If I had to describe Bologna to you, it would be a nice bowl of warming pasta with Bolognese sauce on a cold winter's night. It was comforting, unpretentious, laid-back and inviting. An effort to stay true to our daily budget, we opted to stay 2 nights in the outskirts of the city. It was one of the best places we stayed in for its price. We arrived late that night so we relaxed in the comforts of our room and had a good night's rest.
Next morning, we loaded up on breakfast provided by the hotel and headed into town for some sight seeing. First stop: Tourist office. As usual, it was information overload so we decided to mull over the glossy maps and brochures provided in a nearby cafe. We knew what we wanted (espresso with cream) but didn't know the technically correct Italian coffee lingo. You know when you are in Italy when the waiter will not take your coffee orders unless you get the lingo right: it was Espresso con panna (if you interested). The coffees came quick with baby glasses of sparkling water to wash it down - welcome to the land of sparkling water. :)
After our caffeine shots, we decided that we wanted to learn more about the history of Bologna in the Civic Museum. Unfortunately it was closed at 3 pm and it was nearly lunch time. Not letting this deter us, we headed to the National Picture Gallery to appreciate some art work. En-route, we stopped by xxx library which supposedly houses old and original manuscripts from the 15th century. It was once the oldest university in Europe and had a lecture hall with an "operating table" which facilitated anatomy lessons. Much of the construction was destroyed in WW2, so the building as the public sees now is largely restored in the 20th century.
We didn't stay long before starting our own self guided tour of the canals cutting through the city.The Bologna self-guided tour booklet provided complimentary by the tourist office has proven to be quite handy. It provided recommendations for various self-guided tours catering to the nature lovers, art students, foodies and tourist who just wanted to stroll through the old canals and buildings. There was a brief introduction that our Lonely piggin' Planet guide book did not mention was Bologna was the 5th biggest city in Europe once upon a time and had an intricate canal system just like Venice did. Learning this, we decided we will follow the "Water Tour" which basically traces the canal system around the city. We saw a side of Bologna that one would not have expected of it. There were man-made canals cutting through the city and it was rather romantic to see that people are still living in the apartments on these canals carrying on about their daily business like you and I would be crashing in a studio back home. It was not like Dubrovnik or Venice, where the city or the town had lost much of its original appeal due to the tremendous influx of tourists coming through each day. Most of the shops (we guessed they were shops since most of them had shutters from ceiling to floor) were closed from late morning till after 3/4, siesta time. We wandered around the city parks and streets for an hour or 2, just soaking Bologna in. The helpful tourist office tipped us that there will be a free open air jazz performance later tonight close to the Odeon cinema so we decided to head back to the hotel for a quick snooze like an Italian before dinner.
Jazz performance wasn't a disaster but it certainly didn't blow our minds. The simple Italian food definitely did. Sounds typical but the Bolognese sauce in my Tagliatellie Bolognese was the best I have ever tasted. The place was packed with young courting couples, families with toddlers and well-fed retirees and the crowds flowed from the restaurants onto the streets, the stage strangely placed at the end of the fenced off area. Nevertheless, we had a jolly time just sipping Chianti and sharing what we loved about Italy so far.
Next day, we had an unsuccessful early start. What could we blame? The comfy bed the hotel provided! It was probably one of the best sleeps we had so far. Good for our body that we caught on some beauty sleep but not that great for visiting the Civic museum, so we changed our plan and headed straight for the National Picture Gallery. I must say if you are religious, Europe is the best place to get a crash course on biblical stories. We were starting to recognise different artists' interpretations of scenes from the bible. Nevertheless, we diligently followed the recommended appreciation route. It was difficult to be impressed with the collection after we had been to Vienna but we did our best. We decided to move on to a short city hike as the summer heat subsided.
The unofficial (but better than one) guide for the day, Robin, took me to a nearby park and we sat there watching tourists and locals seeking shelter from the summer heat. We sat on the bench and indulged in one of our favourite past times: people watching. While we were watching in awe or disgust (can't decide) at some Italians posing for the camera, we noticed that there was a man, dressed and behaving typical of an Italian, barking at his dog to chase after pigeons that were resting on lamp posts. So this odd dance of a poor German Shepperd darting from one lamp post with his Italian owner shouting at him continued for the next 15 minutes until we got tired watching and moved on from the park. The sun was starting to set so we decided to take the chance to admire the Greek statues surrounding the old Roman walls surrounding Bologna. The walls were almost glistening orange and pink and the white marble statues reflecting the sun rays seem to almost come alive. We stood standing quietly appreciating what was in front of us, wishing the Italians around us would stop snapping away and their camera and chatting. I guess if you have this in your backyard everyday, you would not be as appreciative. Isn't that the way with everything in life.
It seemed like the only right thing to do was to celebrate our lovely episode in Bologna with a traditional Bolognese meal. And so we did. After freshening up back in the hotel, we searched around and happened to walk past a tiny restaurant tucked away in a quiet alley. The tables were mainly occupied with families and a couple. It had minimal decor but it felt right. And it was more than right. The dinner turned out to more than what we had expected, rustic Italian. Just fresh ingredients and seasoned with herbs. As we rubbed our satisfied tummies, ready to head back for another good night's rest, the restaurant owner came with 2 limencello shots for us to top off an amazing night.
What can we say? What a start to Italy. Next Dolomites.
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