Don’t you take my sunshine away

Rumor has it that today was the last sunny day for maybe the year here. Rain is forecast into next week and then, well, winter’s coming faster than the scooters when you step into the crosswalk.

Sunny and a Saturday and I didn’t have to work and Colin didn’t have class—all signs pointed to getting outdoors. Kristen had recommended a walk that takes you out of the city center and up a nearby hill for a lovely view of Bologna, so that’s what we did.

I spend 99% of my time walking or riding on the same four routes. This market, that market, the fruit stalls, work, SAIS. Friends live within that small area; a vintage shop I like to browse in is right there. I can go weeks without being drawn from my comfortable paths.

But today we seized the opportunity to see something new, to wander new streets. Admittedly, we frequently walk part of this way to get to the best gelato in town, but that’s always at night after the other shops have closed. Who would have guessed a toy train shop was right across the street?

We ascended the hill, stripping coats and scarves and occasionally walking single-file on the non-portico-protected sidewalks. The single-unit homes were impressive, complimenting the buildings in the historic center, but certainly a step up.

After only about 40 minutes, we arrived at San Michele in Bosco, a typical Roman-style church made out of brick, unimpressive from the outside and we didn’t take the time to peek in; the view of Bologna was enough. I was surprised to see the skyscrapers just north of the city—those are hidden by the narrow streets of the center.

And it’s fall here, and you can tell!

I hope the rumors are wrong and that we get a few more sunny days; there are more streets to explore and more hills to climb!

Open season on squash

Halloween has long been a favorite holiday of mine; I’ve always attributed that to the dressing up and eating more candy than this website will allow me to calculate. Roommate Kristen pointed out another reason to love Halloween: it kicks off the whole festive, food-laden season.

Without any Thanksgiving holiday to break things up here, home furnishing stores on Via Santo Stefano have put up their Christmas displays. One clothing shop had obviously taken All Saints’ Day on Monday off, leaving the witch hats on the mannequins until even this evening, but right next door, white Christmas trees glistened under the lights—a bit jarring on this balmy night.

In honor of the fall season in general, I participated in a squash challenge offered by a gigantic butternut squash I purchased. Last week’s squash lasagna was the first contest; Halloween dinner was squash risotto (which got disappeared before a photo could be snapped); and tonight I made squash, caramelized onion, and mushroom stromboli.

 

The challenge

 

Confession: There’s still about a cup of squash puree in the freezer, and not all of the stromboli filling fit inside the dough I had, so it’ll probably get turned into pasta leftovers for lunch. There is plenty of inspiration left at Food52, which recently held a butternut squash recipe contest of its own, but for now, filled to the point of uncomfortableness with butternut squash, I’m calling this challenge over.

I told you I was a witch

Ginny and Harry