Vita a Cagliari

June 05, 2017

Vita a Cagliari

Shortly after arriving in Cagliari, I wrote about my first impressions of the city, and Italian culture in general. Now that I have had a few more weeks to eat, explore, and experience the city, I have made some observations that at first weren't so readily apparent. They are, in no particular order:

Inconvenient Hours: Pretty much all businesses shut down in the afternoon. After around 2 P.M., restaurants and shops close for a few hours. If you want to get something, you're gonna have to wait until 5 or 6 to get it. If you've lived here your whole life I'm sure you know this and adjust accordingly, but it's been frustrating to walk somewhere only to find that they are closed, for whatever reason, at 3 P.M. on a Tuesday afternoon. This past Saturday I wanted to rent a bike to explore the city a little more, but got to the bike rental at 1:30. They closed at 1, so I was forced to go elsewhere. Not quite the convenience and service we're used to in the U.S.

Late Dinners: Dinner is never eaten earlier than 8 P.M. As I mentioned above, most restaurants close for the afternoon, so even if you want to eat earlier, you may not be able to. Many places don't reopen until 7:30 or 8 at night, and even if you eat then, you won't see many Italians before 9. So far, our latest group dinner ended at 11:30.

Stoop Kids: when you get to the pizza place at 10 but it's too crowded to eat inside.

Night Life: Given that dinner is eaten so late, it's only natural that people are out socializing late as well. The most bustling time for Piazza Yenne (the main square near us) is after midnight. The other night while we were out around 1 A.M., every table in the square was filled, people were sitting on benches, on stairs smoking, and just generally milling about. It's something you would expect to see at 6 or 7 P.M. on Newbury Street in Boston. And it's not just young people who stay up late- groups of adults in their 40's, 50's, and 60's are hanging out, drinking, and generally enjoying themselves. I saw a 70+ year-old man in an all white suit smoking a cigarette and drinking a glass of wine at 1 A.M. Classy!

PDA: Something that stands out about the people I see: the number of couples and their interactions. Everywhere we go there are couples holding hands, eating dinner, shopping, getting drinks, etc. They're not afraid of PDA either. It's not uncommon to see a couple sitting on a bench kissing passionately, legs entwined, with no regard for people passing by. In U.S. culture, it's generally frowned upon to do much more than hug or lightly kiss a partner in public, so it's strange to get glances into such intimate parts of strangers' lives.

Ted, Scott, and Emiliano embraced Italian culture and got handsy applying sunscreen

Street Vendors: There are a number of immigrants in the city, who are very visible in the whitewashed Italian society. Most that I see work as street vendors, peddling trinkets, candy, toys, car accessories, and flowers to people. However, while in the U.S. street vendors are either antagonized or just ignored, here they seem to be a part of the economy. I regularly see people stopping to buy things from the guys (because they're all men) and their duffel bags. Even more interesting is the relationships these vendors have with restaurants. While in the U.S., restaurants would chase away anyone who came in and tried to solicit business from customers, that's not the case here. Hosts greet vendors who come into restaurants selling flowers, gum, and tiny souvenirs directly to patrons eating their meal. It's strange to see them treated so cordially instead of just being driven away.

Smol Doges: Last but not least, there are dogs everywhere here. People are always out walking the dogs, or wandering around with them shopping. While I've seen some larger dogs like labradors and mastiffs, the majority are tiny. It's rare for any of them to bark or be aggressive. They're all so happy looking and seeing them brightens my day.