I'm away from home for a few days and have gone to Milan because of the good shopping to be done there, and for a bit of culture and eating out. Yes, the diet is on hold while I munch my way through some very interesting dishes. Traditional local food uses some weird cuts of meat, like beef shank sinews ("nervetti") and sweetbread (veal pancreas) and I'm not sure I can recommend them, but there's compensation in good pizzas and a wide variety of foreign restaurants. Last night's Spanish tapas were amazing, as was the cava to wash them down.
I've also been making photos and short films of the very old trams here. I've mentioned these before, but the backbone of the Milan tram fleet is still made up of the 1928 model streetcar that is still in daily use on half a dozen routes. I think it worth recording these because they will eventually be retired, and because one beloved trans friend of mine has a passion for trams so she'll want to see them. A trans tram fan! But I was delighted when one painted in Pride colours happened to trundle past on Route 1. Pride month is over but this will presumably not be repainted to standard livery for a while yet as it costs money so we have a moving Pride advert for the time being!
I was pleased to hear that a whole subway train in Rome was similarly decked out this year.
Another local thing is a passion for artistic decks of playing cards, either normal 52 card decks or traditional Italian decks, which have different suits and usually only 40 cards, or tarot cards, and so forth. Lots of artists are commissioned to do their own take. I got a friend a present of a set of tarot cards depicting "rebel witches", i.e. nonconformists including a lot of LGBT icons like Ziggy Stardust, Ursula Le Guin, generic lesbian lovers, etc. I think they'll appeal to her.
Unrelated, but it's worth mentioning an unusual sight on the train here, which is the mile upon mile of paddy fields around Pavia where they grow Italian strains of rice. The crop is not full grown yet and is a brilliant green, poking up from the muddy water. Posted every fifty yards or so is a small white heron waiting for little fish and frogs to make the mistake of passing by. It's an unusual but attractive sight. Risotto with fried frogs is a local dish in that area, both ingredients coming from the same field.
And we're back to odd food again! It's a bit of a fixation!
Have a good summer.
Sue x
What a beautiful set of cards. Loving the artistry. On the topic of witches, Channel 4 recently broadcast a two part series about the history, persecution, and modern view of witches. It was presented by Suranne Jones, and FWIW, would recommend if you can catch it.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/5live/entries/f2cb5dba-b640-4061-bc14-8f149fcdef3d
The Pride tram is, of course, fabulous. Amazing to see vintage vehicles operating still. A testament to the crafts people and service teams.
Thanks, hon.
DeleteThe BBC are very possessive about their output and you can't seem to use things like iPlayer outside the UK so I'll see what I can do. A couple of years back I mentioned the nearby village of Triora where there were significant witch trials for much the same reasons as seem to be discussed in that series (https://suerichmond.blogspot.com/2022/10/cackle-cackle.html). I rather like the cards too ... I might keep them for myself and give my friend some other present!
More on trans in due course as they seem to arouse a lot of interest.
Sue x
The meats do not sound that appetising ! - the 'nervetti' does make me think of a big pile of them looking like spaghetti 😂
ReplyDeleteLove the tram !
Thanks, Izzy.
DeleteMore on trams soon.
The nervetti are usually chopped up into two-inch lengths. They're still pretty unappetising! It's poor man's food but restaurants still offer a modern take on it as they so often do.
Sue x
Hello Sue, That is a nice old tram...almost like the ones in Lisbon, which I visited years ago. This days as we spent some days near Bergamo we intended to go to Milan too, but decided to go to Lake Iseo and the Island instead. Have a good time.
ReplyDeleteVioletta
Thank you, Violetta. I'm glad to hear that you have been having a nice time in Italy.
DeleteI will be putting up more pictures of trams since so many people seem to like them. And describing my trip to Scotland where Loch Ness reminded me of Lake Iseo.
Sue x