Retrospective Italy Update, Part I

So, it turns out I have been studying in Italy for five weeks! Unlike some people, I am not capable of keeping an up-to-date travel blog, so let me just do a quick overview:

It was beyond awesome!

(But next time I return to Italy, I will do so in the winter)

Maybe more details later, but my schedule is incredibly chock-full of being lazy for the next two months or so, so we'll see. In the meantime, some pictures:

Here's Bologna, the first town we stayed in (and my favorite by far). It's pretty awesome-- a university town, but it's university is the oldest in the world. So it's full of hip ragazzi (young people) but also assorted neat old stuff. And the best part of it is that it's in Italy, so you can pretty much walk to everything. And if not, there is legitimate (mostly) functioning public transport.

Here's some of that neat old stuff:

Ridiculously detailed Madonna mosaic

Former Merchant's Guild, now home to Bologna Chamber of Commerce

Statue of Neptune in the Piazza del Nettuno

Some delicious products produced in the nearby Emilia-Romagna region. Our first week we visited a Parmesan cheese factory (they actually call the real stuff parmigiano-reggiano, but who has time for that when there is cheese to be eaten?) and a balsamic vinegar place. There was many a delicious sample consumed.

Also: Wine is pretty popular in Italy. Each region kind of does its own thing, but everybody has a local wine. This one is made by the balsamic vinegar place in Parma-- a frizzy white, quite refreshing! The typical hang-out thing (especially when we were in Bologna) is to grab a bottle of wine and socialize on the steps of some historic building. It's a really nice way to pass an evening, actually. Oh, did I mention that wine is also incredibly cheap there?

Went to Venice our first weekend:

Honestly, didn't expect to like this city... but I did. Everything, including and especially the architecture, is ridiculously decadent. Our obligatory gondola ride just before sunset was pleasant and charming, despite a distinct lack of singing from our gondolier, and the dinner we ate at a restaurant over the Grand Canal was lovely. Don't think I could live there (it's way too touristy) but I would love to have a rich people house there!

Alright, selecting pictures to post is actually kind of an exhausting process (I took literally thousands), which I'm guessing is why I haven't done it so far. So this update will be broken into parts. Up next: Ravenna and Florence!