Letters from abroad

BOLOGNA, Italy – I have managed to avoid a lot of addictions since I have arrived in Italy. \nI haven’t turned into an alcoholic, despite all of the marvelous wines and the rock-bottom prices of liquor. I’ve stayed away from cigarettes – I believe the local kids start smoking as soon as they are potty-trained. And most difficult of all, I haven’t even gone overboard with shoe shopping. This weekend, however, I picked up a habit that I think is going to be awfully hard to break: day trips to Florence. \nDon’t laugh. This is a serious disease. Like heroin and all the other hard drugs your high school health teacher warned you about, you only have to try it once and then you are hooked. I had my first Florentine experience this weekend and it was spectacular. \nThree of my friends and I spent a meager 10 euros for a round-trip train ticket and spent the entire afternoon touring cathedrals and lounging in the Piazza della Signoria. I was stunned by the reality of standing inches away from statues that I had seen in textbooks for years. Seeing the details of a hand or in a face made the works come alive and made me understand why these artists of the Renaissance were considered masters. \nAfterwards, we strolled across the Ponte Vecchio to look at all of the stores selling hand-made jewelry and climbed to the Piazzale Michelangelo where I witnessed the most breathtaking sunset of my young life. \nIt was an amazing day, but as we descended back down toward the city, I panicked. We didn’t even see the Uffizi Galleria! What about the Medici Chapel? My God, we hadn’t even seen a fraction of what Florence had to offer! \nOn the train ride back to Bologna, all that my friends and I could talk about was our upcoming schedules and the possibility of another trip in the near future. I know the Uffizi will take at least one full day, and I refuse to leave Italy without some Botticelli under my belt. \nBologna is a wonderful city. It is very raw and feels very “modern” Italian. The nightlife is great. The tourists are minimal. There is even a “college town” atmosphere that kind of reminds me of Bloomington, except with 300 Mother Bear’s restaurants. You couldn’t pay me to live anywhere else in Italy. But sometimes, I just need a Florentine fix.