This past weekend, I went to Italy to visit Mari, my roommate from Wellesley. I left Barcelona early Friday morning and after a bus, plane, bus, train, another train, and one more bus, I met Mari in Siena. Mari’s class was on a field trip in Siena, so I tagged along on their tours of various museums and cultural sites in Siena. Mari is in an Italian program, so my understanding of the tour itself was virtually nonexistent, however, many of the students would translate a bit for me.
After the tour, we piled into a bus and returned to Bologna where Mari is studying. We got dressed then went to dinner at a restaurant where Mari’s friend is the head chef (score.). We ate 5 courses (no joke) of some of the most delicious food I’ve ever had then headed out to meet up with some of Mari’s friends at a nearby bar. Bologna is an incredibly authentic city; it’s beautiful and old, but doesn’t feel artificial or touristy like many of the other Italian cities I’ve visited. What was the biggest shock for me was that of the many Italians I met, only a handful spoke English. I was able to use Spanish and have Mari translate for me, so I wasn’t completely lost. After a night of exploring Bologna and meeting Mari’s friends, we headed home.
Between the early wake up and the late night, I had been awake for over 24 hours on Friday, so Mari and I decided to sleep in. We made breakfast then headed out to explore Bologna a bit. There’s a really cool market in Bologna on Fridays and Saturdays, so we decided to check that out. After a bit of shopping, we wandered around a little more, saw the sights, then met up with Mari’s friend, Clare, for dinner at Mari’s apartment. The girls took a cooking class as a part of their program so we (I use “we” loosely. More like “they”) made an ensalata mista and pasta with HOMEMADE tomato sauce for dinner. Yum.
After dinner, we decided to head into downtown to get our night started. Mari has two bikes and Clare has her own, so we all rode bikes into town. It only took me a few minutes to realize why Mari had to purchase a second bike. The one I rode had two flat tires, only one of the brakes worked (sometimes), and the handlebars were slanted, so when the front wheel was straight, your right hand was further forward than your left, making left turns very hard(“I’m not an ambi-turner”). After an evening of dancing, talking to the most international group of people you could imagine, and a late night kebab, we headed home to go to sleep.
We decided that Sunday was going to be our “cultural” day, so we woke up, made breakfast, then set out to see Bologna. As we were walking to the main plaza, we came across a parade and celebration. Good work guys. We had totally forgotten that is was Carnival. We bought some confetti and silly string and joined the festivities. I don’t really know a ton about the traditions of Carnivale, but all the little kids who were there were dressed in Halloween costumes and everyone was throwing confetti in the air and at each other. It was quite the time to be in Italy!
We continued to wander around Bologna, seeing the churches, plazas, government buildings, sculptures, and beautiful old buildings. After a gelato and a little more wandering, we decided to head home. Mari and I changed for dinner then had aperitivos, where you buy a drink and then get to go to town on the Italian buffet. Best 6€ ever. After dinner, we went to a bar where some of Mari’s friends work and we chatted with them for a bit while we waited for Clare. After she joined us, we headed to the Irish pub and hung out with some of Mari’s Italian and study abroad friends. One of the girls had studied abroad in Morocco the previous semester, so she and I talked about the recent political events there and I got to brag about how I was able to see it all first hand. Shortly after, we called it a night because I had an early flight to catch the following morning.
After the most frustrating day of travel (delayed trains, missed flights, crying baby next to me on the plane), I finally made it back to Barcelona. I LOVED Bologna and think that Mari chose an incredible place to study abroad, however I was so glad to be “home”. After a weekend of not understanding most of the conversations, not being able to ask for directions, and constantly being turned around, it was so nice to be back in Barca.
Nene and Juan Antonio are out of town for a few days, so I had the house to myself all afternoon. I made some lunch (I’m teaching myself to make Tortilla Espanola), did some work, Skyped with Sooz and Yiayia, then relaxed in my room for a bit. The doorbell rang at around 8:30 and two teenage girls were standing outside. They explained that they were Nene’s nieces and I was going to have dinner at their aunt’s house. On our walk over to the other house, the girls asked me where I was from. When I replied, “California” the girls gasped and started asking me if I knew any movie stars, if I knew how to surf, and kept exclaiming “¡Qué chulo!” (“How cool!”). I had dinner with three girls (two cousins and a friend) and their Aunt, which turned into a two and a half hour affair talking about everything from the role of Catalán in the area to all the American music artists the teenage girls listen to.
Mari’s coming to Barcelona this week for a few days. I had such a wonderful time in Bologna, so I want to make sure her visit to Barcelona is equally fun (it will be…).
Pues…that’s all for now. ¡Hasta!
New obsessions: talking about the political situation in Morocco (there was a surprisingly large number of Moroccans in Bologna who I spoke with about the current political atmosphere), aperitivos, my adorable shoes I bought at the Bologna market (for 3€!!!), Harp, and Bologna (I’ll say it. I loveddd that city!)
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