Bologna

After stopping back at the bakery we found yesterday, we made our way to the train station in Florence and hopped on board to head to Bologna. We eventually made our way out of the train station and our first stop was, of course, to drop our bags. We found the cutest hostel where we ended up with lots more space than we were expecting (and no bunk beds!). We looked around quickly and then stopped for gelato at a very local shop next door (it was already way too hot to just walk by). 

Before the trip, we had found an exploration game in Bologna that is similar to a scavenger hunt for different monuments and attractions around the city. It’s also similar to a self guided tour but has a story and puzzles to go along with it, in addition to history and directions on where to walk. We really liked it because it was interactive, so we stayed engaged, but it was also self paced so we could take a break to go look at shops or get lunch or explore different areas more (or less) based on how we were feeling. The only downside was not having a physical person there to answer questions or give restaurant suggestions.

Bologna is full of towers, monuments, and porticoes which were really fun to explore. It felt like a much more medieval city than anywhere else we’ve visited which was entirely because of the architecture. One highlight was Bologna’s leaning tower which actually leans more than Pisa’s (but is harder to take cool pictures with). We also thought Neptune’s statue and Galvani’s statue were very cool with fun stories. The last highlight that we both enjoyed was an intersection of two tunnels where two people could stand in opposite corners and whisper into the corner and hear each other. We also loved that most of the sidewalks are covered (which helped protect us from both sun and rain). This was because, as Bologna’s population grew, people wanted to expand the size of their homes without taking over the sidewalks and roads so they built patios above the sidewalks with pillars holding them up.

After the game was finished, we made our way back to the hostel to officially check in and give ourselves a few minutes to cool off. When we were ready, we set off and explored some more of the city and went back to see more of a few areas including a street with lots of meat, cheese, and fruit vendors where we ended up for dinner. We found a cute restaurant, got a table in the street, and ordered an amazing charcuterie board and a salad with pears and parmesan. It was the perfect dinner and was exactly what we heard is a must in Bologna. On our way back to the hostel, we ran into a store to buy some water because we heard it’s crazy expensive in Venice. Tomorrow, we’re off to the canals!!