We know the city

On Thursday we took a Presession placement test at the office so they know our ability level, i did about average but will most likely  be placed in the lowest of three levels which is perfectly fine with me. Lauren and I finally got our cell phone plans which are mostly prepaid and quite a different system. Then later we returned to the office to meet with a police officer about safety in Bologna- nothing different than any other big city. Then we all went out for a girl in our program's 21st birthday to dinner. Then a group of us went to the Irish Pub to hang out and Lauren and I went up to the bar to get shots and then just never returned back to the table because we were talking to all the guys at the bar. We made friends with a group of guys about our age that go to the bar a lot. We talked all night and had fun finally being comfortable and having fun talking in Italian. 

Friday morning Lauren went to the Post Office to get her Permit of Stay. When she came back our room was being cleaned so we decided to go out in the city and walk around some more and grab lunch. We went to the fresh food market and got some strawberries, a plum and a nectarine. It was finally a sunny day again so we went to the Piazza to eat our lunch. There was a lot of people out roaming around. Then two of the guys we meet the night before came and met us there. We went to a bar for coffee and tea with them, one they work at. We met their friend Michelle, who was so fun and such a clown- which i learned the italian word for: pagliaccio.  Then we went to lunch with them and Lauren and I shared a pizza. From there we went to the public library which is a very cool place, there are glass floors so u can see down to a city beneath the city. Then after being out with them for hours Lauren and I cam back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. Our program went to dinner at our director's home that night. It was a little bit of a walk outside the center and his house was gorgeous. We all ate pizza and sat around and talked- it was relaxing and fun. Then Lauren and I were going to met the guys- Floriano and Vincenzo at Irish Pub and then bring them out to a bar with some people from our program. But they didn't like the bar we wanted to take them to so we just stayed there all night talking with them. 

Saturday morning I woke up at seven to go to the Post Office to get my Permit of Stay. Then at twelve Lauren and I met the group at the Piazza to go on a bus tour of the city. We sat in the back in the open air part of the double decker bus. It was freezing but we took a lot of cool pictures finally. We also went up to a high point at a church and looked out over the city but it was pretty foggy, (which it has been quite a lot here and what i read isnt uncommon) so we didnt get too good of a view. But we said we will definitely have to come back later in the semester for good pictures. Next we ate lunch at a bar on the piazza and warmed up. At two we went to an appointment for an apartment for Lauren. The room ended up being half the size our my room at Theta- a twin mattress basically on the floor with half a desk, and the armoire out in the hallway-- not something you would want to pay 310 euros for. Lauren and I took the bus back and hung out at the hotel for a bit, looking for more apartments online. Lauren and I haven't found places to live but we have been exploring so much that we know the city pretty well and are having a great time discovering different parts of it- we are the ones that actually know where we are going when we are out at night trying to find a bar or something to do. Then we went out to dinner with part of our group, i had some delicious grilled vegetables. Lauren and I then met up with another part of the program at a bar called Cafe Paris. They have euro shots and Lauren flirting with the baristo and got free ones for all of us. Then the group traveled to a discoteca called Soda Pops. We danced in this very crowded bar and I met a Sengalese guy. Then at about 2 we left and got crepes- chocolate and strawberries---soo good. 

Now it is Sunday and Lauren and I slept in and then watch some more of our movie Under the Tuscan Sun. Now im catching up on this and will contact more people about apartments. 

Ciao for now!