He is Risen!!!

We got up early to go to church, which meant that we were going to one of the catholic masses in town.  We went to Basilica di San Petronio.  The church was FREEZING and of course it was all in Italian.  Now, this would not have been such a problem if 1. so many people had not been continuously streaming in 2. the speakers were not so echoey  3. If I were a bit more fluent.  This all being said, I at least knew what the message was about!  The message??? My savior is ALIVE...he's not dead...He is ALIVE and therefore I can face tomorrow!  I worship and serve a living God who sent His only Son to die for my sins so that I might live a life full of hope, joy, worship, happiness, etc.  I know that no matter what I face, my God is alive and He is there with me...at all times!

When the service was over, Nick wanted to show me a painting in the church where Mohammad is burning in hell, which cause some Muslim extremists to try and bomb the church at some point in history.  The lady was charging 2 euros to go in and see it, which REALLY irritated Nick and so we did not.  I have to agree with him; charging to see something in a church is a bit extreme.  So instead we went outside to get warm because it was super sunny outside.  We still had not heard from Mattea, so we figured that she must have overslept!!!

We decided to just walk around and Nick wanted to show me some areas of Bologna.  The sun was shining and so it made for a gorgeous walk around the town.

 

I was feeling tired, so I asked Nick if we could stop and split a cappuccino somewhere, and he reminded me that he did not drink coffee when he lived in Bologna, so he did not know of a place.  Therefore, we started just searching and came across a place that looked decently busy, leading me to believe that it was probably a good place.  So, we went in and ordered our cappuccino and also split a baby cannoli.  The cappuccino was DELICIOUS...a great one I'd say!

Then as we were making our way back towards the hotel we saw this guy (a few guys??) playing music in the piazza.  So, we stopped to listen. The sun was SO warm and the music was nice, so Nick sat on a post thing and I had to sit on his lap because otherwise...we would be standing...a questo non va bene per me! We just sat, listened, talked, laughed, and took some pictures...

 

There were some kids nearby blowing bubbles, so we also got to pop some of those...made me miss playing with bubbles and children!  After a bit of music, and after the quality of the music declined, we went back to the hotel to use a clean bathroom and wait to hear from Mattea!  We decided to go check out the advertised terrace with a view at the hotel.  

It really was a beautiful view from the terrace so we stayed up there for a bit talking and looking at the city!  Naturally, we also took some pictures...I cannot tell you how gorgeous of a day it was! Bologna looks different than others cities I've been to, but that is one of the wonderful things about traveling in Italy; none of the cities really look the same! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous right?  Mattea called while we were up on the terrace and said that they could meet us near the "two towers", which is a meeting place in Bologna and conveniently located near our hotel.  So, we grabbed our stuff and headed out to meet them!  We were headed to eat lunch with Mattea and her friend Elizabeth.  

I was sooo excited to see my Mattea love.We started walking towards two restaurants that they knew were open.  The first said that if we came back in about 15 minutes we could have a table, but did not want our name; therefore we headed out and went to another place.  The second place was crowded, but not too bad.  While we waited patiently we got a pre-lunch show.  This man came in demanding a table in the inner room of the restaurant and then demanded that he be brought coffee outside while he had to wait for a table.  His wife came up and said something, but he barked at her too.  Then he went back to demanding things, and saying that he did not understand why they said they could not provide him with coffee when they serve after dinner coffee.  The waiters were getting pissed and annoyed...in America, this is when your food would get some extra "flavoring" (spit).  He was being so ridiculous and rude...then he decided he needed his cigarette fix, but at first I did not realize it was one of those electronic cigarettes...ughh even still...how rude!  We ordered an appetizer of fried polenta and then their speciality meat and fried dough thing appetizer....the food was incredible!!!  FOr my main dish (well, in Italy it would just be considered my first course) I ordered tagliatelle con bolognese.  The others all had pasta dishes as well; Nick got more lasagna, but it still did not beat the first place we ate in Bologna.  We all shared food and had some red wine!  We talked about teaching, law school, life plans, etc.  The food was delicious, the atmosphere was nice, and the company was wonderful!  Nick and Mattea are two of my fave people ever, and it was great to meet Elizabeth, Mattea's good friend who is studying abroad in Bologna this year. 

We all walked around together for a bit just exploring the town! 

 

These three know it really well, and of course I was just taking it all in!  We went into a beautiful church, and then walked back towards our hotel.  We were going to go to Mattea's favorite gelato place, but we decided to do it later and/or tomorrow.  We then parted ways to go take naps, per Mattea's suggestion! Nick and I walked around a little bit more and then went back to have tea and relax.  We had tea from the hotel, which means they were providing hot water all day long with different types of Twinings tea- MY FAVE!!

Much later Nick and I decided to go grab something "small" for dinner!  We went to a place near where we had lunch.  I ordered pizza with brasaola, parm. reg., and rucola.

Nick ordered this amazing chicken and we basically just split the food!  The food was amazing, the place was nice, but the waiter clearly hated his job!  It was actually quite comical to watch him! 

We walked back to the hotel and Nick had a brilliant idea.  We went to the room and grabbed his mp3 player and speakers and headed up to the terrace again!  We danced to our Gubbio playlist (the one he played when he gave me the T&Co bracelet.  It was a little cold outside, but it was so much fun to dance with him!  Someone who would randomly dance with me...something I ALWAYS wanted!  It was so much fun!

When we went back downstairs we sent our April Fool's email and then went to sleep! 

Today He is Risen!  My savior Jesus Christ is risen and is a living savior!  I am so blessed to know Him.  Romans 5:1-11

5 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. ² Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

³ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
⁶ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. ⁷ Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ⁹ And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. ¹¹ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.