January (abridged)

Soooo after much deliberation I decided I would try to wrap up January in one post and then move onto more exciting things...like February! and March! January was fun and exciting because everything was new, and it was just crazy to walk outside and hear people speak Italian. During that time, I composed so many blog posts in my head, intending to describe everything in great detail later on. That original feeling has faded a little bit as newer and more exciting things have happened, so sadly, you will miss out on all the incredibly insightful and witty things I had planned to say about January events. Instead, you can look at January highlights - which might be a better thing anyway. I can read to you from my journal one day if you really feel like you're missing out.

Santuario della Madonna di San Luca (aka the never-ending portico covered staircase)
This probably isn't the best picture to support my subtitle I just added. This was a little portico covered passageway in between staircases.

This was the first time I ventured outside of the city walls since my arrival in Bologna. So liberating! I felt like a pioneer, exploring new frontiers of soccer stadiums and never ending stairs. Seriously. They went on for.ev.er.

Finally, a picture that can back me up. Stairs for days!
The only reason these stairs were tolerable (I'm not exaggerating, we were climbing for a long time, and I'm not just saying that because none of us had exercised more for weeks), was the chance to see some greenery (or really in these case brown-ery of barren trees). There are no trees inside Bologna. Or plants. I think Bologna is great, but I do really miss seeing trees every once in a while.
Final set of stairs!
After that perilous trek to the top of the mountain/hill, we arrived at our destination, the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. It was really beautiful, but unfortunately none of my pictures from inside came out that great, so I'm only posting this one, which only looked okay in black and white. Too bad.

Despite not getting great photos from inside, the outside view was gorgeous and lent itself better to photography.
Beautiful Italian country side.

Morgana! This adorable child came up to me and my friends and started taking pictures of each of us. I'd really like to adopt her. Or at least hire her as my Italian tutor. Actually, I'm a little bitter when I hear these adorable Italian children who sound more intelligent than I do when they speak.
Proof that we all made it to the top!

Mantua! Where Romeo was banishèd.
This was my first trip to a city outside of Bologna. It was cool because it was something new. It sucked because the weather was worse than what we were already suffering through. Before this class trip, the teachers warned us that we should layer up - as opposed to the wife beaters and board shorts we had been wearing in snowy Bologna? They were serious though. Unfortunately I didn't prepare well enough and lost feeling from the knees down for the first half of the day.

This was some piazza....memory fading...
Mmmmm delicious lunch! And turning point of the day. This is when we all thawed, and gained the courage to venture back out into the frigid tundra of Mantua.
Palazzo Te

Art First Bologna

The last weekend of January, Bologna hosted a big art festival. Pieces by modern artists popped up throughout the city - in piazzas, museums, everywhere. I took pictures.

I admit that I often don't get modern art. Maybe you do. Maybe you can tell me what's going on here.


This was my favorite of the exhibits. I can't tell you what it means though.

For the festival, the pavement in Piazza Maggiore was covered in white paper for all to decorate with brightly colored paint. It was pretty fun. Until I dropped my precious glove in the paint. Oh well. Now it's artsy.

Represent.

Whew. Tough work. Next up - February adventures!