Dingleberries, nuggets, and other fine things from northern Italy

I realize that I am extremely blessed to have the friends that I do. But I’m even more blessed that so many of my friends are studying abroad in Europe at the same time as me! Last week, I spent an extended weekend visiting my best friend Nic Perfetti, in his locale: Bologna, Italy.



My trip to Bologna started on Thursday, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that my flight would be a bit delayed. Our plane barely arrived to the airport at the time it was supposed to lift off. However, I passed the time by chatting with a new friend I met in the airport. His name was Romain, and while he was from France, he has spent time living in the U.S. and Italy. The three hour conversation that lasted the wait in the terminal, the flight, and the bus from the Bologna airport to the downtown was – surprisingly – in French about 80% of the time. For me, that was a bit of a confidence-boost! Topics ranged from religion in France, to American film, and the pros/cons of living with a host family.

But we soon reached Bologna, and after a quick search I found Nic. He promptly commenced a tour of the downtown Bologna area; and I must say, his excellent tour guide abilities throughout the weekend made me realize I need to brush up on Rouennais and Parisian history.



Thursday evening included a trip up the Asinelli Tower – a huge tour in the center of town that provided a great view of the city. We also went to the Basilico di Santo Stefano, a beautiful church near the downtown area. As the sun was going down, I truly enjoyed sitting on the steps of the San Petronio Basilico overlooking Piazza Maggiore. And for my benefit, a street performer was singing a few classic tunes in English. The day ended at Nic’s favorite pizza place, which was absolutely delicious! I was extremely tired Thursday night, but that didn’t stop me from the partaking in the highlight of the day: Baking chocolate chip cookies back at Nic’s! I had been craving them since I got an e-mail from Insomnia (a Bloomington cookie delivery company) the week before. So the day concluded with sharing our chocolate chip cookies with Nic’s really awesome flat mates, Giuseppe and Angelo. Perfetto!



On Friday, we started with a visit to Bologna’s art museum before heading to another one of Nic’s favorite restaurants for lunch. The restaurant is a Bolognese favorite, and it’s known for its selection of 3-4 pastas that are made fresh each day. I just couldn’t get used to the food. As much as I love Rouen and France, Italian cuisine is my favorite. Then, we hiked up the 3.5 kilometer portico (a covered walkway) to the Santuario della Beata Vergine di San Luca. Looking over the city of Bologna and the beginning of the mountain range, we couldn’t have found a more perfect place to have a mini-picnic.

Once we got back, we were pretty beat; but we each got a pizza (and they were huge!) at a neighborhood pizzeria before heading to Nic’s neighbor’s graduation party. It was a combined party for 5 students who had recently graduated, and I am fairly certain I was the only one there who didn’t speak a word of Italian (Other than Buon giorno, that is)! But I had my trusty translator with me, and quite a few of the students spoke some English. The party was a lot of fun, despite the language barrier!



The next morning, we woke bright and early to meet Nic’s friend Caroline at the train station for a trip to Milan. Despite a bit of rain, Milan was a very enjoyable city. It started off a bit rocky when the receptionist at our hostel refused Nic’s stay because he didn’t have his passport, forcing us to go to the central police station for some sort of approval. But it didn’t take long to sort out, and soon we were headed to the Duomo, Italy’s only truly Gothic cathedral. A huge, ornate, pristine cathedral right on the main square, I found it almost unbelievably impressive. We climbed the tour to the roof of the Duomo for a great 360 degree view of Milan. The only downer: Taking a fall down the stairs on the descent! An Italian, on seeing my ungraceful tumble declared, “Che volo! (What a flight!)”

We finished up the day with a stroll around Milan’s 15th century castle, the Castello Sforezco. After that, we were all so tired we went back to the hostel for a nap. But before we fell asleep, we couldn’t help but share a laugh at the awkward “ensuite shower.” Essentially, right next to the TV was a shower in our room! So we had to take turns showering that night while the others waited in the lobby. Bizarre, non?
The day ended with another great Italian meal. I promise, I’m not exaggerating the food! Pizza with the most delicious crust, a couple of glasses of red wine, and topping off with a dessert of panna cotta filled us up easily. Once we returned to the hotel, where we chatted with a couple of guys from Washington & Lee University, we got a good night’s rest.

Sunday morning, Caroline headed back to Bologna but Nic was kind enough to head to Venice for a 2nd time for my benefit. And silly me I thought Venice was just a seaside town with a few rivers running through it. No, it’s actually a series of lagoons where the roads really are canals! No cars, not even motorcycles, whatsoever. I loved our stroll around the city – around every corner was a great view (and a great place for gelato)! The most humorous part of the day was when we sat down in a park near the seafront. Joking about awkward statues, seeds of trees which we nicknamed “dingleberries” and “nuggets,” and other silly topics, it was great to relax and joke around.

We got back to Bologna around 10pm that night. Good timing too: His roommates were just about to order Chinese food! So I filled up on veggie fried rice, leftover pizza, and the last of the cookies – quite a delight!

On Monday morning, we slept in a bit before I went with Nic to his 400-level Italian literature class at Europe’s oldest university, La Universita di Bologna (founded in 1066). I tried to pay attention at the beginning and write down words that I recognized, or that had similarities to Spanish, French, or English, but I got tired of that pretty quickly. For two hours, the professor was explaining the meaning of an epic poem that was written in Italian’s version of “Old English.” Nic said the poem was pretty interesting, but it was all [Italian] to me.

After that, Nic and I enjoyed some pizza-by-the-slice at Pizza Altero and 2 last scoops of gelato before I needed to head for the airport. Despite a delayed flight, and a bag that barely fit size and weight requirements, I arrived at Gare St. Lazare train station about 45 seconds before the next train to Rouen departed. Good timing!