I’d like to think that rather than writing about my
adventures, I’ve been living them. It is not always easy to find time to write,
and it is not exactly a hobby of mine. However, as my parents have pointed out,
now that I am finished with finals, I ought to include my friends and family
back home on my latest adventures. I will try to give a brief but substantial
recap of my three month hiatus, as requested.
Last time I wrote, I had just returned from Rome. March saw
two more trips: one to Barcelona and then to Belgium. Barcelona was absolutely
beautiful. It was my first time in Spain, and I could not have asked for a
better introduction. I met up with my family friends Clair and Betsy, who were
coming to Bologna on business the following week. We toured the Picasso museum,
admired the iconic Gaudi architecture, and enjoyed several dinners (tapas!)
each night. Now, I have been living in Italy for almost a year. I have been to
France many times. I went to Catholic school. So I have seen a church or two in
my day. The Sagrada Familia is like no other. If you step back a moment and
ignore the conceptual aspects of Gaudi’s genius – the symmetry, the harmony
with the natural world – and instead just focus on the ethereal atmosphere
inside, it is overpowering. I really don’t have the capability to describe it.
The cathedral is one of those places you need to experience in order to fully
understand.
My next trip was to Belgium, and really it deserves a separate
post. I’ll commit to a paragraph. I went with Trung and Natalia to visit our
dear friend Sam. First, we spent a few days in Leuven, where he goes to
university. Some highlights include the library (built by Americans – you’re
welcome), the Faculty Bars (run by students from their respective academic
faculties, where you can get a Stella Artois for 90 cents), and our trip to a
local farm to fulfill Trung’s dream of milking a cow. After Leuven, we went to
Sam’s home just outside of Antwerp. We visited the House of Rubens (as in the
artist, not the delicious sandwich, which is Reuben. That would have been awesome, though) and the cathedral of
Antwerp. Sam’s mother made typical Belgian dishes each night for dinner, and
breakfast was an entire feast: pistolet (rolls),
beer cheese, cured meats, américain
(raw beef spread), and of course, the star of the show, Speculoos.
Traditionally eaten as gingerbread cookies around the holidays, in the past six
years or so, speculoos cookies have been manufactured into the better version
of Nutella. Anyway, I could go on about this heavenly creation for days, but I
won’t. Just know that I could. The other cities in Belgium I visited were
Bruges, Brussels, and Liège, and we even took a day trip to the Netherlands to
see Delft, the birthplace of Vermeer. On Easter Sunday, we went to the Tour of
Flanders. After standing on the side of the road for several hours in almost
freezing cold temperatures, we cheered as the cyclists climbed up the cobbles
to victory. Sam and his family were so welcoming, and it is difficult to
properly describe their generosity and hospitality. So Sam, if you’re reading
this, a big dank je wel to you!
In April, my friend Orianne came to visit me for the
weekend. We did all of the tourist things in Bologna – hiking to San Luca,
seeing San Petronio and Santo Stefano, eating piadina…and some non-tourist things
as well, such as a picnic with Ilaria and her friends. I can’t remember
anything else particularly exciting about April, probably because nothing can compare
to the delightful Orianne.
May was a month of art and culture. I went to Ravenna on a
class field trip to see the numerous Byzantine mosaics. I returned to Florence
for the fourth time (actually it was to go to the Giro d’Italia – more on that
in a bit), and after much unnecessary hassle, was given free admission to the
Palazzo Pitti for being an art history student. I took a solo day trip to Padua
to see an exhibit on Giuseppe De Nittis, one of the so-called Italian
Impressionists. He was close friends with Degas and Manet, and you can clearly
see their influence in his paintings. Finally, at the end of the month, I took
another class field trip to Rome to the Galleria dell’Arte Moderna. In Rome, I
went to the Castel Sant’Angelo (again for free, and again after much
unnecessary hassle to prove I study art history), the Forum and the Palatine
Hill, and many of the churches I saw on my previous visit. Back to Florence: I
met up with my friend Cecily for the museum, and afterwards Trung (a newly converted
cycling fan and my soon-to-be adopted brother, apparently) and I went to the
race. We were within 100 meters of finish line. I think it was one of the only
times I had been to a non-circuit stage of a race. Once the riders flew by,
they disappeared behind the official barriers. We tried to get some
signatures/pictures, but it didn’t happen. A Canadian woman we met on the
train, who had been travelling for two years, was very assertive and got some
great shots with Ryder Hesjedal and Maxim Belkov (who won the stage). She tried
to get one with Cadel, but he ever so politely declined, speeding away on his
bike and saying “I’m sorry, I’ve got to run!”
My last exciting bit of spontaneity was three days ago, when
Trung and I went to Modena to eat at Ermes for (my) last time. The owner, Ermes,
is a real character. He doesn’t take reservations, and if he decides not to let
you in, too bad. Saturdays are the only day of the week that his wife cooks
(handmade tortellini!), so it is a bit of a special occasion to go. We decided,
after a two hour meal of tortellini, tagliatelle, rabbit, tripe, potatoes,
cake, coffee, and nocino, to head to Vignola for the cherry festival. I
contacted our Italian friend who lives there, a very sweet and gracious guy who
gave us a great tour of the town. We visited the castle, which was a lot of
fun. Ugo Foscolo, an important Italian writer and revolutionary of the late 18th/early
19th century was imprisoned there.
That’s been my life for the past three months. I have also
had exams and my internship to keep me busy. I embark on a new adventure in a
few days…but for now it remains confidential!
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