Emilia Romagna

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Exploring Northern Italy
Center of Parma
    It's been a while since my last post! I apologize, what with our 5 day excursion to the Emilia Romagna region of Italy and final papers and exams, I've been a bit busy. But last week, as part of our program, our group went to the Emilia Romagna region and experienced a whole new side of Italy.


   Emilia Romagna is located north of Tuscany and was a 9 hour drive away from Castellammare in the Campania region. Going to the north of Italy was like going to another country after being in the Naples area. The area is greener, cleaner and is more industry based than the south of Italy. It felt more European whereas southern Italy has it's own culture entirely, as well as most areas of Italy.

  Our first two days we were in Parma, easily my favorite city in Italy so far. It charmed me with it's student vibe, unique history and architecture and of course, it's cheese. Parma is the home of parmesan, parmigiano, cheese. There's something about putting freshly grated parmesan cheese on pasta that makes it taste so much better. The north of Italy is famous for it's stuffed pasta as well, and we sprinkled the parmesan over a ravioli dish stuffed with ricotta cheese and herbs. 
Parma Cathedral

La Pilotta, bombed in WWII then partially rebuilt

All wood amphitheater 

Baptistery, made of marble from Venice
   Parma is great because everyone bike rides. They even have stations on the sidewalks where you can "rent" bikes for free. You put a coin in the slot, get the bike and use it, and when you return it you get your coin back.

  The next day we ventured outside of Parma to the most extraordinary countryside I've ever seen. Most people think of Tuscany when they think of quintessential Italian countryside, but Emilia Romagna should not be overlooked. It's filled with rolling green hills and small Italian towns. We went to Torrechiara, a 15th century castle with an interesting back story, situated between some of the rolling green hills with a view of the Apennine Mountains in the distance. 
Castello di Torrechiara (photo credit: wikipedia)
    Though the above photo isn't mine, I wanted to show the beauty of the area. We went on a rainy day and couldn't see much in the distance. The castle was built by Pier Maria II Rossi, a wealthy count and excellent soldier, for his mistress, Bianca Pelligrini. It was one of two castle he built for her. In fact, a lot of the artwork depicted in the castle are a tribute to how they had to no choice in falling in love and it was as if they were hit by Cupids arrow.



Surrounding area

On the balcony of the castle
  The rest of our trip took place in Bologna and around the city. Bologna is called the red city because of the many buildings built of red brick. Some of the historical buildings like their castle fortress was bombed in WWII and they've done an excellent job at restoring it to look like the original.

Labor Day Protests


  It was Labor Day for the Italians on the day we walked around Bologna. It's tradition to take to the streets and protest on labor day. Specifically, I saw a protest against Coop, which is a supermarket chain in Italy. 

  Something that is popular in Bologna and other cities in the north is aperitivo, which is like happy hour but included in the price of your drink is a small buffet where you can eat appetizers.

On the last day of our excursion, we went to a balsamic vinegar tasting and a wine tasting. The balsamic vinegar tasting, at San Donnino Vineyard outside of Modena, included tasting 5 different kinds of vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is popularly used on bread here in Italy, but depending on how long the vinegar has aged, it can be used on almost anything. We even tried balsamic with ice cream which was interesting. The older the vinegar, the better quality and the more expensive. 

Balsamic on ice cream

Balsamic vinegar storage
  We tasted red and white wines at the San Polo vineyard not too far away. The owner walked us through the process of producing the wine and how it's changed over the years.
San Polo vineyard
  We ended our trip at a stop at the Ferrari museum, where we were brought through the different stages of Ferrari's, from racing cars to the ones we have today. 

My future car
   I only have one week left of my program, a week in France after that and then I'll be home. It's going to be hard saying goodbye to the friends I've made here and the most amazing view, but I'm excited to visit Paris again and to see my friends and family (and puppy Sophie!) at home.

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Buona Pasqua in Rome

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  Happy Easter from Rome! I was fortunate enough to spend Easter in Rome, which was an incredible experience. 
  On Easter Sunday, we arrived to St. Peter's Square at the Vatican a bit later than when the 10:15 mass started. The Basilica, where the mass started, holds 15,000 people and the square holds much more. Approximately 150,000 people showed up from all different religions to gather and see the pope. Pope Francis came out onto the balcony and addressed the people in Latin and Italian. It was quite a different Easter morning that what I am used to having. Here, I don't have to wake up for the sunrise service but I missed seeing all my relatives at home.
  



  The rest of the weekend sped by. Some friends and I stayed at an Airbnb apartment near the Piazza Navona. The Piazza is famous for it's grandeur, the oval shape of the plaza and it's pickpockets. We ate our Easter dinner in the area at Osteria dell'Anima, a restaurant I'd gone to a few weeks before when I visited my friend Connor who's studying in Rome. He and his friends introduced me to their pear pasta, tortellini stuffed with cheese and pear, with a carrot cheese sauce. It's as interesting as it sounds. This time around, however, I ordered the eggplant parmesan (they apparently don't do chicken parmesan here and think it is the worst thing in the world to combine those two ingredients). Our evening ending in perfection when I brought my friends to the Frigidarium (introduced to me by Connor), which not only produces the best gelato in Rome, but the gelato of your choice in dipped in either white or dark chocolate and hardens over your dessert.

Saturday was one of my favorite days. While two of my friends went to take a tour of the Colosseum, my friend Courtney and I went to the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, and is known as the Bohemian area. We found this unique shop that sold anything from crystal balls and compasses and old maps and jewelry. It truly is an artisan area. It was quieter than the center of Rome as well, and if I ever was to live in Rome one day, I would want to rent an apartment in the Trastevere area.
Shop in Trastevere

A quiet, Trastevere neighborhood

We saw most of the famous sights too. I'd been to Rome before and taken tours of the Vatican and the Colosseum, and seeing them again brought me back to 16 year old me being out into the world for what felt like the first time. I remembered making my Trevi Fountain wish and made the same one this time around. The Trevi Fountain is beyond anything I had ever imagined, and even seeing it for the second time I was surprised at how large it really is.

Pantheon

Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Making my Trevi Fountain wish
Colosseum

   My favorite part of the trip was when I split up with my friends and went into the Keats Shelley House, the museum next to the Spanish steps that honors the great poets John Keats, my all time favorite, and Percy Shelley. The museum was once the apartment that Keats lived and died at. I was not too familiar with the life and works of Percy Shelley, but seeing the original letters, first edition copies of his poems and the room where he died was unbelievable.



View from his apartment

His bedroom where he died



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Catania and Taormina, Sicilia

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Taormina, Sicily
   My friends and I took a weekend trip to the infamous island of Sicily this past weekend. Sicily is everything and nothing like I expected. The island is much like it's own country, and reminds me of Texas in it's pride. One of our tour guides joked to never call a Sicilian an Italian, because they are Sicilian. 

   We stayed in the city of Catania, one of the largest on the island at an apartment through Airbnb. For those who are not familiar with Airbnb, it's a website where people rent our their apartments to travelers. If you can find the right deal and go with other people, it can be just as cheap as a hostel if you divide it up. I prefer it because most have kitchens, and we can save on food by buying our own and making it. 

  On Thursday night when we arrived, the owner of the apartment gave us a quick tour of the city. He didn't speak English, but he spoke French and I became the unofficial translator of the tour. It was refreshing to practice my French again, and made me more excited to visit France at the end of my program. He brought us past the famous cathedral, along the main shopping street, and showed us some good bars and restaurants to visit.

The cathedral in the daytime
   Catania is situated on the foothills of Mount Etna, the largest volcano in Europe. I somehow find myself constantly in the vicinity of volcanoes. We took a bus and drove past Etna on our way to Taormina, a quaint coastal town located on the opposite side of Etna. 
   Taormina is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. With some of the best views and beaches in Sicily, Taormina borders the Mediterranean Sea and in the distance, you can see the Calabria region of Italy, the mainland where the boot touches the island. The town itself lies on top of a cliff and is home to many pizzerias (though Sicily is not known for it's pizza) and cafes. We took a cable car down to the Lido Beach, which is supposed to be one of the best beaches in Sicily.
The town

Cable car down to the beach

Lido Beach
   After an unsuccessful attempt at getting tan, we made the spontaneous decision to take a boat tour around the coast of Taormina. Carmello, our guide, took us to to grottos and caves, one of which had orange coral under the water. He pointed out good dives spots and tunnels to swim into in the caves. The blue of the water reminded me of the blue grotto in Capri.
   Carmello took much joy in pointing out some of the filming locations of some of The Godfather movies. We rode by five star hotels and houses that had indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a couple million dollar house owned by a famous Russian woman. He also showed us a World War II memorial, and the Isola Bella. 
Relaxing on the boat

The orange coral

the WWII memorial to the left, and Etna in the center

Etna

Elephant rock (the symbol of Catania is the elephant)
  We finished our day exploring Isola Bella, an island with a museum at the center. We had to walk through 2 feet of water for a minute to get to the island based on the time of day we went to the island, but it was worth it.

Isola Bella



  The next few days we explored Catania and saw what the city had to offer. Catania is one of those overlooked cities that doesn't get the attention it deserves. It has character, a rich history, exquisite architecture and not to mention a stunning location. The city has been controlled by the Greeks, Romans, Spanish, and Italians all at different times in history. During WWII, it was bombed many times, but you wouldn't guess it based on what it looks like now.



Ruins of an old amphitheater

Villa Bellini Gardens



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