Bologna

One of my favorite things about my on-site High Renaissance art history class is that I get to go on weekend day trips to cities around Italy, and experience the best of Italy the way it should be done. We left my new home and the capital of Tuscany for Bologna, the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, bright and early at 7 am. After driving north for only a little over an hour we arrived in Bologna and began our day of church going, sightseeing, art appreciating, and of course, eating.

It was way less touristy than other cities I've been to in Italy like Pisa and Florence for example, which made it feel more relaxed and local. We went into just about every church and museum in the whole city, as is the norm with my all-knowing art history professor, Helen. On another note, I'm going to Rome with this same class (taught by Helen) next weekend and I am anticipating the most intense weekend of art and sightseeing of my life.

For lunch we went to a small local restaurant where I ordered Bologna's specialty dish, tortellini; prepared in the chef's chosen house special. It was beyond delicious and consisted of fresh homemade tortellini pasta stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese, in a mushroom cream sauce with ham. I have been absolutely loving going to different regions of Italy and trying their local specialty, and I can't help but keep thinking that am I living the good life or what?! After visiting a few more churches we got gelato for dinner and headed back home to Florence. I promise I'll write more about the amazing art we saw later, but reminiscing about that tortellini made me hungry so I think I'll go make some dinner...

Jessica in her natural habitat - drawing away!

Tomb, a few of the small statues are by Michelangelo