Ah... honeymoon... the long awaited time of celebration of the love story of two people who just became one! When you mention the word "honeymoon" most people think of a remote island with turqoise water and golden sand where you have nothing to do just be. It sounds amazing... if you are a sea person! But Oli and I aren't. So we decided to go visit cities instead! 7 cities in 11 days then stay in Zurich for 8 more days. I won't lie to you, it was CRAZY, but I loved it to bits! We saw mountains, hills and the seaside, we ate the most spectacular pasta, our Airbnb homes were really awesome (and so were our hosts), we walked around magnificent cityscapes that I always wanted to see and all this at our own pace. I definitely couldn't have travelled in an organized group. It would have been too stressful and/or boring for me. So we chose to do it our way. Let me describe the whole journey through the "eyes" of my emotions and my memories! It's going to be a LONG post, but bear with me and let's travel together! If I close my eyes and I try to remember how it all was I can already feel like I'm back there and the movie of the whole trip develops in front of my eyes.
We started with Bologna. We chose it because we had a direct flight from Cluj, but I honestly didn't know what to expect of it.
Everybody on the internet was praising it but I knew so little about it that I had to google it beforehand. The best part is that travelling there in person helped me find out things that I didn't read on the internet! Did you know that tortellini and lasagna were actually invented in Bologna? I guess that's partly why it's called the gastronomical capital of Italy!
I had the best gnocchi in my life on the small terrace of a cute restaurant in Bologna. We didn't even look it up beforehand, we were just THAT lucky to find Il Portico, and that luck kept perpetuating later on in our trip.
I still remember my utter happy face while tasting those gnocchi, the joy of discovering cute arches, the famous towers of Bologna and other amazing buildings or squares all around the city... oh, and the big eyes in amazement in front of shops filled with big rolls of cheese and charcuterie that smelled so good!
Walking on the gorgeous, narrow streets brought back beautiful memories from Venice. Talking of which, they have a small square window in the middle of the city overseeing the only canal in Bologna. Another Venice memory! :)
I remember being proud about practicing my Italian in a bookshop, browsing through books and just loving the feeling of being surrounded by them. I liked the fact that Italians love their books!
And then the "dolce far niente" began. Laying down on a bench and on the grass in 2 parks of the city, closing my eyes and just enjoying the sound of the cicadas (something new to me) and the feeling of being there and living my dream.
Bologna was a dream! Small and utterly cute and delicious! I couldn't see a better beginning to our Italian journey and I definitely want to go back there!
Everybody on the internet was praising it but I knew so little about it that I had to google it beforehand. The best part is that travelling there in person helped me find out things that I didn't read on the internet! Did you know that tortellini and lasagna were actually invented in Bologna? I guess that's partly why it's called the gastronomical capital of Italy!
The Bolognese people are very proud of these inventions and they put them on all the magnets! :) We had no idea why tortellini was everywhere in Bologna but we found out by asking a waiter. I thought Pasta Bolognese was their thing. No problem, live and learn! :)
I still remember my utter happy face while tasting those gnocchi, the joy of discovering cute arches, the famous towers of Bologna and other amazing buildings or squares all around the city... oh, and the big eyes in amazement in front of shops filled with big rolls of cheese and charcuterie that smelled so good!
Walking on the gorgeous, narrow streets brought back beautiful memories from Venice. Talking of which, they have a small square window in the middle of the city overseeing the only canal in Bologna. Another Venice memory! :)
I remember being proud about practicing my Italian in a bookshop, browsing through books and just loving the feeling of being surrounded by them. I liked the fact that Italians love their books!
And then the "dolce far niente" began. Laying down on a bench and on the grass in 2 parks of the city, closing my eyes and just enjoying the sound of the cicadas (something new to me) and the feeling of being there and living my dream.
Bologna was a dream! Small and utterly cute and delicious! I couldn't see a better beginning to our Italian journey and I definitely want to go back there!
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