Bologna

I caught the train to Bologna today which is 40 mins east of Florence, so an easy day trip. It’s a less polished city, but full of charm and famous for being one of the best food destinations in Italy (think mortadella sausage, tiny tortellini, prosciutto, parmigiano Reggiano, Modena balsamic and Bolognese sauce among other things). There are also several kilometres of covered porticos everywhere, so even if the weather is bad you will be dry, or cool if it is a hot day, and you can enjoy walking off the food 🙂 It’s about a 20 minute walk from the central station to the Piazza Maggiore where you’ll find the San Petronio cathedral and Neptune’s fountain. The cathedral is so so inside, but around the back you can access the roof terrace and get awesome views across the terracotta rooftops for only a few euros. Well worth it, and much less scary (and less busy) than climbing up the leaning tower across town. From the piazza I headed for the area around Via Draperie where the best food can be found. The pizza from the mercato is amazing. I’d had a look online at different blogs about Bologna and where I could head to for a decent walk (always good to see what other people have loved about a place). The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca sits on top of a hill looking over Bologna, and you can walk the whole way there under the covered porticos which is cool. It’s a 7.5km round trip up and back and a really nice walk. You can pay to go up to the top of the cathedral dome when you’re up there, but today it was foggy so the views wouldn’t have been great. Tomorrow is new year’s eve and the trains are FULL of people heading to their families or holiday destinations. Florence is also bristling with shiny happy people. I’ve organised to join an Eatwith dinner experience tomorrow, which is basically like booking a seat at a table and other guests do the same, and you all have a cool evening. I’ve done it in other cities and it has always been amazing, and it will be nice to be in the company of good people as the new year arrives. Might need an afternoon nap so I don’t nod off 🙂 🙂