SPRING IN PAVIA: PIACENZA & BELGIOIOSO

Laura and me cycling in Piacenza!

The time has been flying so fast here in Pavia that I don't even know which day is which at the moment, and it doesn't help that I don't have any Uni classes to help me remember which day of the week it is! I can't believe that I'm going to say this, but I honestly think that I'm looking forward to when the 4th trimester starts on the 16th April and I can start going to Beginner's French, Spanish Language and Spanish Civilisation. I'll probably have a lot of hours at Uni, but it'll be nice to feel like I'm actually doing something towards getting the required 15 credits I need to pass this semester! That's not to say that I've been doing nothing though.... I have still been going to my Italian Language classes, and been busy travelling about as per usual, but this last weekend was different as I spent it with Italian people only and had two whole days of Italian oral practise which were certainly the longest oral classes of my life! (Although it didn't feel like it was 'work' to me).

On Saturday I went to Piacenza for the day to visit my Italian friend Laura and her boyfriend Alberto. Piacenza is just outside of the Lombardy region where I am, and is in Emilia Romagna of which Bologna is the capital. It was only an hour and 20 minutes south-east by train with one change in Milan which of course managed to go wrong for me. I got the train at 9.34 from Pavia which was fine, and then I knew I had to make a change at a station called Stradella at 10.05, however when 10.05 came I was expecting for us to stop at this station, only we didn't! I had been keeping a look-out as well, so I knew that we hadn't already passed it. Then a few minutes later the train announced that we were arriving in Milano Centrale which was the end of the line! I was so confused, but then decided that the only thing to do was to look for the times from Milano Centrale to Piacenza and I was lucky as a train was leaving 2 minutes later! I quickly found the platform and thankfully jumped on the train seconds before it pulled away! The train was incredibly busy, so I just took a pull-out seat in the aisle and stared blankly out of the window day-dreaming and enjoying the scenery when suddenly a ticket-inspector was in the carriage. My heart started racing as I knew I didn't have the correct ticket, and I started planning on what to say. He came over and I showed him the ticket and he said that I had to pay a supplement as my ticket was for a slow train and the one I was on was apparently a fast train (although it seemed to me to be going the same speed as the train I'd previously been on from Pavia to Milano Centrale!). He insisted that I paid the 8 euros supplement and I said that I had no money on me and showed him my purse which was empty as I was actually planning on getting out money once in Piacenza. I hoped he would take pity on me being a poor English student, but he didn't and continued to write me a ticket. He showed me the ticket, and then said that just before we arrived in Piacenza he would be back to give me the ticket which I had to take to any station and pay the fine at a later date. He then wandered off down the carriage and left me in peace to think. There was no way I wanted to pay the fine as as far as I was concerned, it was not my fault I was on the train in the first place! If the train from Pavia had stopped at Stradella like it was meant to, then I would have made my change there and all would have been dandy. I decided that on arrival at Piacenza I would just run and hope for the best. 5 minutes later as we pulled into Piacenza, he still hadn't come back to give me the ticket so I got off the train and then started walking quickly (errr more like running!) towards the exit. I turned behind me once I was sure I was far enough from the train and actually saw the ticket man hovering at the door of the train where I got off! He waved his arm at me, but I just continued towards the exit knowing that I was far enough away for him not to catch me, and if he didn't give me the ticket, I didn't have to pay the fine. RESULT!...... although afterwards when I was waiting for Laura and Alberto I was really jumpy expecting the police to come out of nowhere and arrest me or something!

Piazza Cavalli and the façade of il Gotico.

Laura and me by the cavallo! (horse)

Laura and Alberto on the Piazza

I soon saw Laura and Alberto waiting for me, and by car we went back to Alberto's house. We then wandered into the centre by foot where they showed me around and even gave me a mini history lesson about the city. We first went to the main square which is called 'Piazza Cavalli' due to there being two horse statues on the piazza, and towering above them was the huge 'Il gotico', otherwise known as the 'Palazzo Comunale' which is a  Medieval civic building. The square was buzzing as there was a local market on, and Laura couldn't resist buying a piece of Sicilian focaccia bread!

Laura by the focaccia bread stand!

We were then pretty hungry so went back to Alberto's house where we picked up the car, and then he drove us to a town called the 'Case Marchesi' where we stopped for lunch at a pretty little local restaurant called 'La Bissa Scudlera' which in Piacenzan dialect means 'the turtle'. It was a modern restaurant which had been converted from a house. It was next to the River Trebbia, and was very modern with only a few dishes on the menu. We were given a lovely little table in the outside conservatory from where you could see the river. After recommendations from Laura, I chose an asparagus tart surrounded with a melted Gorgonzola cheese sauce for starter and then a tortelli pasta dish with a mushroom dressing which is a local dish from the Piacenzan region. Laura and Alberto both had a cured meat dish for starters and then Alberto had the same main dish as me, whereas Laura had a carbonara pasta dish.

The outside of the restaurant

The menu

Laura and me inside the restaurant

My starter: the asparagus tart with a Gorgonzola cheese sauce

Laura and Alberto's cured meat starter with 'pan brioche'

Tortelli in a mushroom sauce

Laura's carbonara dish

After lunch we went to have a look outside and took a few photos before driving back to Piacenza and grabbing two bikes to go for a cycling trip around the outskirts of the city centre. At first I was a bit nervous about cycling in Italy as the traffic here is crazy and cars will run you over without a second thought, but we spent most of the time on a 'pista ciclabile' (cycle track) and enjoyed doing a bit of exercise after lunch! After an hour or so we then undid all of the calories we'd just burned off by each having a large home-made ice cream from one of the best Gelateria's (Ice cream shop!) I've ever tasted! and then had some drinks on the piazza overlooking the Duomo. The centre of Piacenza was really pretty and I especially liked the coloured buildings on the Piazza Duomo. After such a lovely day I then went to get my train at 7pm to return to Pavia, but the journey wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped it would be. 

After half an hour on the train admiring the lovely sunset out of the window and taking photos as the train was whizzing past, I realised that I was alone in my carriage. This didn't bother me until some drunk young men got on and sat next to me. They were talking and flirting and then there was a small incident with one of them trying to kiss me and the others trying to stop me from getting away. It was quite scary, but I managed to run and hide in a toilet cubical. I didn't know what to do though as I had to change train at the next station, but they did as well! So to avoid seeing them again I stayed on the train thinking it would go straight to Milano Centrale but instead it stopped at a suburban Milan Station where it would stop for an hour before heading back to Piacenza! I had to wait for an hour, and then change at the next station which was the change I should have already made. It was a big hassle, but luckily nothing more happened. It wasn't a very nice end to an otherwise lovely day!

Alberto, Laura and Me by the Po river after lunch

Alberto and Laura!

Alberto, Laura and me cycling!

Piacenza's Duomo with the lovely blue sky background

The three of us on the Piazza Cavalli

The coloured buildings on the Piazza near the Duomo

My very yummy ice cream! Coconut, Fruits of the forest and Chocolate

Laura and Alberto with their ice creams!

Alberto, me and Laura

The gorgeous sunset from the train on the way home

After such a lovely day in Piacenza on Saturday, I was then invited for dinner at my other Italian friend Barbara's house on Sunday. She lives in a small town called Belgioioso which is just east of Pavia by about 30 minutes in the car. She came to pick me up around 11.30 in Pavia and then we went back to her place where she introduced me to her family. They were all so lovely and welcoming and it was a fantastic opportunity for me to practise my Italian for a few hours and enjoy the lovely lunch! We had a rice dish followed by a mozzarella and tomato salad and then for dessert we gorged on strawberries! The other strange thing about the dessert was that Barbara's parents brought a jar to the table and explained that inside is alcohol and soaking in the alcohol are sugar cubes! It's called 'Zuccherini della nonna' (Grandma's sugar cubes) and apparently having one after a meal is meant to aid digestion! You take one and put it in your mouth, and at first the taste is so strong of alcohol but then the sugar melts and it's all sweet! One try was enough for me, but Barbara's mum went in for seconds! We had a lovely lunch, and then Barbara and Mattia showed me around the tiny town of Belgioioso. There was a medieval castle though which was quite grand, as well as a few shops and a church. 

The 'Zuccherini della nonna'

The castle in Belgioioso

Barbara e Mattia

Barbara and me by the castle

In the afternoon Mattia, Barbara and I went back to Pavia to have a wander around the Sicilian food festival which was taking place on the Piazza Vittoria. We saw gigantic bread, hundreds of types of olives and different Sicilian cheeses. The festival even had folklore dancing which was pretty funny to watch! (see the pic below). We then went for an ice cream down by the river at our favourite Gelateria and relaxed in the last of the afternoon sunshine.

The Sicilian food festival poster

All of the little stalls 'bancarelli' in Italian!

Strange Sicilian cheese!

Lots of marzepan fruits and behind those are different types of cakes!

Sicilian olives!

The folklore dancing

The beginning of the week in Pavia has been quite quiet as a lot of Erasmus people have gone home for Easter, however I'm managing to keep busy! I went for an ice cream (yes... another one! wow I need to stop eating so many but they are so good here in Italy!) with Malene and her brother and his friend on Monday, and then in the evening I went out for a meal with them all to a lovely cute little Italian restaurant called 'Il Cupolone' here in Pavia. From the second we walked in I loved the place. The decorations were so ye-olde Italian and the walls were covered with old paintings of Pavia and decor. The boys had a set menu, whereas Malene and I shared a pear risotto! (I had no idea you could make a pear risotto! haha) It was nice, but I'm not sure I'd order it again! We also had side salads which were nice but rather large.

The inside of the restaurant

The reception area

The boys and Malene

More restaurant decor

The Bruscetta starter

Malene and me

Malene with the boy's starter- cured meats and a bowl of veg and tuna paste

The pear risotto complete with dried pear slices!

Yesterday and today have been fairly quiet days, and yesterday I spent a lot of time reading and then in the evening I went to my Italian Language course and then afterwards had a good old viber chat with Gemma which was nice. Then today I've been reading again and listening to Italian music. Malene my Danish friend, Stefanie my German friend and her German friend Carina who is visiting are coming round to the flat in a bit to cook and watch Finding Nemo in Italian! Barbara lent it to me the other day, and I think it'll be quite funny to see in Italian! I think you can count that as language learning and related to my degree, right? Tomorrow I'm having lunch with Laura, and then Friday a coffee date with the girls and the Italian girls and then Saturday I think a trip might be on the cards to Bologna or Turin but we'll see. It's all go go go here even when it's quiet!

Okay, that's me done for now! The girls will be arriving any minute! I'll be back soon with another update, but for now BUONA PASQUA! Happy Easter :) xxx