adventures in Bologna, the actual city that never sleeps

Our trip to Bologna was quite a fun adventure. We decided to visit Bologna because it looked beautiful and also because I have a friend that lives there!  We knew nothing about it upon arrival. Here are a few of the highlights, occurrences, and random events that made our trip memorable.

1)    Discovering that the University of Bologna is the oldest university in the western world—then realizing the city is basically a university town filled with young people

2)    Also discovering that the young people in Bologna NEVER sleep. People are out on the streets at all hours of the night socializing, drinking, and just enjoying themselves. On Fridays and Saturday nights the streets are closed so people can stroll and watch music performances, socialize, etc. Even children and families are out late playing in the streets!

3)    Learning the difference between Tortellini and Tortellini—Tortellini is filled with ricotta while tortellini is filled with meat

4)    Eating parmesan from Parma—I love cheese.

5)    Accidentally stepping in wet paint and literally leaving my footprint in Bologna. Also getting yelled at by the Italian painters for stepping in the paint…

6)    Seeing a familiar face while abroad and also getting to know my friend Vincenzo better. We met in New York City at Model United Nations so it was so crazy to be meeting again on the other side of the world—so fun!

7)    Attending an Italian party with students from the University (all of my dreams come true) and making new friends.

8)    Trying Mortadella because Bologna invented it!

9)    Shopping at the endless markets where you can find cheap 2 euro clothes.  Also shopping at other stores because Bologna has every store known to man.

10) Walking to San Lucca and seeing the beautiful view of the hills and church.

11)  Watching pizza being made because the inside of our apartment building was connected to a kitchen of a pizza place. I befriended a pizza maker even though we couldn’t speak each other’s language!

12)  Learning about a new city, exploring its very red streets, trying new foods, meeting friends, and having many great memories!

So there you have it. Bologna was a wonderful experience and I can only hope to come back one day soon!