I took a picture of this plate at a restaurant because it shows the art of Bologna. The city is old but feels new. The colors on the buildings are very neutral and very color coded. Even in the restaurants it feels like they are color coded too.

Like a few of my peers, I felt that my first impression of Bologna wasn’t all that great—the closed up shops and quiet streets had little to offer, and the fact that we had just traveled from one city to the next had me downright exhausted. However, my opinion began to change when we reached our restaurant of choice for the night (which I unfortunately can’t remember the name of), where I decided to splurge a bit and order a 20 euro meal— Lobster and linguine that was definitely worth the money. Afterwards, my group and I decided to go to—at Dr. O’Connor’s recommendation, of course—one the best gelato places in the city. Knowing he would never recommend a falso gelato shop, I trusted his judgement and kept an open mind. The shop was definitely the real deal, with stainless steel containers and visible prices. The cashier seemed very willing to speak with me in English, which I thought was very kind of him. The gelato itself was probably the best gelato I had on the trip, which was definitely saying a lot! All in all, I’m really glad we stopped in! So, the final verdict: Awesome. I began to see why it was known as “The Fat City” because their food, especially their famous bolognese sauce, is to die for. This just goes to show that first impressions really don’t mean all that much in the long run.

Bologna was an interesting stop because we stayed in the older part of the city. It was a bit more of a struggle to get around because even though the general part was like a clock, the directions of it we a bit confusing at first. It was absolutely amazing to go visit the oldest university during our stop, and to also visit the place where Mary Shelley got her inspiration for Frankenstein. The room itself was massive and I wish to visit again during a lecture because the room was breathtaking. I also went to the towers to climb the tallest one. The climb itself was a little rough, but the view at the top was worth it. The breeze and overlook of the city was stunning. I really enjoyed the stop as the trip is coming to an end. There were a lot of great sights to see and dishes to eat, and I’m looking forward to visiting again. 

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.

  I was a little weary of Bologna at first. As we drove up to our hotel the first night I could not figure out exactly how I felt about it. I loved the country side of Poppi so much that being in another city was sort of upsetting. I soon realized the complete opposite.   As soon as we got here we went out to dinner. We were confused at first because everything was closed. Once we found a place and sat down they gave us drinks but no menus. After about 20 minutes, we thought maybe the kitchen was closed and people in Bologna just did not eat or something. Finally, we got up the courage to ask for menus. The waitress looked confused but grabbed some for us. She ended up being very nice, and tried her best to speak English to us. The food we got was amazing, I had the ravioli and it may have been the best pasta dish I have had here in Italy. Then we got dessert which also ended up being to die for.   We ended up asking our waitress why everything was closed and why no one was eating and she told us that one, it was a Sunday so some places were closed, and two, it was still early for dinner. It was 8:00 pm. Now we knew Italians ate late, but that was not a problem in the cities with more tourism because they stay open for the tourist! Now that we are in places with less tourists, we can start to truly experience how Italians live, and of course eat.   Then today, after having some amazing gelato and visiting the University of Bologna, We had another pleasant experience at lunch. The people are so nice here, and the food is even better. We ordered pizza and salads and were not disappointed.   To end the night Megan and I sat outside to do some homework. We talked to the owner of the hotel we are staying at, and of course he was a sweetheart as well. People in Bologna have proven to be so friendly. He talked to us about how he loves the United States, and how Italians think of the U.S. as New York City and such, but he thinks of it as the west and the country side. This was a refreshing thing to hear, because I always thought the people here did not like America or Americans all too much.   Overall, Bologna is a beautiful laid back city. Although my initial response was questionable, it has proven to be a great place full of friendly people.