8/5 – 8/7. Chad left Florence on Thursday and headed to Orvieto which is closer to Rome, and hopefully a little cooler than Florence. It was back to Jim, Michele and me so we hopped on the train and headed to Bologna. We stayed at the Hotel Tre Vecci which was an older but absolutely beautiful hotel. In fact, there was a photo of the hotel inside dated 1930 so it goes back a few years. The view from our window was also beautiful. Best of all – it was quiet – no street noise at all! Ah, blissful peace!

After we settled in we strolled around a bit to check things out. It was hot but we were hungry so we searched for a restaurant. Found one but had to sit outside since we didn’t have a reservation. Oh well, what can you do? The tables and chairs were on the street but we figured it would be ok since we didn’t think there was much car traffic. I had the seat on the street side and as we sat there chatting, a taxi came down the road. I didn’t think too much of it until I realized this driver was obviously heading toward my chair. He hit my chair and I scooted as close to the table as I could. Thankfully he was able to steer away from me. I couldn’t believe it but figured ok, here’s another little adventure for me and I survived so all’s well! What would a trip be if there was nothing exciting to write about? The street got pretty busy with taxis but at least the drivers could figure out how to stay in the middle and not hit those of us who were eating lunch since both sides of the street had restaurants with outdoor seating on the street.

Of great benefit to us was a discussion with the maitre d’ who told us about Bolognese food and why the Bolognese go out to restaurants to eat so often. He said that most Bolognese cuisine takes a long time to prepare properly such that it is worthy of the Bolognese label, up to eight hours for some dishes, pasta and sauces especially. For instance, the meat sauce that goes on Tagliatelle Bolognese simmers forever. Properly prepared, that sauce might look a little like the crumbled hamburger that we put on tacos but it is cooked down so much it is more like a thick soup. That means a lot of time in the kitchen for a normal household. So, they avoid all the time and effort it takes to make these dishes properly and simply go out to eat where the restaurants have the time to devote to cooking. As a matter of fact, I think he said this trend is becoming more common throughout Italy. All we can say is that even way back to April and not in tourist season, there were always tons of Italians out eating in the evening.

We were in for some different flavors of the pasta in Bologna but with only a few days there, we knew we could not get through them all! We enjoyed our meal though, continued our walk and came across a few other landmarks that reminded us of Bolognese history. Bologna at one time, and it appeared so even now, was a very wealthy city, brought on by a lot of trade, given its location in North central Italy. Canals would carry boats of the traders into the city central and we came across the remnants of one of those canals just after we left the restaurant, directed there by that same Maitre d’.

We also walked over to look at two of the remaining towers in Bologna, the Garisenda and the degli Asinelli. In its prime, Bologna was home to 180 such towers. They were built by rich residents to show wealth, power and also provide protection from any invaders or other adversary families. In the current photo you might notice the strapping around the towers, now necessary to provide stability. After all, these towers were built in 1109 and 1119! We found a photo from the olden days showing the towers. Can you find the Garisenda and the Asinelli in the first photo below? They are visible.

We then headed back to the hotel because it was too hot to stay outside. We relaxed for a few hours then headed to a bar for a drink and some snacks.

The buildings in Bologna were beautiful and a little different from the other parts of Italy. We loved it. The walkways are all covered and beautiful so we were able to stay out of the sun. Bologna wasn’t as crowded as Florence but there were still quite a few tourists around enjoying the sights.

Found a few more churches as well.

On Saturday we went to Giardini Margherita, a lovely park about 30 minutes from our hotel. We arrived and had a granita, a nice, cold ice drink like an Icee or Slush, and sat in the shade enjoying the view of the water. After walking around for a bit we headed back toward the hotel and looked at a few shops. On the way, we came across another wedding, our third of the trip.

We didn’t do too much other than walk the streets and enjoy the beautiful covered walkways. We were pretty much able to stay in the shade though, between shadows thrown by the tall buildings and the covered walks. It was a good distance down via Dell’Indipendenza to the hotel though and just walking heated us up with the almost 100º temperatures. By the way, today, Saturday, happens to be a “no car” day in this part of the city which is evident in the photo below.

For our last supper in Bologna, we opted for a nice, modern looking restaurant adjacent to but not part of the hotel. We had grabbed a pizza there, perhaps the day we arrived, and the great staff, cleanliness and general appearance (plus proximity to our hotel) drew us back. Nothing too complicated for la nostra cena as this time we waited for the standard 7:00PM opening time.

As has become the norm over here, we finished out the meal with an espresso and then headed next door to our hotel. It’s a fairly easy day tomorrow. With a 2:00PM check-in time at our Parma apartment and a 45 minute train ride to get there, we can enjoy a nice, leisurely morning before we have to leave for the train station. As we check out of Bologna though, let me leave you with one photo that portrays the sentiment of bugging out even though we have not really figured out what message is being sent. These little guys were stenciled onto the corner of a building at one of the intersections.

And so are we. See you in Parma. Ciao, ciao.