Tortellini.. in Bologna!

February 8th-10th 2013 in Bologna

Friday:
One of the teachers I worked with was telling me how her daughter lives in Bologna and I should meet her if I go. I took her information and sent her a message on Facebook. (Thank God for technology these days, makes life so much easier) She ended up inviting us to stay with her and her friend for the entire weekend!! That was so incredibly nice of her, she asked us to stay without even meeting us! (not sure if she knew what she was getting into, the combination of Catherine and I could be deadly)
One of the things I have learned about Italy is how hospitable Italians are. They always make you feel welcomed and help you with anything. SO MANY PEOPLE have blessed us by their help, they don't even realize it! I am so greatful to everyone I have met! Also so very greatful for the blessings God sends through all of these people to show His love. Just gives me a completely different perspective in life. 
We arrived in Bologona a few hours before we were to meet the girls so we started to check out the town. The commotion of big city was so refreshing to be in, after being in smaller cities for so long. We checked out the market for a while, always so fun and interesting to see all the unique things you can buy. After the market we went to a cafe' to get some Wifi to see where to go to meet the girls. We met a wonderful family that tried to give us directions then decided they would have their son walk us there. It was so nice of him to take over an hour out of his day just to make sure we found the right area. He blessed us so much by his help and I so greatful for him. We walked and talked about different American shows and his high school life. He is such a joyful person, very honored to have met him. This is what I'm talking about when I say I have learned so much about hospitality, just crazy that he did that to help us.
After meeting the girls Catherine and I set off to find their apartment to settle in since they had a class to go to. The area the girls live in is so beautiful. They are in a nice apartment surrounded by a big park and a couple minute walking distance from the mall, perfect! After the girls got back to class they made us dinner and invited their friends over to hang out. We all had to much fun talking, learning different Italian words, and playing stationary (which was not to the American advantage but a lot of fun). 

Saturday:
Happy Birthday Dad! The girls are all so sweet and down for anything. I told them it was my dads birthday and asked if they'd make a video and they were like YES! We had fun learning the Italian words to Happy Birthday then sending it to my dad, hope you had a great day! 
After we got ready for the day and the girls took us on their vespas! (How fun!!) We were so excited!! I still get excited when I think about how we got to ride around on them all day and how they let me drive! I drove a vespa! Watch out Minnesota.. I may be starting a trend when I get back. I have already googled to see how much they are :) After we went to breakfast and got hyped up on caffeine for the day we set out to see the city. We checked out the market, the two towers, St Stefeno, some other churches, and of course went shopping! So much fun! We went back to the apartment for lunch with some more of their friends. Everyone is so awesome, I just love my Bologna friends! 
After lunch we went to St Luca. It is a church on top of a big hill. The ride up was incredible and its one of the most beautiful churches I've seen. Mass was going on so we weren't able to take pictures of the inside. On the way back from St Luca we stopped at one of the girls' house and had tea, so much fun! We went to grocery store to get totillini and food to make dinner for the group. Tortillini!!!! Catherine and I got a bunch of salad but apparently its more of an American thing to eat a lot of salad. Oh and you eat salad 2nd not 1st.. there is an order of how you order and eat here which I have learned over the past few weeks. 
Side note: The guy sitting next to me on the train right now is designing cars on his computer. Its pretty cool, I'm talking like nice cars. (Yes, I know I'm creeping on him)
Sunday:
We left the girls around noon and went to a cafe for breakfast and to use wifi. We spent the afternoon in Bologna and enjoyed some of the carnival. Carnival was going on in every town in Italy. Carnival is a big deal, its a town parade where everyone dresses up with masks and throws confetti throughout the street. It was so fun to see the laughter and joy in the families, just loved it! Confetti covered the streets, families walking up and down the town, fresh candy and foods all over.. just a great thing to experience. We took the train back to Macerata to make the evening mass at 9 pm before we headed back to Convitto. Bologna was such a great weekend, so thankful to God for all the beautiful people he placed in my life and the adventures I had there!