Friday I woke up at 8:35, jumped out of my bed, and immediately called a cab. I had exactly 20 minutes to get ready and get to the train station before my train left. Right as I finished, the cab pulled up, and I jumped in. I ran into the train station, but I as I ran to the stairs that lead to my platform, I watched my train pull away. So I had to buy another train ticket and wait another half hour and hope that didn't make me too late to my flight. Luckily for my, my flight was running about a half an hour late, so I even had time to grab some lunch (though expensive) in the airport. I found my seat, put on my eye mask, and went to sleep for I had not gotten much sleep the night before between nerves and yells in my accommodation. A few hour later, my plane landed and I was in Milan, Italy. Finally, the month adventure across Europe was about to begin. My parents had a few hours left in their tour, so I took a bus into the city and went first to the Duomo Milano. It was a rather beautiful church, though kind of dark. I walked around a bit more, finally giving in to the temptation of delicious gelato. I got rasberry (I think) and chocolate.
I then met up with the parents at McDonalds (classy meeting spot, I know) and we headed to the train to catch a ride to Bologna. We walked to our hotel and pretty much passed out from our day of traveling. The next morning, we began walking around, starting in the Piazza Maggiore. We first went into the church in the Piazza, which, unfortunately, has restoration work on the entire exterior currently. We then walked around, exploring the city and the very tiny streets throughout. We ran into another church (its not very difficult, they are everywhere), that was smaller, but still gorgeous. Eventually we wound up in the market, where there were tons of fresh veggies, fruits, meats, cheeses, flowers, and fish. They all looked amazing. We then ran into a little restaurant where we shared some bruschetta and then I got some tortelloni with butter and ragu sauce with a nice glass of white wine.
We then went up the Due Torri, which is a large tower where we could see all of the city. There were so many steps and my parents definitely got a bit tired. The view from the top was quite spectacular. Afterwards we shared some pastries we had gotten before, which had lemon and chocolate fillings. So yummy. Afterwards, we headed off to another church.
The church we ran into was called St. Stephen's and the oldest part of it was from the 300s A.D., making it an extraordinary old church. It was rather large, housing multiple parts, all built in different time periods. Each time period had its own style. In the oldest part, there were some clear structural problems, and I started using my new statics skills to understand the forces causing those problems. After the church, we went shopping (more like window shopping because Italy is expensive). For dinner, we went to a nearby restaurant where I had some gnocchi (a pasta made of potato that is kind of like a dumpling) in pesto sauce. So far, that's the best thing I've had the joy of eating.
The next day was museum day. We began at an old museum that had some old artifacts, fossils, species, books, and medical and science tools. It was an odd, but rather interesting assortment. The museum was also housed in an old palace, so all the ceilings had some beautiful friezes. We then headed to the art museum, where we saw a large variety of medieval architecture.
It was then time for some lunch. We hit up a place that has seating along one of Bologna's only remaining exposed canals for some delicious sandwiches. After walking around a bit more, we headed towards a patissiere, where we each got something delectable. That night, we went out for a nice meal where I enjoyed a delicious pizza with mozzarella cheese and cherry tomatoes. Gelato came after, though I honestly couldn't tell you what type I got.
Unfortunately, Blogger is being silly and won't let me upload any pictures, so Venice, where we went today, will just have to wait until a later time.
Arrivederci,
Jessica
P.S. All the Italian I've been practicing has come into no use. Someone starts talking to me and I freak out and freeze up. Not helpful.
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