaped kites would block out the entire sun. Nonetheless, we bought a 5-liter gallon of red wine for 5 euro, and fun was had by all. We missed out on the night scene and instead had a team bonding night by the beach over some limoncello, followed by much merriment at the kebab-eria (the only thing that stays open late at night in italy) with free pizza from the nice man from South America. Oh, they are a diverse peoples.
Oh, addendum. I also had my first hostel experience. I was truly spoiled. For 15 euro, we stayed the night, free linens/towels, hot showers as often and as long as we wanted (that's a HUGE deal since I can only take 5 minute lukewarm showers here in Sandra's apartment), free internet, a communal "chill-out garden" (their title, not mine), and all you can eat breakfast the next morning. Highlight of the breakfast: a coffee machine named "Hottie" that prepared 8 different beverages. Mal and I soon found out that to our new "Hottie" friend, the difference between a cappuccino and a caffe con latte is the order in which it dispenses the hot milk and espresso. Still, it was truly an awe-inspiring coffee robot barista...dude.
Bologna
By far Bologna was my favorite part of the weekend. A beautiful little city with virtually no tourists (a welcome change from the way-congested Florence). We took a walking tour (my friend Nick did live readings from the glorious Frommer's) and saw some really old stuff and climbed some really tall leaning tower. Pictures soon.
Anecdotal highlights: Harriet was shat on twice in the span of 10 minutes by pigeons. She already hated pigeons enough. Now they are nemeses. I cleaned the poop off because that is what a good roommate is for. Also, I had a loogie spat on my left foot. It was truly the largest loogie I have ever seen. It covered at least a third of my foot and was quite the bitch to wipe off (mucus tends to be viscous like that, you know). I plan on showering soon. Really. Also, we ate the most delicious, flaky lasagna I have ever had. Bologna, fyi, is the food capital of Italy. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
Lots of other stuff probably happened this weekend too that I probably forgot to document. I may update. Love. And peace. etc.

PS: foods for thought. more for my own reflection which happens to be public. I have been having a conflict with my ipod. I recently discovered that it is wonderful to walk home and listen to my ipod at the same time. I can block out annoying tourists and other noises and just relax. Plus, listening to my own music from home makes me feel more at home myself. However, I feel that it is displacing me from my surroundings and my inner traveler is advising me to lay down my ear buds and take in those city sounds. I am here to make a second home, not try to revive my first home in a different place. This is actually one of the least fascinating things I've ever mentioned. Forget it. I'm going to go listen to my ipod now.