Italia: Day Five

This morning we got to sleep in a little bit so Emilie and I got up to run at 7:00. Since it was just the two of us, we ended up running in circles mostly because we were afraid of getting lost. That is the one downfall to running in a foreign country - it's hard to get lost in the run when you're too afraid of getting lost for real. 

After showering, we boarded the subway to go to a presentation on Systemic Design and how to organize the food system in order to create healthy, cheap options. The man giving the presentation was really animated and interesting, but I couldn’t pay attention because the subject matter was so dry and I am thoroughly exhausted. Every time I sit down for a long period of time, I find myself falling asleep. I really am not used to getting up so early. I think I prefer longer stays in one place so that you can allow yourself to adjust to the time change when travelling and manage to adapt to the culture a little bit more. The one good thing about the presentation was that we were able to admire the building housing the school of architecture while listening to the man speak.

The ceiling of the school of architecture

Following the presentation, we walked to another subway stop which we took to a train station. We then rode on a train to the town of Bra for lunch with a representative from Slow Foods. The train ride was a great mid-day nap, but the three-course meal that followed it only made me hungrier. We had a pasta and meat dish, a beef and tuna dish, and a hazelnut mousse with a variety of red wines that didn't really appeal to me. Even though I didn't eat much, I left feeling full - I think it may be because of how long the meal took.

From Bra, we took a city bus to the town of Pollenzo where we visited the University of Gastronomic Science. It was weird being inside the university of a foreign country, especially since a large amount of the school’s students were also from the United States. We took a short tour around the castle-like grounds and were able to see their tasting room before the outdoor portion of the tour was cut short by a drizzle that felt like cold pinpricks on the skin instead of rain. It was such a sunny day that the weather didn’t really make sense.

Once we saw the library, our tour guide took us to a brief presentation on the importance of memories in collecting food culture and traditions. It was boring and I doodled most of the time, but my reward for sitting through it was a trip to the school’s wine cellar where they preserve some of the countries wine in the proper way – an appropriate temperature room, stored in wood boxes. Our “wine guide” told us a little bit about wine, such as why some are called dry (only red wine can be deemed dry because of the skin of the grape it comes from) and how all wines are the same except for their pH level. It was a rather interesting lesson and we even got to take a walk through the complete cellar while we were tasting a sample of their local red wine. A snack of bread, cheese, and salami followed.

Some of the students from the university picked us up from the wine cellar and showed us their community garden that is maintained entirely by students. It was actually the most boring part of the day though because their English wasn’t very good, there was no interpreter, and the main speaker kept rambling.

I was glad to finally leave Pollenzo via a bus back to Bra. We stopped for gelato (Chocolate of Ecuador) before jumping back on a Torino-bound train. Once we got to town, we hopped back on the subway before dashing into the hotel for a quick change.

I ate an apple on our walk to a local club on the river. Typically a private club, we found out soon after entering that our search for a Wednesday night party had resulted in stumbling upon gay night in celebration of PRIDE week. We didn’t get this knowledge though until after we filled out entry forms and received cards for admission. Luckily, it was free and we still had a great time dancing in a circle in the middle of the dance floor. The whole night was a rather fun time. The club played a mix of American and Italian music that was great for dancing. 

The inside of the club

Our group posing after Pam caught the bouquet