One of the maps I was given shows six different "tourist itineraries" covering the classical era, the middle ages, the renaissance, the 18th century, music, and the city and river. I plan to slowly cover each one of these, maybe taking one per week while I am here.
Maps of the city look very complicated- especially since I enter the downtown area from the upper left corner of the map, so everything feels like it is upside down. After a week of exploring, here is what it looks like to me- you can definitely tell what my priorities are!
The spot marked "Duomo" and "Violin Museum" are piazzas, or squares, as well. I just don't remember what they are called, so I remember them by the big landmarks.
Church bells can be heard at various times every single day. Sometimes, it is as simple as chiming the hour, but other times, they ring for a long time! The bells right outside my bedroom window have five different pitches, and usually ring for quite a while. There's a video on my Facebook of the ones right outside my window!
Every Wednesday and Saturday, there is a HUGE market that covers several piazzas in the downtown area. It would be completely possible to live entirely off what can be bought at the market- there is food, clothing, shoes, toys, artwork... so many different things! I really enjoyed walking around and listening to everything happening around me. Clothing seems to be the biggest draw- I probably could have found everything for my new wardrobe here, for 1/4 of the cost that I paid at the mall back home, and found it all within a couple of hours rather than traveling to so many stores in two weeks! On Sundays, there is a different kind of sale every week. This past Sunday seemed to be mostly books and antique items, while I am told that other weeks are devoted to organic foods and other themes. It will be fun to see what turns up in the weeks to come!
The Po river runs past Cremona on the southwest. This river separates Lombardy, the state that Cremona is in, from the next state over, which is Emilia-Romagna. It is a gorgeous river, and there is a long walking and biking path that runs next to it. I even found a nice spot to go down to the edge of the water. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but somehow I also managed to bike out onto a sort of peninsula... but I would need a map of the park to see how that happened, which I have yet to find.
I don't really know my way around outside the downtown area. I can get to the school and to San Zeno, which is the gym/sports complex. And I do mean complex- there are volleyball courts, tennis courts, bocce ball courts, basketball courts, a rugby pitch, three different sized of football fields, three different pools, three or four outdoor playgrounds, a jogging trail, and an indoor group fitness class room. The indoor gym equipment room had a few treadmills, ellipticals, stair machines, stationary bikes, free weights, weight machines, mats, and other small equipment to use. There are probably several other fitness areas and fields that I have either forgotten or haven't yet seen. And then there is a restaurant and bar. It's a really nice place! I have gone by car to the mall, where the big grocery store is, and to Lidl, which is the same as Aldi.
The weather here is beautiful. It feels very much like fall right now! And I am told that it doesn't get that cold for that long in the winter. I mean, there's a palm tree behind the house, so it can't possibly be THAT bad. Those whom I have told about Lake Erie winters have been SHOCKED to hear that we get snow as early as October and as late as April! I've been told that it gets to "minus two or three" in the winter, which sounds dreadful at first but hey, Celsius! That's really no lower than what, 25 degrees in Fahrenheit? I can deal with that, NO problem.
So that's a general overview of WHERE I'm living. Hopefully soon I'll be able to finish writing about what I'm doing, and life in Cremona!
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