Anywho, Friday night we boarded a train, followed by a quick taxi ride and voila!...a few hours later we pulled up in front of Albergo Rossini in the heart of Bologna. It was late but we still decided to venture into the city centre in search of grub, finding ourselves with a stone's throw of a wealth of various cultural restaurants. Opting for take away, and all the while maintaining our typical adage of having food we cannot get in Genoa, we opted for thai food at Wok Place, taking it back to our room and devouring it in style. After some room rearranging (one double bed and bunk beds were our sleeping mode however the top bunk had NO railing, so we moved the mattress and perfected the room to suit our style lol) and some bed hopping gymnastics (Sorry, I didn't have permission to post these however it was so very entertaining and took up much of our time) we laid down our sleepy heads with dreams of adventures ahead.
Made it!
One of us on this trip was battling a respiratory illness so her ever faithful
nebulizer made the trip east with us. ;) Happy Birthday S!
The next morning, not so bright and early as we gave ourselves lee-way to sleep-in, we walked through Piazza Giuseppe Verdi along some of the main thoroughfares into the heart of Bologna's historic city centre to Piazza Maggiore. It was a very foggy day and the temperature here was much chillier than coastal Italy from which we came. Needless to say, we were going to make the most of our sightseeing time here.
At Piazza Maggiore we viewed the riské Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of Neptue), along with the medieval structures of Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo d'Accursio and San Petronio Basilica. We chose to head into the Basilica, dedicated to the city's patron saint. Interestingly enough, the church had police personnel posted outside of it as it was supposedly the subject of a muslim planned attack in 2002. Not sure what the police's purpose really was, other than deterring by presence, as bags or bodies weren't checked for anything upon entering. Once inside, it was quickly prevalent that this church was magnificent with its original meridian lines adorning the ground on one side, unfinished painted ceilings and extremely elaborate chapels.
Fontana del Nettuno
San Petronio Basilica
Upon exiting, we walked around the side of this massive church and found another piazza hidden through a magnificently painted archway. From here, we ambled along to Santo Stefano (seven various churches built on to one another). This was quite an interesting church to view as although it is technically one building, it's very apparent the different parts that were built and added on over the years as each one determinedly depicts a specific style of architecture.
Santo Stefano
Our walking tour of Bologna continued as we were now off to see the Two Towers of Bologna: Garisenda & Asinelli (the taller of the two sister towers). We had hoped to climb up to the top of Asinelli to get a picturesque, 360° view of Bologna, however it was too foggy and we figured not worth the climb today. Upon seeing Garisenda and the lean she was sporting (Whoo Nelly! uprooting seemed to be occurring) I was really hoping that Asinelli, although taller, had a much more stronger foothold.
Tea time, aka warming up time
The Two Towers
Poor Garisenda
On to the Jewish quarter. This was an area of Bologna encompassing windy, maze-like streets and was designated as the Jewish quarter from the mid- to late-1500s. In this area there is a handprint map on the walls at each street corner showing the layout of the ghetto.
Next, without wasting any time, we headed back to Piazza Maggiore where we meandered in a fashion similar to sardines through some very crowded streets branching off from the piazza. These streets were a-typical Italian: lined with restaurants, meat shops, fresh produce, stores of all sorts, and were packed with people squeezed into tiny places trying to stealthily slide by one another without getting a cigarette burn, a dog rub on your leg, or knocking another person over who was perched at one of the outdoor tables every restaurant had set up. I am getting better with my "elbows up" street manoeuvring techniques ;) The man slicing a huge pig on the street, who also dropped his knife on the street only to pick it up and immediately start carving again, had to be the most intriguing sight overall.
Band playing amid a crowd on the street
A game of sardines coming up
External heaters to keep the restaurant guests warm
while dining on the street.
Fish street has fish sculptures on the corner of the building
Lunch time. Yep, we'd managed to do all of that in just a few short hours in the morning. (Perhaps I should be more accurate in saying we were having a late lunch though lol). In the labyrinth of Bologna's central area we found a great little place where I enjoyed traditional Bolognese sauce on tagliottere pasta amid a room adorned with gold on the wall, along with African and a Statue of Liberty etchings. Quite the room I tell you.
As the weather was kind of blah, and feeling the need to rest our weary selves, we headed back to the hotel room for a siesta and relaxation. NOTE: In Bologna, you have to wade through the crowds of kids and dogs on the streets.
On Sunday morning we literally retraced our footsteps from the other morning as the sun was now out bright and blinding in the sky and we'd hoped to get some better photos of the buildings we'd seen earlier. With the weather being as great as it currently was, we made our way back to the sister towers and 3 of us embarked on the journey up 495 steps to the top of the tallest sister tower, Asinelli. I wasn't too sure about this hike as the steps at times seemed very rickety and were somehow adhered only on one side to the outside wall. Not great for a person afraid of heights, but I was being stubborn and figured I didn't want to miss out on any opportunities. I think the standing in a corner to let opposing traffic flow by you was a bit of a breath relief here and there (except I was facing out into the abyss at these points). Nonetheless, we made it to the top and took in the majestic 360° view of Bologna.
Good view of the leaning tower here
Hello up there!
3 up, one stays down
Only the beginning, and then there was...
Here we go!
Made it!
Still a little wobbly in the knees here lol
Bologna from above
Main street
The view down!
Can you see S down there?
Going back down
So pleased I made it to the top
(and survived to tell about it haha)
After descending, a little easier task than ascending, we went back to Piazza Maggiore to glimpse the stunning architecture in the sun's rays. It was here where we got another OMG sight: a pug in a baby carriage. Yep! Only in Italy.
Our groupie taking is starting to get wonky at times lol
Following the photo session, we moved on to the university section of the city as Bologna is also known for their international university which has a library that is a must-see. Unfortunately, being a Sunday, we were unable to see it. :( That is after we finally located it within the city confines of a random, haphazard campus with buildings set in between residential homes and businesses.
No ice on the Zamboni street ;)
Math equations on some of the university walls
Views on the way back to the historic city centre
Our time in Bologna was now coming to a close. Our party headed back to the hotel to grab our luggage that we'd stored there after checking out this morning, and proceeded via foot to the train station. I'm glad we took the time to walk there as we got to witness some amazing architecture along the way.
A random waterway that C found on the map
and we had to check out. Not exactly sure
what kind or where this water comes from.
To the train station we do go.
Until next time!
