Bologna

I spent a total of ten days in Italy. As my stay there came to a close, I spent most of it in Bologna, where it all began.

My Mom and I spent New Year's eve at her place. She actually managed to squeeze in some work in the day, leaving me in her apartment to sleep in and catch some much needed rest. I woke up in the afternoon but went immediately back to bed after having a terrible migraine attack (a nasty prelude to something great).

Later that evening, my mom and I had dinner, a pretty uneventful New Year's eve celebration. She was in bed by 9PM, and I spent the rest of the night surfing the net. I took a shower 15 minutes before midnight, just in time to dress in some decent clothes and wake my mom up to greet her a happy new year. She woke up, returned my greeting with a kiss, and fell right back to sleep. For my part, I slipped back into my pyjamas and hit the sack.

The following day, I realized why I had that migraine. I woke up with everything blanketed in snow.

My first white Christmas!

It totally compensated for the lackluster night previous :)

We then visited Santuario di Madonna di San Luca in the afternoon, had a coffee date with Tita Lina (Mom's best friend) in the evening, and was treated to dinner and a movie (Natale in Rio) by Luca later still that night.

I left in the afternoon the following day, January 2.

It was tiring indeed, but oh-so-worth it. I couldn't have thought up a better way of saying goodbye to Bologna, and the rest of Italia.

Lugano é Milano

After a being pleasantly saturated by Italy the previous days, my Mom and I decided to rest on my sixth day in Italy. That gave us renewed energy for the following day, when Luigi decided to take me across the Italian border to the Lugano, a lovely, quiet town in Switzerland. I would've wanted to explore more of Italy but Luigi wanted me to see another country.

Lugano is perhaps not uniquely representative of the Swiss culture. Being so close to Italy, it is significantly influenced by its southern neighbor. For one, many people here speaks Italian as well. Nevertheless, the difference between Lugano and the towns and cities of Italy are notable. Lugano felt... calmer. Then again, anything put beside anything Italian would always look calmer! (I do say that with much affection Ü ). Besides, it was refreshing to see the Alps and be introduced to Switzerland.

After having lunch and roaming the streets of Lugano, we took a short drive back to Italia and in a couple of hours found ourselves at the fashion capital of the world, Milano.

Though it is richest city in the most developed region of Italy, Milano paled a bit in comparison to the other cities I've been - not that I've been to so many or explored them extensively. Based on what I've read and my Mom and Luigi's impression of this city, what makes Milan alluring is really the posh and modern lifestyle of its dwellers. It is therefore more urban than the most of Italy, and in that sense, it is a lot like London.

My mom, as expected, took me to the most iconic of Milano's tourist stops. The Duomo. Just long enough for a picture, actually. I didn't even get to go inside. We actually spent a longer time in the LV shop on Via Montenapoleone (where my Mom bought me an iPhone case to remember Milano by - so no complaints).

I chalked it up as another teaser and promised to go back. Then it was back to good ol' Bologna.

Roma

It was Sunday, my fifth day in Italy, and Mom had scheduled another trip.

Frankly, I was already exhausted by then. This was to be our third straight day of sight seeing and I haven't really had enough rest from the preceding two days. It was, however, Roma. Where the Vatican was. One of the most ancient cities in the world. Perhaps it's most historically preserved.

I could've asked for a day of respite, but I wouldn't pass up on the opportunity to hear Sunday mass at heart of the Catholic faith now, would I? Besides, my Mom had deftly orchestrated it so she could grant me my request to hear mass in Rome, which I remember now as the only specific thing I asked from her.

And so in spite of stiff calves and travel-weary souls, we ditched the car and took the train to la capitale di Italia.

Rome was... overwhelming. I believe it's a city that will exceed anyone's expectation. Every corner was worth exploring, every street seemed to be a trove of historical treasures. A few hours there was enough to make a mark on you, but not nearly enough for to give justice to your visit. I vowed to return and just get carelessly lost in this intricate and fascinating city.

Venezia

Italy celebrates the feast of Santo Stefano on December 26. Because it is an official holiday, families' Christmas celebrations usually spill over to this day, but Luigi generously spent it driving and accompanying me and my Mom to the bewitching city of Venezia.

I didn't know what my itinerary was when I arrived in Italy (neither did my mom, I think), but the moment we stepped on Cannaregio, I immediately thought it will be impossible to top the charming islands that comprise Veneto's capital.

Despite it being a holiday, there were many tourists that day, but not annoyingly so. In fact, it was a lovely day to be walking the streets and exploring the canals of Venice as it was both sunny and cool, busy but not crazy, the shops closed, but the place not empty. It was indeed a charming contradiction of the old and commercial. I promised myself I'd go back and spend a few more days and nights there - hopefully, to celebrate Carnevale as well :)

Christmas with Mom :)

I flew out of Manila on December 23 and arrived in Rome on the 24th. By the time my Mom and her friend Luigi met me at Bologna's airport, it was already past noon.

It was my first time to spend Christmas with my Mom in Italy. The hysteria of my homecoming in the Philippines didn't prepare me for this immediately succeeding trip, and so I was quite in a daze when I got to my Mom's house. I didn't realize what a big deal it was until later that evening, when my excited mom drove me to Bologna's Piazza Maggiore as an aperitivo for the Christmas Eve celebration. We walked along her favorite favorite streets (meaning, her favorite shops), and had hot chocolate in her favorite bar.

All of a sudden, I was overwhelmed by everything Italian - the land, the people, the weather, the culture, the lifestyle, and my Mom blending ever so effortlessly in all of it. It's so amusing to see her shaken out of it whenever my presence reminds her that unlike the mother, the son is a tourist.

Since we didn't have big plans for Noche Buena, my mom offered to take me to a Christmas Eve mass. She called her best friend in Bologna, TIta Lina, and they attended the Christmas Mass with me. It was a big deal since my Mom herself proclaims that she doesn't go to Mass (she insists she likes praying on her own - mas personal daw kasi). It was an added bonus to find out that the Mass was being celebrated in Tagalog. It seemed like the whole Filipino community of Bologna was in that church that night.

After that, Noche Buena was spent over a modest meal of sandwiches, but my Mom and I stayed up for a few hours talking as Christmas Day got off to a mellow start.

The next day, we woke up at noon and went to her friend Luigi's house in the outskirts of Bologna. We celebrated a bona fide Italian Christmas with Luigi and his family.

Ahhh... La vita é bella :)

Buon Natale!