After Milan, I spent two nights in modena staying with my roommate from Vienna. It was a blast to reconnect after two years and her and her mom were so welcoming!
The first day I got in we walked around the town of Modena. There are about 150,000 residents with limited to no tourists which was a nice break. I got some pictures of the main parts of town! Us and her boyfriend then ventured out into the hillside for the traditional food of tegelle it was delicious with a bottle of local wine and my only regret is that we totally forgot to get pictures! 
The next day, we went up into the hillside and took a stroll around. It was almost an oasis in the dryer part of Italy and it was a relaxing time. We got gelato and ordered pizza for dinner. I didn’t know that you could order delivery pizza in italy, but you can! The pizza was so similar to that of punch pizza. We spent the night chatting, watching friends, and showing her all of the filters on snapchat😋
Even though Modena is quite small, I strangely have two friends from there so the next two days I spent at my friend Alberto’s with his family! The first day we relaxed at a pool in the hillside and chatted. Alberto was an exchange student at Minnesota in the fall so it was a blast to reconnect. That night, he cooked traditional pasta (can’t remember the type) from the region Rome is in, we went out for the best Mocasto wine with his friends, got to see Modena lite up at night, and got some of the best gelato in town!
The next day with got up and took the 30 minute train ride to Bologna where Alberto attends university. Fun fact, the University of Bologna is the oldest university in Europe! We walked around under the arches since it was around 95 Fahrenheit. We got to see the towers and his university. My favorite part was probably just wandering the small streets. For lunch I had traditional bolongnessa (spelled that wrong) and tortellini which is from the region.
It was fun to see all of the students in their graduation hats. Fun fact, in Italy they don’t have a big ceremony for all graduates, but you go and present your thesis to a professor or two. Afterwards, it is common for your friends to pull pranks of you such as posting ugly pictures of you around town and dressing you up in costumes.
That night, Alberto made delicious riscotta from the region and we went to bed early for the 5:15 wake up to catch my flight in Milan. Alberto’s family was so welcoming and it is always nice to have a local guide!
Next stop, 12 hours of travel and Athens!
❤️melanie
Smiles from Miles Away 