# Gelati: 2, Distance Walked: 10.8km
I slept in this morning and then had a leisurely breakfast. I then discovered the drawback to having your own apartment, instead of staying in a hotel. You have to make your own bed. You don't have to cook your own breakfast but I did anyway. At least this way it won't be such a terrible shock to the system when I get home and have to cook all my meals myself.
After breakfast I decided I really should do my Italian revision (vocabulary and verbs) before heading out. A bit like daily exercise. Do it first, so you don't keep putting it off and end up never getting around to doing it. My regular routine usually takes me 30 minutes. This morning it took me an hour as I kept making mistakes and having to repeat a lesson.
After I finally finished my homework I sauntered out to amble around my new neighbourhood. My old apartment had been in the University district. This one is in the old Jewish ghetto area. Not far away. Perhaps 1km. But far enough that I thought it would be good to find new cafes, gelateria and supermarkets.
I also had a little shopping to do. Now I've spent a night and a morning in my apartment I had a list of things I was missing. The key one being a tea towel to dry the dishes (I have to do my own washing up now too). I was wondering where on earth would I find such a routine household item in the centre of a city. It then dawned on me to buy a trashy tourist one and take it home with me as a souvenir. Of course, as soon as I had this bright idea, do you think I could find one anywhere?
In my ambles I saw a lot of dogs. Not just small ones, suitable for life in apartments. But big ones, including a husky. Why? I also saw this dog with her two puppies. A much more sensible sort of dog to have in a city.
I also came across a gelateria that must be in all the guidebooks as it usually has a queue out the door. However, I arrived 5 minutes after it opened and there was only 1 other person inside. I had ruby grapefruit and pistachio gelati. It was perfectly Good but I wouldn't queue up for it. I see a lot of people queuing at famous places. I haven't had anything that Good in Bologna. Most of the food is very Good but there are so many places where you can get Good food here, just move on to somewhere else if your chosen place is busy.
For lunch I went to a pizzeria I'd eaten at last time I was here. I'm not sure why I bothered taking note of it. The pizza was Decent. I don't regret ordering it but I wouldn't make a trip just to eat there.
I was amused by my waiter. With Italian speaking guests he was very chatty and took time to explain all the specials of the day. With English speaking guests he was much more brusque and didn't bother with the specials. I choose to put that down to his limited English skills.
After lunch I went back to my apartment for a bit. I read a little of my grammar book and then, I have to confess, watched a couple of episodes of Murderbot. The TV in my place has subscriptions to Netflix, Disney+ and AppleTV. It is set up to use English. I really should switch it to Italian but I'm enjoying Murderbot too much to miss out. It isn't as good as the books, but is still fun.
Later in the afternoon I headed out again in my continuing search for a tea towel. I managed to find more gelati - pistachio and custard with lemon peel this time. Again Good but not worth queuing for.
I also went to a supermarket. I have decided to have the last of the salami and cheese for dinner as I had an enormous lunch. I went to a different supermarket as the one I went to yesterday didn't sell fresh bread!
This one did but in a perspex display case that I had great trouble figuring out. I asked another couple for help but they were tourists too and couldn't work it out either. Eventually an employee took pity on us and showed us what to do. Each section of the case stored a different type of bread roll. Each had a shovel whose handle fitted through a slot at the front. You used the shovel to push your chosen roll(s) out the *side* of the drawer. You could then pick up just those rolls and put them in a bag. No handling off or sneezing on food you weren't going to buy. Very sensible once you've worked out the system.
I also bought a couple of cans of (non-alcoholic) mojitos. The supermarket had all sorts of cans of ready-mixed drinks - mostly alcoholic ones. I think my liver will appreciate me getting the non-alcoholic option, given I had wine at lunch.
I'm not sure what to do tomorrow. I could see if there is a concert or a parade to watch I suppose. Alternatively I'm thinking of getting myself a picnic lunch and going to a park. There are several just outside the historic centre. If I take my grammar book with me (and actually read it) it will be a more productive use of my time than just ambling around.
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