La Dolce Vita...

Well, many things to update, many stories to tell, the question, as always is where to begin! Since the last posting I've had a visit from Griffin and his mom and sister, returned to Venice, had an amazing trip to Rome and oh yeah! TURNED 21!! But I guess I'll begin at the beginning!

Griff and his mom and sister arrived in Bologna Friday, March 13th and from there the adventures began! The first day they were pretty tired so we just took a leisurely walk around town Bologna. I showed them Piazza Maggiore and the two towers and then we just walked down and around a bit to see some of the porticos and shops and such. Later on that night we went to a place called "La Stanza," which means "the room," for an aperitivo (like a before dinner snack and drnk). We shared a bottle of wine and just relaxed. Afterward we went to the Irish Pub for a drink, had some laughs and then retired for the night so we could have a big day Saturday.

Saturday Griff and I went for pizzas at a place called Ristorante Nikolas. Poor guy, I had a minor slip up in my knowledge of Italian when I ordered the pizzas. I momentarily forget that peperoni in Italian is not the same as peperoni in America. So Griff was a little suprised to get a pizza covered in green peppers rather than spicy meat slices... Oops! After lunch we went over to Sala Borsa, the public library in Piazza Maggiore, so Griff could check out the transparent floor with ruins underneath and the city-planning display on the third floor. Very cool. Afterward, we met Flor and her friend Cengiz (who was visiting from Pennsylvania) and Griff's mom and sister at Neptune's fountain so we could head up to San Luca, the church on the top of a hill outside of the city center.

The walk to San Luca is long, but beautiful. Once you get outside the city center there are multiple city parks and many large estates surrounded by beautiful gardens. The actual hike up to the church begins outside of Porta Saragozza. There are 666 arches that make up the portico that leads to San Luca. All along the hike up you have a beautiful view over the city, mostly outside of the walls, and at the beginning there is a great view of the soccer stadium (Dall'Ara). It's a slightly grueling trek up to the top, but definitely worthwhile. The view from the top is breathtaking. You can see out over the hills around Bologna, and on that particular day there was a slight fog making the view even more mystical and beautiful. We spent awhile up top just hanging out and taking in the views before heading back down.

That night was my friend Taylor's 21st birthday so we all met for dinner at a place called Nino's, known for their large menu, good food and generosity with limoncello! Dinner was fabulous and fun, Taylor seemed to have a great time and Griff was able to meet some of the people he's been hearing about for the past few months. I think it was nice for him to finally be able to put names to faces. After dinner most of the group when over to a place called Soda Pops to dance and celebrate a bit more, but Griff and I had to head in for the night because we were planning on taking the 9am train to Venice in the morning.

Come morning, however, 9am was sounding pretty early... We ended up missing that train but finding another for 10am. We decided to go across the street to a cafe to kill some time until our train came. I was feeling rather annoyed already with the cafe because they were way more pricey than the other cafes around Bologna. I got even more annoyed when one of the baristas brought over my coffee and told me I didn't pay. I said I had and he kept telling me I hadn't. Eventually he gave up and went back to the bar. Goofy. I was really excited to see Venice again, this time during the day and I was even more excited for the other three to see it for the first time.

It's so exciting when you walk out of the train station in Venice because you are right at the Grand Canal and it is quite a sight. We were all pretty hungry when we got there, so we set out to find a good lookin' restaurant. We ended up at what appeared to be a cute trattoria (family-owned restaurant), but the woman who waited on us was definitely far from the friendliest face we would encounter on our trip. The food wasn't bad, but I am very confident better exists in Venice. The man who rang us up was much more friendly and Griff and I left only after having some delicious limoncello. After lunch we took a lovely gondola ride through the tiny canals to Ponte Rialta (one of the more famous bridges in Venice). I have to say, I didn't expect much from the gondola ride, but it really does give you a completely different view of the city. I really liked being able to see some of the buildings from the different angles. The gondolier, however, was quite the character. He wanted to talk to us, and pretty much refused to speak in Italian, even if he really had no idea what he was saying. Giorgio (the gondolier) kept shouting at Griff's mom "Hey! Lady! You understand?!" but he wouldn't always precede it with a statement or with anything at all, therefore, no, we did not understand! It went on like this for the entire gondola ride. Usually the answer was the same even when he had said something because his English was so hard to understand. I asked him to explain in Italian a few times and he would, but even after I had explained it he would continue to try to explain in English. Oh well, he made the ride interesting at least!

After the gondola ride we tried to fine La Fenice, a theater that burned almost completely during renovations because the canals surrounding it had been drained. But, seeing as how we didn't have a map and all directions point to Saint Mark's Square, we ended up in Saint Mark's Square. Not a problem though! St. Mark's Cathedral is beautiful, ornate from the outside in. Mosaics on all the archways on the outside and marble all through the inside. It was really beautiful.

I asked for directions again for La Fenice, and for the third time we got directions that ended with: "When you get around there, just ask." So off we set again, though these directions were much more clear than any of the others we'd gotten yet, possibly because we were closer now than before. Either way we actually found our way there this time! We couldn't go inside though, not without paying at least, so we just admired from afar.

After seeing what we had come to see we decided just to wander a bit, but we may have wandered a bit too much because we got ourselves pretty good and lost. I asked for directions back to the train station and the girl told me that we could just take one of the city "buses" but that it would cost 6.50 a person since we didn't have the Venice public transportation card. She thought I was crazy when I asked how to get there by walking, that should have been our signal that we should have just taken the bus. We tried to follow her directions but we never found the bridge she said we had to cross, so we just ended up more lost and wound up taking a taxi back to the station. We took the 7 o'clock train home and were back in Bologna just in time for dinner. We ate at Anna Maria's, one of my favorites here in Bologna for their homemade pasta dishes (the tortelloni are my fav!!) and desserts (we had panna cotta and Zuppa Inglese, both were quite delicious).

The next couple days we spent just relaxing in Bologna, apparently a ridiculously long hike up and down a hill followed directly by 6-7 hours straight of walking around Venice wore everyone out! Shocking!

Griff left on Wednesday around 1pm to go meet his mom and sister in Rome, so I finally did some errands I'd been meaning to do, like buy my books for my classes... I found two of them, but found out the other two I was looking for would have to be ordered and since they would come from the States it could take over a month!

So now we get to the big one: ROME!! It was so hard to sit through class on Thursday morning when all I wanted to do was get on the train and head to ROME! Flor, Corban and I were catching the train at 3:08pm, but poor Corban was feeling pretty under the weather and decided she wasn’t going to go (maybe try the next day instead). But around 2:15 she called to say she was going to try to make it! She packed and started walking to the train while Flor and I went to the grocery store to get some snacks (which turned out to be three bag-fulls) for the train.

Poor Corban made it to the platform as the train was pulling away, but she went and got another ticket right away and managed to actually get to Rome before Flor and I!

For Flor and I the adventure began long before we reached Rome, it began as we searched for a spot to sit while dragging our luggage and three full grocery bags through the narrow corridors of the train. We wound our way all the way through second class, having to make people move their luggage out of the way as we went. We definitely were on the receiving end of some pretty nasty looks… But that wasn’t the end of it. We got to the restaurant car and parked ourselves there, just decided to take our chances with sitting there for a little while. As soon as we pulled our food out, though, they made us leave. And so it began again… we started going back through the cars again, but this time settled in the first car we found with two open spots.

We ended up picking a fine car, with an Italian lady who got off after a couple of stops and a German guy who has been living in the Dolomite Mountains for the last 10 years. He got quite a kick out of Flor and me and our bags o’food. Needless to say, we were those stereotypical Americans who sat on the train stuffing our faces for 4 hours, although it was more out of necessity of needing to have less stuff to carry than anything.

Finally we reached Rome, met Corban, bought our return tickets, maps and metro passes, found our hostel, called Griff and went to meet them for some coffee and food. We were so excited to get our trip started in Rome! After we had eaten something (yes, more eating, but come on we’re in Italy!!) Griff, Flor, Corban and I went for a little walk around Rome. First stop: Trevi Fountain. I wasn’t sure what to expect since it was already dark, but turns out the touristy spots are kept pretty well lit, and can even look more spectacular that way!

We all took turns making wishes and tossing our coins over the right shoulder into the fountain, while fending off the rose peddlers who hang out, pretty much everywhere. We took a ton of pictures and shared quite a few laughs before we moved on and continued our walk to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.

It had just rained so everything had that fresh, new, magical feeling about it. It was an absolute dream come true to be standing in front of the Colosseum with a couple of good friends and Griff. It’s an incredible feeling to realize a dream you’ve had for so long.

The next day was a big one, we took on the Colosseum (actually went inside this time) and Vatican city. Unfortunately we didn’t have the greatest weather, chilly and extremely windy – almost like being back in the Midwest again!! I had heard that going in the Colosseum could be disappointing, but I didn’t find it to be so in any way, shape or form. It really took my breath away. Just to imagine everything that happened there and to be standing on the same ground was incredible. The views from the second level out over parts of the city were beautiful, even on such a windy day.

I’ve found that sometimes it’s hard to take it all in, but I’m trying not to miss a moment, taking tons of pictures and trying to keep as detailed a journal as possible, although sometimes I don’t remember to write it all down, which I’m sure I will regret later.

After the Colosseum- and some warm Irish Coffees with lunch – we hopped on a bus to the Vatican City where we made our way to Il Museo Vaticano. We discovered there was a pretty significant student discount there (Score!) if you have a student ID. The museum was packed, literally a sardine situation. It felt like we were a school of fish just winding our way through the hallways, not even stopping to really take in anything we may have wanted to look at. Everyone seemed to be on the same mission there: reach the Sistine Chapel. In one of the travel books we had it said you could spend hours in the Vatican Museum and not see everything there was to see. This was quite true. It is a massive museum, even without stopping it took over an hour to just walk through it!

My favorite room in the museum was a hallway called “The Gallery of Maps.” It was just an amazing place. There are maps all along the walls, but the part that really took my breath away was the ornate painting that covered every surface of every wall, window-frame and the ceiling. From the numerous frescoes to gold-leaf trim on the moldings, I was just amazed.

When we finally reached the Sistine Chapel (La Capella Sistina), we greeted by the shushing of guards and immediately told to “close our cameras.” Since it is technically a chapel, a place of worship, there is supposed to be no talking and no pictures, although I doubt anyone goes there to truly worship anymore. Nonetheless, I was able to snap a couple of pictures of one of Michelangelo’s masterpieces.

Flor, Griff, Corban and I did a quick walkthrough of St. Peter’s afterward, also a breathtaking sight. All the marble is amazing, along with the silence that fills the huge space, despite the masses of people and despite the lack of shushing guards. There is just something about that church, whether it be the immenseness of it or the countless works of art or the feeling of being a part of history, something there just commands immediate and full respect, even of those who are not religious.

The Colosseum and Vatican City seemed to wipe everyone out pretty good, so we split up for a bit to rest up and regain strength. Later on Griff and I shared a dinner together at That’s Amore (how very Italian of us!). His last dinner in Italy, after a full week of taking in all that he could and seeing many buildings he’s studied in his classes and seen only in textbooks.

Unfortunately the next morning we had to accompany Griff and his sister the airport and say goodbye. That was definitely not the high point of the week, but we were fortunate to be able to spend such an incredible week together in Italy.

We still had a full day after they left on Saturday morning (two actually since we weren’t heading back to Bologna until Sunday night) so we headed for Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. Of all the tourist sites we saw on our trip, I have to say these were by far the most disappointing. There were so many people that we couldn’t even see the steps! From there we walked to Piazza del Popolo (I think it’s at the north end of the city center…). This was sort of our starting point for the day. We hit quite a few places from there: the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Tiber Island, Teatro Marcello, Piazza del Campidoglio, the Forum from afar and above, and back to the hostel.

Each of the sights were quite amazing, only losing a little of their magic to the abundance of tourists filling them, with the exception of the Tiber Island. This is the island that was once a place to quarantine the ‘incurable’ people or to exile others, then it became a hospital. Today, there is still a hospital on half of the island and a police station on the other (in what looked to be one of the more original buildings).

After being to two of the bigger cities in Italy now (Milan and Rome), I have to say that one of the things I really liked about Rome was how the city has really been built up around all of the history. It is definitely a metropolitan space, but everywhere you turn there is a piece of history, whether it be a park completely dedicated to ancient ruins or a piece of a building façade connecting two newer buildings.

Sunday was our day of rest and relaxation. We had checked off all the things on our map and even some off the map, and in between we had created some memories that will stay with us all for a lifetime. We spent Sunday morning laying in the grass in Piazza dell’Independenza writing postcards and journals and just wallowing in the Roman sun. We met Griffin’s mom for lunch and the Corban and I proceeded to spend about 14 euro on pastries… oye, but oh were they good!

On Sunday night we headed back to Piazza di Spagna because we were meeting a friend of mine, Francesca, who had studied in Kenosha about 4 ½ years ago and I hadn’t seen since! We had kept in touch through a mutual friend who’s been to Italy a few times since. It was so nice to see her! We just went for drinks and an aperitivo, but it was crazy that after 4ish years of saying “One of these days I’ll be over there to see you!” I was actually there! When we left we said we’d keep in touch and see each other again when I go back to Rome to fly home.

So it’s time to go home now, back to Bologna. We all made it to the train early this time and planned to get on and find a place to sit right away so as to avoid a repeat of our ride there. It didn’t really work though because everyone had the same idea. We sat in the first compartment we found with three open spots, and then our second train adventure began.

All seemed fine at first, and then the girl across from me (and between Flor and Corban) began talking loudly on her cell phone. This went on for about an hour. Then she decided her needs were obviously more important than everyone else’s as far as being comfortable went. So off came the shoes and there she went, stretched out across from her seat to mine. Smelly feet in my face. But hey, as long as she was comfortable! Then she began the odd touchiness. Trying to pull my leg toward her, caressing Corban’s arm from under the armrest between them. And as I glanced over to my right I realized the man next to me thought everyone else in the car was quite asleep and he could do.. well.. as he pleased, we’ll suffice to say… Until he realized I was most definitely awake.

Thank goodness I was sitting in a young man’s assigned seat, but he had been very accommodating. When he came to say I was in his seat he said not to worry and opted to stand in the corridor for the first couple hours rather than make me move. But, let me tell you, when he came to say there were three open spots next door we bolted. Flor with a little more trouble than Corban and me, because the man who had been next to me had apparently taken quite a liking to her. When she got up to leave with us he grabbed both her arms and said “No! Stay! Stay!” which of course made her exit even faster.

Once we had changed cars, the rest of the ride was quite uneventful. Thank goodness. We made it back to Bologna in one piece and full of new stories and experiences, some good, some, well interesting to say the least, but all incredibly worthwhile.

Since I’ve been back it’s been time to try and buckle down a bit more with the studies and with saving money, so it’s been a bit uneventful.

Last Friday we all had a big picnic at Giardini Margherita, one of the big parks just outside the city center. It was so much fun! We kicked a soccer ball around and met some interesting locals… We decided we’re going to try and do it every Friday, or at least once a week when weather permits. I’m so glad the weather is starting to improve, not so much this week since it’s rained every day, but in general it’s been lovely.

Next on the agenda: my parents!! I’m so excited for them to be here, I think they are going to have a wonderful time seeing Italy and experiencing some of the things the Italians do on a daily basis.

Well, it’s off to study now! As always I miss everyone and hope that everything back home is going well! Love to all! Baci ed abbracci!

A few more Pictures: Venice, Ravenna, Modena

Rafael, Alissa, Me, Flor in Venice overlooking a canal

Irene, Nora, and Flor as we were exiting Modena

Church at the central piazza in Modena

Updates from Milan til Now... I know, it's been awhile!

Hey everyone! It has been awhile since my last update, and believe it or not, a lot has happened since that unforgettable trip to Milan! I have visited three more cities (one of which I am returning to tomorrow!) including Venice, Modena and Ravenna.
We'll start with Venice. This trip was the epitome of a spontaneous trip. We decided on Tuesday morning (February 17th) that we should go to Venice for the last day of Carnevale. We left after class, took the 5 o'clock train and were in Venice around 7 that night. I made some spaghetti that we mixed and ate on the train, which in and of itself was quite the adventure! But it worked out and we were quite full when we reached Venice.
Unfortunately that meant that it was dark when we arrived, but to me the city was beautiful all the same. I have never seen anything like it before. Flor and I bought our masks as a stand outside of the station and we continued on our way to the more central piazzas. I had heard similar things about Venice as I had heard about Milan. That it would be disappointing and I shouldn't get my hopes up, and who knows maybe I listened a little and my expectations were set low, but as far as I can tell the city far exceeded an expectations I had going in. I expect that when I return (I am planning on making at least two return trips) it will prove to be one of the more beautiful locations Italy has to offer. Even if you don't find it to be beautiful, I don't think you can go and not walk away with an appreciation for the architecture and layout of a city built on the water.
The night proved to be a bit clammy while we were there, but the people came out to celebrate Martedi' Grasso nonetheless (Fat Tuesday). The costumes were hilarious, we were not among the classy elite who come from all of the world in hand stitched, elaborate gowns and masks. Instead we were mingling with the regular folk, the youngster who come from all over as Teletubbies, iPods, Elvis and Chickens. It was a fun crowd to say the least. Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) was full of people and all of the surrounding porticos were bathed in lights. The Beatles cover band created an incredible atmospher and sounded amazing. I loved that no matter what language any given person we saw spoke, everyone sang the Beatles together. It's funny how certain bands that represent certain things have the ability to bring people together.
There was, of course, one small snag in our night. Our friend left her wallet, with her passport inside, in one of the public bathrooms. She didn't realize this until after the bathrooms were closed for the night, but luckily when we went back to the bathroom and banged and banged on the door someone came and told us they had found the wallet and given it to the police. She was incredibly lucky, but hey what's a spontaneous trip without some kind of crazy adventure?
We took the 3am train back to Bologna and were all home and in bed around 5:30 that morning.
Now, on to my calmer day trips! We went to Modena, which is about an hour away, in order to find some delicious Balsamic vinegar because that is where it is all made. The city was very small and quiet, not much to see. We went to a restaurant that looked like one of those cute little ma and pop places you dream of finding down the side streets of Italy. But BEWARE. This was no such place. Well, technically it was, but not the kind we were hoping. There was a set menu of about 3 items and when we said we didn't want a second plate the waiter seemed quite angry with us. He hadn't explained that along with the set menu, there was a set price of 15 euro, whether you ordered the second plate or not. So we each paid 15 euro to eat a subpar plate of pasta and an average dessert. Lovely. So now we know: No menu outside means PROCEED WITH CAUTION! We continued our search for aceto balsamico after lunch, but to no avail. All the places we were pointed to were closed for the day. We turned back to the train station ready to hang our heads when we noticed a wine shop which tons of balsamic on display. Jackpot! The shop owner was extremely nice, explaining the difference between all the different types of vinegar. And the cherry on top was that we walked out the door with free Baci candies in addition to our balsamic vinegar.
The last of the day trips I have taken up til now is Ravenna, where I am planning to return tomorrow. Ravenna, which used to be the capital of the Roman Empire, was a beautiful little town. Our timing wasn't so great because we arrived just after all the restaurants had closed for lunch and we reached Dante's tomb 9 minutes after the gates had closed and Basilico San Vitale 15 minutes after it was closed for the day. It turned out to be alright though. It was the kind of town you didn't mind walking through without any particular destination in mind, plus they had soy milk at all of their cafes! Naturally this was good news for Flor (who is vegan) and me (who is lactose intolerant). We ended up walking through the National Museum for a good long while and seeing all kinds of artifacts including some really ornate furniture. Tomorrow we will be going back to see all of the things that we missed the first time: mosaics at Basilica di San Vitale, Dante's tomb, good food! and more. Corban (a friend I met here), is very excited to go again because she wrote her thesis on the mosaics in Ravenna. There are apparently 8 wrold heritage sites in Ravenna and we will try to see what we can. If we have time we will be taking the bus to the sea, for the three of us going it will be the first time we are seeing it!! I am very excited to go again.
As far as things are going here in Bologna, I'm still working on the language. I feel like it's something that comes and goes. There are times I can really look at myself and see a great improvement from the beginning, but then there are still those times when I realize how far I still have to go. I have started almost all of my classes now, and they are going well so far. I have yet to speak with my Universita' di Bologna professor, but I plan to do so this week along with buying my books for the course. It's going to be a very different kind of semester, where self-discipline is key. That of course is easier said than done, especially when there are so many other things that I want to do, like travel. We'll see how it goes though. Next week there is a pizza party with our program where we can meet the Italian students who will be studying in the U.S. in the Fall. I'm really excited to meet the two students who will be going to the University of Minnesota, I'm hoping I will be able to practice my Italian with them and they can practice their English with me and we can continue in the Fall.
Griffin and his mom and sister are coming next week, and I couldn't be more excited. I've been trying to figure out what we should do and where we should go, but thats the really great part about Italy. The trains are frequent and cheap so it's easy to just get up and say "hm, lets see where do we want to go today?" and then just do it! It's going to be fun to be able to show him where I've been living and for him to be able to meet some of the people I've talked about and hang around with here. I think him and his sister are really going to love it here. His mom is a pro at Italy at this point, this will be her sixth trip here I believe, but it will the the first time for the other two. I am going to meet them in Rome after they leave Bologna with a couple of my friends from Bologna. I'm hoping to meet up with a girl who studied in Kenosha for a summer a few years ago who lives in Rome, while I am there.
We met today and sort planned some trips. I am planning three trips for sure right now: Rome in March and Napoli/Pompeii and Sicily in April. So there are definitely a lot of really cool and exciting things on the horizon over here. The girls I am planning on doing most of the traveling with are all in agreement that traveling outside of Italy is best saved for after our program ends so that we can really focus on learning and emersing ourselves in Italian right now.
I think that is all for now, but I really will try to be better about updating, especially after some of these upcoming trips and adventures!
As always I hope all is well with everyone back home! Love to all! Baci!