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!!

Time for a little Pisa

 Just thirty minutes by train is Pisa, the home of the world-famous leaning tower, so we decided to take a day trip on this brisk but sunny day. 

Again purchasing the train tickets via the Trenitalia app was the way to go, as when we walked into the Lucca train station, it was hectic, with a couple of ticket machines not working and lines formed at the remaining and also at the manned booths. 

The journey on the train was uneventful but peaceful, looking at the Tuscan scenery unfolding in reverse as we went along.  Yes, to Katie's disgust, we were only able to get seats facing toward the back of the train, so, in essence, we were watching the scenery in reverse. Could this be classed as time travel? 

Pisa has two train stations, Pisa S. Rossore and Pisa Centro, allowing us to get off at one and have a single journey, not requiring us to backtrack. 

The area around the leaning tower was heaving, with many people having a public holiday today, Epiphany. The day when the three wise men visited the newborn Jesus Christ. (or something like that)

Katie was able to perform the ritual photo along with about a thousand others.  We were able to get access to the Baptistry and also hear the amazing acoustics. Each half hour, a singer comes in and sings for about 60 seconds, allowing us to hear how well the sound reverberates in the structure. Well worth entering and waiting for the top or bottom of the hour.

From here, it was across the square to the church, well worth entering for the superb mosaics. This church has now created two entrances, one for us just wanting a visit, giving only access to the area near the main doors, and the other for people wanting to have silent prayer enabling them to access the remainder of the magnificent structure. 

We were both feeling hungry at this time and a little claustrophobic from all the people. We passed by Subway (yes, the sandwich place) and headed closer to the Arno River for some lunch.  This time we didn't hunt out the best in town; we just wanted something simple, so we found a pizzeria and dined outside. 

 

Now away from the Leaning Tower, we were able to join in with the Epiphany celebrations, some children were entering a balloon and meeting Befana, who would give them chocolate. There were also markets still hanging over from Christmas.

We returned on the train back to Lucca, where at 6PM, writing this in our apartment, I can hear hundreds of people passing outside our window, all on the Passageanta, evening walk, which is when Italians walk to be seen and walk to see others. It is extra special tonight with the Public Holiday. For us, we have selected to cook some pasta in-house, may go to the Irish Pub for a drink and then will rest early as we have a train ride to our next destination, Bologna!

Lucca has been a wonderful place for us to visit, and here are some more pics that will show activities we may have written about. 

Ciao