Hello, again, from Florence. It has been another successful week of classes and exploring the beautiful country of Italy. To update on my time thus far, I have gotten into the groove of classes and continue to find my way around the city streets.
This weekend, the team (a nickname we’ve given ourselves) of Maia, Morgan, Jessica, Liz, Nicole, and I took a train to Bologna, Italy. Much to the dismay of my 8 year-old-bologna-sandwich-loving self, this town in Italy is know for much more than the American sandwich meat. (Bologna is pronounced ba-lone-ya!)
Our day began with the simple goal of finding the correct train at the Florence train station. Although I mastered the subway system in New York this summer, choosing the correct track was a little more difficult with everything written in Italian. We eventually asked a nice Italian conductor to point us in the right direction. The train ride was an hour long with gorgeous views of the countryside. Our seats were all spread out, except, of course, for Maia and I. We like to think the big guy upstairs knows we cannot function without one another.
Upon arriving in Bologna, we noticed the city felt less “historic” than Florence. Bologna was more developed and presented more of a city atmosphere. The streets were busy and the buildings looked less than 50 years old. Our first stop was a quaint coffee shop where we blindly ordered pastries and drinks. “Blindly ordering” means pointing at a dessert and smiling. Elementary level Italian has yet to cover “how to order” so, for now, the team is clueless.
After eating, we explored the city. We found a plaza with a beautiful Cathedral and Michelangelo statue. Also, we saw the tallest leaning tower in Italy that can be climbed. It reminded me of the Shot Tower in Dubuque. Being poor college students, we were too cheap to climb the tower and took Instagram pictures of it instead.
Bologna had great stores with European fashion influence. My Italian fashion history professor told our class that if we nod upon touching a piece of clothing it means we would like to buy it. I was terrified of accidentally buying something that cost more than my college tuition in these ritzy stores. Luckily, we did find stores that were in our price point!
As we walked around the city, I noticed the collision of old and new. It was interesting to walk out of a 21st century store and run into a 14th century Cathedral hidden in the crowds of tourists. I think this adds to the character of the city and is very different from city life in America.
Following shopping, we found a quaint restaurant called Rosa Rose with an English menu (which is always a plus). For dinner, I ordered a white wine and green lasagna. I tried to properly pair the food and wine as I am taking a class about this subject. It was delicious and well priced. In Italy, the bill is always all together and they do not split by person. Hopefully after this experience I will be better than my dad at mental math.
With more Italian travel experience under my belt, I am beginning to notice how much I’ve absorbed from traveling with my parents. By this I mean that I wouldn’t be as confident or adventurous with traveling if it wasn’t for the trips I took as a kid. Going places where few people speak English is a hard thing along with trying to navigate aimlessly. That said, I have never felt anxious or scared while traveling but rather I’ve been put in situations where I’ve had to think “What next?” or “How do I make this work?”.
I know I will learn as much about myself as I will about the world outside of Iowa during my time abroad. I look forward to the adventures to come. Recently, we’ve made plans to travel to Paris, Switzerland, Venice, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast. Stay tuned for more Italian updates.
Today is the Iowa versus Iowa State football game. Although I’m 4000 miles away… go State!
Sending all my love,
Mary Kate
Here are a few pictures from Bologna, Italy.
