Bologna

Good Evening Viewers,

Sorry about the delay but it turns out schoolwork actually has a way of getting in the way of much more pleasurable activities...such as writing to all of you.

This past weekend, I visited the city of Bologna located about a hour north of Florence. Joining me on the trip were five others: Meredith and Sara from Syracuse University and Ben, Kobe and David from Tufts. We got to know each other during orientation as I roomed with the three guys when I first arrived and we all met the two girls later that week.

Our first experience on the way to Bologna was the super-fast, quick-moving, ludicrous speed bullet train. It took a little more than a half hour for us to arrive in Bologna despite the cities actually being 123 Km apart (which according to Google maps would take about an hour and a half driving.) Although the train moved really fast, there was no view because we were in a tunnel for most of the journey. Every so often I would look up and we would pass out of a tunnel and then into another tunnel. Kind of frustrating, getting your camera out to take a picture and then missing the scenery because you're moving so fast.

Upon finishing the scenery-less trip to the Stazione Centrale, we stepped outside in order to find our hotel. The second thing we hadn't planned on was the weather. Florence is by no means in Southern Italy and the temperature is consistently in the higher 40's, Bologna is an hour and a half north and is considerably less warm. Stepping out of the station was like going back to Syracuse... windy, overcast and kind of gloomy. Although we could see our breath like we were smoking heavily, we continued on to find our hotel nestled in a back alley near the city's center.

The rest of that day was spent looking around the city's center for famous landmarks including the oldest university in the world and the famous statue of Poseidon. We also walked around to see the Due torri (two towers), not the two from the book... sorry, and the Cathedral in the same square as the university. Although quite imposing from the outside, the cathedral was quite spacious (one of the largest I've been in) and beautifully constructed. When one of my friends asked about the scaffolding inside, a worker replied that the church is actually still under construction after about 600 years. As we looked we could indeed see where parts of the ceiling had unfinished portions of the beautiful frescos and were currently being worked on.

That night we sampled the delicious pasta that Bologna is famous for: the Tortellini and Tagliata Bolognese. The famed Bologna sauce had a variety of spiced beef or sausage meat and when we sprinkled the fresh parmesan on top... delicious.

The following day I woke up early and went with a walk through the street market with Meredith and Sara. The market was quite large and we spent a good couple of hours wandering through the variety of shops and stalls and looking for anything interesting or unique. When we began to get hungry, we traveled to find a small pizza shop not far from our hotel. Once again, Italian food did not disappoint and we quickly finished our delicious pizza.

Upon returning to the hotel we met up with the other three who had slept in and decided to make the trek to the Basilica of San Luca which came highly recommended by our helpful manager at the hotel, Giuseppe. After about 20 minutes on a bus we were greeted by a 4 Km walk up the side of a mountain. However once we arrived and saw both the beautiful church and the beautiful view of Bologna from the beautiful church, we all agreed that it was well worth the wait and the walk.

That night we once again sampled the delicious fare that Bologna had to offer before retiring early in order to catch our train the next morning. When we got back to Florence, 30 more scenery less minutes we all were relieved and elated when instead of putting more clothes on, it was actually warm enough to remove our jackets. As we got off the train we parted ways for the rest of Sunday to finish homework.

Although the adventure to Bologna was over I was glad I went and saw everything. I then made a mental note to travel South for the next trip. Hopefully somewhere on the Mediterranean...

Ciao for now as I hope to write again soon

John

"Not all those who wander are lost..."

For those of you who wonder about the title of this entry, the reference comes from J. R. R. Tolkien but also accurately describes the adventure I had this afternoon.

Following the end of my classes today, (2:45 p.m.) I traveled into the centro or downtown area of Florence to pick up the rest of my textbooks. At first I turned to head home and rest a bit before dinner, but looking at the early hour and knowing I would be loafing about until dinner (8:30p.m.) I decided instead to take some advice I'd received and simply "get lost" in the city.

One of my professors had recommended several sites across the Arno river and so I traveled from the Duomo to Ponte Vecchio in order to cross to the other side. Having not traveled so far across the river before, I didn't recognize any of my surroundings and simply decided to travel in the direction that looked most interesting. After walking for about five minutes I came upon a staircase that looked like it led to a hill and several private villas. (See first picture)

After ascending the stairwell I came upon a series of very narrow streets reminiscent of the pictures seen in guidebooks. These streets wound around and as I traveled upwards I caught a very brief glimpse of the city across the river. I then decided to continue upward in order to find an excellent view of the city.

After almost an hour of walking around these narrow streets and passing by an old fort, (Fort Belvedere), I saw a balcony in the distance where I could just make out people standing and gazing on the city below them. I resolved to make it to this balcony and continued to follow the street signs and curving streets until I reached another staircase (see picture two) leading up to a church as well as the balcony I had seen from afar.

This balcony turned out to be part of the famed Piazzale Michelangiolo and as I walked to the edge of the balcony a breathtaking and majestic view of the city greeted me just before the sun began to set. (See pictures three and four) I was instantly overcome by the beauty and splendor of the city that lay before me as it had for hundreds of years before my own country had even existed. At one point during my reflection on the balcony I was actually holding back tears, but I will continue to deny any such allegations when I return home...

During those moments spent on the hill, I contemplated the nature of humanity and our ever present mortality. I believe that God created us as mortal beings in order to increase the wonder and splendor of spending eternity in Heaven, but during those minutes I thought to myself that if one could spend eternity searching for beauty such as the city before me, a person could truly find a paradise here on earth. Perhaps this will be my version of heaven... If it is so I will consider myself more blessed than I already am.

The walk back to my apartment was blighted by the fact that my camera died seconds after I took some pictures of the city below Piazza Michelangelo. Fortunately, for both me and you this means that I'll have to make another trip to the piazza and take lots more pictures... woe is me.

As I am visiting Bologna this weekend with several friends, I won't be able to post again for a couple of days. However, when I return, I'm sure I'll have lots more stories to share with you.

Buona notte dall'Italia (Good Night from Italy)

John

Sore feet, Soft gelato, and Sights to see!

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm sorry for the delayed posting but there was a slight problem getting the pictures to load. Thankfully, the problem has been resolved and I can now write about the weekend adventures as well as those to come.

Friday was full of more meetings as well as class registration. I registered for four classes and attended a meeting about an internship. If all goes well I will soon be giving tourists guided tours around some of Florence's most famous churches. Can you say resume booster?

The rest of Friday was spent hanging out with some friends before walking home through the Piazza Liberta. This famous piazza holds a very large Roman arch. (Below) This is also the sight I get to see every morning on my way to school. Majestic, definitely, intimidating, absolutely, beautiful, indeed. When the sunrise hits the top of the arch in the morning and you work your way around the piazza, it really makes you stop for a moment and reflect how lucky you truly are.

Saturday was spent doing some good old fashioned sightseeing. My roommate Lonnie and I got up early and hiked to the city center. Some of the many sights we got to see included the Duomo, a gigantic church dome, (see above) as well as the gigantic Gates of Paradise, Ponte Vecchio or "the Old Bridge," a bridge across the Arno river that has shops and stalls built on top of it, and a gigantic outdoor market selling all kinds of goods. We met up with several others from the program and browsed the many stalls. After making our way back to the Duomo (after a great deal of being heckled to buy a very nice leather jacket, wondering how to pay for the purchase, and some impulse buys, though not on my part), we decided to stop for a bit and enjoy some gelato in an acclaimed gelateria. (according to Lonnie's guidebook)

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you haven't tried some, you need to as quickly as you can. Drop what you're doing and go get some. Right now. The delicious Tiramisu flavored gelato I tried was like a small meal, snack, dessert and a comfort food all in one.

If I wasn't going to gain weight before...I sure am now.

Later that night we went out to a dance club or discoteca called Twice. Despite the mild deafness I've been experiencing in both ears, mild epileptic fits caused by the bright lights and being lit on fire once by the sparklers the waiters brought as they delivered drinks to other tables, it was quite the enjoyable experience. I may go back... in perhaps five or six years when I've been thoroughly examined and medically cleared again.

In all honesty, it was a good time. We did however stay out a wee bit later than I had planned so Sunday was spent relaxing, recuperating and generally lazing about around our apartment. I was nursing my feet back to feeling after they went just about numb from walking for almost eight hours straight on Saturday and three hours on Friday. I'm still becoming accustomed to the amount of walking I do. Not that I mind, it gives me time to think... and take in the sights.

I'll try and post again soon. However, the next couple of days could be a little crazy.

Talk to you soon

John

Family Ties

As I said before, I've been meeting for almost two straight days in the Villa Rossa in order to get everything settled for the semester. Yesterday afternoon a friend and I discovered the beautiful balcony on the third floor of the building and we were able to take these breathtaking photos of the Piazza Savonarola.

Today we also received our housing assignments for the semester. My new family's description is as follows. My new host mother has three grown daughters and loves music and theater as well as going out with her friends. I will have about a 15 minute walk to the school every day but that doesn't seem too bad at all. This weekend will be spent getting to know your roommate and host family before school starts. I look forward to meeting my family for the first time and seeing how different everything is!

Arrival

Well...I'm finally here

Despite twelve hours (give or take) of flight time, a six hour time difference, three broken straps and name tags on my bags, virtually no sleep, three countries, at least three different languages, several new friends, one older German lady who regarded me with a mixture of fascination, curiosity and disgust whenever I moved, plugged in my headphones or even turned my head a bit... and a partridge in a pear tree, I arrived safely in Florence with five others at around 4:00 p.m.

Although the first day in Florence was a little chilly and quite overcast, I was glad that it didn't quite resemble the home I had just left.

Thankfully, we arrived at the hotel in a timely fashion thanks to our cab driver taking us on a beautiful, though not altogether expected drive through Florence...I saw him make several changes to what I believe was a GPS... He may have been quite lost at one point.

Since then I have been in meetings at the Villa Rossa, or "Red House" in Italian, the main Syracuse University building in Florence. I will soon register for classes and possibly an internship before the semester starts next week.

The Single Step

"A journey of of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." -- Henry Miller

Before I depart on my journey I find it appropriate to list a few inspirational quotes about the nature of travel.

I have been blessed with parents who truly understood and appreciated the benefit of traveling. By traveling across much of the Eastern United States as well as parts of Canada, Central and South America, I have seen and experienced cultures and created memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life...

But my soul yearns for more...

My hope is that this coming semester is the first of my many travels to Europe and particularly to Italy.

Perhaps the wanderlust will find a home...