• 10 Things You Can’t Miss in Bologna, Italy

    (From someone who lived there and went back almost solely to revisit the city’s gelaterias) 1. Outdoor movies in Piazza Maggiore in the summer It’s hot, like a nice breezy dress still sticking to your sweat drenched thigs, but by dark, the city falls into a nice dully warm night, rumbling with happy people and bikes chattering over cobblestones. That’s when you make your way to Piazza Maggiore from June through August (preferably not by car, like my parents did, resulting in a ticket) for Sotto le stelle del Cinema. I had the pleasure of seeing a silent film accompanied by an orchestra. 2. Cremeria Santo Stefano Every time I…

  • The Friends I Made in Bologna

    I could walk the streets of Bologna in my sleep. My route into the city from the little studio apartment I rented near Giardini Margherita is as familiar to me as my walk to elementary school. The park, the old city gate, two of my favorite gelaterias ever, Via Guerrazzi to walk to class, lots of oranges and browns and reds, Piazza Santo Stefano, and then the heart of the city: the Due Torri and Piazza Maggiore. Part of why Bologna is so special to me is because of the people I met there. It took time to find my people, but the ones that stuck with me— Julie, Lien,…