Before I decided to study abroad in Italy, Urbino was a city that never came up in a conversation. Anytime I heard or spoke about Italy, the most popular cities were defaulted to: Florence, Rome, Naples (or the general Amalfi Coast), or Milan. It’s unbelievable that I did not hear about many of the other cool cities Italy has to offer. Obviously that’s the trick: Europeans know about these beautiful towns, but anyone else is left to wonder unless you do careful research. For instance, Rimini is a popular town off the Adriatic Coast, and it’s not that small either, so why hadn’t I heard of that? Or what about Sperlonga, a seaside town between Rome and Naples? Urbino was one of these great, historical cities that I feel should be talked about more when conversing about Italy. (I mean, it only is apart of the Pazzi Conspiracy, which is beyond interesting!)

I think taking the time to learn about non-traditional “popular” cities in countries can lead to a better cultural understanding and might even promote a better trip to whatever your destination is. Because of this (and how popular Italy is), I wanted to share a a mini-guide to some Italian cities that might not be as well-known as the larger, touristy places. Urbino is the first place I want to share with you all, simply because I have been living here for the past few months, and I think it is really underrated. I will be breaking these guided series into different posts, however, so that it doesn’t become oversaturated and too long.

Part One of this my mini-guide of Urbino is going to focus on food. After all, when I think of Italy, I think of food!

Eat Through Urbino

There are a lot of different places to grab food in Urbino. Tell me—do you have a taste for pizza, fine-dining, gelato, crepes, or chicken?

Pizza

1. Noi & Voi: This is my favorite pizzeria in town. It’s right up the hill as you walk into the city. Luckily, it’s only half-way up the hill, which is great when climbing a steep hill for food isn’t your thing. The great thing about Noi & Voi is that they are cheap, willing to cut your pizza in slices (as you’ll quickly learn in Italy, pizza comes uncut), and will add sauce to anything that they originally don’t put it on (as long as you ask). Make note that they only take cash. Take-away and dine-in are both available. 
2. La Terrazza Del Duca: This was the very first place I had pizza in Italy. It’s so delicious and a great price. You can find this restaurant at the bottom of the hill that leads into town; it’s right above a cafe. To go inside, you have to take the stairs to the right of the building. The only caveat is that they only open for dinner (after 7 p.m), so you are limited to when you can indulge. If you plan to go here with only 1-2 people, you might bode well with just dropping in and asking for a seat, but if you have a larger group, definitely call and make a reservation. Also note that they will only take cash (their card machine is a hit-or-miss). Take-away and dine-in are both available.
3. Il Ghiottone: My friend dragged me to this pizzeria when it first opened. It’s located at the very top of the hill going into town. My first impression was that it’s tasty, but not my favorite. A lot of my friends really enjoyed it, however. I ordered the diavola (a salami pizza), but it came without sauce, which I didn’t realize, so make sure to note that if you eat here and want a pepperoni-style pizza. Their Margherita was really good, though, so that’s what I get when I eat there. The great thing about Il Ghiottone is that you can dine in, take-away, or get it delivered to you! Not many places deliver in Urbino, but that’s simply apart of the Italian culture, where you sit and eat. They will take cash or cards. 
4. Locanda Del Blasone: To find this restaurant/pizzeria, you have to walk past the piazza, make a left down the first street, and walk straight (down some steps). I went here with a group of 14, and they accommodated us really well. You should always make a reservation at any restaurant you go to whenever you have a group as large as that. They will be happy to seat you, but it’s courteous to give them time to prepare! I absolutely adored the pizza here. I’m finding that not every pizza is create equal (even if it looks similar), and this one made the cut. Note that they do not speak English at this restaurant, so when it comes time to pay the bill, it’d be better to have one person handle it and be reimbursed. 

Fine-Dining

Gelato & Crepes 

1. Sorbetto del Duca: I’m basically a regular at this Gelateria. It’s well-kept, has adequate seating, and makes really good gelato. It’s also huge that it’s located right at the top of the hill, directly by the piazza, so business is always good. My favorite gelato here is fragola (strawberry), so I recommend trying that if you stop by. The prices are fairly cheap; for a piccolo cone or cup, you can get 2 scoops of any flavor of gelato for 2.20 Euro. They also serve crepes here, which are really popular.
2. Puro & Bio: This is my absolutely favorite Gelateria in Urbino! All of the gelato is organic. Whichever flavor you choose, you will be able to taste the quality and richness. My favorite flavors here are fragola (strawberry) and limone (lemon). While the prices here are a bit higher than the first Gelateria, it’s definitely worth it! For a piccolo (small) cone or cup, you will get 2 scoops for about 2.50 Euro. Please note that the earlier in the year you come, they will either be closed or have limited flavors available. They really start serving all flavors around mid-April, early-May. Their menu also includes things like hot chocolate, waffles, and tons of chocolate. To find this place, head to Porta St. Lucia, and it will be right by the arch leading into town. 

Cafes 

Whenever I go abroad, I enjoy the little details about the country I visit. Each country has their unique aspects and cultural traditions, and I love experiencing them. For instance, doner in Germany makes my heart (and stomach) swoon. While you can find kebabs in many places, Germany’s is distinctly different, and I dream about getting it whenever I can. Now that I’m in Italy, I’m noticing things distinct to this culture. For instance, the old men who laze about in the Piazza; the abundance of young people who think they are invincible when they smoke and drive recklessly; the free water you get in a mini-bicchiere with coffee but not with anything else.

I decided I wanted to compile a list of three things that I will miss the most about Italian culture. While it’s (obviously) not comprehensive, these are the main three things. Do you have anything unique to any countries that you have visited that you will/do miss the most?

1. Uncut Pizza

As an American, I am used to my pizza being cut. I never considered pizza being delivered to me…well, uncut. Frozen pizzas, restaurant pizzas, chain-pizzas—they are all purchased/served with a minimum of four cuts. So coming to Italy and ordering my first pizza gave me a nice little surprise; it was a delicious, yet all-in-one, piece of pizza. Fortunately, it didn’t take too long for me to get over this, and it’s become quite endearing. I don’t know why Italians do this, but I have a feeling it might be weird for me to return back to the US and get my pizza delivered to me already cut.

2. Easy to Find Gelato

I never tried gelato before I came to Italy, but I made friends who happily convinced me to. Gelato is a God-send. Granted, I have only tried a couple of flavors, but I’m content with the ones I have. I will eventually venture out to more flavors, but when I really crave it, strawberry (i.e. fragola) is the one for me. My favorite is at Puro & Bio in Urbino; it’s organic and vegan, but the flavor is so strong.

3. Fashionable, Yet Casual

One thing that Europeans (especially Italians) do very well is dress. They dress up well, dress down well, dress in between well. Italians love to look like they put in an effort. It’s really different than how Americans are; some people follow the European style (like New Yorkers), but many others are super casual all the time (like Californians). There’s nothing wrong with how we dress in America, but I really like the effort Europeans put into their day-to-day style.

This past weekend was amazing. Not only did I meet people from all around Europe (and more), I practiced my Italian, finished one of my books, and found a few bars and cafes here in Urbino that I feel at least one will become my "spot”—take that as you will. I feel as if my time here is going by slowly, but also quickly, as I do so much in one day. Sunday was my first “do nothing” day, which seems counterintuitive to anyone studying abroad, but those types of days are crucial to avoiding burnout. Yes, I want to experience all that I can, but self-care is one thing that I am prioritizing this year, so I am making sure that I have downtime. I’m an introverted extrovert, so I rely on recharge days to get back the steam that I burned out by socializing.

Anywho, let’s talk about what I’ve been getting into.

Thursday

Thursday was a great day—er, let’s actually say Thursday night. In the daytime, I had my Italian and Mobile Photojournalism class. Cool—it’s class. We’re in college, so this is normal and nothing major came out of it. But when the evening hit (around 10 pm), three of the girls here with me and our Italian “advisor” (we don’t really have a title for her) had a girls night out. The first place we went to was called The Underground. It was a really nice place with great music (Audrey and I were ready to get up and dance, but that’d’ve been to American, lol), awesome drinks, and interesting people. My intention was to get a beer, but I ended up splitting both a Sex on the Beach and a Jamaica Julep with McKenna; both drinks tasted fruity and dangerous (because you really can’t taste the alcohol, especially in the last one).


We stayed at The Underground for a long time. It was really loud with the music, but it was a great time. A guy from Naples kept coming over and saying “Cheers” to us, which was hilarious. Alessia (our Italian advisor) called that he was from Naples before he told us. It was his dialect, which I can’t wait to be able to distinguish between. Anyways, the guy eventually sat down and started talking to us. He was fun to talk to, but he was definitely sly. (This is when we learned the Italian word “furbo.”)

After we left to The Underground, we went to a caffè called Caffè Del Sole. It is a really artsy place where artists and poets normally go. Alessia asked us if we wanted to take a shot, and that’s where I learned that Keglevich’s Strawberry Vodka doesn’t taste like vodka at all, and I can learn to like the stuff again. After four of us took our shots, we noticed that Alessia still had hers, and as she slowly sipped it, she said, “I don’t do shots.” Well, that’s fun. At this caffe, we met this older man whose name is either Yadel or Marchegiano—he wasn’t really sure. He really enjoyed speaking with us in English, but only if we talked slower.

Friday

I woke up on Friday knowing that the day was going to be bad. I was irritated, a migraine was coming on, and it seemed like everything that could go wrong was, indeed, going wrong. Friday was also our first esame italiano (Italian exam). Despite my irritation for the day, I felt confident about the exam because I’d been studying so much. By this point, I had ordered food in Italian, gotten lost in Italy, and made a decent schedule for myself in this Italian town, so yeah, my confidence was high. But I was also really nervous because taking an exam with a new professor is always anxiety inducing. I like knowing what kind of questions to expect and what to study for the exam. Luckily, I can say that I passed my exam with a 48/50.

Later Friday night, I just stayed in. It was a rainy night (and oh my gosh, the roads are slippery here when it’s rainy), so I slept some, read, and did laundry. The laundry part was pretty funny considering that I did it in a bidet (a toilet/sink in European bathrooms where you wash up in). Since we do not use ours, we dedicated ours for laundry since we still have no idea where the laundry room is. It was a very interesting experience, indeed.

Saturday

Saturday morning through afternoon was pretty relaxed.  It was a really snowy day, so I wasn’t that motivated to go out. I slept most of the day and finished up my book (13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi). The same three girls and I went to go get pizza for lunch, and it. was. heavenly. I enjoyed it so much. That evening (around 7 pm), our group of 12 went to the Erasmus event, which is basically a bunch of European students that exchange at other European universities. We were invited because our professor (Dennis Chamberlin) knew the daughter of the woman over the event. So that was a really awesome way for us to meet more international students! It was also pretty cool that this event was held at the same caffe some of us visited a couple of days before: Caffè Del Sole.


At the event, we were able to aperitivo, which is a really cool way to say free food with drinks. There were students mostly from Italy, but also various Asian countries, Ireland, and Spanish-speaking countries. We were the only Americans invited, so of course we felt special (lol). During our time there, I learned that Italians think that country music is the favorite genre of most Americans (of course I love it, which is all that matters really); I also learned that I suck at foosball. (Sorry, Katlyn!)

During this event, the Erasmus team planned a couple of games with randomly created teams. I had two other Americans on my team (Ryan and Kennedy), on Italian, two guys from Vietnam, and on Irishman. The organizers stressed how important it was to have at least one person who could speak Italian on our team; I later realized why. Literally every clue was in Italian. This made a lot of sense when we later figured out all of our clues were in Italian. Our first job was to find the Erasmus flag. Unfortunately for our team, ours was hidden under the snow, by a bench. There was no way we would have found that. Next, we had to create the ESN sign with our bodies. Our final task was to find a pub, called Bosom. They ordered everyone shots there (I honestly was not expecting that). We spent the rest of our night there, dancing, talking, and having a good time.

So, I have been in Urbino for four days so far. It seems like life goes slowly over here. Maybe that's because the timezone is different, or maybe it's just the Italian lifestyle. Our classes have not started just yet, so maybe once they do, time will go a bit faster. Regardless of what it is, I like it. It forces you to slow down and enjoy what is happening at the moment. As an American, I can easily say that most Americans would probably go stir-crazy over here at how slowly things move. It's not like things aren't as modern as America; it's just that Italians seem to value time off and with their loved ones more than working. This can be seen during Pausa, when everyone gets off of work around 12-12:30 and goes home to eat lunch with their family. Things do not pick back up until around 3 pm or 7 pm even, for shops that stay open later.

I have experienced so many things in my short time here. Simply arriving in Urbino was an experience--the beauty of the city was unexpected. I knew that Italy was known for its beautiful architecture, but I guess the amazingness doesn't resonate with you until you see it in person. When the bus driver dropped four of us off (me, Grace, Mckenna, and Audrey) and Dennis (our professor), we took the elevator up to the city center because we all had luggage and rolling up the steep hill with that would be a nightmare. The four of us are briefly staying in the professor quarters because another American group (UT-Austin) has so many students that we have to wait for some of the graduating Italians to leave so that we have space at the Colle (the student dorms).


That first day was exhausting because we had just got done traveling; nevertheless, we wanted to see where we are going to be living for the next 99 days, so we had Dennis show us around. We saw some cute cafes, a lot of picturesque locations, the post office, a church, where one of our classes would be, and one of the mensas (cafeterias). Let me tell you: Urbino is steep. It's located on a mountain and it's plain hilly. If I do not leave here in the best shape of my life, I don't know what to tell you. To end the night, we went to Caffee Basilica for aperitivo and then to the mensa for dinner.

Let's skip forward to day two: Friday. This was a day of filling out legal documents and adventure. We walked the highest hill (oh my gosh, I do not think I am ever going to get used to it), went to get photos taken of us for our residency application, and had aperitivo again. I really enjoyed Friday because I got to really start learning Urbino and how to get around. We visited the Sugar Cafe for aperitivo; Giovanni owns the cafe, and he is the sweetest Italian! He even gave us all free coffee coupons. That was my first time trying a Spritz, which is a drink with Prosecco, Aperol, and soda water. It was okay, but not my favorite.


On Saturday, we all went to the post office and then the market. The market comes around every Saturday, and there is so much there. There's food (fresh and fried), clothes, scarves, shoes, bags. The list is endless! I bought a scarf for 8 Euro, a bookbag for 25 Euro, and some strawberries, kiwis, and clementines for about 3 Euro total. I'm excited about next weekend's market! At night, we all went to eat dinner at La Balestra Antica Hostria; we had pizza there and it was pretty good. Not going to lie, I haven't fell in love with any of the pizza here yet, so I'm still looking forward to finding one that is just...wow!


On Sunday, all twelve of us caught the bus to Pesaro. Well, we were supposed to go to Pesaro. We got off of the bus about fifteen minutes too early, but luckily where we got off was by a mall! I bought a pair of shoes because I need more fancy-casual shoes, so I got some slip-ons that are super comfy.

Now...today. Today is Monday and we started our Italian course. I. Am. In. Love. The language is so beauitful. While learning a language is never easy, I am excited about the challenge. Our professor is named Silva, and she is a really nice lady. Her one rule for the class is to never speak English. This should be fun...

Today, I am on the way to Urbino, Italy. This is my second study abroad, but my first time in college abroad. When I first went overseas, I studied with Youth for Understanding in Germany during my senior year in high school. (You can read all about it on the blog that I kept up while there, which you can find right here.) Now, I am going to Italy with my college. The program that I am going under is called A Semester in Urbino--Italy. It goes from the end of January to the beginning of May, and the focus will be on the Renaissance Era of Italy with focus on Journalism and Communication students, such as public relations, journalism, and advertising. Our accompanying professor is Dennis Chamberlin, a Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer and professor.

I plan to keep this blog up with some of my adventures in the land of love. Living in Italy has been my dream for the longest. Before I went to Germany, the plan was for me to study abroad in Italy; I went to the former, however, because it was financially better. I have no regrets, however; I'm simply even more excited to finally get to live in my dream country for awhile. While I am excited to go to Italy (and not even a super touristy part, y'all!) and become immersed in the culture, I am not going with ridiculously high hopes. My mind is open, and I am going to let whatever happens, happen.

When it comes to travelling, I am learning that being super open and willing to experience is the most important trait to have. Anything can happen, so if your expectations are really high, you will end your trip feeling like it was unsuccessful. That's why my goal is to go to Italy, learn the language as best as I can in the 3.5 months I am there, and just...experience.

Throughout my time there, I am going to travel around the country. It's not a goal of mine to leave Italy (unless I cannot find doner; then, I am making a trip to Germany). I want to get to know this country as much as I can, every crevice and unique aspect of it. So, here's to a good few months!