Trains, towers and canals

 This morning we left beautiful Lucca bright and early and made our way to the train station. If there's one thing I don't enjoy about travelling (could there actually be something??), it's the time in transit - particularly by train. I love flying. I love everything about airports - probably the things that most people hate. But transiting from one place to another by bus or train for me can be stressful and frustrating. Make sure you've got the ticket, find the right platform, get on the train, navigate getting on the train with a suitcase, find a place to store said suitcase, find a seat, find a seat where you can keep an eye on the suitcase while in transit. I could go on, but I don't like to complain ;-) About halfway through our trip, we had to get off and change trains for the final leg to Bologna. Because of Shannon's excellent skills with apps and maps etc., we found our new platform and boarded the next train with ease. 

Arriving in Bologna, we were swept back into the hustle and bustle of a city. There were many people at the train station. I'm not sure what it is about train stations, but they always seem to attract the shadiest characters, and we saw some of them lingering here. Shannon worked out how to purchase bus tickets at the Tabacchi (a one-stop shop for smokes, lollies, and lotto tickets) and, with the help of another app, found the right bus to catch to take us close to our accommodation. We have been to Bologna once before, in 2016 in Summer. We vowed to return to this place during more comfortable temperatures!

Speaking of temperatures, today is the first day we've felt the cold on this trip! We were starting to think we were going mad, but being a little further north, meant we could definitely feel a chill in the air. We found our apartment and eventually worked out how to get inside. Our apartment is on the third floor. There is a  lift in the building, but it appears to be broken. So we climbed the 62 stairs (yes, I counted) with our luggage to our home for the next 6 days. It's a fairly spacious place, but best of all is its location, being right in the middle of the historic centre. We had a walking tour pre-booked for this afternoon so after doing some clothes washing (hot tip - always book apartments with washing machines to save the hassle of the laundromat drama haha), we headed off to find our guide. We met Frederick in one of the main piazzas. We like to book through 'Tours with locals' as it is just that. Local people, sharing their knowledge of their city. Frederick was very knowledgeable about the history of Bologna and spent time explaining to us the development of the city from Medieval times and the many towers that existed that acted as a defence. There are still some towers inside the city today. Some are used as B&Bs.

 

We continued our tour, Frederick leading the way talking to us about the city he clearly loves. We walked in a loop, stopping by the area near the university, which is popular with international students. It was also interesting to learn that Bologna has an interesting canal system to bring water into the city, almost like a mini Venice! We ended our tour in the main square. It is quite large but comforting at the same time. We left Frederick and found a bar on the edge of the square to enjoy an aperetivo and some people-watching before it got too cold, and we fled back to our apartment! 

We were both quite hungry after having eaten little all day due to the timing of our trains. There are literally thousands of restaurants in the city, a mix of good and bad, like any other city. So we used a combination of 'Fork' and Trip Advisor recommendations tonight and found a place that served both traditional and modern dishes. We had booked for 7pm (a very early time to eat in Italy for locals), but when we arrived, the staff told us to come back in 20 minutes. Okay! Who were we to argue? When we returned, the staff were very welcoming and friendly. We chose traditional dishes, including tagliatelle ragu and tortellini in brodo (broth), followed by a meat dish of veal with parmesan, prosciutto, and cream sauce with roast potatoes. Yum! We were curious if they could hit the trifecta by pulling out a delicious dessert, but we thought we'd try as the other dishes had been so good. My creme brulee was truly the best I have had. Shannon also had a lovely little vanilla cake with raspberry syrup. A perfect way to end our first day in Bologna. I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Some beautiful Christmas decorations still hanging on!!