Pre-session Summer 2018
(May 16-May 30) 
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Author: Jamie
I had the opportunity to climb the cathedral in Milan. While t was a lot of steps, it wasn’t nearly as many steps at the tower in Bologna, but it was enough to make me tired. There were two levels I had access to and I went through both, but I wasn’t as impressed as I was with the tower in Bologna, maybe because I was higher up the day before and could see a larger portion of a city. It was still beautiful and everything, but it didn’t feel unique. I thought going to the top of the cathedral was going to make me question life, but it didn’t. What did though is the inside of the cathedral. I had to wait like 20 minutes to go in, but it was just absolutely astounding. The place was huge, a lot bigger than the outside makes it look, and then I started to realize that a large majority of this place was carved by hand with no power tools. There were spots to donate some money and then grab a candle in light it, which I did. I was nervous because I didn’t want to drop the candle on the floor and possibly start a fire, but I managed. If I am ever in Milan again, I will go back to the top of the cathedral, but inside the cathedral is where I will be more excited to go. Something I learned when leaving the cathedral is the Statue of Liberty in the United States was inspired by one of the statues found on the wall of the cathedral.
...While in Bologna, I decided I wanted to climb up Torre degli asinelli, a tower in Bologna that is over 400 steps. I didn’t realize I needed a reservation to climb it, but once I reserved a spot and got my ticket, I was able to climb up the tower. The three other people in my group that were going up with me had to stop every now and again to catch their breathe, but I didn’t. I was the first person up top during my scheduled time allotted to be up there. I could see a large portion of Bologna from this vantage point. I took in the view, but eventually had to head back down the stairs. Going down was a different story than going up. Because I wear size 15 shoes, the portions of the stairs that had very thin steps had me standing in my heels. I couldn’t go very fast down a majority of the steps because of this, but every now and again the steps would become wider and I could walk down normally. I could also see down to the next landing because nothing was blocking my sight. Overall, I would definitely go up it again because it was so beautiful, but I would either go up and night so I can see the city lights throughout Bologna or I would try to bring someone close to me to Italy and have them go up with me and witness their experience for the first time up there, or maybe both.
...From top left to bottom right Candy shaped like an egg in a Haribo mix, A little gazebo shaped structure at the café near the castle near the place we are staying. The castle near the place we are staying. The center ceiling tiles in Pieve do San Pietro a Romena. The left and right ceiling tiles in Pieve do San Pietro a Romena. What I saw in the basement of Pieve do San Pietro a Romena when the lights went out. A dog that led us to the church.
...Because my writing is hard to read, I’m typing what I wrote as well, going from top left to top right then bottom left to bottom right. A garbage/recycling disposal in Florence that drops the waste under the city. A statue of Perseus holding Medusa’s head and snakes are bleeding out of her neck. Three ties I ended up buying from the leather market along with leather wallets. Something featured in one of the painting in the Academy that looks like the Illuminati sign. A random statue in the Boboli Gardens that is not centered. The statue of David and his hands are out of proportion to the rest of his body. The view from the top of Boboli Gardens and from here, the Duomo looks huge.
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I have so far been to four gelato places in Italy. While in Rome, I thought I tried some unique flavor combinations, a scoop of Oreo, mango, melon at Giolitti’s, lemon and raspberry cheesecake at San Lorenzo the first time and blueberry, vanilla, and mango the second time. However, neither of these compare to the unique flavor I was offered at la Strega Nocciola, also known as the Nutty Witch. The Nutty Witch is a female ran gelato place. The flavor I found the most unique there was lavanda, or lavender. I mixed it with bignolosa, which was cream with Nutella and puffs added. The bignolosa was on top which offered a sweetness comparable to eating milk with Nutella and some cereal mixed in while the lavender offered a special taste. The taste was like how a bed of flowers smells, refreshing, beautiful, calming, basically the way lavender works but using a different sense. After walking by places that sold gelato with a lot of preservatives in them, it was like they were on every other corner with no prices or small portions for the price compared to a place that sells gelato that is made daily, I eventually ended up at Gelateria Edoardo and tried a flavor combination I never thought I would have the inclination to try, cinnamon and strawberry. The cinnamon gelato provided a spice while the strawberry gelato provided a coolness. The cinnamon was smooth while the strawberry was more like a Freezie, so they both balanced each other out in a way.
...I have ate at two separate pizza places in Rome so far, one, Meid in Nepols, is close to Hotel Madison and one, Chiosco Bar L’Ottagono, which translates to the Octogon Kiosk Bar, is by the Vatican. Out of the two, Meid in Nepols had cheaper pizza while Chiosco Bar L’Ottagono had better tasting pizza. The cashier at Meid in Nepols came up to the table and said our check was ready. We went to pay for the check, and because we did not ask the waiter to split the bill before they printed it, we each had to pay twelve euros, which was double the cost of my pizza, so they did not have to ask everyone what they ate and charge everyone different prices. The waiter was nice, but the cashier was rude, at one point he said to us, “I don’t want to make change for everyone.” After leaving the Vatican, we stumbled across a place that had a sign above it that read Pizzeria. We went over and sat down. The menu said Chiosco Bar L:’Ottagono. The pizza I ordered was seven euros, a euro more than the pizza I had ordered at Meid in Nepols, and when it arrived, I realized it was also smaller. However, the taste of the pizza was far better. The drinks at this place were expensive, but the tables are outside, so a drink not bought from the kiosk should not be a problem as long as something is ordered from the kiosk. The pizza is somewhat expensive for the size, but it is worth it.
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