The simple things

I am currently sitting in my kitchen writing this post as I am waiting for my water to boil and for my sauce to cook. Yes, you heard me right, I have learned how to make delicious tomato sauce by hand! With my new found knack for the culinary arts, I was inspired to post about the simple things here in Bologna that honestly make like a little sweeter.

1.) Olive oil (and lots of it)

I eat olive oil literally every single day and its soo good and good for you. I have noticed that my skin is a lot smoother now and had a slight shine to it ;)

2.) Un Caffè

There is always time for un caffè!

3.) Friends

My friends (Italian and American) here in Bologna honestly make all the difference every single day!

Sorry this post is a little uninspired, but I thought that something is better than nothing!

a presto!

welcome back!

So, I have a confession...i really really stink at keeping up with this blog.

But, thanks to one friend (tess) I have decided to be a little more diligent. I wont attempt to catch you up on EVERYTHING because that would be too much and far too boring. So here are the details...

Who: Me

Where: Bologna, Italy: Living on one of the best streets in town in a super cute apartment with 3 amazing italian roommates!

Why: Finishing up school (specifically my Italian major) and trying to become as fluent in the language as possible

What: ?

Ok lets just start from today, shall we....

I haven't been feeling too great these past few days which is a really big bummer, but oh well. I think that I will take a little walk after I am done writing this. I guess my point is that I haven't had much experience with the outside world because I have been slowly starting my day...

Here are some things that I am really loving about Bologna right now....

1.) Bologna has started to put up christmas lights and some streets already have them on! I can't wait until my street, the towers, and the Piazza Maggiore is all light up and sparkling!!

Speaking of Christmas, I can't wait to meet my Mom and Ron in London for Christmas this year, it should be a blast! London is one of my all time favorite places and I think that during the holiday season will be that much better!

2.) Sala Borsa- great place to study and I need to go there more often. The only catch is that it fills up fast. Last night I snuck into the section for " i ragazzi" meaning that the tables were reserved for those 16 and under. No one noticed. Should I be offended?

3.) This new place that I found makes the absolute best sandwiches and for dirt cheep too. I was able to get a sandwich and water for 3 euro. Not bad! It's a bit of a hole in the wall, but those are normally the best places anyway.

4.) The weather- the weather is absolutely gorgeous right now. Now, normally I would be wishing for snow right about now (all my lucky friends and family back in Mn) but that is all fine and dandy when you have a great heating system in your house/apartment and a car is actually an option. Here, things are slightly different, not bad, just different. It's Italy after all and things don't always work as you would want them to. That being said, its currently the mid November and my roommate just came in saying "fa caldissimo fuori!"

Anyway, I'd better get going to enjoy this beautiful day!

a presto :)

where do i begin....

this post is way past its due date, but in all honesty i have been so busy since i got to bologna this is really the only time that i have had to sit down and write. so here is a little recap of last week...

After a trip that was supposed to take me from chicago to zurich, zurich to florence (i would then take the train from florence to bologna which is really only an hour but a slight hassle). everything was going as planned until we were about to land in florence. i must add first that the flight was a little rocky and we were all ready to be on the ground, but as we were about to land the plane started ascending again. of course we really didn't know what was happening and until the pilot said that the tail winds were too high and that we were too heavy to land there right now so he thought that if we flew around for a little bit and then burned some fuel we would be able to land. well after 30 more minutes of flying around and us all being quite anxious he says that we are running out of fuel and can't land in florence, but instead we are landing in.....bologna!! I was honestly the only one the plane who was happy about this and i started clapping (not uncommon as most italians clap when the plane lands anyway). so long sotry short- we landed in bologna and i was spared a train ride!

This past week has been filled with things:

1.) apartment searching: this process is so exhausting and very hard at times. this is something that is done all in italian from reading the adds to calling the people, to actually visiting the house and talking with the roommates. this is also difficult because they ultimately have to choose YOU. its intimidating but hopefully worth it in the end. essentially when you are accepted into an apartment you are being accepted into their, for lack of a better word, "clique".

2.) making friends: i have been getting to know the other people in my group as well as other italian students. for the most part, everyone is super nice and fun to hang out with!

3.) orientation things- aka the boring stuff: everyday during the week we meet at the bcsp office and have orientation paperwork and things to do.

4.) eating and enjoying life: this is what is all about right? bologna has absolutely amazing food! everything that i have tried here has been delicious and i can't wait to try more! yesterday, saturday, was such a great day and a true example of how life in italy is and should be! it was a very relaxing day- but i had two apartment showings in the morning, one which i really want to live in so cross your fingers for me. later i met up with my friends maggie, britta, and laura and we had lunch at this place called tamburini- its a very old deli in the city but it has a cafeteria style lunch we went there it was amazing! we then got a gelato, sat by the fountain and just enjoyed life! later we went to dinner, walked around some more, and we had heard through the grape vine from some other people on the street that there was a concert in piazza maggiore so we made our way over there. the day was great and i hope to have many more in bologna!!!

a presto!!

Catch-up Time

After a brief hiatus which essentially has no explanation I am back and ready to share with you lovely people the happenings of my life in recent days.

The last you heard I was off to Portland, Maine to take a look at the school and city that Annie will be attending/living in in a few weeks. Because her words on the subject are so much better than mine could ever be, for an update on that trip go to adventureinmain.blogspot.com

Now, back to me :)

There are so many changes happening right now at times it is unbelievable. Unbelievable that this chapter in my life is quickly coming to a close. There are so many things that I feel I need to see and do before I say goodbye to Minneapolis and hello Bologna. One of those things is see the movie Eat. Pray. Love. I can't say that I have read the book (need to) but I am so utterly excited about it...I sure hope that it's good. I love Julia Roberts- she is such a fantastic actress! Inception and Salt are also on my must see list before head out of dodge.

Leaving the country is very exciting, but realizing that you will be gone for about a year makes you start to think about all the things that you will be missing out on. Such as, tv. Bravo to be exact. To put it simply, they don't have it, and to make matters worse, one can't watch Bravo online. (See the internet is a funny thing, you think that it makes everything accessible everywhere. Not the case. So these are the shows that I will be missing most...

1.) The Real Housewives of...D.C, Beverly Hills, New York, etc...

2.) Bethenny Getting Married? (I sure hope that is this comes back for another season that its next summer because I LOVE this show!!

3.) The Rachel Zoe Project

Mini-update

Annie and I are leaving on our long overdue weekend trip to Portland, ME. Originally, we planned this as a road trip back in May, but with the unfortunate circumstances surround that time, we had to reschedule. But, alas, we are leaving tomorrow morning and we are FLYING, thank goodness :)

We fly from MSP to DC then DC to Boston. We then are taking the train from Boston to Portland. Sounds like a lot of work, but I think we are used to it.

I'm so excited about visiting Portland for a few reasons:

1.) I absolutely LOVE New England, probably because it reminds me of actual England.

2.) Annie will finally be able to see the city that she will be calling home for the next two years!

3.) SEAFOOD! Lobster to be exact

4.) The fresh sea air

5.) The fisherman... I'm thinking Mark Walberg and George Clooney c. 'The Perfect Storm'- maybe this one is a stretch

I will be sure to take lots of pictures and post after we get back!

Alla Prossima...

Summer Packing List

I am pretty simple when it comes to fashion, and I absolutely LOVE Reese Witherspoon's style. Above are some outfits that I adore. Now, with that being said.....

What the heck to Italians wear in the summer? It is questions like this one that seem to be flooding my brain lately. But, honestly, I don't really know. Now I am not wondering in order to trick anyone over in Bologna into actually believing that I am a native, but I just don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. To be honest, I don't think that I have really ever been abroad during the summer. No, no, I take that back. My high school trip to Spain was over the summer, however, I will not be looking back on those pictures for inspiration on what to wear. (Remember Tessi??) Oh yea, and I can't forget about trip to Honduras last year which was also over the summer....no need for details.

Needless to say, when I arrive it will be hot and sticky and quite honestly I'm not really looking forward to it. There is no way that I can manage to pull off looking chic when the humidity is out of control.

I have been looking around to see if I can find some pictures to see, and I have not found much other than the fact that they DON'T wear shorts and they DON'T wear flip flops.

hmmm, ok the no flip flops i can handle but the no shorts?? Well I guess I'll just have to invest in some good skirts.

Alla Prossima...

it begins

well, this is definitely a little pre-mature, but having been inspired by many people, i have decided to start my very own blog. this is the product of my boring day at work today. yes i did start a blog today at work., i guess that can fly when you are a student worker...i will definitely miss these jobs in a year. Anyway, this is intended to offer a window (for those interested) to my life in bologna.

since this is my very first post, there isn't much to say other than the fact that i have roughly 60 days until i depart for another adventure in italia. i don't know if i can say that i am excited quite yet. looking forward to it, sure. anxious, definitely, but excited isn't quite in my trip vocabulary right now. give it a few weeks though...

well, i guess there isn't much to say other than... andiamo!