We had a tour of both Bologna and the University of Bologna today. It was so beautiful and cultured that I'm upset that I didn't apply to go to school there. Sorry UH. We learned that the University of Bologna conducted some of the first anatomy dissections and the lecture hall where this occurred was completely damaged due to bombing during WWII. It's so cool to see how they were able to put the building right back together as if it was an ancient day classroom.
We toured the Duomo of Bologna and it was my favorite church throughout our visit. The other churches were beautiful, but the one in Bologna gave me chills. There was a statue of Jesus laying down after being crucified and it was so surreal. Every section was dedicated to something specific and there was one painting that really spoke to me. On the walls, it was divided into two parts. On the first half, it was the depiction of what Heaven looks like with angels and saints past the Holy Gates. On the bottom half, it was Hell and demons eating people and souls burning in fire. It really shook me to my core. It was something that you have to see in real life in order to see how truly amazing it was.
After our tour, we went to a pasta making demonstration at a famous restaurant. I learned that certain pastas go with certain meals and that spaghetti bolognese was not a real thing. Olive Garden has definitely been steering us Americans into the wrong direction. After the pasta making demonstration, we had lunch at the restaurant. Our first course was a pasta tossed with vegetables and noodles with bolognese sauce. The next course was a lasagna that contained spinach in the noodles and tortellini tossed with pasta sauce, topped with cheese. Dessert was marscarpone topped with chocolate powder. Although I loved the ravioli at La Bottera, this meal was my favorite by far. There was no debate about it.
We shopped again in Bologna and I came to the conclusion that I have a serious problem. Someone please invite me to the next shopaholic meeting and I'll be there. Hi, my name is Sydney and I have a problem. The first step is admitting you have a problem, right? During our shopping trip, we went to McDonald's to see if all of the myths about foreign McDonald's were true. They had muffins, a better McCafe selection, and a chicken burger. None of their foreign options really pulled me in, except for the Snicker McFlurry. Whoever created that needs a raise.
A few of us went out to the local college pubs to get a taste of what college kids do in Bologna. We went to a pub where they had trivia night..in Italian. We went dancing at a local club called Soda Pop, where they played American music and we danced all night. I never thought I would dance to Beyonce in Italy, but I did and there was no looking back. It was the best night of our trip and although I loved every location dearly..Bologna is number one for me.