Sep 17, 2007 - Bologna - Lasagna of the Gods

Worried that it might rain on our Tuesday outing to Bologna, we moved it up to today (monday)! Of course, it was the night that we all finally slept, so we got a later start in the morning... By 10:30am we were on the train to Bologna - it's a short, one hour trip on a really nice Eurostar train, so it was nice (eventhough we couldn't sit together - the train was packed). Upon arrival, we had the usual 10 minutes of having no clue how to function in a brand new city, but after we found the tourist 'I', we got on track :) A quick bus ride...

May 30, 2007 - The Lamboghini Factory (for the guys)

This was amazing. I was even able to get a tour of the production line and see the newest cars. It was awsome and is too much for me to write in here. The downside was that I was not allowed to bring my camera inside the production area, but I have a lot of pics of the museum and a few cars that were there for the factory 80km test drive, and a new buyer was there taking a few of the stock models for drives. I tried begging and bribing to drive one, but they would only let people drive if they have 50% upfront. I didn`t.

Apr 23, 2007 - Bologna

Bologna was a pleasant surprise. We're not sure what we were expecting, but it is a fascinating place: a great history, two leaning towers, medieval buildings, the oldest university in Europe, and bizarre antics by the student population. The sidewalks in the centre, or oldest part of town, are all covered. The arcades cover blocks and blocks of the city core. Aparently it started with medieval home owners expanding their living space by building their second floors over the the streets below. While this was illegal (against the building...

Mar 19, 2007 - Vinegar of Modena

While we were staying in Bologna, we took a little trip out to Modena, home of 'Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena'...the mother of all balsamic vinegars. If you think you've tasted good balsamic vinegar 'you ain't seen nuthin yet!' The Tradizionale is a protected product under the European Union's Protected Designation of Origin (like port, champagne, sherry, etc) - this means balsamic vinegar can only be called Tradizionale if it is made by a producer registered in the consortium that controls quality and enforces the specific...

Mar 18, 2007 - Bologna the Fat, the Learned, and the Red

Destination three: Bologna. From Venice we hopped on the train and rode the rails down to Bologna, about 2 hours away. The Italian trains are terrific. Easy to use, easy to navigate - you just walk into the train station, figure out where you want to go, and buy the ticket from the ticket machine. Big boards announce coming and going trains...Easy-peasy! We decided to go to Bologna because I kept seeing it described as a city that Italians know and love, but tourists haven't quite discovered. I can see why the Italians like it...the...

Jun 30, 2006 - Bologna

In between overnights we decided we owed it to ourselves to get a nice meal, so we stopped by the town that invented spagetti, tortelini, and lasagna. The meal was azazing and afterwards we got got up in a all night street party. We followed the party around for a little bit before we caught our 3rd overnight to Austria.

Jun 10, 2006 - Florence and Bologna

John and Kevin drove into Florence and went to see Giotto's tower (the guy who ended the the Art of the dark ages) and of course the famous Duomo. We had a great time shopping and exploring the city centre. John was also extremely happy to have been able to catch most of the England vs. Paraguay game at a bar outside the Duomo. We had a Calzone and Gelati and checked out all the the markets had to offer. We picked up soccer shirts, suglasses and some famous prints. Earlier in the day we found out that all the hotels and hostels in Florence...

Nov 16, 2005 - last day in Bologna

This is the last and fiftieth day of my stay in Bologna before my departure early Thursday. Daniel and I spent a relaxing afternoon walking around a familiar part of the city center with no plan in particular. Later, we took a bus to San Michele in Bosco, the church that I had visited one day during my second week. Since it is in the wooded hills just outside the city, I enjoyed the relative quiet and clean air. Since arriving in Bologna, I had not made any hike outside of the city. It was fitting to have a vista of the city center from the...

Aug 26, 2005 - Week Eight

August 21st (Gary) I hope anyone reading this doesn't mind the dual author style of the writing, it was an idea copied from a recent read "The long way round" by Charlie Boorman & Ewan McGregor and with luck we won't whine half as much when the going gets a bit rougher. Thank you to everyone who has responded to our weekly blog, keeping us updated to all that's happening with family and friends. A late start and an easy day to clean and prepare our humble abode for my parents, who fly in today; visitors have always had the ability to...

Jun 20, 2005 - Day 71 - Bologna

Well I have now made it to 10 weeks and am on a revived path of travel at the moment. Was struggling for a little while to imagine I could do 6 months - but the further I go the more I think I can definitely manage that length of time. I am sure I will continue to have ups and downs along the way - so am bound to negate this last sentence at some stage soon. On a definite high - Caroline and Kay joined me for a few days in Florence. We met at Pisa where they overtook me on the street as we were heading to our meeting point at the Tower of...

May 16, 2005 - Ferrara

Today we went to Ferrara (about 40 minutes North of Bologna). We went to Castello Estense (14th century). Inside the castle were dungeons with candle smoke graffiti from mid 1400s. These dungeons (which were below ground level, small and had only one small light source) were used again in 1943 for antifascist prisoners. We climbed the Lion's Tower for a view over Ferrara but it was little foggy (which Ferrara is known for). We then drove back through Agenta and the countryside. We had dinner with Malcolm's friends Aldo and Pucci in their...

May 10, 2005 - Florence to Bologna

Today we farewelled Mike and Pat and sent them off to Rome. After they left we went to the Museum of the History of Science. It was full of many wonderful displays. A special exhibition they had was on Numbers and their forms. In the musem they had many mathematical and science equipment from the the 11th to 19th centuries including a number of Galileo's instruments (including his middle finger embalmed). Their was a number of rooms solely dedicated to mathemematical instruments. Lots of school groups were having tours and Ingrid suggested...