Ducati Museum

Paul here....about a week ago Emily was gone for the day, and wouldn't you know it my little appointment book was clear.  So, I decided to take the ol' number 13 bus up to Borgo Panigale.

What's in Borgo Panigale, you ask?  Why, it's the home of Ducati, of course.

The bus ride was interesting.  As it was fairly early in the morning, I spotted several Ducati employees.  It was easy to pick them out, as they were all sporting several items of company swag - Ducati messenger bags, soft lunch boxes....one woman even had bright red pants.  They seem to be proud of where they work, actually all of Italy seem pretty proud of Ducati and rightfully so...the company is only about 2,000 people but has accomplished some amazing things on the world stage.  Anyways, the bus took about 45 minutes and next thing I knew, I was getting dropped off here:

Down the road about 5 minutes, I came to the factory.  It was hard to miss:

And after a brief check-in at the guard shack, I met my tour guide Donatella and we got underway.  The first part of the tour took us through the factory, which was awesome.

All Ducatis are hand-assembled here in B.P., so there were tons of raw parts sitting around in crates and bins.  Donatella explained that basically all the engine components are outsourced for manufacture, except for 2 things - crankshafts and camshafts.  Of course due to the desmo system, the cams are important, but I don't really understand why they need to be manufactured in house...it's not like any shop or owner can't get into their engine and inspect the cams.  Maybe it's for quality control.  Speaking of quality control, the factory seemed very efficient and meticulous.  Donatella said that they had adopted the Japanese principle of Kaizen, which they modeled on Toyota, and it showed.  Unfortunately photos weren't allowed in the factory, but it looked exactly like this:

Several different assembly lines, each dedicated to one type of bike.  Even though I worked at Honda, I've never been inside a bike factory before so it was very interesting to me.  We got to see all phases of assembly, through the point that they take each bike and operationally test it in a special room.  That's right, every single one is fired up and ridden on rollers for about 5 minutes before it leaves the factory.

The next section of the tour took us through the museum, which we could take pics in.  It was very well done, a nice layout and a prime selection of historically important bikes.  You could get right up to them, and I was really jealous of the 6 year old kid in my tour group who was able to ignore the "don't touch" warning without getting yelled at.

The 1st Ducatis....they didn't start out with bikes!

The real 1st Ducati...post-war, Italy was devastated and relatively poor.  Bicycles were popular, and Ducati made an engine to fit on a bicycle frame - the Cucciolo (Puppy).  They sold a TON and made the company a big success.

Bikes of Mike Hailwood and Paul Smart....before my time, but I've read enough about 'em to know they're a big deal...

And here we get into the 851 and 916...now this is more like it.

They also had a Supermono on hand....Pierre Terblanche's first bike for them, and a stunner. 

I'll take one of each, please.

Timeless design.

The final room was reserved for the holy grail, the MotoGP bikes.  I could have stared at them for hours.  There was a very interesting contrast between Capirossi's bikes, which were true red, and Stoner's which were sort of orangey.  Donatella explained that this was due to the advent of HD tv....on HD, the orangey color comes out red.  

After the MotoGP room, the tour concluded.  Before leaving I signed the guestbook, and flipped back through the pages a bit.  Someone out there has a pretty good sense of humor....

The 8 euro value meal

While in Milan, we came across the best place for an aperitivo that we have seen yet -- now known as the 8 euro value meal. This is where we mentioned we went the night we met Emma.

In order to help convey how amazing this place was, let me first give a little background: an aperitivo is a before dinner (or lunch) drink. Here in Emilia-Romagna, one of the most popular choices is an Aperol spritz, which is a mixture of Aperol, or a bitter orange liquor, mixed with prosecco and topped off with soda water. Campari, a liquor which has a stronger flavor than Aperol, is also popular too, and can be ordered with soda or as a spritz as well. The drinks are not very strong and non-alcoholic options are available too with similar bitter flavors. One of the great things about the custom of the aperitivo is that it is served with complementary snacks -- we have heard that Italians would not think of having a drink without a little snack. While I would doubt that many would consider this an actual meal, it can definitely be a light dinner. We have noticed that the price of the drink varies depending on how extensive the snacks are and how scenic the location is. In Parma, the snacks that were served were generally fairly simple, such as little toasts with salami as well as olives, and an Aperol spritz usually cost around 4 euro. In Bologna, the snacks are often more extensive and are advertised as "grand buffet," and a spritz costs 6 euro. Snacks include little pieces of focaccia with vegetables, mortadella, or even little squares of lasagna Bolognese. The place that we found in Milan was the most expensive we have seen yet, at 8 euro per Aperol spritz, but check out this buffet of beautiful vegetable antipasti!!!

I know I am a big nutrition nerd, but I was so happy to find all of these amazing vegetables. We talked with the owners and they said that a buffet with this type of array of vegetables is not typical of Milan, but more unique to their bar/restaurant. We loved it so much that we will definitely be going back, and we highly recommend it if you are in Milan.

The bar is located very near the duomo. Located in the piazza with the duomo is a food court that includes a Burger King, of all things, which we stumbled upon after our aperitivo. We couldn't help but notice that people were paying 7 or even 8 euro for a Burger King combo when they could have had the aperitivo.

Burger King, however, is probably more approachable for tourists and may be more popular for younger people, but we couldn't help but think how much they were missing out by eating there. One argument might be that if you pay 7 euro at Burger King, you are getting a more substantial dinner, so it is more calories for your money, if you want to think that way, or need to because of the budget, which we can definitely relate to.

But some of the things offered in the buffet, such as the ham and cheese rolls in puff pastry, or the sausages, would even rival a burger in energy density, and the buffet is technically all you can eat.

It would be bad form to go back too many times, however, but the owners told us that going back for seconds is definitely not taboo. Seems like an easy choice to me. Not to mention that the 8 euro spent at this trattoria is a bunch of wonderful vegetables PLUS a nice cocktail, as opposed to a big fountain drink.

Salute!

Verona

Thought everyone might like to see Verona, where Emily goes now about once a week to do research with a doctor there.  Sometimes I tag along.  It's quite a charming town!  Home of the fabled "Romeo and Juliet", a cool old castle, and a very posh shopping district.  Check it out:

The first thing you see when you go to Verona's center is this huge old Roman coliseum.  They still hold events there, like opera in the summer.


















There are other Roman ruins in the town, too...it's amazing how they'll just pop up every now and then in the middle of random places.

This is Piazza Delle Erbe, an ancient herb market.  In modern times, it's a good place to buy tchotchkes like ceramic Juliet figurines, but a better place to grab a drink as the sun goes down and watch the tourists.

















Buildings adorned with frescoes and cool sculptures...

There's a river running around the historical district, very pretty.  An interesting tradition we were told about is that young people in love put their initials or a message on a lock, lock it on a bridge, and throw the key into the water.  OK, we're not that young, but we're looking for a lock....

Juliet's house.  A popular place for love notes.

I saw a guy doing this to the statue of Juliet, and thought he was just some kind of perv....then I realized it's a tradition.  Notice how shiny the right one is!



There's also a really cool church in Verona.  It's amazing how much art and incredible architecture is contained within Italian churches.








































Some of the frescoes in the church were within easy reach, and I noticed that some people had scratched their names and other graffiti in the paintings.  But what's interesting is when they did it....

















1383!  The oldest graffiti I've ever seen by a pretty good margin.

The famous bronze doors of the church:

Finally, we have the old castle, or Castelvecchio, of Verona.  I don't know what it is about castles, but I just love them.  So when I heard Verona had one, I was all over it.  They've turned the castle into a giant art gallery, so I paid a few euro and spent the rest of the day getting some culture.

The castle entrance:


















View from inside the courtyard:

And, the art inside...



































Most of it was sublime:

But some was a little, well, simpler:

This dude was so realistic, it freaked me out a little.

One of my favorites was the two saints.  The nice guy -

And, the one you don't wanna mess with.  Saint Badassicus, I think his name was.























Emily was meeting with her professor, so I was a little lonely that day.  But, I managed to amuse myself.

















Doorway to the dungeon-























Overlooking the courtyard, the river's off to the left.  They diverted its flow and used it to fill the moat.

















Up in the ramparts, where the archers used to walk.

And finally, the armory:

So hopefully you get an idea of what Verona's like.  A very cool town, a bit touristy to live in but fun to visit.  I'll leave you with a couple of shots that left me nostalgic for my time at Honda....


Street legal?  Yup.  Personally I can't imagine anything safer.

Fast, stylish, and comfortable, I see quite a few of these over here -

Anyhow, hope everyone back home is doing well, and ciao for now!