Bologna day trip!
Ciao!!
I hope that everyone has been enjoying their Saturday! I know that I certainly did!!
Today was another amazing day in the very difficult (haha) life of living in Italy. The program I am going through - API - has been absolutely phenomenal! Since day one, they have made transitioning to living in Italy so easy. Through the scheduled cultural activities they have, to the fun, interactive ways of getting us to know the city, to the weekend excursions they have planned, as well as their genuine concern for our well being and their efforts to create and sustain good relationships with every student, API has made this study abroad experience a one-of-a-kind, amazing and memorable experience thus far.
Today, it was an early wake up call! 7 am!! Yup, there's no such thing as sleeping in here! By 8:15 we were dressed and out the door, heading to our meeting spot where the buses were going to get us and take us up to Bologna for the day. The anticipated travel time was just under two hours, however, due to a huge accident that happened on the highway early this morning, it ended up taking us about three hours, which was okay for me as I got in some much needed extra sleep!
By the time we arrived in Bologna, I was ready to explore. After splitting up into smaller groups, we went on an hour and a half walking tour of Bologna. Contrary to what some of the other kids in my program thought about Bologna, I think that it was one of my favorite places I've been to in Italy and I would absolutely, 100% recommend trying to pop in for a day if you're ever in that neck of the woods. On our walking tour we learned that Bologna is home to the oldest university in the world. We walked along the streets full of history and beauty and even walked through an old Jewish Ghetto. For me, that was definitely one of the most interesting parts of our walk because I feel that since I'm taking a class on the Holocaust, it's really interesting to be able to put a picture and a real, concrete place to the stories we are reading in class. It's one thing to read about the ghettos and their existence (did you know that the first Ghettos were established in Italy?) and a completely other thing to actual walk through one. It felt really eerie to walk down the street and to see the markings that it had been a ghetto at one point.
After our walking tour ended, me and a small group of girls decided to check out this restaurant called Buca Manzoni. The meal was absolutely deeeelicious! I had a Tortoloni dish with red sauce and a ricotta and parsley filling. It was absolutely amazing!! Freshly made pasta and great company, enjoying a nice sit-down meal after a long walk, nothing could have been better!
After lunch, we decided we would attempt to find a bakery to get some pastry's before we had to meet up with the group. Unfortunately, there weren't any pastry shops to be found....surprising since you would think they're on almost every corner in Italy....nope!
We spent the rest of our free time unsuccessfully locating a bakery before we met up with the rest of the group to head off to the Balsamic Vinegar farm called Acetaia San Matteo for some Balsamic vinegar tasting and a tour of the farm!
After getting a brief history and information session on how the Balsamic Vinegar (and I mean, REAL balsamic vinegar) is made, they came around and let us each taste for ourselves the difference between different ages of balsamic vinegar. We got to try balsamic vinegar aged 7, 10, 17 and 25. My personal favorite was the vinegar only aged for 7 years. It was the sweetest of the ages, but obviously the longer the vinegar is aged, typically the better -- according to most people! I really enjoyed the 7 year but all of the other ages were obviously phenomenal as well! The most interesting part of it all is that this little farm doesn't export their balsamic vinegar outside of Italy. It is a very lengthy process just to make a small amount of the vinegar, so although they do sell their products, it takes a long time and there is a lot of work, time and effort along with other procedures that go into the final products. The farm is family owned, and it was amazing to be able to spend the afternoon with the family and get to know them a bit. Some of the kids played a game of soccer (or football as they would say in Europe) with the son of one of the family members: Riccardo. The family that we met was a set of grandparents (I'm kicking myself for not remembering the name of the little grandma, she was absolutely adorable and so sweet!) The little grandma made all of this home made delicious food for everyone to have after we sampled the balsamic vinegar! There were all sorts of delectable desserts and finger foods. There was also freshly picked green and purple grapes and some pears too!! They had this bucket of water that you would dip the fruit in to make sure it was clean before eating it, and when I tell you they were the best grapes I've ever had, I mean, they were the BEST grapes I've EVER had.
After our information session and all of the food (so much food today!), we got to have a little tour of where they age all of the vinegar! (Check out my pictures page for the photos!) That was one of the coolest parts. I wish I could describe the smells -- so absolutely delicious! -- but it's something you must experience! One of my favorite things I learned on this tour, is that whenever a new child is born in the family, it's tradition for the family to start making balsamic vinegar for that child, so we got to see the balsamic vinegar that they started when Riccardo was born - 14 years ago! What an adorable family tradition!! I love it!! And then another of my favorite parts from today was that we all got to sample a little bit of Balsamic Vinegar that has been aging for 90 years!!! Yup, you heard me right, it was 90 years old!!! It was think as molasses and so amazing!!
By the time 6:30 rolled around, everyone had had their fill of delicious foods, scrumptious balsamic vinegar and a great day of adventure, learning, and experiencing an amazing family tradition and way of life and it was time to board the buses back to Florence. I don't think you could find one person on the trip today who actually wanted to come back! We were all prepared to stay with the family for as long as we could! I also think I can speak for everyone on the trip today when I say we were all so grateful that the family allowed us into their home and into their life for a day and were so kind, caring, and hospitable to us. For me, this was probably my favorite experience because I felt as though for a few hours, I got to see into the life of a family in Bologna, so rich in their history and so wonderful at what they do. It is certainly an experience I will never forget and one that will touch me for years to come!
For any of you who may be coming to Italy, or plan to in the future, and think you may stop by Bologna, the website and information for the restaurant we went to today can be found here:
http://www.bucamanzoni.it/
AAANNNNDDDDD
For anyone interested in checking out the website for the Balsamic Vinegar Farm we went to today, here's the link to their website:
http://www.acetaiasanmatteo.it/
Okay, now it's off to bed for me! I'm exhausted!!! Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!!!
Missing everyone so much!!! Hope all is well!
xoxox
Ciao!
La vita e bella!
I hope that everyone has been enjoying their Saturday! I know that I certainly did!!
Today was another amazing day in the very difficult (haha) life of living in Italy. The program I am going through - API - has been absolutely phenomenal! Since day one, they have made transitioning to living in Italy so easy. Through the scheduled cultural activities they have, to the fun, interactive ways of getting us to know the city, to the weekend excursions they have planned, as well as their genuine concern for our well being and their efforts to create and sustain good relationships with every student, API has made this study abroad experience a one-of-a-kind, amazing and memorable experience thus far.
Today, it was an early wake up call! 7 am!! Yup, there's no such thing as sleeping in here! By 8:15 we were dressed and out the door, heading to our meeting spot where the buses were going to get us and take us up to Bologna for the day. The anticipated travel time was just under two hours, however, due to a huge accident that happened on the highway early this morning, it ended up taking us about three hours, which was okay for me as I got in some much needed extra sleep!
By the time we arrived in Bologna, I was ready to explore. After splitting up into smaller groups, we went on an hour and a half walking tour of Bologna. Contrary to what some of the other kids in my program thought about Bologna, I think that it was one of my favorite places I've been to in Italy and I would absolutely, 100% recommend trying to pop in for a day if you're ever in that neck of the woods. On our walking tour we learned that Bologna is home to the oldest university in the world. We walked along the streets full of history and beauty and even walked through an old Jewish Ghetto. For me, that was definitely one of the most interesting parts of our walk because I feel that since I'm taking a class on the Holocaust, it's really interesting to be able to put a picture and a real, concrete place to the stories we are reading in class. It's one thing to read about the ghettos and their existence (did you know that the first Ghettos were established in Italy?) and a completely other thing to actual walk through one. It felt really eerie to walk down the street and to see the markings that it had been a ghetto at one point.
After our walking tour ended, me and a small group of girls decided to check out this restaurant called Buca Manzoni. The meal was absolutely deeeelicious! I had a Tortoloni dish with red sauce and a ricotta and parsley filling. It was absolutely amazing!! Freshly made pasta and great company, enjoying a nice sit-down meal after a long walk, nothing could have been better!
After lunch, we decided we would attempt to find a bakery to get some pastry's before we had to meet up with the group. Unfortunately, there weren't any pastry shops to be found....surprising since you would think they're on almost every corner in Italy....nope!
We spent the rest of our free time unsuccessfully locating a bakery before we met up with the rest of the group to head off to the Balsamic Vinegar farm called Acetaia San Matteo for some Balsamic vinegar tasting and a tour of the farm!
After getting a brief history and information session on how the Balsamic Vinegar (and I mean, REAL balsamic vinegar) is made, they came around and let us each taste for ourselves the difference between different ages of balsamic vinegar. We got to try balsamic vinegar aged 7, 10, 17 and 25. My personal favorite was the vinegar only aged for 7 years. It was the sweetest of the ages, but obviously the longer the vinegar is aged, typically the better -- according to most people! I really enjoyed the 7 year but all of the other ages were obviously phenomenal as well! The most interesting part of it all is that this little farm doesn't export their balsamic vinegar outside of Italy. It is a very lengthy process just to make a small amount of the vinegar, so although they do sell their products, it takes a long time and there is a lot of work, time and effort along with other procedures that go into the final products. The farm is family owned, and it was amazing to be able to spend the afternoon with the family and get to know them a bit. Some of the kids played a game of soccer (or football as they would say in Europe) with the son of one of the family members: Riccardo. The family that we met was a set of grandparents (I'm kicking myself for not remembering the name of the little grandma, she was absolutely adorable and so sweet!) The little grandma made all of this home made delicious food for everyone to have after we sampled the balsamic vinegar! There were all sorts of delectable desserts and finger foods. There was also freshly picked green and purple grapes and some pears too!! They had this bucket of water that you would dip the fruit in to make sure it was clean before eating it, and when I tell you they were the best grapes I've ever had, I mean, they were the BEST grapes I've EVER had.
After our information session and all of the food (so much food today!), we got to have a little tour of where they age all of the vinegar! (Check out my pictures page for the photos!) That was one of the coolest parts. I wish I could describe the smells -- so absolutely delicious! -- but it's something you must experience! One of my favorite things I learned on this tour, is that whenever a new child is born in the family, it's tradition for the family to start making balsamic vinegar for that child, so we got to see the balsamic vinegar that they started when Riccardo was born - 14 years ago! What an adorable family tradition!! I love it!! And then another of my favorite parts from today was that we all got to sample a little bit of Balsamic Vinegar that has been aging for 90 years!!! Yup, you heard me right, it was 90 years old!!! It was think as molasses and so amazing!!
By the time 6:30 rolled around, everyone had had their fill of delicious foods, scrumptious balsamic vinegar and a great day of adventure, learning, and experiencing an amazing family tradition and way of life and it was time to board the buses back to Florence. I don't think you could find one person on the trip today who actually wanted to come back! We were all prepared to stay with the family for as long as we could! I also think I can speak for everyone on the trip today when I say we were all so grateful that the family allowed us into their home and into their life for a day and were so kind, caring, and hospitable to us. For me, this was probably my favorite experience because I felt as though for a few hours, I got to see into the life of a family in Bologna, so rich in their history and so wonderful at what they do. It is certainly an experience I will never forget and one that will touch me for years to come!
For any of you who may be coming to Italy, or plan to in the future, and think you may stop by Bologna, the website and information for the restaurant we went to today can be found here:
http://www.bucamanzoni.it/
AAANNNNDDDDD
For anyone interested in checking out the website for the Balsamic Vinegar Farm we went to today, here's the link to their website:
http://www.acetaiasanmatteo.it/
Okay, now it's off to bed for me! I'm exhausted!!! Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!!!
Missing everyone so much!!! Hope all is well!
xoxox
Ciao!
La vita e bella!
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