Verona and Bocelli

Buona sera,

It has been another fantastic (yet rainy and very wet) week here in Bologna.

Niraj is still hard at work, but is getting to know his classmates better which is exciting. The people in his program are from all over the world including Germany, Austria, Colombia, Canada, Belgium, Croatia, Bosnia, Russia, Portugal, Azerbaijan, Japan, Holland, Croatia, and many more. We are starting to plan more big excursions, and it's nice to have people offer insight and travel tips into their hometowns.

As for me, I am having a blast getting more soaked into the Italian lifestyle. I am really starting to enjoy cooking out here and am getting more ambitious every day. My latest adventures have been chocolate and ricotta cake, baked ziti, and homemade bread (which I am waiting to rise right now but isn't looking so promising...) .

I am also meeting some girls who are also here as non-students, and we are having fun exploring the city together. There is even an official group of English speaking, professional women in Bologna who organize book clubs, cocktail and coffee hours, dinners, etc. The president of this group is actually married to the former CEO of Ducati (you should see their penthouse apartment! quite impressive!), so if nothing else maybe I'll get some sort of tour of Ducati while I'm here!

This weekend we had another adventure and went to Verona for the day/evening. Andrea Bocelli was singing in the Teatro Filarmonico, so a group of 20 or so students got together to go hear him. I went out earlier with a friend to explore the city, and then we all met up for dinner and the show. Verona was gorgeous and very different from Bologna. The city is very relaxed and seemed much slower paced than where we are living. The squares were full of street vendors and markets, and they were selling some of the most gorgeous masks that I have ever seen! Of course we went to Romeo's House and Julet's Balcony, but we also saw the Castle and some of the old churches. One of the best parts of the day was when we went to this very small bar for a glass of wine and an appertivo. The entire place probably only sat 10 people, and you could tell we were the only non-regulars there. At one point, the bartender (who also was enjoying some wine) and 2 other men in the bar started singing along with the Italian love songs that were playing. It was perfect! The concert was also incredible of course, and we really enjoyed the symphony and the music. After the concert the entire group went to a Trattoria for dinner, and they set up a huge table for us in their wine cellar where we sat for nearly 3 hours. They had hundreds of bottles back there, some of which were 25 years old! It was a very typical, slow Italian meal and was fantastic.

Here are the pictures from the day/evening:
Verona Pictures

And as a side-note, how bout them Broncos? 6-0!!! Niraj is getting really excited for the Bears game tonight and is actually staring at ChicagoBears.com right now. Kickoff is at 2215 here, and we are planning to stream it and watch online. So... go Bears!

So until next time, Happy Halloween and ciao!