A Lot to Catch Up On, Part I: Italy

It certainly has been far too long since I last posted to this blog. I have been incredibly busy with the seven classes I am taking here in Lyon. Nevertheless, I wanted to make the time to write about the incredible week-long vacation I had for All Saint's Day. I had a chance to see Italy and the UK, meet up with old friends,  pay homage to some of my favorite writers, and eat some unforgettable food. 

I wish I had more time to write about every single day, but instead I will summarize and give some of the highlights.

Friday, October 26: The first day of my break. I jetted off to Bologna, Italy to visit my oldest friend, Carmella Passero, who is currently studying abroad there. 

Saturday, October 27: Carmella and I took a day trip to Venice, which was only a two-hour train ride away from Bologna!  The city is spectacular. There was only one drawback: Venice was flooding. It's not such an uncommon occurrence there, with the city sinking on one hand and the sea-level rising on the other. The city sets up wooden platforms in some of the most crowded areas, but unfortunately in other areas we had to wade into a couple feet of water, wearing boots that were not waterproof. 

Piazza San Marco, flooded

We trudged through the city, finally making it to Piazza San Marco, which had turned into a pond. Still, we managed to see the Basilica San Marco, which had really cool elaborate mosaics on the inside. I don't know much about architecture, but I was very impressed by the interesting mix of styles in the church.

Next, we managed to find the delicious restaurant that Carmella's dad recommended to us. It was really a hole in the wall down an alley that we never would have found without his help. In Italy, they automatically put a service charge on your bill if you sit down at a restaurant, but we avoided this charge because at the place where we went you can stand at the bar and eat your food. And, boy, was it delicious! I had the Pasta Del Giorno, which was ravioli filled with ham, peas, and cheese. Carmella had their fish risotto.

After lunch, we headed to Ca'Rezzonico, an old Baroque style palazzo turned into a museum. Frankly, I enjoyed the architecture and the decoration of the building more than the art housed there. It was fun to imagine what it must have been like to live in that sort of palace, either as a family member or as a servant.

We spent most of the day traversing the city, going into to tourist shops, and gazing down at the canals. By the afternoon, all the water had receded from the streets, which made walking them much more pleasant. Although it was a gray, overcast day, we could still soak in the beauty of the city. We took the vaporetto back to the train station (which was exorbitantly expensive), and had a chance to see the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge, and of course, gondolas. I definitely need to go back to see the city again, when there is better weather. Still, there were so many tourists there even on a gloomy day, that I can imagine the city must be overrun by them in the summer. It's really too bad because this cultural treasure had nothing but tourists in it, and I was one of them. 

Me, on the vaporetto going up the Grand Canal

Sunday October 27 and Monday October 28: I explored the city of Bologna. Unfortunately, all of the museums are closed on these two days of the week. I mostly just wandered around the streets, passing through different neighborhoods. I saw Bologna's two main churches: Basilica San Petronius and Santo Stefano. I really liked Santo Stefano in particular because it is an interesting compilation of churches from different eras all built in one place. I felt like I was traveling through time visiting the different parts of the church. 

I also wandered through the campus of UniBo, otherwise known as the University of Bologna. It was really neat to visit, since it is considered the oldest "university"in the world. Other places have the claim of being the oldest institution of higher-learning, but Bologna can truly claim to be the oldest university because it is where the word "universitatis" was born. It was founded in 1088! That really makes UCLA look like a baby.

Bologna was very fun to visit, although it was nerve-wracking to be on my own at times, since I don't speak any Italian. They don't receive many tourists, so not too many people speak English there. Still, I appreciated being amongst locals for once, instead of just being one of an overwhelming flock of American tourists.

The city of Bologna from a balcony

I realized that just by listening to Carmella speak Italian to her apartment mates and friends that I could already understand about 25% of what she was saying. French and Italian are a lot more similar than I would have suspected. I really loved the rhythm of the Italian language, and how it sounds. I really fell in love with Italy on my trip, and I'm hoping to take Italian next quarter.

The next installment will be about my epic day-long food tour on Tuesday October 29, which warrants a whole post on its own. More pictures will be added to this post soon!