Impressions: Bergamo

We've gone native. Instead of a sequestered hotel with maid service and concierge support, we've rented an apartment in the lower city (bassa citia) of Bergamo.  Faced with the reality  of no breakfast as part of the deal, we found the grocery store (billa) and picked our way among the familar yet unfamiliar aisles of products.  Try to find skim milk in Italian.  Luckily the tomatoes and eggs look like tomatoes and eggs.  However, they do not refrigerate eggs.

A big advantage of an apartment (Italians have not yet discovered the affordable Embassy Suites) is that you have lots of room to spread out.  We've strewn clothes and stuff all over the place without having to fill up the bed.  And, we eat breakfast in, brew coffee and tea, keep in touch via wifi,  and generally make ourselves at home.  The down side is that the studio is a renovated attic, four floors up from the street with only a tiny lift covering two of the floors.  The decor is ikea, young guy black and white modern sprinkled with an old wood chest, antique wash stand and hand carved doors to the bath.  It's clean, but like any young man's place, it is missing finishes and good reading light.  The TV is completely Italian.  The parking two blocks away in a centro underground parking lot.  We are making do and proving that living "Italian" is not as romatic as imagined.

Bergamo is a mid-size city, kind of like Baltimore without an inner harbour.  The upper city is accessed via funicolare or many steep cobblestone stairs.  There the buildings date back into the 10th -13th century. New buildings are 17-18th century.  We did our fill of tourists and catherdrals -- all quite maginificant -- a testament to the Catholic Church's role in keeping the economy alive for so many centuries.  There isn't a piece of sandstone or marble that is not carved or polished in some manner.

Food is bi-polar -- Italian pastas with Swiss meats and sauces.  Didn't know if I should yodel and just say "Grazie" at the end of the meal.  As long as you wash it down with the inexpensive but surprisingly good local white wine, all is well.