Modest Mango

El Grasso* has taken another victim. Bologna is famed for its rich food, thus its sometime moniker. Whether it is tagliatelle drowned in a thick ragù that is the city’s namesake, mounds of tortellini (legend has it that the shape was inspired by the navel of Venus), meaty lasagne dripping in olive oil or local Parma ham served up with lashings of (also indigenous) parmesan, Bolognese cuisine can only be described as rich. So much so that many tourists come and go but only the English Glens go in one piece.

When Totoro and co arrived today one of our party was already suffering with a bit of a sore stomach. So called stomach fared even less well against the Bolognese fare.

I was skeptical, but ragù in Bologna is pretty freakin’ great stuff.

Incredibly Bologna is raining. ‘Il pleut’ or whatever Italians say. Maybe that’s Spanish… Or French… Whatever, the coolness is welcome respite but the wet is not. Fortunately Bologna has over 25 miles of porticoes to walk under, keeping me and my camera nice and dry.

Apart from that? We did far less sight-seeing today, and eating, but despite that I have still gotten a feel for the capital of Emilia-Romagna. Good points? All of the ‘sights’ are free. But then again this is probably because they are ‘sights’. Highlight was the Teatro Anatomico in the Archiginnasio. This is where a lot of shit went down. These dudes back in the day were visionaries with regard to medical practice based on anatomical principles.

But still. Hardly a big pull for the average punter. (The use of ‘punter’ makes any sentence sound like a TM Lowe quote.) What else? A disappointing lack of food stores. Then an even more disappointing abundance of excessively priced clothing goods. Also, apparently Bologna closes on Thursdays. They take the day off. Therefore, we are taking the day off. I swear this seems the goddamn stupidest country I’ve ever been to at times.

See you in Venice where I hope to find a Coke for under 23 Euros…

*The Fat One

Whereas it is not possible for a Glaswegian to say that they are proud of Tennents without trying to be ironic, Dunedin’s local beer is a completely different story. Speight’s is the self-proclaimed “Pride of the South” and for once it’s not just a throw-away tagline.

It’s a delicious beer, brewed in the world’s only remaining gravity-fed brewery. The ingredients are fed from the top of the brewery and work their way down the building and through the machines, all via the pull of gravity. How cool is that?

It’s probably what I’m going to miss most when I leave.

P.S. Queenstown photos are up.

P.P.S. I’m heading to Milford Sound this weekend. Prepare to have your primary visual cortex blown next week.

Ironically, for the most pretty stop of this particular giro thus far, I am unable to post any pictures. Instead I’ll have to write some quick, guff prose:

Totoro et al arrived in Florence about 9am this morning, having traversed Tuscany in luxury – a ‘reservation only’ train. Since then we have hit up the Duomo, yet another baptistry, the river Arno (again) and the Ponte Vecchio. I got my fish last night by the way. My insalate di frutte di mare was more than enough. Octopus and all…

The plan in Florence? Tripe. We haven’t dabbled in intestines on this trip yet but leg 2 of the Tuscan gastronomic experience started well with possibly the greatest panini I have ever had. Pancetta. Peppers. Olive oil. No sports peppers but pretty freakin’ tasty.

Of course there have been the typical day-to-day Italian experiences to slip into future anecdotes, e.g. the country’s completely archaic postal system, but without a few pictures stuff like that becomes a bit dry.

Until Emilia-Bologna,

Totoro out.

He’s back! The Mango’s most controversial travel blogger made the 240km trip up into Tuscany today, not to Florence but to its nearby chum… Can you guess where?

So Pisa and that… Once again, pretty beautiful – it’s difficult to say anything about this place without it sounding trite or a little cliché. RB’s first response to ‘the Tower’ was, ‘Is that it?’ What else… Oh yeah, apparently Pisans (pronounced ‘Pie-zan’ like the in the Sopranos) love to photocopy. Just love it. Photocopying shacks everywhere. Oh, and the journey! Toilets on Italian trains just empty onto the tracks. RB nodded and informed me Vietnam uses the same system. The Romans invented plumbing but 2000 years later they’re dumping straight onto train tracks. Oh maron!

On the menu today? Thus far it’s been some chickpea torta, a slice of tomato pie and a Coca-Cola. We’ll see what tonight brings. Hopefully a few more Italian babes for me and Totoro. And I goddamn hope they have some fish… Baccalà!

The Otago Peninsula is yet another stunning location on the South Island. Is it embarrassing that I thought that all penguins lived in Antarctica?

There were dozens of these little guys returning onto the shore to join their sheep buddies.

The yellow-eyed penguins are really neat guys. You’re probably aware of how much I love penguins. I love the way the way they walk. Look how close I got to this guy!

He’s been standing like that for at least 15 minutes now. Apparently it’s because he needs to cool off and this is without having to wear four layers, a buff and a hat.
And here are two seals kissing, just because.