Dat Portico Lyf

I will be frolicking through the porticoed streets of Bologna for the next four months, eating all foods that dare to cross my path. Keep tabs on my antics here, if you are so inclined.

[bocconignammy]

Worlds colliding. And truffles.

No but seriously. The Tuchler clan plus Aunt Joan were in Bo last week! ALSO, Laura and Robert visited last Saturday... I guess I'll start there. It was a packed week that included a HEFTY dose of delicious food. Andiamo!

Laura and Robert arrived the same day as my family, but a few hours earlier, so we spent the morning walking around the city, showing the sites and such. We also went for pizza... I opted for straight up funghi (and ate the whole thing.)

Fam landed mid-afternoon, and everybody was quite overwhelmed... I by them, them by the city... it was just a whole thing. I escaped back to my lovely friends (it's a tough life being so popular, all these visitors and such...), and we went for a walk before dinner. Dinner: trip back to Osteria dell'Orsa. It's just so reliably good! This time, we got 3 crostini to split- Orgasmico again (because duh), a vegetarian one that was just delicious roasty veggies, and an incredibly Bolognese one- squacquerone (a super creamy cheese unique to Emilia Romagna) with mortadella. Delicious. For dinner, I got short pasta with fennel-y sausage and tomato sauce. I hadn't really had any sausage yet here, and this pasta was just so delicious. Also, nice respite from long noodles. I am getting much better at twirling my pasta but sometimes a girl just needs a break...

After dinner, it was time to go out! And oh man, I'm quite sure that evening was the most joyful of my life. Out with home/childhood friends + Duke friends + program friends + Italian friends + sister... basically I had all my bases covered! I was, in Italian, a mio agio. So much fun! 

Next day, I tackled some of the remaining.. uh... fun from the night before with pizza, because pizza. We went to Pizzeria Spacca Napoli, a place a pass like 4x a week but had never tried. The five of us each ordered a massive pizza, and they were all incredible. Mine was spinach and ricotta-- the ricotta was included in big globs, and it was so rich and salty and perfect... pizza will never betray me.

For dinner on Sunday, Mary and I cooked. Mary made her unfailingly spectacular puttanesca, and I put together a spinach salad with apples, gorgonzola, almonds and honey-balsamic dressing. Solid meal! Go team!

Unfortunately, I couldn't spend the whole week with the fam, what with class and being an actual student and such. So most of our time together was spent at meals (no complaints from this girl). For the next big meal, I suggested Trattoria Belle Arti, the first restaurant we went to as a program. This was probably the best decision I made all week... I had been craving truffles, and told myself if I found something with white truffles, I'd go for it. Lo and behold, Belle Arti was featuring a separate menu dedicated to white truffles. So I got... truffle tagliatelle. Seriously, truffle oil with shaved truffles on top. I don't realllllly think I need to say much more... when you combine homemade pasta with truffles in 2 forms, YA CAN'T REALLY GO WRONG. May have shed a tear of joy or two there. My dining companions' meals were also spectacular. Sarah got a fantastic carbonara and dad got incredible, juicy grilled calamari alongside grilled veggies. I love food ack. For dessert, we got little sampling platters of dessert... amusing that my family was planning on splitting 2 desserts between us and we ended up with a plate of four mini-desserts in front of each of us. Whatever, though. Pistacchio panna cotta, zuppa inglese (apparently a Bolognese special. Not a huge fan but obviously I ate it anyway), tiramisu (honestly, so much better in this country. Usually not a huge fan in the states but oh baby), and some form of fantastic creamy pine nut tart. And then they brought us two types of alcohol FO FREE! Some form of yummy, sweet, dessert-y sherry, and then limoncello. And like my mom wasn't really into hers so I took one for the team and helped her out. Where is my medal for being the best daughter? 

Tuesday: Firenze! We walked around and saw the touristy things, and Sarah and I also stumbled upon a Gucci museum, which had old Gucci pieces, photos of the man himself with celebs of the time, and (the best part, secondo me), Gucci dresses worn by Cameron Diaz, Blake Lively, Salma Hayek and more. So stunning. I love sequins, man. 

For lunch, I literally googled "i migliori panini firenze", and was directed to a hole in the wall (almost literally.. I think the entire place was like 8x8 ft) where they made each sandwich to order, cutting the cheese and meat by the slice for each sandwich. Mine was artichokes, spicy salami and pecorino. All about that. 

Another perk of Florence- I met up with Becky, Amanda, Cortnay and Ben for a delightful little freshman dorm reunion! It's such a fun feeling to be in a beautiful European city with a group of people I'm used to being with on campus in Durham. 

While in Firenze, the fam and I also explored Mercato San Lorenzo, which was basically a giant edible playground where I sampled (and purchased) truffle oil and ate fried calamari and marveled at fresh fish and meat and fruit and veggies and got really hungry. Day in the life.

For dinner, feeling obligated to immediately make use of the truffle oil, I made mushroom risotto using dried porcini and fresh other mushrooms and topped it all with parm and truffle oil. It was edible.

As our final family meal, we went to Trattoria Battibecco, an adorable restaurant hidden a few steps away from Piazza Maggiore. This. meal. was. fantastic. In fact, I think I'll save it for a separate post... 

That was the end of my family time :( But, to ease the pain of their departure, I made a day trip to Padova with Alison yesterday! Such a charming town-- we explored the markets, bought some chocolate, and saw the absolutely spectacular Cappella degli Scrovegni. Quite a humbling experience. Oh, and for lunch, we went to a paninoteca that, according to our best count, offered 176 different combinations. I opted for porchetta, zucchine and fontina. It was a stressful experience, scanning the colorful notecards and struggling to weigh my culinary priorities before I reached the counter, but it was worth the ordeal. 

To cap off the exciting week, Alison and I winded down by watching Toast- a movie I had never heard of with Freddie Highmore and Helena Bonham-Carter, based on the memoir of chef Nigel Slater. Very interesting, and it was British and about food so I was predictably content. 

Phew. EXCITING, NOMMY WEEK IN ITALY. I'm really going to try to blog more frequently so I can produce shorter, more legible posts as opposed to this monstrosity... but no promises. Buona domenica! 

[bocconignammy]

Important: Today marked the end of Bologna's 4 day mortadella festival, which was comprised of a couple dozen tents selling straight up mortadella as well as mortadella panini, spiedini and even sushi. But the best part, perhaps, was that jolly mortadella smiley face logo plastered all over Piazza Maggiore. My goodness, I love this city. 

[bocconignammy]

Osteria dell'Orsa!

Oh boy, I have missed blogging about food! Luckily, the past few days have yielded some culinary gems. Wednesday night, Cortnay and Becky hopped on a train from Florence to visit Mary and I here in Bologna. Naturally, we felt responsible to show them a damn good Bolognese meal, for cheap. Per the suggestion of my language partner (and numerous others), we headed to Osteria dell'Orsa, a homey, cozy joint with wooden tables between the University area and the city center. You get a good vibe from this place- no frills, but with all the recommendations we had received, we knew it would be good. We started with a liter of house wine for the table, and then ordered 2 crostini to share: bruschetta pugliese (what you think of when you think of bruschetta) and another that was literally called "orgasmico": taleggio (delicious stinky cheese), walnuts and honey. THEY WERE BOTH SO GOOD. The bruschetta was predictably so- fresh tomatoes, perfect amount of seasoning... can't go wrong. The orgasmico... wow. I am just so into cheesy-sweet combos. And usually I find honey to be kind of sickly sweet/overpowering, but with the strong taleggio... no worries on that front! Add the woodsy, crunchy walnuts... and all was well. 

For the main course, my dining companions opted for the traditional ragu (tagliatelle bolognese). It would be irresponsible to order anything else when you have one night in Bologna! It was stella. It's what American-Italian restaurants try and fail to recreate (I'm judging this all on two bites but I'm pretty confident about it). As for me, I found myself frankly incapable of resisting ravioli with wild mushroom sauce. Hot damn. Homemade pasta is a beautiful thing, folks. Also, there is something incomparably satisfying about sitting at a wooden table in a bare bones kind of restaurant and eating a full plate of simple but stunningly delicious food. No gimmicks. Very different experience than going to a Michelin star restaurant and eating combinations of things you'd never think of. But, I would argue, equally satisfying. 

Cherry on top- we went to the register to pay and learned that this whole marvelous experience was 10 euros a head. Wine, apps, and incredible pasta for 13 dollars? Yeah, I'll be returning.

P.S. Last night I made this red wine goat cheese risotto with caramelized mushrooms. Turned out pretty incredible if I may say so! Photo evidence:

[bocconignammy]

Happy 4 weeks to me!

Wahooooo four magical weeks have passed since I first set foot in this magical town! Hard to believe. Feels like it's been, like, 3 times longer than that. I've learned a lot about myself. Namely, I suck at blogging... sorry to all my fans (lookin at you sister.)

That being said, time for some catching up! Today marks the official end of the orientation phase of the program, since I took my oral Italian history exam yesterday and turned in my Italian language final today. Until Monday, I am a free woman! Unfortunately, the end of orientation means the end of group trips to nearby cities. Our last one of these took place on Saturday, in Verona. I understand now why our boy Shakespeare chose to make the most famous love story of all time set here. It's honestly like walking through a fairytale... a river running through, surrounded by hills adorned with churches and castles, picturesque piazzas wherever you go, and an arena that now hosts operas throughout the summer. Our trip, as always, featured a multi-course meal. This one was not the best we've had, but it did feature an increeeeeedible red wine risotto. Gosh, risotto is just the best, as a general rule. 

Magical place, that Verona. Closer to home, last night, Anna, Alison, Mary and I packed a picnic of cheap wine, homemade pasta salad, prosciutto and olive bread and headed south of the city, up into Villa Ghigi, to sit on the grass, picnic, sip, and take in a lovely view of the city at sunset. Not many complaints.

DON'T HATE IT. Another thing I don't hate: the view of Bologna from the tallest point in the city (Torre Asinelli). It's a fun climb to the top, and the reward is well worth it. Anna, Mary and I made the journey a few days ago. The results:

Needless to say, I'm rather happy with the state of affairs here. Some upcoming exciting things: Cortnay and Becky are visiting from Firenze tonight (we're going to eat at Osteria dell'Orsa, a recommendation from my language partner, who has promised us a delish and cheap meal), making a day trip to Rome (lol isn't that so fun to say) on Saturday, heading to LONDON TO SEE LAURA, ROBERT AND SAMI NEXT WEEKEND, and just booked a flight to Prague to see Mattie with Megan and Tess! All good things on the horizon!

I'm just like, super glad I decided to stay for a year.

P.S. My food blogging has been lame lately. I attribute this to the frequency with which Mary and I cook in our apartment (although we have had some gems- she made puttanesca the other day, and I made pasta with lemon, capers and tuna. Both delicious). It's also hard to pinpoint things when EVERYTHING here is just... so good. The cafe across the street where we go in the mornings has incredible cappuccinos. The pizza place across from the Brown office has unbelievable pizza. The two gelato places we frequent are often listed among the best in Italy. You see my struggle, I'm sure. One of these days I think I'll do an exclusively foodie post, just to recap some of the gems I've experienced so far. That's all for now, m'dears. Check back soon.

[bocconignammy]

Bologna, l'unica

Where to begin? 16 days (!! how is it possible?) have passed since my last blog, and in that time, I have become more or less enamored with this city. We've done a lot of talking about Bologna in our Italian class, interviewing residents of the city to get an idea of what it's like to live here and reading about the graffiti that covers the city's walls, a feature that in my eyes has quickly evolved from an unfortunate detraction from the town's historic beauty to just another characteristic that makes Bologna Bologna.

Hearing others gush about this city and all the things that make it so unique has intensified the growing feeling that I made the absolutely perfect decision of where to study abroad; that I have found not just a foreign location in which to reside for the next few months but actually a new home. The past few weeks have been punctuated by moments in which I realize just how lucky I am. Last week, for example, we did a scavenger hunt with our language classes. We traipsed across the city, bothering strangers in our imperfect Italian, asking them to point us in the right direction of this or that historic location, or to take pictures of us in arbitrary spots. Their patience with us was shocking; people, in general, smiled and laughed and wished us luck after pointing us in the right direction. 

Another such moment- last night, our language class (5 of us plus our teacher, Anna Maria, the director of the program and an absolute gem) went to Osteria del Sole for dinner, a bring-your-own-food establishment founded in 1465. Anna Maria brought along Bolognese/Emilia-Romagna staples- mortadella, squacquerone (an incredibly soft, almost liquidy cheese... incredible), salumi, and some delicious pastries, breads and crackers that we munched alongside bottles of the house wine. The experience of sitting in a restaurant that was ~550 years old- "America wasn't discovered yet", Anna Maria sagely noted- and chatting in Italian about Bologna, about the merits of our program, about life in general... it was just so unique, and I felt filled up with some serious good feelings of gratitude and utter contentment alongside the impeccable food and wine.

WOW, that is enough serious, sentimental crap for now! Hope I didn't lose you all there! The bottom line is, I'm having a really fantastic time here, my Italian is improving every day, I meet more interesting people every day, and I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. I'll leave you all with some pictures now! 

[bocconignammy]

Everything tastes better here

Where to begin? 3 packed days have passed since I last summoned the energy to blog. I'll keep it brief to spare you all; here are some highlights from the weekend:

First history class Friday morning (part of the program's month-long orientation involving intensive history and language classes)- 2 hours of a history lecture given, of course, in Italian. Let me tell you, understanding the decline of fascism and Italy's geopolitical significance during the Cold War demands enough brainpower when it's presented in one's first language. I left that room un po' brain dead

GELATO WITH MARY AT CREMERIA FUNIVIA. This place is widely regarded as one of the best in the city and I am certainly not inclined to disagree. I got two flavors: caffè, and "Alice"- mascarpone served with hot Nutella on the bottom. The coffee one was as you would expect-- like coffee ice cream but better. The mascarpone one was absolutely other-worldly. How do you make something creamier than gelato? You make mascarpone gelato. And then you add Nutella. Sweet, ridiculously creamy, almost umami. Wow. Wow wow wow. 

Group meal alla Trattoria Belle Arti Friday night. This is serious business. 3 courses, unlimited wine, and coffee courtesy of the program. First course was 2 pastas- one was a repeat of what I ate the previous night, but this version was better. Sagey, buttery, pasta-y. The other pasta was like a creamy vegetable one, with broccoli and carrots. Delicious! Next, for the main course, a thin, breaded veal cutlet, topped with a layer of prosciutto and a hefty layer of parmigiano reggiano. Tasted as delicious as it sounds. For dessert, strawberry panna cotta. Small portion, incredibly fresh, yum. It was a lovely opportunity to spend time with the other people in the program who are, indeed, awesome. 

Night on the town on Friday. An awkwardly large number of us (we were like a pack of lost puppies navigating the streets) headed to the University quarter of the city and met up with some of our group's language partners. It was cool to be surrounded by so many students, and just chat and sip a drink in the beautiful weather (yeah that's another thing, it has been absolutely idyllic every day since our arrival)

Saturday we awakened early for a group trip to Ravenna, a city near the sea, famous for being the capital of the Roman empire at one point, and home to some absolutely incredible churches. The most notable is the Basilica di San Vitale, which was crafted in the sixth century and hosts an absolutely dazzling spectacle of mosaic art on the walls and ceiling. It's such a difficult (nay, impossible) thing to grasp... How on earth could someone even paint that, let alone make it out of itty bitty pieces of stones? I guess this is why I'm not a 6th century interior designer of grandiose places of worship

After our tour of the adorable city, we were treated to... ANOTHER massive meal. This time, first course was another 2 pastas: one was a traditional Bolognese; the other was a super interesting risotto, the main flavor of which seemed to be radicchio. Mild and delicious. Second course, delicious sliced beef served with roasted tomatoes on the side. Simple and nommy. For dessert (this was the main attraction), praline semifreddo atop a caramel sauce. Too good. I don't believe I've ever tried semifreddo, and I now am feeling sorry for myself. It's just really good. 

OMG ANOTHER PART OF THAT MEAL THAT DESERVES ITS OWN BULLET POINT: Piadina, a bread from this region of Italy. As a group, we decided that it is like a cross between naan and a pancake. Slightly sweet, super chewy, massive flavor. Incredible.

After lunch, half of us hopped on a bus and made a 15 minute trip to la spiaggia! On this 80-something degree sunny day that saw very few clouds, I found myself with very little to complain about. The water was warm, the sun was hot, and we were sitting near an Italian family that featured the most precious little Italian girl ever, complete with blonde curls, a high pitched little Italian voice, and incredibly endearing exclamations about a nearby kite.

Upon our return to Bologna, a small group of us went for aperitivi, or pre-dinner drinks and snacks. A lovely way to unwind and prepare for a Sunday filled with history reading.

I am now about to depart for the Nutelleria (yes, that's right. Bologna is home to the world's first Nutelleria, of which there are only two in the world) and I anticipate that that will be worthy of its own blog post. 

A dopo, amici! :)

[bocconignammy]

My brain hurts

So my first REAL day in Bologna is ending. Today was action-packed! The morning began with an orientation meeting followed by a delicious pizza lunch on the office terrace. Finally all 18 of us on the program got to meet each other- it's hard to imagine a nicer, more interesting group of people! They could all turn out to be awful but right now that seems unlikely. 

After lunch, a few of us tried our hand at grocery shopping. Slightly intimidating but the sight of Nutella (in glass jars, no less) was comforting. And hey, I got Special K Red Berries so you know things are gonna turn out okay. After hauling our groceries back there was a few minutes to rest before trekking back to the office for a language placement oral exam (turned out to be more of a casual discussion but I'm sure I still managed to embarrass myself). That was followed by a 2 hour introductory tour of the city's main attractions (they're beautiful, btw.) It was tiring to have such an extended period of new information presented by a stranger in Italian, but I guess that's what I'm here for! 

Next, we met our language partners- the students who are forced to be our friends for the next month and are not allowed to speak to us in English. Mine, Francesca, is lovely! So grateful for her patience as I constantly asked her to repeat herself and repeatedly lost my train of thought while trying to form sentences in Italian. It is truly incredible how tiring it is to be forced to listen to and speak in another language for hours at a time. Anyway, Francesca and her friend took me and the friend's language partner for aperitivi, at a cafe with jazz music and little outdoor tables in a cute secluded plaza. After a pleasant two hours of strenuous conversation (solely my fault), quick rest before DINNER.

My first pasta experience! We chose a random restaurant with reasonable prices, ordered a bottle of pinot bianco to split, and then I went for the tortelloni with butter and sage. 

Let's admire the reasonable portion size! No wonder Italians are so skinny. It was, of course, delicious. The pasta was super al dente, creating a very different and much appreciated pasta experience. It was so fresh and light and simple. YUM. Returned home to eat 2 scoops of Nutella for dessert. Time for bed. 

[bocconignammy]

Day 1

Arrived in Bologna at noon Italy time. It is now 5 p.m. I am in bed. Too tired to think. Forgot how to human. But this city is really awesome. It is just so... chill. Tourist-y restaurants are few and far between. I feel cooler already. Also our apartment could not be in a better location, everyone on the program we've met is a delight, the apartment is bigger (you heard me) than expected, the weather is perfect.

Stumbled around the city with Mary after unpacking, knowing we NEED to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime (we deemed reasonable to be 8 p.m.) until we found a 10 ft. by 10 ft. walk-up joint that was (thankfully) labelled simply "pizza." Good enough for us. Was like pizza on focaccia crust- we each got one mushroom one and one white pizza with sausage and sauteed spinach. Both delicious. Cost less than 3 euro. Win win.

I AM SO TIRED SO NOW I AM GOING TO GO MAKE MYSELF WATCH HARRY POTTER TO STAY AWAKE BYE

[bocconignammy]

Ciao, amici

Here's the deal, people. I'm going to Bologna for four months. I can't believe nobody's done this before, but I thought it would be so great to document experiences on a web log! Because I am #hip and #Internetsavvy

Now I'm going to answer some questions I assume you all have.

Q: Why Bologna? Why not Turkey? (lol)

A: I'm studying Italian. I will be taking all my classes in Italian... mercy on my poor American soul. 

Q: Okay, fine. But why not join the throngs of Duke students a Firenze? O Roma?

A: The program I'm doing is through Brown University and was particularly suited to my interests since it is so frighteningly immersive. Some other things that make Bologna special:

It is home to the oldest existing university in the world, the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. This is where I will be taking my classes

It is often referred to as the culinary capital of Italy. *Let the record show that I did NOT choose to study in Bologna BECAUSE of the food scene; rather, this was a pretty incredible and probably life-altering perk* Bologna and the region where it's located (Emilia Romagna) is home to mortadella (a sausage that has been twisted and altered and packaged up in Oscar Mayer packages in the US and, much to the chagrin of the Italians, I am sure, referred to as "bologna." There's the connection), parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, prosciutto, etc. 

Q: What does bocconi gnammy mean?

A: It means nommy bites in Italian, as an homage to my existing blog. I will be blogging about my abroad experiences in general here, and will be reblogging the ones about food (I assume that will constitute a lot of them) to nommybites. 

Q: Hey dummy, your header says "Dat Portico Lyf." What in the world is a portico?

A: Don't be mean, it's an architectural phenomenon that defines the city of Bologna. Basically, covered sidewalks. All over the darn place. Read about 'em here. And here's a photo for good measure:

Q: Are you going to arrive as a total loner and force your friendship upon unwilling and helpless Italians? 

A: The latter part may still happen, but luckily I will be on the program with the one and only Mary! Wahoo! Friendship!

So, there you have it. I'm leaving Tuesday (connecting flight in London. Cheerio. Laura I'll wave to you), and will be gone until just before Natale. Keep an eye out (or don't. See if I care) for new posts! 

Baci xxx