I'm not going to lie, today was pretty tiring. Even though I didn't have too many places to actually visit, I was pretty gassed today, especially on the bus back from the Ducati factory. I'm lodged in a sort of converted attic space which leads to a small rooftop, and no kitchen, just a small makeshift pantry. There's an iron circular staircase which leads upstairs, and I've already managed to bump my head on it twice. It's a lovely space, but it's way, way too hot to be out there before nine pm. It's enough to bake, seriously. So I took a nap in between seven pm and nine pm. I generally revile taking naps - it totally ruins the rest of the day; I wake up groggy, a little disoriented, not quite hungry, and a bit restless. But it was what it was, honestly, it was way too hot to be out between when I got back, about three pm, and seven pm.
I took a short train ride in from Verona, and after dropping off the luggage, headed straight out to the Ducati factory and museum. It's an awesome place, it's like a giant, automated warehouse with rows of jigs, workbenches and automated drones. Everybody does a small job for no longer than forty-five minutes, otherwise they start to lose focus. They churn out six hundred bikes a day in the summer, fully tested, and with a zero point eight percent error rate - I'd hate to be the guy who screwed up assembling a bike by forgetting a washer or something. The bikes on display were astounding, fierce, beautiful racing machines. They just look fast, and devastating - and the classics look really cute actually. But when you take the seat of one of the monsters, it just feels radical, the throttle feels different in your hand when you roll it - slick and ready for real action. We saw Casey Stoner's bike, but not Rossi's, and so far, not Lorenzo's. Well, only the champs made it to the showroom, and Rossi never got used to the Ducati. Lorenzo showed promise on the Ducati, but of course, he took his talents to Honda. Well, they had the Kentucky Kid's bike out there. The aerodynamics they were working on, state of the art and all that - it was pretty fantastic. Gigi Dall'Igna, the team boss, was pretty proud of the work they did on those winglets.
Bologna is very much a university town, at least in the summer - they have the University of Bologna not far from the city centre. For quite a stretch between the university and the city centre, there are lots of bars, kebab stores, pizzerias, and the like. In the evening, the youthful crowds mill about, doing their thing, having a drink and a good chat. Up until eleven, it was still pretty warm and stuffy out there, but that didn't dampen the crowds' enthusiasm. It got a little bit rowdy, but on the whole, everybody was quite calm, no excess silliness. I had a dinner tonight at a nearby trattoria, pasta with parmesan, peas and tomatoes, some kind of braised barley with olives, and fried pork mincemeat patties with fried potatoes. It was alright, but not superb, okay for fifteen euro. Well, there were a few locals there. No complaints, but I might try something more obviously crowded next time. The Ferrari and food tour is tomorrow, well, I hope the weather is kind.
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I spent (in EUR):
20 - train from Verona to Bologna
5 - bus
32 - Ducati tour
22 - store groceries
4 - doner kebab
3 - gelato
15 - trattoria dinner
46 - apartment in Bologna
