I Climbed A Hill!

My goal for my last few weeks in Italy has been to see as much of it as possible. "Possible" signifies going places that don't have a train fare of over 10 euros and don't take more than 2.5 hours to get to.

Bologna very easily fits that description and, even though I've been there a bunch of times, I've never climbed the "church on a hill" that so many people talk about. Said church is the Santuario di Madonna di San Luca and I pass it every time I take the train into Bologna.

I decided to climb the hill in 90 degree heat, so I was thankful that Bologna is a fan of covered walkways.

I was sweating profusely by the time I got to the top, but it was worth it!

After my climb, I treated myself with a trip to Eataly. I bought a book of pastry and pasta recipes, but was excited as well to see the Italian version of "The Omnivore's Dilemma."

The next day I went to Parma. The most exciting part of the trip may have been this orange and fig soda drink thing.

It was amazing.

Or maybe the amazingness was exaggerated because I was about to keel over from dehydration.

Then I found a botanical garden.

I haven't seen that much green in one place for a long time.

I'm going to miss these streets when I get home...

I'm super jealous of Parma's Parco Ducale.

No offense Modena, but it kicks your Giardini Ducali's butt.

This tree had a sign on it that said "i 30 sogni dell'albero:" 30 dreams of the tree. There were 30 little paper creatures in the tree to represent the dreams.

Visiting towns has gotten a little bit easier since they've finally decided that it's hot enough to put on the air-conditioning in stores (usually). Though it's always a mystery when I step on the train...

-Meri

My Penultimate Visitors!

My aunt and uncle, Cary and Margie, have been traveling all over Italy since June 11th. They started in Rome and are currently in Venice. They stopped in Bologna for a few days and I convinced them to head over to Modena a couple of times.

First, we met up in Bologna, and Cary began his insistent photo-taking.

We had some cappuccino far too late in the day, just like Americans should.

I showed them around town. That's the face I make when someone asks what something is and I have absolutely no idea.

It happens pretty frequently.

In Modena, we visited some of my favorite places, like Bar Tiffany.

And Mercato Albinelli.

We ate cherries, apricots, and strawberries.

Then we went to an amazing lunch at this place, Il Fantino. It's tucked away on a tiny side street and has incredible food.

Oh, and apparently there was an earthquake that we didn't feel...

-Meri

Final Adventures with Beth and David

Beth, David, and I had lots of fun in their last few days in Italy.

Bethy showed me the Anatomical Theater in Bologna where they used to do surgeries. So creepy.

There was stadium-style seating all along the walls of the room, allowing the audience to view the operation table perfectly. Still creepy.

We went to Ferrara!

The castle had a moat. I don't think I've ever seen a real moat before...

I love Italian cities because pretty much all of the sites (at least for smaller cities) are in one spot--the historical center. It makes it very easy to reach everything by foot. Like this beautiful cathedral!

On Saturday, we tried to go to Florence. We failed. The tickets were completely sold out. I've never experienced that before.

So we went to Ravenna. It actually turned out to be a good last-minute decision--it's a great little town and much less packed than Florence would have been.

Dante's tomb!

We were looking for a place for lunch, but not in a very efficient manner. We were wandering without any destination in mind. At one point, I realized we had wandered out of the center and there didn't appear to be any restaurants around anymore. So I brought up my googlemaps and noticed a trattoria right around the corner. We checked out the menu and decided to go for it.

Thank God we did. It was one of the best meals that I've had in Italy. And it was served by the most adorable Italian man of all time.

At Trattoria al Cerchio we got prosciutto bruschetta to start. Incredible bread drizzled with olive oil served with freshly sliced prosciutto. Like everything here, it was totally simple and completely delicious.

I got passatelli, one of my favorite new dishes. I have a feeling that one of the reasons you don't find it in American restaurants is because it isn't pretty enough.

This one was delicious, with the tastiest chicken broth. We got two vegetable sides and veal as seconds. I was full, but I still finished both plates of perfectly cooked veggies.

My aunt and uncle told our waiter/host that the meal was delicious. He didn't speak English, but told me in Italian that all the food was made from the heart. Seriously. The most adorable human on the planet.

Ravenna is famous for mosaics.

Well, this one's a painting, but it was in the basilica with other mosaics.

There's a mosaic!

That is some amazing craftsmanship.

We had our last meal together in Bologna. Roasted veggies to start.

Then gnocchetti for me with tomato, mozzarella, and basil. Like little pillows of happiness, those gnocchetti.

Then Bethy convinced me to take a sip of Lemoncello. I then proceeded to spit it out/choke on it. Blech. You just can't take me anywhere.

Beth and David were supposed to fly out yesterday, but their flight got cancelled. Hope they arrive safely today!

-Meri

It's Spring Time!

The change of season means a few things.

First, FLOWERS! I really love the wildflowers that are growing around my residence. They seem to be mowing the grass a lot nearer to town but I hope they leave the fields near me alone.

Spring also means gelato is even more enjoyable. Nothing cools you down like a cone of delicious gelato.

Fresh fava beans are alive and well. I will soon post a recipe. I can tell you part one right now though: dedicate at least 2 hours to peeling (adjust accordingly to the amount of favas you have) and expect to pay an exorbitant amount for a kilo (or pound) of favas and find yourself left with a handful of edible beans.

But boy are they delicious!

Spring also meant that Amelia and Sarah were on Spring Break!

I convinced them to make a day trip to Bologna while they were staying in Florence for a few days.

We also got to enjoy the glory that is gelato.

Sarah got hers made into a frappé (milkshake).

Classic cone for Amelia.

I got Nutella and Bananita. I was a little disappointed with the flavors, but happy to eat something cold.

And you can't tell from this picture, but there's all outside seating now! This morning I got pancakes with banana and chocolate. I enjoyed my dish from an "American Menu" while sitting outside of Juta Café.

Yay Spring!

-Meri

Farewell, Amanda

I know. I can't believe it either. Right now, Amanda is on her way back to the United States. Crazy.

But, in between the last post and this morning, we accomplished quite a bit! Here is a short summary.

We went to Parma.

It was a cute little town.

It had gelato. So we of course took advantage of that. You know, it's not like gelato is easy to find in Italy...

Cool clock tower.

It was also just absolutely beautiful out. Probably the best weather we had.

You can't really tell from this picture, but there is a sundial on this building.

And this is a horrible picture, but I was really excited to see Prosciutto di Parma hanging in all of the restaurants!

Tiny beer! I swear I'm not drunk in this photo.

Antipasto: prosciutto di Parma and parmigiano. Could life get any better?

(Answer: no.)

My pizza: prosciutto cotto, parmigiano, and an egg! I love eggs on my pizza and this was the first time I saw it available in Italy!

I bought a block of parmigiano because, well, I was in Parma. I had a whole conversation with the young man who worked at the store. Before I bought it, I asked if this parmigiano was good to eat plain or with bread, etc. Well. It was as if I had uttered the most blasphemous comment known to man.

Dude in store: "Con pane???" *insert utterly confused face*

I just stood there and nodded while my face turned bright red.

Then he said: "Oh, anch'io." ("Me too.")

Well, sir, if you're going to taunt me, at least don't admit to committing the same act yourself.

I'll give him a break though. He was very cute.

The next day was super rainy and our time in Reggio-Emilia was generally unsuccessful because we basically just sat in a cafe the whole time. Not that cafe sitting isn't awesome. It's just not great for photo-taking.

When we got back, we went to Cafe Concerto to dry off for a few hours.

Mmmmmmmm aperitivo.

Amanda got a Cosmopolitan.

I got a Long Island Iced Tea. It was absolutely disgusting.

Friday, we went to Florence!

Adorable pony.

Ponte Vecchio!

Cat on a leash. Our favorite part of Florence.

My favorite site in Florence--the church on a hill.

I don't have any pictures, but Ana showed us around later in the day. Thanks Ana!

Saturday we headed over to Bologna. The flowers behind Amanda were purple so I had to take a picture.

These are the tops of the tents of the massive flea market in Bologna. I got myself a 3-euro sweater.

When we got to the center of town, we saw this guy and his show. He was pretty great.

His dog was even better.

That is one talented chin.

This morning I met Amanda at the bus station to say a final goodbye.

I was sad to see Amanda go. I will see her in four months...

-Meri