First, an update on David's progress in heading back home. He successfully took the car back to Dusseldorf today, but it took a long time. He got stuck in traffic on the way there, then had train delays on the way back (in Germany! blasphemy!). But now it's all done, and all he has to do is relax for one more day until his flight Friday morning. He says his ankle is much improved mobility-wise, but is hurting quite a lot. Poor guy. At least he'll be able to put his feet up in his own recliner by the weekend!
I will be really happy for him to be home, too, because keeping in touch in Europe has been a little more frustrating than we'd expected. We both have cell phones - I have my American one and he has a Swiss one - and they work well, but they get expensive fast. Moreover, now that he's out of Switzerland, his phone charger no longer plugs into the wall without an adapter. We've also tried video chat in Gmail a couple times, which is pretty great - it's free and is really fun to see each other - but we've had some technical difficulties that seem to be related to the lack of power in his little netbook. Hopefully that will work much better on his desktop computer at home.
Down here in Italy, things are improving. It's still lonely without my travel partner, but everything else has been going pretty well. It didn't rain at all today and the sun even came out for awhile! It was really warm, too - well into the mid-60s. So that improved my outlook quite a bit. And I just had the most delicious and fun dinner out tonight. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Yesterday Morning in Pavia
Yesterday morning in Pavia was about the same as the night before: great churches; not-so-great everything else. I slept poorly in my tiny bed with scratchy sheets, and had weird dreams of kite surfing with Alec Baldwin. But I still woke up later than I'd intended, after 8:00, which left me rushed in my morning photography tasks because I had to check out by 11:00 and catch an 11:31 train.
Having no time for a shower or breakfast (and breakfast didn't present itself anywhere anyway), I just grabbed a handful of olive-oil crackers and my camera and headed out into the rain. The rain was nonstop the entire time, which was really frustrating. Exterior photos were nearly impossible and I got very wet. I was also carrying both of my lenses, which made for an extra-heavy load.
When I arrived at the first church, San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro ("St. Peter under a Golden Sky"), a service was just beginning. Argh. That's inconvenient for photography, but it was pretty neat to see, because right next door to the church is a Carabinieri (military police) station, and about a dozen of the officers in crisp uniforms filed in for the service.
So I headed back out into the rain and across town to the other main church, the one I'd visited the night before (San Michele Maggiore). I had to revisit it because I didn't have my zoom lens along the first time, and it has some wonderful sculptures. It was worth it. But the walk was so depressing. I was soaked through and quite hungry by then. Fortunately, I found German gummy bears in my camera bag - they do have real fruit juice in them, you know.
Sculptures in San Michele Maggiore
During this visit, most of the lights were out and the altar was roped off again. So I felt very lucky to have gotten there when I did the night before, with special lighting and access for All Saints' Day.
I wasn't sure I'd have the time or energy to go back to San Pietro again after this, but I had just enough time and I really did want to see it, mainly because of the tomb of Saint Augustine of Hippo. Augustine was a bishop and writer in Roman North Africa in the 400s AD, and I studied him a lot in graduate school. He wrote a really interesting autobiography, and I've always liked him.
Whether those are really his bones in Pavia is about 50/50 in my estimation - he died in what is now Algeria, but his relics were moved around a lot and supposedly came to Europe during the Crusades. But his tomb is an important work of art in itself and a major shrine, so I had to do it. I walked all the way back across town as fast as I could and was glad I did. It's a really great church, the tomb was impressive, and it was nice to say hello to Augustine if he really is in there.
The Tomb of St. Augustine. His bones (or someone's bones) are in a silver casket behind the iron grate at the base.
Closer look at the marble tomb, sculpted in 1362
Detail
Then I made it back to the hotel by 10:45, checked out quickly, and arrived at the train station by 11. Phew.
Things improved immensely once I was at the train station, just as I had hoped they would. There was a very short line at the ticket office, I had plenty of time to get something to eat, and my platform had an empty bench out of the rain to sit on. Heaven! And then David happened to call to say hello! So despite my aching legs and wet clothes, I was feeling good.
On the platform at Pavia train station
A sandwich called "Vasco de Gama": ham and cheese on bread with embedded green olives, heated to almost lukewarm.
I had a short ride on the first train, which took me to Voghera. I sat across a table from two nicely dressed old men, one of whom was speaking French with a strong Italian accent on his cell phone.
Voghera train station
I was supposed to have about 20 minutes between trains at Voghera, but the second train was delayed so it was a longer wait. But I was relaxed, because I had a book, no more connections, and didn't need to be in Parma at any particular time.
A Trenitalia train at Voghera
Then it was about an hour's journey on the second train to Parma. It was such a good ride. I had this comfy compartment to myself the whole way!
In Parma I waited quite awhile at the taxi rank, but it was not raining and I had this cute little guy to entertain me!
Parma
When I got out of the cab at the Piazza del Duomo, I was really impressed by the cathedral and just so happy to be in one place for the next three days! Check-in at the hotel was a little complicated - reception was closed and locked (for that darned afternoon siesta), which they hadn't warned me about, so I had to wander around the attached cafe for awhile with my bags before I found someone to let me in. But I've been happy with my hotel ever since. It's more like an apartment - you can rent it by the week or month - and has been a good little home while I try to adjust to being without David and being in another new country.
The city has been enjoyable, too. It did rain yesterday, including one major downpour of impressive proportions that had everyone hiding out under arches, but at least it stopped for long intervals. And today it has been mostly sunny and beautiful, as I mentioned above.
Stormy skies right before the big rainstorm
Piazza Garibaldi, the main square of historic Parma, in the sun today
Same square in the downpour yesterday
Waiting out the rainstorm under an arcade
I found a warm lunch quickly after arriving in Parma, which was pretty thrilling. I chose one of three similar-looking restaurants on the Piazza Garibaldi, and had a nice seat looking out to the square.
I had lasagna and sparkling water, both of which seemed dirt cheap after Switzerland! To my surprise, given Parma's culinary reputation, the lasagna was nothing special. But probably that's just because it's on the main square - restaurants with prominent locations never have to try as hard.
I spent the rest of the afternoon taking photos around town and in the cathedral and baptistery. The baptistery is especially magnificent. I've seen several baptisteries and lots of frescoes by now, but this one really blew my hair back. It's octagonal like they always are, but the architecture is otherwise quite unique - it's tall, narrow, and pink - and the amount of medieval frescoes and sculptures inside is astounding. And the custodian is a friendly, good-natured older gentlemen who doesn't get uptight about photography. So it's a pretty happy place for me, and right next door no less! Here are a few highlights.
View taken this evening, with my hotel in the center (I think it's a 17th-century palazzo) and the 12th-century bishop's palace on the right
Peeking above surrounding buildings
Exterior detail
Interior at floor level
Wall and part of dome, covered in frescoes and sculptures
Dome
I know what you're thinking! "How can there be a dome inside when I don't see one on the outside?" (Surely not, "Why does she think I care about a baptistery?") That's one of the things that interesting about the architecture - the dome is disguised behind straight walls on the outside. You can see in the night photo above that the windows only go partway up.
Detail of dome frescoes, featuring Jesus, John the Baptist, and Mary.
OK, that's enough architecture. I'll post a few photos of the cathedral later. For now, let's talk food! Last night I decided I wanted to cook pasta for dinner in my room, so I spent the afternoon keeping my eyes peeled for a supermarket or fresh pasta shop. I have never found a supermarket here, but did eventually come across a couple small places with fresh pasta and a few groceries. So I successfully cooked up a nice little meal of fresh pumpkin ravioli, polenta, and Barilla tomato sauce from a jar.
They wrapped up the pasta so beautifully. (That's my computer cord by the burners - don't worry, I moved it before cooking. There are limited outlets in this place!)
The pumpkin ravioli
The final product. It was a good meal, but not thrilling. The search continued.
I am happy to report that today everything I had was spectacular, and lived up to Parma's reputation.
This morning I had an unconventional breakfast of two tiny round pizzas, but they were incredibly delicious! The best one was this one, with artichokes. The other had mushrooms and was seriously good too.
A couple hours later I had a wholesome snack of pistachio gelato from a little gelateria behind the cathedral. So pretty, and so delicious.
And for lunch I had these two lovely items, which I brought home and heated up in a pan. In front is Parma ham and some fresh, creamy cheese that might be buffalo mozzarella; the other is potato and green olive. Both were good, but the ham and cheese was to die for. YUM.
That held me over nicely for lots of strolling and photography the rest of the afternoon and evening. For dinner, I did some research and made reservations at one of the highest-reviewed restaurants in Parma. It's called Trattoria al Tribunale and is located on a little street about a 10-minute pleasant walk from my hotel.
It was sad dining alone, and I definitely wish David could have shared the joy of my delicious meal! It was one of the best Italian meals ever. But at least I wasn't totally lonely - a friendly couple from London were soon seated next to me and we chatted on and off throughout the meal; the woman turned out to be an art historian so we talked about Italian churches a bit, in addition to the usual things about our respective homes. And the waiter was very nice and patient with my Italian. So it turned out to be a really good night out.
View from my table. I had reservations for 7:00, which is when they opened, so it was empty at first. But all these tables were packed full within an hour! When I first arrived, the owner and his family were eating in the next room, and they looked like such a happy family. He finished his dinner at a relaxed pace, then put on an apron and got to work when the crowds started to arrive.
Since the restaurant was so highly recommended, I naturally had more than one course! For the first course (primi piatti), I had three different types of tortelli: pumpkin, potato, and herb. All were divine. The difference between this and the pumpkin ravioli I made yesterday is like night and day! The pasta was perfectly tender and the pumpkin was evidently made from scratch and perfectly spiced. The potato filling was something like mashed potatoes, but extra buttery and creamy without being too rich. And all topped with Parmagiano cheese, of course!
Second course (secondi piatti) was tender slices of beef with polenta. Again, both totally to die for. The beef was so tender and flavorful and the polenta was delicate and creamy and perfect, like no polenta I've ever had before.
For dessert I had torta di ricotta e ciocolato, which just looked like a triangular-sliced tart topped with powdered sugar, so I didn't take a picture of it. Inside it was a thin pie crust filled with a thick custardy-ricotta mixture and interspersed with a few small pieces of dark chocolate. It was very good, too, and I recommended it to my British neighbors. But not quite as ecstatically heavenly as the first courses.
Then I had an enjoyable walk in a warm evening back home, where I got to video chat with David. Good times.
