Saturday- They arrived around 3, but were super delayed because their bags were put on a later flight (I know because I surprised them at the airport with flowers). We grabbed a taxi and took it straight to their hotel that was approximately 150 meters from my apartment... good planning dad :) After getting them settled in and realizing that it was already almost 5pm, we headed out to tour some of Bologna. We hit the huge street market, I gave them a tour of the big sites like Piazza Maggiore, Neptune, and the two towers. For dinner we went to Spacca Napoli the awesome pizza place. My family loved it. We also got gelato, as my mom insisted we get it everyday they are in Italy because they can't get it at home. Then we all headed to bed for some much needed sleep.
Sunday- BEST DAY EVER. We got up and went to Palm Sunday service in San Petronio, the main massive church on Piazza Maggiore, and even though it was in Italian, it was so powerful and the Priest did one of the most passionate readings I have ever heard of the Easter story. Truly an incredible experience. From there, we bought flowers and wine and headed to my Italian family's house for an early lunch. As usual, Paula made an incredible meal. We talked about a lot of things and it went a lot better than I thought it would. I mean my family speaks no Italian and Paula is the only one who really speaks English fluently. Stefano did a good job of communicating with my parents anyway. I wish Vittoria and Enrico had been less shy though. My sister and I tried to convince them to talk in English but I think they were afraid that they would mess up or something. Oh well. I will keep working with them :) From there we headed to the Bologna-Palermo soccer game. (Stefano and Enrico went too) My parents really enjoyed the game, as did Sarah and I (boyfriend?!) even though Bologna lost. It was a lot of fun. From there we took the 2 km hike up San Luca (the church on the hill) and of course Sarah and I won :P Not that we were actually racing. That took about two hours but was so worth it. After that, we went to the train station to look at ticket prices and to the outdoor book market. My mom even got some Italian books for her preschoolers :) Then we went to dinner at Belfiore (literally next to my apartment) and I made them try Tagliatelle al Ragu (aka thick noodles and meat sauce); a specialty of Bologna. And of course we then got gelato.
Monday- Monday was an interesting day because we spent so much time wandering around seeing if Museums were open (which I forgot all close on Mondays... oops) but at least we had Osteria del Orsa for lunch, amazing gelato, and Mariposa for dinner which was amazing. Other than that we kind of just hung out all day and explored the city. For some reason I cannot remember anything else concerning Monday... guess if I do I will just add it.
Tuesday/Wednesday- My family was in Florence so I just went to classes and had a pasta making lesson through Dickinson. That was the most worthwhile trip I think we have been on. We learned how to make tagliatelle and even made our own tortellini! It was so fun and very delicious.
Thursday- We got up early and headed off to Venice! After arriving in Venice we found our hotel where Andrej's dad, his dad's wife, and two kids were waiting for us. My parents were so excited to see them and I was thrilled to meet them as well. After dropping our stuff off we decided to get some pizza at a local place. It was really good. After eating we then decided to head to St. Marks Square to walk along the water where we stopped and got gelato (yes we literally got it everyday, mom was thrilled, and so were the rest of us). After sitting around by the water for a while talking and eating gelato we walked back towards the main square and said our goodbyes as our friends had to head back to Croatia. After some more wandering and such we decided to get dinner at a local place where I had this amazing smoked salmon and pasta dish and my mom got cuddlefish ink pasta... weird and black but really tasty. Then we hit the hay for some much needed rest.
Friday- We got up nice and early and went to the beginning of the Boat Bus route so that we could ride the length of the Grand Canal while listening to Rick Steve's audio tour. It was really cool to hear because he told us about all these buildings along the canal and he is sort of funny as well. After getting off at St. Mark's Square we entered the Doge's Palace and toured the entire thing. From the dungeons and Bridge of Sighs (named supposed because the prisoners all sighed at their last look at light and the water) to the apartments and courtyard. Their was the gold covered stairways and the armory. It was a pretty neat place and I would know as I got to spend an extra hour and a half walking around it looking for my lost mother who was actually at the hotel... awkward. Anyway after much searching, waiting, and involving people in foreign countries.... I found her and then my dad and Sarah who had found Andrej's mom and husband! After meeting up with them we headed back to St. Mark's Square to do the Basilica and the balcony above it. After that Sarah and I went to pick up/meet up with Andrej! Then we went back to the hotel to drop off his stuff and we all congregated on the roof of the hotel (our new hotel because we switched hotels). Then it was time for them to head to Bologna where we were going to meet up the next day. From there Mom, Dad, Sarah, and I headed to Alex, the Gondolier we had talked to all day and my mom finally got her Gondola ride through Venice. It was unbelievable. Quiet. Beautiful. Magical. And Alex knew so much about the city and really did fantastic job. Then we got dinner, which again was yummy, and passed out.
Saturday- Dad and I headed over to another church that was off the beaten track and Mom and Sarah went shopping. The Church was so incredibly cool. There were some of the most intricate and life like statues I have ever seen. And their were these two tombs that were for two famous artists... what their names were I forget but they are famous! After that, guided by Rick Steve's Audio Guide, we grabbed a train back to Bologna where we got lunch at Osteria Del' Orsa and met up with Andrej, his mom, and her husband. From there we wandered more of Bologna, stopped in a church, got some gelato and hung out in my apartment talking and catching up. Then we got dinner at Nicolas' and said our goodbyes. My parents, Sarah, and I headed to their apartment to pack up everything because they had to leave at 4 am the next morning. Andrej's parents were leaving around 10. I got up to say goodbye to my parents at 4 and then passed out until Andrej called me around 12 to bring his stuff up to my apartment as he was staying with me the next couple of days.
Overall, the week was amazing. Sometimes stressful because I wanted to share everything with them but couldn't but on the whole it was perfect anyway.
Oh, and both sets of families that visited us brought us these amazing gifts from Croatia. My parents were so heart warmed and hope to come back and visit them in Croatia. Oh and today Andrej left to visit America... and in a week he will be with my family in New Jersey. After 18 years we all choose the same month to be in opposite places. Unreal.
I guess that is it for the family visit. It was so nice to see them and I had so much fun. Love you guys. <3
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