Sunday, June 30, 2013

Why I Went to Piacenza


I feel like Italians think I'm stupid. Every time I do something, they look at me like I have five heads. More explanation will come.

In the meantime, I decided to go to Piacenza the other day because, well, I have literally nothing left to do. All of my finals are done and now I'm just kind of hanging around Italy until July 15th. So, I'd heard about Piacenza (and it was recommended by a little Modena tourist book!) and decided to take a day trip, since I have nothing else to do.

There main piazza is "Piazza Cavalli"--Horses Piazza. That pretty much made it impossible for the city to be a complete failure.


I went around and saw some sights.


There was a very cute little garden right near the train station.


Then the Duomo! I couldn't go inside because it was closed. I will say that this town is definitely sleepy. I knew when I saw that stores are closed from 12:30 to 4:30 that there was a problem (Modena's stores are closed from 12:30 to 3:30).


Next I visited the main palazzo--Palazzo Farnese.


Pretty.


And empty. I take back anything I ever said about Modena being a quiet town. Modena is hoppin' in comparison to Piacenza.


Inside the palazzo were these creepy statues.



Turns out they are actually seats!


Then I took a walk to a pasticceria I had read about online. I will make a trip anywhere as long as a pasticceria is involved.


This one was particularly exciting because it was Napolitano. I love desserts from Napoli and Sicilia.

As I was paying for my sweets, the lady asked if I was Italian. When I responded and said I was American, the five-headed look came out.

"What are you doing in Piacenza?"
"Well, I'm studying in Modena..."
"You're studying in Modena? Well, what on earth are you doing in Piacenza?"
And so the conversation went.

I got some delicious goodies though. A tiny babà (that she squirted with fresh alcohol before handing it to me) and a little airy pastry filled with an incredible chocolate cream. It was worth the trip to Piacenza.


-Meri

No comments:

Post a Comment