Lago di Garda

Friday I headed up to Lago di Garda which is the largest lake in Italy, touching three regions, Lombardia, Veneto, and Trentino-Alto Adige. It was magnificent. It is a taste of paradise. 

It is a touristy area with more germans than italians, but it is a gorgeous swim in the lake surrounded by the Gruppo del Baldo mountains. 

Par Tòt!

Yesterday, Bologna transformed into one large city festival that resembled Carnival. 

My roommates and I headed down to Piazza Maggiore and it was absolutely crazy. 

People we're dressed up in serious costumes, dancing, drinking, having fun. 

This event is called "Par Tòt" which means "Parade for Everyone" in Bolognese dialect. 

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"Par tòt Parata rappresenta un volano per l’auto-coinvolgimento diretto di cittadini, artisti, associazioni e scuole e rivitalizza i luoghi della città, ridefinendoli e trasformandoli. Par Tòt Parata coinvolge la città di Bologna in una esplosione di musica, ballo, teatro di strada, canto, costumi, maschere, pupazzi, carrelli e tanto altro ancora"

The Par Tòt parade represents a flight for the self-involved directed by citizens, artistis, associations and schools, and revived redefining and transforming certain locations in the city. Par Tòt involves the city of Bologna in an explosion of music, dance, street theater, singing, costumes, masks, puppets, floats, and so much more. 

The parade is based off the biannual Zinneke Parade in Brussels. The meaning of the parade is more than just a simple manifestation, it goes beyond that creating a space where the ambiance becomes the artist and the artist becomes the ambiance.

Buon Giorno!

In Italy they don't do breakfast like they do breakfast in the US, however there is still a cute caffè in Bologna on Via Santo Stefano that I enjoy going to in order to get my cappuccino, brioche alla crema, and spremunta d'arancia. 

Welcome to Colazione da Bianca: 

Taste of Bologna

Last week one of the students in the program, Matt Leick, had the brillant idea of making a short video. He grabbed his friend John Nissen Hooper and they completed all the photography and editing of the video in just two days. Impressive. 

Huge props!

Enjoy :)

Caffè Vittorio Emanuele

Over the past few months, my favorite spot to go and hang out, get a coffee, sometimes study, or just socialize has been the bar Vittorio Emmanuele right there in Piazza Maggiore across from Neptune. 

It's great for people watching, you get a beautiful view of the main piazza, and my friends and I have been spoiled by getting many many many free drinks and nice discounts from the boys who work at the bar. 

Waiter who likes to give us free drinks: Davide 

One of my favorite drinks on a hot day: Caffè Shakerato

Nice view from the tables of the piazza 


(photos thanks to Alex and Tabitha Blanski)

Exams and End of Semester

I apologize for the lack of posting recently. Unfortunately I had complications with my tonsillitis which I wrote about in a previous post, so I've been terribly sick and then today I took my last exam at the Università di Bologna and of my university career as an undergraduate. 

On the upside of being sick, I had a better experience with Italian healthcare. In short,  I went to the emergency room again and there was no one there and so I only waited about 10 minutes and was brought back and after evaluating my situation they immediately put an IV in and I was taken care of.  I spent 3 days in the hospital and I walked out not paying a penny and only 6 euros for a prescription at the pharmacy. 

Otherwise, over the past two weeks I've been studying for my French Literature exam which was a dark looming cloud over my head, having to read 5 novels in French, essentially learn everything there is to learn about 19th Century French Literature without any direction, and brush up on my language skills since I was supposed to do part of the exam in French.  

But I passed, and it's over and I must admit that I somewhat enjoyed engaging in these novels: