Saturday, Jessica and I went to Bologna, which in short, was incredible. I really liked Bologna. There were so many interesting people to watch and we sat outside and just soaked it in for probably an hour. But in order, our day went something like this.
First, we actually made it to Bologna. Again, surprisingly no problems. Look at the those Europeans, making things easy. Madness, I tell you. Then, with a bit of street wandering and guessing, we finally made it to the main street, Via Independenza, where we saw the gate to the city and the main park, which has a name but I couldn't tell you. So we walked through the park, which was pretty but it was also winter so there wasn't anyone around and the nature was limited. As we were leaving the park, we saw all these tents set up, which turned out to be the market we had also wanted to see. It mostly clothes, shoes, home goods and stuff like that, but it was still fun to walk through. After the market, we got back on the main street and walked down towards the main piazza, Piazza Maggiore. We stopped at one of the churches, where we accidentally went sightseeing during a service (but there were other people so we're still not sure if it was okay or not). The church was beautiful, just like everything else in Italy.
Once we had made it to the smaller piazza, Piazza del Nettuno, off Piazza Maggiore, we were going to walk towards the main piazza, when we got distracted. But in all fairness, there was the first of many street bands and they were playing Eye of the Tiger. So we walked down towards the famous Bologna towers (and towards the band) where we saw the first of many cute kids. These were dancing to the music the band was playing. After also listening to the Pink Panther from the band, we walked down and saw Bologna's towers, which are apparently leaning.
After walking back towards the main piazza, we found the (apparently famous) Neptune statue, the main piazza, and another street band. There were a lot of street performers that day - perhaps that was why I liked it so much, it was so lively! After hanging around the piazza a bit, we walked through an old building of some sort (stopping of course to take cute pictures on the stone furniture) and found an Old Well!! So of course, we also had to stop and take pictures there.
We then went in the world's fifth largest church (but no pictures allowed - boo). It, also, was beautiful. And I stood on both sides of Cassini's sundial in the form of a meridian line, which I suppose is something cool even if I don't quite understand what that means. After hanging around a bit more, we started walking around the streets of Bologna. We saw a lot of cute streets, dogs and people but eventually, we decided to find lunch. This was easier said than done, but eventually, after finding our way to the market district, we found a cafe for lunch. Also, in walking through the market, we discovered that instead of being in a separate building, the markets and vendors were just lining two streets. Other than that, it reminded me very much of the Mercato. I don't know, having a separate building makes things easier but there's something to be said for walking through streets with beautiful food spilling out onto the sidewalk. For lunch, I had lasagna bolognese (of course, it's from Bologna you know), which was delicious.
Then began our period of sitting around and talking, which honestly, was really nice. No rushing, no feeling like I have to see everything and get a picture of it, no pressure, just sitting, people watching and talking. Which was lovely. Finally, we decided to again wander around, ending up getting a hot chocolate and some delicious gelato (caramel and spicy chocolate - just unfairly incredible) and wound up people watching again before making our way back to the train station. After getting back to Firenze again with no problems (I'm becoming suspicious now...) we stopped at the chocolate festival again, where I got dark chocolate covered strawberries and proceeded to float away into heaven, until I got rudely pulled back to Earth upon glancing at my bank account.
Essentially, several companies have gotten hold of my debit card information and have been charging my account without my noticing for several months. Mostly, it's just a giant hassle because we're going to cancel my current debit card and get a new one and even though it's the right and easiest thing to do, it's just a hassle. And it doesn't help that I'm overseas and am therefore severely limited in being able to deal with this, for which I feel useless and not helpful at all. And really, I feel like a moron. Basically, I'm pretty convinced this is the result of something stupid I did and it really bothers me. Being smart and responsible and making good choices is something I pride myself on and then having this happen to me really calls that into question and it just makes me feel bad and stupid. I don't like it. And I'm trying to let it go and move on but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. I just have to accept it and move on, I suppose.
I think that's part of being an adult. Admitting to your mistakes, trying to fix them, paying the consequences, learning from them and moving on. But no matter how many times I tell myself that, I still mentally berate myself for this whenever I start thinking about it. But I'm sure it will get better. I just have to learn and move on. Learn and move on. Learn and move on.
Luckily, today was better. I slept for a long time, had lunch, went to the grocery store, did homework, talked things out with my parents and went to dinner. On a good note, dinner was delicious. I had Pellegrino (from a glass bottle, people - they're classy here in Italy) and a pizza with smoked mozzarella and smoked ham on it. Mmm. Delicious.
Now I've finished my homework, am updating my blog, watched some funny videos and I feel okay. Hearing what the bank has to say will make me feel better. Holocaust, Italian, Mercato, lunch, Cooking, and meeting for Rome on the agenda tomorrow. Should be a good day!
Ciao!!
Bologna looks beautiful! An Apple store and an H&M- Major score!
ReplyDeleteMajor score. Very important things I'm seeing here. Historic and such.
ReplyDelete