Bologna was such fun. My first best friend and childhood neighbour, Kristelle is studying here for a year. We haven’t seen each other for awhile but when in Europe, what better time to catch up? I arrived to delightful weather but as we were walking from the bus stop it of course began to rain torrentially and then HAIL! We spent the afternoon catching up, learning basic Italian phrases, playing cards and drinking tea. In the pm, we went to a bruschetteria (after having many arguments about the correct pronunciation) for one of Stell’s friend’s birthdays where you could get all different toppings in lengths of up 120cm. For dessert we had nutella – oh I love being in the land of Ferrero – I’m right at home. After dinner we went to a gorgeous bar called Cafe de Paris for delish cocktails. Afterwards we went to the similarly named but much more sleezy Cafe Paris for 1€ shots and finished the night at soda pops – the Erasmus place to be (our equivalent of Ride Club). We arrived home after 4am (after a ridiculous 20 minute dead-end detour) and crashed out exhausted.
The next morning I cooked up my scrambled eggs delicacy, then we went into town and climbed Torne Asinelli – small steps that went on FOREVER (can’t believe you pay 3€ for such torturous exercise). The view was worth it though and I was surprised by how red the buildings all were. We met some tourists from Milan up the top and together explored the city, particularly the seven secrets of Bologna – Neptune’s statue, the walls that you diagonally whisper messages into, the arrow in the wall, the four essential elements of life and the underground canals. We explored Piazza Maggoire with our newfound friends and the Basilica, before heading to the markets (I’m still regretting not purchasing that red belt!) At night we went to Laura’s (by chance a girl from William Clarke) for pizza. Unfortunately I fell asleep on the couch and never made it out – such a FAIL!
Next morning we had omelettes and spent the day in the park, Giardini Margherita, reminiscing on our childhood days. I had an excellent spag bol for dinner (tagliatelle al ragu), however perhaps more eventful was the happenings on the way to dinner. We had been sitting at the bus stop for forever, unable to figure out why the buses weren’t coming. I then get a warning comment from Stell – “Don’t look but there is a guy in a g-string walking towards us”. For some reason I picture an old man but alas no – it was a guy in his 20’s, in heels, looking let’s say, very feminine. He walks up, says a very polite hello in Italian, asks Stelle to take a photo of him at the bus stop, poses, thanks us and struts off. No “that was a dare comment” and no justification as to why he would want a photo in the middle of nowhere. We laughed about it the entire way into town.
On our final day in Bologna we did some sightseeing and went on a tour of the underground canals. The canals are virtually unknown and they have you climb down a drain in the middle of the road with helmets on and into a blow up boat. As we drifted down the canal, we all cop a few blows to the head as we forgot to duck low enough. We were told the purpose of the canals (as translated by a kind man on the tour) was for goods delivery and for laundry women to wash but they would catch diseases from the water and became untouchables in society. Then in WWII it was a bomb shelter and a hide out for the Jews and later it was nicknamed Hells River as people threw their rubbish down there. I felt like such an explorer. We then found a pizza place was open (it was Sunday) and took it to Piazza Maggoire where there was an outdoor concert. We later went for our second (and best) gelato of the day and sat in a park eating and watching a young couple having a highly dramatic domestic – who needs ‘Home and Away’ when you have them? We later played with the bouncy ball and had wheelbarrow races. I’m going to call it a head heat when you consider the jump of the gun made by Team Kristelle. We had a quiet night in, cooked up a storm and caught up on The Hills. I loved Bologna and can’t wait to see Venice tomorrow!
The next morning I cooked up my scrambled eggs delicacy, then we went into town and climbed Torne Asinelli – small steps that went on FOREVER (can’t believe you pay 3€ for such torturous exercise). The view was worth it though and I was surprised by how red the buildings all were. We met some tourists from Milan up the top and together explored the city, particularly the seven secrets of Bologna – Neptune’s statue, the walls that you diagonally whisper messages into, the arrow in the wall, the four essential elements of life and the underground canals. We explored Piazza Maggoire with our newfound friends and the Basilica, before heading to the markets (I’m still regretting not purchasing that red belt!) At night we went to Laura’s (by chance a girl from William Clarke) for pizza. Unfortunately I fell asleep on the couch and never made it out – such a FAIL!
Next morning we had omelettes and spent the day in the park, Giardini Margherita, reminiscing on our childhood days. I had an excellent spag bol for dinner (tagliatelle al ragu), however perhaps more eventful was the happenings on the way to dinner. We had been sitting at the bus stop for forever, unable to figure out why the buses weren’t coming. I then get a warning comment from Stell – “Don’t look but there is a guy in a g-string walking towards us”. For some reason I picture an old man but alas no – it was a guy in his 20’s, in heels, looking let’s say, very feminine. He walks up, says a very polite hello in Italian, asks Stelle to take a photo of him at the bus stop, poses, thanks us and struts off. No “that was a dare comment” and no justification as to why he would want a photo in the middle of nowhere. We laughed about it the entire way into town.
On our final day in Bologna we did some sightseeing and went on a tour of the underground canals. The canals are virtually unknown and they have you climb down a drain in the middle of the road with helmets on and into a blow up boat. As we drifted down the canal, we all cop a few blows to the head as we forgot to duck low enough. We were told the purpose of the canals (as translated by a kind man on the tour) was for goods delivery and for laundry women to wash but they would catch diseases from the water and became untouchables in society. Then in WWII it was a bomb shelter and a hide out for the Jews and later it was nicknamed Hells River as people threw their rubbish down there. I felt like such an explorer. We then found a pizza place was open (it was Sunday) and took it to Piazza Maggoire where there was an outdoor concert. We later went for our second (and best) gelato of the day and sat in a park eating and watching a young couple having a highly dramatic domestic – who needs ‘Home and Away’ when you have them? We later played with the bouncy ball and had wheelbarrow races. I’m going to call it a head heat when you consider the jump of the gun made by Team Kristelle. We had a quiet night in, cooked up a storm and caught up on The Hills. I loved Bologna and can’t wait to see Venice tomorrow!
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