Chestnuts Roasting

When its a brisk, cool day in Bologna after having a day filled with classes- buying a bag of roasted chestnuts and sitting on the steps of San Pietro looking out over Piazza Maggiore is just the right thing to do.



As for classes, this semester I'm taking:
Cinema Italiano
Letteratura Francese
Filologia ed Esegesi Neotetaentaria (Study of the New Testament)

I'm enjoying my classes and have dived head into studying. Unlike in the States, there isn't assigned daily/weekly homework. You show up to class, listen, take notes, and on your own time you read the books that are listed in the syllabus in and out, backwards and forwards.

My reading list now consists of:
Antique Christian, Greek, and Latin Literature Manual- Moreschini and Norelli
The Bible- New Testament
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of St. James- Hort
Le Rêve - Émile Zola
Nana - Émile Zola
La Bête Humaine - Émile Zola
Le Tour de Monde en quatre-vingts Jours- Jules Verne
Salammbô- Gustave Flaubert
Cronologica della letteratura francese- Campagnoli
History of French Literature- Brunel

Priceless Pumpkin

The most wonderful store in Bologna to find American cooking supplies:

SCARAMAGLIA

Via Strada Maggiore 31

Here a few of the fun surprises I found:

Autumn in Bologna

A Chocolate Covered Perugia

This weekend I took a short trip to Perugia to visit a friend and to see the largest chocolate festival in Italy- Eurochocolate.

Perugia is a quaint medieval city in Umbria, almost right in the center of Italy. It has a beautiful view which on clear days you can see all the way to Assisi, and there are little hidden narrow streets everywhere.

This weekend the quaint, medieval, university city was swarming with people. There was chocolate everything. Chocolate kebabs, chocolate sculptures, chocolate cards, chocolate computers, chocolate lamps, chocolate running down the drains and the smell of chocolate in the air.

There was also every kind of chocolate: violet, rose, cannabis, orange, strawberry, almond, hazelnut, cinnamon, cayenne, rum, anise, mint, coconut, raspberry, coffee, banana,...

Apart from indulging in such a delicious treat, I met some of the nicest girls and enjoyed eating Neapolitan style pizza, walking around Perugia, making English pancakes, and just hanging out

Over the weekend Bologna hosted its 4th edition of the film festival Terra di Tutti

I went on Saturday and spent 3 hours watching documentaries about current events around the world, some which I had never heard of.

The one that touched me the most was by Lebanese filmmaker Dima Al-Joundi, Maid for Sale.
It is about young poverty stricken women in Sri Lanka who leave their families to work in Lebanon for a 100€ a month for 5 years. The conditions are so terrible that the women sometimes resort to suicide.

Here is a short clip of a scene from the documentary:

Find more videos like this on Arab Media Community

Osteria del Sole

An Osteria varies from other restaurants in the sense that it's focuses is on hospitality instead of "haute cuisine." Osteria comes from the old french oste,which comes from the latin hospite meaning hostess... therefore the primary function of osterias is, well, hospitality.

Osteria del Sole is the oldest Osteria in Bologna. It dates back to 1452 and is still exactly the same today. It's discreet and hardly noticeable with its unmarked entrance that has little wooden sign above the door with vino written on it.

Here, you must bring your own food to eat and share with others, and the provide you with drink, upon drink, upon drink.

Its modest with one small crowded counter where people can order wine, one bathroom with a key marked paradiso, and walls covered in photographs from top to bottom and wall to wall.

My flatmates decided to host an End of Summer party on Thursday to end the season right, as autumn is kicking in and classes are in full swing next week.
We spent the afternoon cooking stuffed tomatoes, spinach pastry, homemade pizza, and salmon/herb rolls.

There was a great turn out of friends, more food one could possibly eat, followed by lots of laughter and singing.

Bangor, Cymru

After the pre-session with BCSP ended I took a trip to visit my old university, University of Bangor, Wales.

It was great to visit old friends I hadn't seen in almost 2 year, relax, get a proper english breakfast, and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

We also celebrated my friend Gaz's birthday, visited the favorite local pub, and took a little drive to Beaumaris on Anglesey Island.

Urbino

Last Saturday we headed out early to take an adventure to the pinnacle city of renaissance architecture, Urbino.

Urbino is a small walled city on the top of a hill in the Marche region. It is quaint and beautiful only accessible by car or bus- no trains.

We wandered around Il Palazzo Ducale and saw some of the most important paintings from the renaissance. We also ventured on up to the La Fortezza which has a breath taking view of the city, and we saw the birth place of painter Raffaello.

We also were able to catch a glimpse of traditional 18th and 19th century dances in a piazza just before heading back to Bologna!