How to Put Yourself in a 3-Day Food Coma

Although I wasn't in the United States to partake in the traditional Thanksgiving feast, I had 3 amazing meals those Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Meal #1: Thanksgiving. For Thursday, November 24th, the wonderful directors Maiju and Peggy for our UC Education Abroad Program organized a Thanksgiving dinner for all of us UC students. Since we were all missing our families and traditional cuisine, we were so grateful to be together and eat amazing food. We had a restaurant all to ourselves, and the Italian chef "reinterpreted" American Thanksgiving. Here were our courses:

1. Mushroom soup with croutons (Italian version of stuffing).

2. Sea urchin and pumpkin risotto (quite good, quite fishy--not quite enough pumpkin).

3. Turkey filled with a mascarpone sauce, topped with a blueberry sauce, and paired with mashed potatoes (BEST course!)

4. Dessert: Carrot/lemon pound cake type thing with mascarpone sauce and cranberries.

5. Dessert #2: Pear pie another student made and pumpkin pie that I made (there was no way I wasn't going to have some pumpkin pie this year)

Our directors even managed to get cranberry sauce!! Maia and I were excited to put it on our turkey.

Meal #2: Sushi! The following night, Allison, Maia, and I went out to a Japanese restaurant with cousin Matteo and some of his friends. For 22 euros, we could order as many plates as we wanted. Unfortunately, I forgot to document this eating experience. But in short, we had some very good sushi, sashimi, tempura, tuna and chicken teriyaki, and edamame! For that price and the fact that Bologna isn't exactly known for its marine-animal cuisine, it was all very good and we were in our 2nd food-coma within the last 24 hours.

Meal #3: Mexican! On Saturday, it was cousin Claudio's birthday, and so he kindly took the family out to Mexican food because Allison and I had mentioned that we missed it here and he knew of a place. So after a 30-minute drive (in which Allison and I were a little nervous at the speed we were taking on the narrow, dark, curvy roads), we arrived at a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and were greeted by a very nice Italian man and the sweetest Mexican woman. In her home (I think it doubles as a bed and breakfast), she cooked the most amazing meal for us: homemade corn and flour tortillas, avocado and tomato salad, rice with carrots and peas, ground beef, refried bean dip, tortilla chips with mildly spicy salsa, and this incredible meat that she cooked in tin foil, and when I tried to fork the meat to put it on my plate, it fell apart it was so tender. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I still daydream about the avocado and tomato salad. Then for dessert, she had made flan and a coconut cake (I would have eaten the whole thing if I hadn't been so full from dinner). To top it off, they brought out the alcohol: tequila, grappa, more tequila, and some other homemade liquor.  As a college student, the tequila I usually drink (cough, I mean have tried maybe a couple times in safe settings, cough) burns going down your throat--even after licking the salt, taking the shot, and biting the lime. But no, THIS tequila was in a fancy glass bottle and it went down sooo smoothly. Of course the last course of the dinner was an espresso (which the Italian cousins weren't impressed with, along with not enjoying all of the flavors of the rest of the meal, while Allison and I gobbled up everything put in front of us). This was one of the best Mexican meals I've ever had...and I had it in Italy. Imagine that! I wish the place was closer to me so I could go back every 2 weeks, and I wish that the woman was my best friend--she was so sweet and she appreciated that Allison and I loved everything and thanked her after every course.

The feast and the feast-ers (Matteo, Claudio, Luciana). 

Of course a sombrero was put on the head of the birthday-boy...

...and then we all wanted a turn. (Matteo)

My turn!

Allison with our tequila and a mini sombrero.

I hope everyone reading this didn't start off hungry...maybe I should have put a disclaimer at the beginning. Now I'm trying to avoid keeping my food-baby by going for runs and eating smaller meals.

And now my blog has officially caught up with my life. I'm currently writing this in procrastination from studying Dante (my exam is on December 5th--gahh!), but now that I have no more food stories, I better get back to studying. Arrivederci tutti!

A Graduation, a Chocolate Festival, and a Concert

The half-week of November 16th-19th was filled with food, chocolate (obviously its own food category), and a Fleet Foxes concert.

First up: Cousin Matteo graduated from Scienze della Comunicazione at the University of Bologna (which I believe is the equivalent of a Masters Degree). So of course there was a celebration dinner. For these dinners, Allison and I are picked up in Bologna's center by either Matteo or Claudio and taken to some restaurant out in the hills, from which we would never find our way home if it weren't for Matteo or Claudio giving us a ride home. We're always just along for the ride and enjoying the experience! And this graduation dinner was lovely. They had rented out a whole restaurant and one of Matteo's good friends, Daniele, is an up-and-coming chef and he cooked the entire meal for us. We arrived at the restaurant, we were handed a glass of wine and we saw a table filled with homemade bread, meats, cheeses, tomatoes, salads, more bread, and more cheese. That was the first, all-you-can-eat course. The second course was pasta with salmon, and then dessert consisted of 2 different types of cakes and a puff pastry. I only had room for part of a piece of one cake, one puff pastry, and a taste of the 2nd cake. Matteo had about 35 of his friends and family there, and of course toward the end of the evening, cousin Elio brought out his guitar and people were playing and singing all together. It was so wonderful to be included in the celebration!

The food.

Me, Matteo (with some kind of traditional hat?), and Allison

Second item of business: heaven on earth. Also known as a chocolate festival here in Bologna ("Ciocco-show"). It happens once a year, and for 5 days in Piazza Maggiore there are 2 huge tents plus many more rows of tents containing tables and tables covered in chocolates. As Tarn termed it when I told her about this mouth-watering event, it was a "glimpse of heaven." The first day I went with my friend Maia, and we were so overwhelmed by all the different types of chocolate and the fact that they were all in one place. We chose to buy a few select items (which were eaten immediately) and then to return in the following days because we needed to mull over what we wanted to buy. We decided that if calories weren't a problem in consuming massive amounts of chocolate, then the amount of money spent on this chocolate wouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately, these chocolates were fairly expensive and calories do add up. I ended up returning twice more to this paradise, but limited myself to buying only 1 or 2 small bags of chocolates at a time (and I didn't feel guilty about getting chocolate-covered strawberries).

Only one of the many, many tables of chocolate.

Last but not least: Fleet Foxes concert with Allison and Maia! We were joined by some other good girlfriends and we all took the bus out to the venue, just outside the center of Bologna. I hadn't listened to Fleet Foxes at all before a couple months ago when Maia and Allison introduced it to me. We all thoroughly enjoyed the concert, including the opening act (aside from the 10 minutes we spent dealing with a rude, drunk Italian woman trying to push her way to the front, elbowing us purposefully, thinking she could overpower me by leaning against me because I was standing my ground, slurping her empty drink in Maia's ear--into which Maia promptly flicked her hair--and calling us bitches in Italian when we wouldn't let her stand right in front of us). After the concert, we were able to catch the bus back into town after waiting for 30 minutes in the cold and thick fog for a taxi, but as soon as we saw our bus pass us and stop just down the street, about 20 of us stampeded toward it because we didn't want to miss it!

Allison, Maia, and me at the concert.

Another blog post coming soon! I'm almost caught up now... :)

England!

I apologize that it has taken me a solid month to update my blog. I'll be chain-blogging about everything that has happened between now and then!
Three weeks ago, I took a long weekend to visit England to see my good friend Phil, his city Canterbury, and that other semi-important city they have over there: London.

I left Bologna on Thursday,  Nov. 3rd, and as soon as I stepped onto the plane I was greeted by the English-speaking Easyjet staff. When I arrived at the London Gatwick airport, I had a little time to kill before Phil was able to pick me up. So I naturally went to the cafe in the arrivals section and ordered tea (and a mozzarella, tomato, and basil panino...I guess I have a natural tendency for Italian food). I thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by English (and so many interesting accents!) and being able to understand everyone around me without having to make my brain work extra hard. Within the first 10 minutes off the plane, I could feel my brain relax so much that I was afraid it would come out my ears. I hadn't realized how stressful it had been being constantly surrounded by a new language where I'm constantly translating from one language into the other and worrying about whether someone will understand me or whether they will look at me like I'm the dumbest person on earth.

The "beach" and the North Sea.

So once I had finished my first (cue British accent) pot of tea in England and Phil had arrived, he drove us past Canterbury so I could see the North Sea. As expected, it was drizzling, but I took a few pictures, breathed in the fresh air, we walked down the street a bit, and then returned to the car. That evening, we ate gnocchi for dinner (it's harder to get away from Italian food than I thought!) with his parents, sister, and grandmother. Phil had work that night, so the rest of us went to a pub and inadvertently walked into the quiz night. So we sat down, had a drink or two (I had my first cider), and joined in attempting to answer the quiz questions (which were mostly out of my age-group and about English soap operas, English history, and English athletes--good thing Phil's parents were able to carry our team).

The fields and orchards outside Phil's house.

The next day Phil gave me a tour of his city, Canterbury, which, as he told me, is officially a "city" instead of a "town" because it has a cathedral. Then we wandered around the streets and shops, stopped to have afternoon tea with scones, raspberry jam, and clotted cream, and I tried strawberry bonbons for the first time. One of the most important things Phil and I discussed aside from the places I should see (and what could be left for next time) was what new food I needed to try. As of Friday evening, I was able to check off from my list: a pot of tea, cider, clotted cream, bonbons, fish and chips (which we ate for dinner), and we had purchased mini minced pies (to be eaten the following day).

The gorgeous cathedral that makes Canterbury a city.

Saturday, we woke up and caught the train into London. We arrived at St. Pancras station, walked around the corner--while eating our minced pies--and there we were at Kings Cross Station. Of course, I took a picture at Platform 9 and 3/4. Then we got onto the "tube" and went to Westminster Abbey. Walking out of the tube station, we had a view straight up at Big Ben. While I was snapping a couple pictures of the London Eye across the Thames river, Big Ben struck noon. We wandered along the side of the Parliament building and then cut over to Westminster Abbey (the church where Kate Middleton and Prince William got married) and there were people setting up rows of crosses for the unknown soldiers for Veteran's Day. Next, we walked to Trafalgar Square and then over to Buckingham Palace. The walk from the Square to the Palace was one of my favorite parts because all the big trees lining the street were red, orange, and yellow with their Autumn leaves and were starting to lose them. I'm sure Phil got tired of hearing me say "Wow, it's so pretty!" Then he got to hear me say it more when we walked through a park from the Palace to another tube station, which we took to find the Chipotle for lunch. I was so happy to have some familiar mexican food (aka a burrito). After a satisfying lunch, we walked to Piccadilly Circus and saw a 19th century car show--complete with the drivers dressing for the part--and we checked out the shops on Carnaby Street.

Obligatory picture with Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Big Ben strikes noon.

My first picture with a red telephone booth (and Big Ben in the background).

Phil and me outside Buckingham Palace.

The "really pretty" park with the trees that I couldn't stop commenting on.

After seeing the main tourist sites of London, Phil and I caught the tube out to a soccer (sorry, "football") stadium to meet his dad to watch a Manchester City match (this is the Premier League team that Phil's family is loyal to). Despite our view of the field being halfway obscured, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the match (and seeing Manchester City win) and laughing at the adorable, hyperactive boy waving his arms for the full 90 minutes in front of me.

Mother of the boy to the father: "YOU'RE the one who gave him the sugar..."

Me with the "football pitch" after the match.

The following morning, I packed up my backpack, Phil made us a typical English breakfast (fried egg, english muffin, sausage, bacon, potatoes, toast, and of course tea), and he drove me to the airport. It felt like such a short trip, and it unfortunately was, but I plan to visit again at least one more time this Spring. Phil's family was so generous to let me stay with them, and it felt amazing to be in a home and to be in a country where I knew I could say exactly what I wanted to say (without reducing my thoughts into sentences a 5-year-old would say) and it would be understood exactly how I meant it. It was also wonderful to see the countryside and all the green fields and to breathe the fresh air outside a smoggy city. I wish it could be a once-a-month vacation! But alas, time and money are required for that--both of which I'm trying to meticulously manage.

More updates on the last 3 weeks coming soon! Much love to all.

Classes

Well, here I am 5 weeks into classes and I'm just starting to comprehend a good portion of what the professors are saying. Progress!

Let me start by explaining how the Italians organize (for lack of a better word) their university system. First of all, I haven't signed up for classes yet. That's right, that happens sometime in November. But I've been attending classes since the end of September. Somehow, before arriving in Bologna, no one thought it relevant to mention this to us UC students, where signing up for classes requires you to sit in front of your computer, watching the clock tick toward the time of your first sign-up period, ready to pounce with the course numbers of what classes you want to take ready in front of you with 1st choice, 2nd choice, and 3rd choice. Knowing that we don't sign up until much later might have saved me a bit of stress this summer when I was worrying that all the classes I would want to take would fill up.

So, how DOES it work? Basically, in September we found what classes we would want to take/sounded appealing and then went to the lectures to see if we liked the style of the professor. On the first days, all the professors laid out for us the format of the class and what was required. (Quick side note: there are students here who are "attendees" and "non attendees." "Non attendees" have a heavier work load with the readings, so all of us exchange students are encouraged to be "attendees" and even go talk to the professor about the material because they can cut it down for us more or allow us to focus on what we're interested in.) If you like the sound of the class, you keep taking it. If you don't, you just don't go anymore. Whenever we actually "sign up for classes" in November, isn't so much as signing up for the "classes we have been taking", but more for "which classes we want the option of taking the exam". For example, I'm currently taking 3 classes. If suddenly I realize that one of them won't count for my major and I REALLY need this other class (that I haven't been attending), I can "sign up" for it in November, take the final exam for that class, potentially pass, and I'll get full credit for it. If I don't have a class on my "sign up" list, I'm not allowed to take the final exam for it.

The final exams sound oh-so fun. They are all oral exams (and the only part of class that is graded). So I'll get to sit down with the professor (possibly with the rest of the class sitting in the classroom studying themselves or watching me), and the professor will ask me some questions about the material (the exams usually take about 15 minutes). Most of the "material" is from the readings, and very little will be about the lecture. This is why professors can tailor the final exam to the student: if I had previously asked a professor if I can focus on a few chapters of the book and skip the rest, he/she will just ask me questions about those chapters. If I demonstrate that I know the material assigned to me, I'll get a passing grade. If I don't like the grade the professor gives me, I have 2 choices: 1) I can tell him/her to ask me something else so I can demonstrate that I actually know what I'm talking about. If I pull it off, the prof. can offer me a higher grade. Or 2) I can tell the prof. that I will be back for the 2nd round of exams after I study a bit more to try to improve my grade. The student has to accept the grade for the grade to count. If the student never accepts it, then they can keep trying to retake the exam (to the annoyance of the professor), or just never get credit for it.

Here are the 3 classes I'm currently taking (all in Italian):
1. Sociology of Visual Communication (about 15 students; the professor strings all her words together...)
2. Gender, Citizenship, and International Politics (about 30 students, 3/4 erasmus, 1/2 of those who speak Spanish)
3. Literature and Critical Analysis of Dante (about 150 students; energetic, amusing professor who tries to help us erasmus students since there's about 20 of us in that class)

I'm apparently also going to learn a bit of Spanish in my Gender, Citizenship, and International Politics class because there are about 7 women in the class who all speak Spanish (from Spain and Chile). So they understand the Italian quite well, and therefore are able to intelligently contribute to class discussions (unlike myself who is barely following along, much less forming my own thoughts). However, their Italian isn't good enough that they can speak it, so they speak in Spanish and our professor and other classmates "translate" into Italian...which usually doesn't help me very much because I've lost the context. Too bad I've never taken a single Spanish class.... The saving grace in this class is that the professor knows English, so the 15-page paper I have to write to get the max number of credits for the class can be in English. Whew!

All in all, it has been a very interesting experience. The first few weeks I was exhausted after every class (which are all 2-hours long--I can barely concentrate for that long at UCLA!), but now I'm starting to get the hang of it and my notes are now mostly in Italian rather than mostly in English with a few Italian words thrown in there for fun. Now that I'm understanding what's happening in lecture, I should probably get around to understanding the reading material...since that is what the final exams will be on.

The adventure continues...!

Cose che Mi Mancano

Things that I miss (in no particular order):

1. Brownies (ok, well this one is pretty high on my list of things I miss)
2. Family, friends, and home
3. Microwaves (my toaster oven keeps heating up only the plate and my food is still cold...)
4. Banana bread/pumpkin bread (and any other bready-baked goods. Italians are really good at pastries, but need a little work in the cakes/sweet breads/brownies area.)
5. Baking supplies (it's hard to bake myself when I still can't find brown sugar in my grocery store)
6. A working oven (oh yeah, that might help with the whole baking thing, too. Once that's fixed, the first thing I'm going to make is brownies!)
7. Driving
8. Understanding the language spoken around and to me
9. Target (cheap things all in one place)
10. CVS
11. Trader Joe's
12. Iced Chai Tea Lattes from Bruin Cafe (my morning ritual at UCLA)
13. Bagel Sandwiches (dining hall brunch--are you noticing the food pattern here?)
14. "Free" gym (that my parents pay for as part of school fees/tuition)
15. Pick-up soccer (guys don't really want girls to play with them here)
16. AC in the summer (the heat for fall/winter has been good so far)
17. Stores being open at "normal" hours
18. My comfy pad for my bed
19. My massage pillow (this one is also pretty high in terms of how much I miss things)
20. UCLA (and all the people that come with it)
21. Places for students to sit/chill between classes and to study (I haven't found any convenient cafes or library study rooms near my classes yet. And there are no places to sit outside, either)
22. Macy's/Forever 21 (easy shopping)
23. Online shopping (even easier shopping)
24. Advil (5 euros for 6 doses...a little steep)
25. Jamba Juice/smoothies in general

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. And while I miss all this, there are so many new things here that I love. I think I'll appreciate the things here more when I leave because I'll miss them...just like how I've taken all the things on this list for granted until now. Since I don't have easy access to them or I have no possible way of getting them/having it, then I start realizing how much I miss a simple thing like a place to sit in between classes to study or people-watch or grab a cup of coffee to go (which is almost nonexistent here). I've realized that things are just a lot easier in the US. Grocery stores, CVS, Target, etc. all have everything you need in one place. Here, you have to find one or two things you need at a store and then go to another one to find something else. You have specialty stores (in terms of meats, pastas, pastries, cheeses, veggies, etc. and in terms of the grocery store and pharmacy being completely separate), but that makes it hard to do one shopping trip to get everything. So everything here just seems that much more complicated and difficult, which adds to the stress of already being in a different country where a foreign language is spoken, taking classes in that foreign language, having to pay rent for the first time in my life, and navigating a new city and way of life.

So when things get stressful, all I want to do is bake brownies...but I can't. Actually, it's probably good I can't, because I would weigh sooooo much by now if I made brownies every time I was stressed! Oh well, it would probably be worth it... :)

Baci e abbracci to everyone!

Napoli, Pompeii, e Capri

- What: a 4-day trip by big, private buses (2 buses, 100 students)
- Where: Naples, Mt. Vesuvius, Pompeii, and the island of Capri
- When: left on Wednesday, Oct 12th at midnight; returned Sunday, Oct 16th at 10pm
- Who: the organization ESN (Erasmus Student Network, which sets up bar nights and trips for erasmus/foreign students here in Bologna). I shared a room and spent most of my time with 3 of my friends from the UC program: Allison, Maia, and Alejandra.
- Why: why not?!

* Fun fact of the day: according to Wikipedia, "Pompei" is the modern Italian city built around/near the Roman ruins of "Pompeii."

Words to sum up the 4-day trip: Social, exhausting, fun, uncomfortable, windy, cold, wet, sunny, beautiful. Let's see how we managed to fit all those things into one trip:

Day #1: We left Bologna at midnight on Wednesday and arrived in Naples Thursday morning at 8am after getting a couple hours of dozing on the bus (sleeping while sitting upright and having loud, drunk people in the back of the bus for 8 hours proved difficult). Our initial welcome to the city was traffic. Keep in mind, we've got 2 big buses trying to get through a city that no one should ever try to drive in. But we arrived safe and sound at our hostel, we quickly changed our clothes, grabbed a cappuccino (or two) from the vending machine, and headed out to see Naples. Our massive tour group played a role in the traffic hold-ups that day, as we had 100 people trying to cross the street all at once. We wandered along the sidewalk that overlooks the Gulf of Naples, stopped to take touristy pictures of a fish market (live octopus, anyone?), went to a castle, ate lunch in the center (had some damn good pasta), and then took a tour of some other sites in Naples (various churches and shopping markets). After a day of walking without much sleep to start with, we returned to the hostel just before dinner to shower and rest.

Allison, Alejandra, Maia, and I next to the sea.

The fishermen and fish at the fish market.

Night #1: For dinner, we went out to pizza with the ESN group. For 5 euros, we got an appetizer (fried veggies and fried bread balls--sooooo good, and soo dangerous!), a real Neapolitan pizza (a-m-a-z-i-n-g), drinks, and dessert (which looked like brownies, was supposed to be cake, and was too dry to be either). After this satisfying dinner, my friends and I went back to the hostel and hung out with some Portugese guys who made us a very tasty drink: red wine, coke, and a bit of lemon juice. They had the proportions perfectly balanced. But we went to bed relatively early since we were exhausted and we had to get up early again the next morning.

Neapolitan pizza! Yum

Day #2: Friday morning we were on the bus by 9am and headed to Mt. Vesuvius for the morning and Pompeii for the afternoon. I was so excited to see the crater and to wander around Pompeii (I have been with my parents once before, but I really wanted to revisit and appreciate it this time). Unfortunately, the day turned out to be nothing like I had hoped. On our drive up to the top of Vesuvius, it started sprinkling (we had been told it was definitely not going to rain that day, so Allison and Maia were wearing shorts and I just brought a light sweater). And I don't mind a little rain and a little wind, but while we were walking along the top of Vesuvius, we had to lean sideways to counteract the wind pushing us. Fortunately, it wasn't raining too much until we were ready to leave the mountain...which was mainly due to the lightning and thunder that was rapidly approaching (it's ok Mom and Dad, we made it back without getting too singed). On the bus to Pompeii we un-numbed our fingers and noses. Once in Pompeii, we had a fairly miserable experience. It started pouring as we were eating lunch in a cafe, so we bought over-priced umbrellas and ponchos, it was cold, windy, and we had to wait for at least 2 hours for our guides to get the tickets so we could enter Pompeii. Of course, getting tickets in Italy is never a simple, quick process. For our huge tour group and about 2 or 3 other groups waiting, there was only one ticket booth open AND all of us students had to show our student ID cards so we could get the student discount (of course there are no lines--imagine a huge mob of people trying to squeeze under the protection of one tent while pushing each other to try to buy tickets and have all of us students show our ID cards individually). This is why Italy is not known for its efficiency. We finally get into Pompeii and split into 2 tour groups (I of course choose the one in English), and we take a 45 minute tour down a few streets in the pouring rain, trying to maneuver around each other with wet ponchos and troublesome umbrellas to see what the tour guide is talking about. After the tour was over, none of us felt like wandering around the streets of Pompeii (which is the part I was most looking forward to for this trip) since we were soaking wet because the ponchos and umbrellas all were in the process of breaking or had already ripped/broke.

Me (with Alejandra's extra sweatshirt, thank god), Maia, and Allison at the top of Vesuvius...it's only a bit windy.

Allison, Maia, and Alejandra when we're waiting to get into Pompeii...the poor girls' legs! But a very innovative way to use the ponchos... Oh, and this is how wet we were before the ponchos and my umbrella started breaking.

Night #2: That night, we ate dinner in the hostel (no way were we going to brave any more weather or traffic that day) and ESN provided us with some sangria. It's still a bit strange to have people providing us with alcohol and being able to carry open bottles around on the street. We turned in fairly early that night, too, since the next morning would be yet another early morning.

Day #3: Saturday was nice and sunny--the perfect day to visit the island of Capri (a 50-minute boat ride off the coast of Naples) and what would have been a perfect day for Pompeii.... Capri was gorgeous: blue water, green vegetation, and white houses dotting the hillsides. As a group, we took a walk to some view points on the island and then walked down a LOT of stairs to a "beach" where we'd be eating our picnic lunches. After walking down all those stairs, I was excited to put my feet in the water. This desire quickly dissipated when we got to the "beach" of man-made cement, jagged rocks, and strong wind. But we ate our lunches and then curled up to take naps. Fortunately, there was a shorter way back to the main part of the island without walking back up all those stairs. After another long waiting period (in the cold wind) for our guides to get tickets for the boat-ride back, we arrive back at our hostel just in time to change for dinner.

Capri!

Beautiful view from the main shopping part of the island.

Snuggling up on the "beach" for a nap (this would be a 4-person spooning).

Night #3: Dinner was at a restaurant with the ESN group again, but this time we had pasta with fresh seafood. After being assured we'd have at least 30 minutes back at the hostel before heading out to a club, we rushed back to the hostel after dinner to change in 5 minutes (Italians always seem to underestimate the time it takes to eat dinner in Italy). Then we took our large tour buses to a piazza where we were served limoncello by the ESN guides and socialized with students from our group and students from Siena and Naples. Once the alcohol-blanket started wearing off, we went into the club where we danced to semi-decent music for 2-3 hours. Around 3:30am, we grabbed a taxi back to our hostel, showered, and went to bed. We got 2.5-3 hours of sleep before we had to wake up early AGAIN to pack up and get on our bus to drive home.

Day #4: Before leaving Naples fully, however, we stopped at Parco della Reggia di Caserta. Yeah, I don't know what that is, either. Apparently, it's the Italian equivalent of Versailles. Some important, royal people lived in this huge mansion decades ago. We took a walk around the gardens, which was a huuuuuge lawn area with ponds and fountains and bridges and horse carriages, grabbed a bit of lunch, and then took a nice nap in the sun on the grass. Then we all piled into the buses for one last ride, and we got back to Bologna at 10pm Sunday night. And then I went to bed. The end.

The gorgeous gardens at the mansion.

...And just to add, I had to wake up early yet again on Monday morning to get my fingerprints done for my residency permit. So needless to say, Monday night I slept for 11 hours straight.

More entries on classes and whatnot soon!
xoxo

Oktoberfest Photos

Entrance to the Oktoberfest grounds.

At 8:30am before there were thousands of people...

...and in the afternoon with thousands of people. 

The first beer tent (more like a permanent structure) Allison and I went to on Friday.

Inside the beer tent once it got crowded.

Our first steins of beer! (At 10:30am)

A pretty building in Munich (I think it's a government building, but I wasn't really giving the tour my full attention).

On our bike tour Saturday morning with our Australian guide.

Our bike tour through the English Gardens. This lawn is the nudist meadow...I didn't take any close-up pictures.

People surfing on the river! This one spot draws surfers from all over--they have to be pretty good because the sides are lined with concrete and there's a concrete wall under the water to create the single wave.

As we walked through the English Gardens on Sunday, we saw a breast cancer run with women of all ages and sizes. Good for them!

OKTOBERFEST!

This past weekend I went to Oktoberfest (a beer festival) in Munich with Allison. We took a train down to Florence Thursday evening, got on a bus we had reserved through an organization called EuroAdventure, and bused all night to Munich (we arrived at 7am). Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning we were free to explore Munich, go to the beer tents, and enjoy people watching and at night we stayed in a hostel the organization had booked for everyone. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had, and here's why:

Peace: Once our bus left Florence, we had an 8 hour drive to Munich. During that time Allison and I slept (although it was intermittent), listened to music, and chatted with each other and the other Americans around us (some of whom were fairly annoying girls who didn't know any Italian, despite the fact that they are studying in Florence, so whenever Allison and I wanted to talk about them we spoke in Italian to each other). At one moment, I was in my own world looking out the window at the sky full of stars over the countryside and listening to some Tracy Chapman on my iPod, and I felt completely peaceful and content. I had Allison sitting next to me, I had a bus taking me where I needed to go, the hostel would be there waiting for us, we knew we would be well taken care of by the guides, and I could finally let my brain relax for the first time since being in Europe. I knew it would be a good weekend.

The beer tent: We arrived in Munich around 7am on Friday, checked into our hostel, and left at 8:30am to get in line at one of the beer tents. The tents (which are actually fairly permanent structures) don't open until 10am, but people start lining up in front of the good ones much earlier. They let us in around 9:30 and I was sitting with my first beer (a huge 1-liter stein) by 10:15am. To give you a sense of the size the steins hold about 3-4 bottles of beer, it has a slightly higher alcohol content than beers at home, and it's made of glass that is REALLY heavy (awesome bicep workout). Now, I'm not a big beer fan. So I wasn't sure how much beer I would actually be drinking on this trip, but that German beer was SO good, and I didn't have any problems drinking a stein...or two....  We stayed at this first beer tent until 4:30pm drinking beer, eating a half-chicken (they should really advertise the chicken in addition to the beer), meeting very friendly Germans (even before the alcohol, but especially after), and generally having a grand ol' time. Once back at our hostel around 5pm, Allison and I showered and took a refreshing nap. We shared the clean room with 2 other American girls and we had a private bathroom (which was very exciting after the shared bathroom down the hall in our hostel in Milan). That evening, after grabbing a little dinner, Allison and I decided to wander aimlessly around the center of Munich. We found a main pedestrian strip with shops, musicians playing violin or guitar, and Germans and tourist alike out and about.

Bike tour: Saturday morning, we "slept in" a bit, ate breakfast provided at the hostel (scrambled eggs, rolls, jam, cheese, deli meats, orange juice, coffee--the Germans know how to do breakfast!), and then headed out around 10:30am on a bike tour we had signed up for with EuroAdventures. The bike tour was amazing! Our Australian guide (with wonderful accent to listen to...) took us to various historical buildings and the English Gardens where there was a river people could surf on, a nude meadow, a beer garden in the center, and walking/bike paths through the grass and the trees. We stopped for lunch at the beer garden in the center and we had a beer (a.k.a. a stein of beer) and a pretzel (which was gigantic). Fortunately, after having beer, people were still mostly able to ride their bikes. After the tour, we did a little souvenir shopping and headed back to the hostel for a shower and what ended up to be a nap once we had lied down on our beds.

Beer tent #2: Around 7pm Saturday night, we met up with some people we had met on the bike tour (all of us being Americans studying abroad) and some of our guides from EuroAdventures and we went to a beer tent just outside the Oktoberfest grounds. The first stein of beer hit pretty hard alcohol-wise because I only had a beer and a pretzel for lunch. But I paired this beer with another pretzel to make it my dinner. We hung out at the outside tables with everyone for several hours talking, laughing, and drinking before we went inside around 11pm to the club where we danced for several more hours. Finally, we went back to our hostel and slept.

Stroll through the gardens: Sunday morning we got up around 9am, ate breakfast, met with one of Allison's friends, and we walked back to the English Gardens. We practically retraced our steps from the bike tour, but it was nice to get out, take a stroll in the 75 degrees weather, and enjoy the cool foliage of the gardens (which we greatly miss in Bologna). On our way back, we stopped at a Starbucks (they were everywhere in Munich and none are to be found in Bologna) and enjoyed coffees, pastries, and each other's company for a while. Then, it was time to get back on the bus (around 3pm) and we headed back to Florence.

Florence for 7 hours: In Florence, Allison and I had each set up a place to crash for the night with a friend. Our bus arrived at 1am, we walked to our friends' houses, went to sleep, and met up again at 8am to take the train back to Bologna in time for class at 1pm.

It was a weekend filled with sleep deprivation, beer, pretzels, half-chickens, good-looking tall Germans, drunken tourists, and general merriment! I had a blast and would go back to Munich (especially during Oktoberfest) in a heartbeat. Before this weekend, Germany wasn't too high on my list of places to travel, but now I really want to go back to visit any city in Germany (maybe Berlin...).

Photos will be coming soon!

A Weekend of Celebratory Acts

The reason to celebrate: I gave my 10-15 minute presentation in class on Thursday (and held an individual celebration by buying a cannoli) and our Intensive Language Program course officially finished on Friday with our oral finals.

The sunset over Bologna from the top of a tower we climbed with our class.

Part #1: A bunch of us Californians got together for a picnic with some other Erasmus friends in the Giardini Margherita (the park near my apartment) on Friday afternoon. We drank wine, ate chips, played soccer (!!), and generally frolicked around for a few hours.

At the picnic! (Me, Maia, Karol, Serena, Daniela, and Larissa)

Part #2: My friends Allison and Maia came over to my apartment and we cooked gnocchi with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella--molto buono! And we split a bottle of wine to celebrate the completion of our ILP course.

Buon appetito!

Part #3: Allison, Maia, and I headed to the center of town (while splitting another bottle of wine) to meet up with the same picnic crew. We danced and socialized at a bar/club for a few hours and then returned home around 3am (I went to bed at 4am after a shower).

Part #4: Woke up at 6am to get ready for our weekend trip to Milan, met Maia in Piazza Maggiore at 7:15am, and woke up Allison with a phone call to see where she was. She got ready in 10 minutes flat and we rushed to grab a taxi to head to the train station. We ate a breakfast of bread and brie on the train and tried to snooze a bit on the 3-hour train ride.

Allison with our bread and brie on the train!

Part #5: Arrived in Milan around 11am (and paid 1 euro to use the train station bathroom)! Walked to our hostel (Zebra Hostel, which seemed to be half hostel/half club) and got settled into our new communal bedroom we were sharing with 5 other people (we knew we wouldn't be showering, but were thankful the bathroom seemed relatively clean). Thank you dorm life for building up my immune system and for habituating me to living in close-quarters with people!

Part #6: Maia, Allison, and I grabbed lunch to reboot at a restaurant near the Duomo (the huge cathedral) in Milan (about a 15-minute walk from our hostel).

Part #7: Ate gelato. (This action obviously requires a whole "Part" for itself.)

Part #8: A) First rejection from entering the Duomo. Allison and Maia were wearing shorts and tank tops (we needed to cover our knees and our shoulders to enter), and I was wearing a dress that didn't cover my shoulders. Time to go shopping!
B) Returned to the Duomo with scarves for our shoulders and Allison and Maia had bought and put on pants. I was rejected because my dress hit JUST above my knees (I guess they're actually serious about the knee thing)...so time to shop again! I bought a long skirt to pull on and we finally made it into the gorgeous church.

The Duomo was HUGE! (3rd largest in Europe according to Rick Steves) 

Pretty marble floor and stained glass windows.

Part #9: Climbed the stairs to get to the roof of the Duomo--amazing view from the top! It was so fun to be among the spires on TOP of the Duomo, rather than only looking up at them from the ground. We hung out for a little while on the roof since we were running on about 3 hours of sleep and our feet were tired. Apparently it's quite the hang-out (for 6 euros) for high school couples.

Spires on the roof!

Allison, Maia, and me on the roof.

Part #10: We headed back to the Zebra Hostel around 5:30 to take a nap. It's slightly disruptive when the walls are paper-thin, there are no doors in the door frames, and people are talking very loudly in the next room. But it was a much-needed rest!

Part #11: We treated ourselves to a nice dinner near the Duomo around 9pm (a very European time!); we ordered pasta and wine, and enjoyed people watching since it was part of Fashion Week in Milan!

Pasta with pesto and vino!

Part #12: After dinner, we grabbed the 2nd gelato of the day and sat on the steps in front of the Duomo. As usual, some weird guys approached us and were talking to us until we told them to go away. Then a young Ukrainian guy who was sitting behind us (and who spoke perfect Italian and a few words of English) starting chatting and joking around with us. He became our mini tour-guide for an hour or so and he showed us some of the things we hadn't explored near the Duomo: the Galleria (a shopping mall right next to the Duomo) and the Castello (a castle a few blocks away from the Duomo). He walked us back to the hostel around 2am and we parted ways. It was great to practice our Italian with him!

Me with the Duomo.

Part #13: We slept! Finally. Of course, our drunk roommates decided to come back at 6am and talk loudly, but we slept until 9:30 and then got up to eat breakfast. The hostel provided breakfast, but it consisted of toast with jam (not bad, but good luck finding a plate) and cold coffee (without sugar). Needless to say, we at lunch soon thereafter. But hey, the hostel was an interesting experience, and we were only there for 1 night, so it wasn't too bad!

Part #14: We ate lunch at a cafe next to the Duomo (we ordered coffees and panini!). We were finally ready to explore a bit before heading back to the train station.

Part #15: After lunch, we headed to a Ferrari shop we had seen the night before and wandered around looking at all the expensive souvenirs. Our Ukrainian friend had told us that inside the Castle walls there was a big garden/lawn area, so we made our way over to the Castel and rested on the lawn for about 15 minutes (I realize in writing this down that it seems like we rested more than we did things, but it had been a long weekend and we did A LOT of walking around Milan).

Part #16: We forced ourselves to get up and walk to the train station (took about 45 minutes), got on our train, and headed back to Bologna!

Inside the castle wall.

And thus concludes our 48-hour celebration of finishing our ILP course! It was such a fun weekend with my girls and we were the perfect travel companions for each other! :)