Buon Giornio d'Italia! Off on another adventure, it's been awhile. I think maybe after seeing the film Roman Holiday (my first Audrey Hepburn film {and hers too}). I've always wanted to visit Rome, place my hand in the Mouth of Truth, ride a vespa while holding onto a handsome stranger, and eat some gelato on the Spanish steps (and how i will!) Maybe it was the romance and innocence of the film, of the character Princess Ann, but it seemed like such a magical place. Fast forward to university, where I studied Art History and Photography. Now Italy, the whole of the country not just Rome, turned into my Mecca - my place of worship. There is so much history, art and culture squished into this little boot (not to mention the great boots here too!) I like to go away for my birthday, it's my little gift to myself. Dubai, Shanghai, and now Bologna! hahaha It's a start. I have a friend, Maxime Richard, who is doing his Masters in Bologna. Did you know that the University of Bologna was the first university established?
I arrived in Bologna on a beautiful sunny warm afternoon - remember i was coming from Toronto, Canada and a bit over dressed for such weather. I was lucky to have 3 seats to myself onboard the Air Canada flight to Frankfurt, however i was so engrossed with Lisbeth Salander and her final kick that i did not take advantage of my space, and barely slept by the time i landed at 7:20am and had a 5hr wait until my connecting flight to Bologna at 12:35 - but i got on, and for someone who travels standby, that's all that really matters. Got the shuttle bus from the airport to the central station, where my friend lives nearby at Piazza dei Martiri. Maxime also had another friend, Andrew Thompson, visiting from the UK. He was in town for a job fair/recruitment, but had taken the day off to enjoy the city and the weather (i soon found out that the sun is rare, rain, rain, rain is more of the daily variety).
We had a great first day, went for drinks and pasta - tagliatelle bolognese: the sauce is so light, it just coats the pasta - bellissimo! Then we went to an aperitivo. I love this concept, and it happens in every little bar/lounge here. Between the hours of 6-8, every bar sets up a buffet of snacks that are all free for the patrons of the establishment (of course they assume you'll drink, and drink more because you have some food). It's wonderful! The bite size snacks range from little samples of pasta, cous-cous, mozarella wrapped prochuto, chicken curry, fries, chips, crudite and dip....it's always good, and each place is different.
Saturday was another beautiful day, i was really beginning to like this place! Maxime wasn't feeling well, so i left him in bed and went walking around his town. Bologna isn't a terribly large city, so it's pretty easy to orient yourself, and cover the city in an hour or two. Piazza dei Martiri is about a 10min walk from Piazza Maggiore, which is the centre of town, where the Fountain of Neptune stands, and the city's Duomo, which is under construction. I love how they've undertaken construction of the historical sites. Instead of simply covering the buildings, the cover shows the facade of the edifice that you are wanting to see. It's the Italian off season, so they try to do as much restoration as they can under cover for the throngs of tourist that will pour into every city come June. It's quite a neat little idea, albeit not as good as seeing the actual structure itself, but at least one is able to see what it should look like (the UNESCO world heritage site of the Duomo in Modena was also covered for restoration).
North of the Piazza, is Via Clavature, which is a series of small streets spinkled with markets (fruit, fish, meat, cheese, flowers) and cafes. Even hidden in one of these little side streets is a great bar, Nu Lounge. On the corner of Via Ugo Bassi and the Piazza one can find some roasted chestnuts (it's my new snack of choice - so yummy!)
Continue walking north on Via Ugo Bassi and you reach the Due Torri (the Two Towers), one of which is leaning - it seems to have been perpetual problem with the construction of towers in this country at one point in time. It's not as ornate as Pisa, but they are a lot higher. It cost 3 euros to climb the tower (Torre Asinelli), and probably more then 15mins to make it to the top (everytime you think you've reached the final plateau, there's more). The views of the city are pretty spectacular.
To the left of the two towers is Via Zamboni which is where the main campus of the university is located, as well as Piazza Rossini, Piazza Verdi (where the Teatro is situated) and el museo di Palazzo Poggi (Via Zamboni 33) where there is a frescoe painted by Tibaldi. It is said that he was influence by Michelangelo, and so when historians begin restoration on the colours of the Sistine chapel, they use the colours in Tibaldi's frescoe to match. Little bit of trivia for ya.
Listening: Rolling in the Deep - Adele
Drinking: Beauty Green - Stegrate Green Tea
Reading: The End of the Road - John Barth
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