Wow, what a jam-packed past two days these have been. Bologna is such a beautiful city and it’s hard not to notice and appreciate the culture when we’re only a 5 minute walk away from Piazza Maggiore. Yesterday, we walked further into the city to the Le Due Tuori, two of the few remaining towers inside Bologna’s walls. Tess gave an insightful presentation on the towers’ background and then we ventured inside the taller of the two. We walked up 498 very steep, very narrow, steps to the roof. We ended up looking at one of the most gorgeous, panorama views of the city. Definitely worth the trek. After a nice lunch, and another shot for all of us to try out our Italian ordering skills, we visited the Basilica di San Petronio, which is currently celebrating its 400th anniversary since completion. The architecture, paintings, sculptures, and stain glass windows were breathtaking. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside, so you’ll just have to believe me. Next, we went to Piazza Santo Stefano, whose significance was explained by Therese’s presentation. We ended the day with dinner and a trip to the gellateria, which seems like it might become a nightly tradition.
Today, we walked all the way to the University of Bologna, one of (if not, the) the oldest higher education institutions of the world. We visited two of University museums, the Palazzo Poggi, which contains various scientific collections dating back to the 1600’s, and the Museum of the History of Students in Europe. There was an interesting room in the Anatomy section at Poggi, vividly depicting the various stages and complications of pregnancy and childbirth through models designed by 18th century doctors for training purposes. Some girls were more interested than others due to variations in squeamishness. Either way, we all learned a lot about the history of science in Italy. After lunch and some free time, we walked and walked some more. We walked 2 km from our hotel to the bottom of the Basilica San Luca, another 2 km to the church at the top, and back again. The walk up the hill is unique because the path and stairs are covered by a portico (typical of Bologna) made of 666 arches. While the hike up the hill was certainly tiring, and we all were glowing (dripping?) with sweat, the view from the top was unbelievable. Not only was the landscape breathtaking but also the elaborate design of the Basilica. I have never been so awed by a piece of architecture, especially one so historic. Seeing the outcome of so much time, effort, and money put into the building of these churches makes one realize the significance that religion played in historic Italy, and how things have so drastically changed today.
All in all, I’d say we’re giving the Peru girls a run for their money in mileage by foot. However, we have no reason to complain. Eating pasta in the Piazza, snacking on gelato at night, and visiting some of the most beautiful and historic landscapes in our world’s history is close to paradise. I’m sure we will never be able to say this enough, but I want to thank all the parents for giving us this opportunity to explore and create lifetime memories. Next stop, Venice!
Our class’s first day was a great way to start our adventures in Italy. Beginning with two plane rides which included multiple security checks, gum chewing competitions and little sleep, we all had jet-lagged butterflies in our stomachs. Upon arrival in Milan (Linate), Lauren and I made a bee-line for some much needed coffee. To our delight, we succeeded in ordering a cafe americano and a cappuccino in Italian. Applying what we learned in our recent Italian language classes made us feel quite proud. Even normally energetic Kiernan developed an affection for the phrase, " sono stanca!", meaning " I am tired!"
From Milan we drove to Bologna, our first city. This last leg of the trip proved how tired everyone really was- within the first half an hour everyone started to fall asleep watching the rolling hills out of the bus windows. Arrival in Bologna came with some hiccups, but Ms.Sandes and Ms.Alexis handled everything expertly as always.
In the first afternoon we settled into our hotel rooms and then ventured out to gaze curiously at the surroundings and were awed by the stately, old architecture. As a class we have gotten so close in the past year that spending time together is a lot of fun. We spent the first few hours in one of the hotel rooms playing card games, dancing, and talking about everything we were excited to see.
Later, donning beautiful new sundresses, everyone set out for walk around the hotel to take pictures and explore. Despite the heat our class enjoyed our first peek into Italian life. We saw colorful buildings , children playing soccer, and many motos in the vias.
In the evening, while strolling through the center of Bologna we came across something very unexpected. On one of the main vias dozens of young people were dressed in military uniform, poised as though preparing for battle. Moments later hundreds more approached from the opposite direction, dressed as zombies, and attacking the ‘soldiers’. Although the zombies seemed to lose (they reanimated and continued on their way to repeat the show in Piazza Maggiore), we saw a very entertaining zombie apocalypse. Upon further research, I discovered that this event is called the "Zombie Walk" and is an annual occurrence in Bologna. That same evening we also walked through a music festival going on in the main piazza. There were also several performers and musicians throughout the streets, which gave us a glimpse the rich culture of Bologna.
