Bologna seen from a less touristy point of viewMay 1, 2011
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| It was incredible to know that at the end of my train ride in Italy i would have a familiar face to greet me and take care of me...the dream of someone who had been figuring out strange cities on their own all week. And that is exactly what happened! Amy met me with open arms and a plan I did not need to contribute to at all. Bologna was a great change from the other cities I saw. Amy took me out the first night while we were there, to taste real Bolognaise food, but after that we cooked in her apartment! After a week in Italy and four months in Toulouse with a kitchen I was hesitant to use, this was glorious! And Amy has had a lot of time on her hands, so she had a bunch of great recipes we got to whip up. We basically had the apartment to ourselves as Amy's three apartment-mates were somehow still on Easter vacation (which ended for them the previous Wednesday, but don't ask questions). During the days we would do chill activities like touring Bologna University (the oldest running university in the world! Has been an institution of higher learning since 1050 or something like that). Other fun fact? The Pope endowed the University to be in the way of the Duomo of Bologna because the plan was to make the Duomo bigger than St Peter's in Rome. Once that happened construction was pretty much given up, so the Duomo seems oddly unfinished. Ooh Italy, you make me laugh :) Another one of our activities was climbing the biggest hill in Bologna to see the views from San Lucca, a nunnery up there. That was quite an adventure as we tried to go up two or three of the wrong hills before we found the right one, but we did find a great meadow on the way and didn't mind the detour. The views were nice, but I think the climb was perhaps better, as the day was a little hazy so you couldn't see very far. Or maybe the best part was the gelato we got on the way back down :) The evenings we spent with Amy's friends. She is on a Brown University program, so there are no other Wash U students with her, which has been really good for her, I think. The people in Bologna are also really fun, they welcomed me in right away and one night ended with a rousing card game called Revolution (or Asshole, or Monarchy, I've heard many names for it :) ) and another with a great aperativo in a local bar that had jazz music. Lots of fun was had by all. Bologna is a very rich city, although Amy couldn't tell me why. I saw more Ferraris there then I had seen in any of the rest of Italy and the architecture was amazing. Still, I didn't get a good sense for the residents, so I liked Bologna, but more because it was like being home. I do so love staying with people, if I could I would do that everywhere I go. |
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