Bologna/Verona
Ciao everyone!
It has almost been a month since Ive been here, time is flying by! I want to hit pause.
This weekend I traveled to Bologna Friday night till Sunday morning, then on Sunday I headed into Verona for the day and came back to Torino late Sunday night. Both cities were very charming. Bologna was a fun University town, populated with many young people. We climbed to the top of the Tower of Asinelli and overlooked all the red roofs that make up the city. We also went into the Church of Santo Stefano known as the “Seven Churches” but it has now been changed into four churches. We also went into the Cathedral of Santo Pietro. The Cathedrals are extrodinary it is so amazing how much detail is put into them. Sorry dad but I have officially decided I’m getting married in Italy.
The night life in Bologna brought me back to my collge days, even though that was only a few months ago I am still grieving. It is a city surrounded with students having a good time. Saturday we did an Apertivo from 7-9, then took our drinks and walked around the city. For those of you who do not know what an Apertivo is I feel bad for you. It is so much better than happy hour, because for just 1 euro you get to feast on a buffett of food. Another reason I loved this city was that many of the bars we would go in would give us free drinks just for being American. Other than the drinks being amazing the food was out of this world! I did not have one bad meal. For lunch on Saturday I had fresh pasta that resembled a manacoti with ricotta cheese and fresh herbs on the inside and melted cheese all over it. It was to die for. From the pastries to the paninis to my late night cannolis, I was beyond pleased with the food, people, and overall beauty of Bologna.
Sunday we had a very short trip into Verona, but still managed to see the main attractions that Verona has to offer. We had some difficulties making our train since we were struggling from the night before, but were able to catch the one an hour later than planned. Once we got into Verona we went straight to Juliet’s house, where there is the wall with the letters to Juliet. We also partook in touching the statue of Juliet’s boob in order for her to bring us true love. After that we went to the Arena, where they have outdoor operas. It was built in the 1st century and is still used today. After all that I was really exhausted and just wanted to sit down and eat again per usual, and of course finish it off with some gelato. I think my stomach is starting to stretch because I feel like I am constantly hungry here, because everything is so good I have to eat it!
The bambini (children) have been getting even more adorable every day. I have a collection of art that they have all made me along with these bracelets that they make. They are constantly sharing their snacks with me at break time and giving me presents. There is one little girl who takes me around the school everyday teaching me italian, she loves being my little italian teacher. We play tons of games with the children to help them learn colors, animals, numbers, and objects. Some classes are more proficient in english than the others. I have to say my job is not bad at all. I get to go to school every day and have all these children tell me how much they love me and how beautiful I am. It is quite the confidence booster.
I also could not have been more lucky with the host family I ended up with. They have been very welcoming and warm. The food has been awesome and they have been very accomodating to having a stranger in their house. I wish I could communicate in italian more though! I so badly wish I knew what was going on at the dinner table sometimes haha, but each week I feel like I can understood italian more and more. Last Thursday they took me to their friends house for dinner. They have a daughter who is an au pair in New Jersey, and a son who spoke English very well. His friend who was there also spoke it well. I was shocked at how good it was. The whole time at dinner my host parents were so happy to see me being able to speak English with other people who knew it so well. I could tell cause my host mom would keep smiling at me and staring, she is seriously so sweet. Their friends were extremely friendly and the food was of course amazing. I can honestly not think of one bad meal I have had since being here. My friend and I are looking into taking a cooking class so that I can go home with their cooking skills.
Baci!