Fall in Bologna

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We are having a great fall here in Bologna. The weather hasn’t been so good—LOTS of rain, but we’ve been out and about and enjoying the day-to-day life. Teaching English has turned out to be the ideal job for us because it’s really flexible and allows us to make our own hours, plus it has allowed us to meet some really nice people as well as some very interesting characters. We’ve made some more friends, both ex-pats like us and Italians and have had a lot of fun going out for dinner/drinks with them. We even hosted an American style Halloween party at our apartment.

We bought tickets to go watch an awesome soccer game when Bologna played Juventus, one of the biggest teams in the Italian Champions League. It was really cool to see some soccer stars up close and experience the CRAZINESS of the soccer fans who scream, yell, cry, and curse with the most intense emotion you’ve ever seen—all throughout the game. Another highlight was going to Bologna’s famed opera house to see Verdi’s La Traviata which was a really special experience.

This fall also included trips to 2 Italian weddings! Melanie went down to Puglia in southern Italy to see Sergio and Liz marry inside a beautiful waterfront cathedral followed by an exceptional dinner at restaurant inside a converted convent. We both drove down to Tuscany to see Marta and Josh tie the knot at a gorgeous villa built high into the hills outside Cortona. Their ceremony was followed by an amazing 7+ course meal and lots of wonderful wine.

Finally, we must brag a bit about our culinary skills which are getting pretty good! Anthony has become an expert bread baker and is starting to experiment more with homemade pizza. Melanie can officially make her own tortellini as well as some other great pasta dishes. But it’s not hard to cook here with the best ingredients we’ve ever been exposed to. The seasonal fruit and veggies are the best—right now we are enjoying the persimmons, pomegranates, pears, grapes, chestnuts, cauliflower, and butternut squash which they often use to fill delicious ravioli and tortelloni.

So you can see, Italy has been treating us well. Nevertheless, we have decided to return home for good just before the holidays. It will be bitter-sweet to leave Bologna but we very much look forward to catching up with all of you!

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Photos

At the Bologna vs Juve Game
We bought Bologna colored scarfs and hats (Rosso Blu!) to try and blend in

Soccer Star
Anthony plays soccer 4-5 nights each week in the local park and some of his fellow teammates compare him to Landan Donovan (from the US team) :)

The Final Product
The final product after 3 hours of grinding the filling of prosciutto, mortadella, pork loin, parmigiano, and nutmeg and then rolling out the dough and forming the little tortellini

Insalata di Pesce
Our version of fish salad including calamari, octopus, shrimp, and veggies

Out For Pizza
One of our many nights out for pizza, this time with friends Mariangela, Francesco, Vittoria, and their crew.

Puglia Wedding
Sergio's mother walking him into the church. Perfect weather that day!

Cocktail Hour at the Puglia Wedding
The spread at cocktail hour was really impressive

The Ladies
Was so nice to see everyone at the Puglia wedding, in from the US, London, and the Czech Republic

Driving Through the Alps
Driving through the Alps was awesome-- gorgeous mountains on both sides of the small scenic highway with lots of cute towns to stop off and see

Brixen/Bressanone
We stopped off at a really cute town in the Alps and because it's so close to Germany the town has 2 names-- Brixen in German and Bressanone in Italian. It kind of looked like Epcot, so idyllic!

Back in Perugia
Back in Perugia, where we first met. This picture is on the steps in the main piazza which used to be our favorite spot to hang out

Deruta Pottery
Mel loves going back to Perugia to buy beautiful Deruta pottery

Mel in Urbino
We went to Urbino in the Marche region of Italy to check out the really cute hill town and birthplace of the famous artist Raphael (Raffaele in Italian)

Great View
The view from the parking lot in Urbino was beautiful, especially after the rain and gloom passed

Agri-turismo Property
The property of our agri-turismo villa was really pretty with vineyards, olive groves, lots of fruit trees, and a bunch of cute livestock

Pomagranate
We stayed at an agri-turism villa in Tuscany called "Il Melograno" which means The Pomagranate and were pleasantly surprised to find pom trees all over the property, ready to be picked

Wine Tasting
We enjoyed a lovely wine tasting with friends Marta and Josh and helped them pick out the wine for their Tuscan wedding

Tuscany Wedding
Marta and Josh had a beautiful wedding ceremony on their villa's terrace

Prosecco Toast
Enjoying some prosecco on the patio of Marta and Josh's Tuscan villa after the ceremony ended