The drive to Italy through Switzerland is beautiful, especially around the Lucerne area. It took us just over eight hours from Boeblingen to Bologna. You know when you are in Italy by the tolls and how the Italians drive. I think that the driving style is much more like Americans from the Midwest, particularly Chicago. The reason we traveled to Bologna was for a Bosch trainee conference so while Ryan was busy with those activities Thursday evening, Friday, and Saturday, I explored Bologna with another American trainee's fiance.
Thursday night the Bosch group went to Le Stanze for dinner to mingle, so Rachel and I went to for a 6 Euro buffet including a large beer at English Empire, an English pub. It was quite a deal and the food was different than the typical Italian cuisine. We had couscous, some pasta, roasted eggplant and tomatoes, chicken, and other salads. We were happily dining when I noticed that we were definitely the "eye-candy" for nearly every Italian man in the restaurant or that walked by. We enjoyed free beers from the romantic short, dark and handsome men that offered. One young man asked me to sit because I am "too high". While we waited for the boys to be finished we strolled around the small Piazza Giuseppe Verdi near the Universita'Di Bologna, the oldest existing university in the world, where there was a group performing classical music. The small orchestra was surrounded by a crowd standing and listening while the rest of the piazza was filled with people sitting, chatting, eating and drinking. We stood near the edge of the standing group and talked quietly, only to be "sssshhhh'ed" by the people standing. Ooops!
Friday morning I met Rachel in the lobby for breakfast and then we began our day touring Bologna by foot. Bologna city center is shaped like a hexagon formed by the major roads. Our hotel was on the West and we walked pretty much all the way around and across a few times. We walked to the Piazza Maggiore and found the food market hustling and bustling with locals. We checked out both Basilicas but did not enter either. There is the Basilica di San Petronio and the Basilica Santuario Santo Stefano. We also walked all the way to the Giardini Margherita park on the Southeast side in the heat and enjoyed cool refreshing smoothies. I ordered the peach smoothie flavored with bits of sage leaves. After some shopping in the flea market near the Parco Montagnola on the North side we went back to the hotel to put up our feet and wait for the boys to return. We found out later that there was an 5.2 magnitude earthquake in the area earlier than afternoon. We did not feel it and honestly had no idea.
We changed and walked to the restaurant where the Bosch group of 60 people were dining. Rachel and I found a table for two outside in the street at the same restaurant. The street was closed to cars and filled with patio tables and chairs from the restaurants there around a stage where a string group was performing classical pieces. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of very traditional dishes from Bologna, pasta with bolognese (meat sauce...aka Ragu) sauce and tortelloni with a butter cream sage sauce. After dinner, we joined the group to an open air disco to listen to music and dance. I have to say it was an amazing experience to join the locals for evening activities.
Saturday was an interesting day since Rachel and I were both exhausted from the night before. We checked out of the hotel and had breakfast while the Bosch group headed out for their activities. Then we found the small Parco 11 Settembre 2001 to sit and chat. I probably could have taken a nap. For lunch we enjoyed two squares of pizza each. I honestly don't know what was on mine since I ordered the most interesting looking slices, but they were hot and delicious. For a view of the "Red City", we climbed to the top of the Torre degli Asinelli. It was 400 or so wooden stairs supported by scaffolding wrapped in Styrofoam so people did not hit their heads. The stairs were horribly steep and a lawsuit waiting to happen if it was in the US. Since in Italy it was "Enter at your own risk" I scurried to the top for an interesting view. The way down was much more hazardous than the way up! To complete the Italian experience we had gelato and I chose very typical flavors instead of the interesting pistachio, pine nut, licorice, and cantaloupe. Since it was Saturday, downtown Bologna was busy with people and the center area was closed to cars. After shopping we once again went back to the hotel to wait for the boys to return.
Once they did, everyone dispersed and Ryan and I headed to Venice.
We stayed at the Hotel Tritone in Maestre across from Venice on mainland Italy. The hotel is cheaper, parking is cheaper, and we thought the buses would be relatively convenient compared to staying in Venice. Our first time to Venice we took the train, arrived at the Santa Lucia station and began our walk with the goal of getting near the Ponte di Rialto bridge to find a restaurant for dinner. This area was recommended by the hotel front desk employee when he laughed because I was worried about finding a restaurant since we did not have a reservation. There are definitely tons of eating options in Venice. We were quickly turned around on the narrow walkways and canals so we stopped at Al Bagolo for dinner. We were nowhere near the bridge and actually in a non tourist area so I was happy to find the restaurant. If they had a website I would definitely provide a link and a high recommendation. The food was fabulous and reasonably priced, and we were provided with dining suggestions by the owner. Ryan enjoyed sea-bass, and I had a wonderful tagliatelle with lobster and tomato sauce. There was lobster in the sauce and the rest was in the tail on my plate. For dessert we enjoyed homemade apple pie with cream and caramel, very different than American or Dutch apple pie but equally as delicious! We had a romantic meal and enjoyed a casual stroll through the Giardino Papadopoli park back to the bus stop to return to our hotel.
Saturday was Venice all day! Our bus ride to the city was packed in the morning and there was standing room only. With my height, when I reached up to grab the hand-bars, an Italian man found his face only inches from my bare arm-pit since I was wearing a sleave-less shirt. Lucky for him, it was early in the day and I had remembered to wear deodorant. It was definitely the longest and most uncomfortable 10 minute bus ride I have ever experienced. Once in Venice, we took the boat taxi around the outside of the island between Venice and the Isola Della Giudecca to the main Piazza San Marco. We found the tourist area there to be overwhelming. Although the buildings are beautiful, we had no interest in going inside the museums or Basilica, and definitely no interest in purchasing hats or trinkets for sale at the dozens of stands in the Piazza and along the coast. We decided to walk through the streets towards the Rialto Bridge, stopping for gelato along the way. This time I did order the cantaloupe gelato and enjoyed the refreshing taste.
For lunch we had pnnini, pizza, and wine at a slightly tourist trap restaurant on Fondamente Nove on the North coast. Although we ordered a 1/2 Liter of the house white wine, we were served and charged for a whole Liter. That made for an interesting afternoon...We took the boat to the island Murano to walk around, see a quick glass blowing demonstration, and peruse the glass gift shops. The "Master" made a small vase/pitcher and a horse figurine. While we watched we listened to the glass from previous demonstrations exploding because it was not cooled in a temperature controlled environment.
Once back on Venice, we walked to the park on the Southwest side to sit and enjoy the water. This was definitely the most relaxing part of the day and we enjoyed conversation and sunshine.
After dinner and more gelato with Ryan's friends from NC State that were in Italy for an academic conference, we took the boat taxi back to the bus station through the Grand Canal. We noticed the flooding since the tide was high. It definitely was an eerie experience to see the piazza, gondola docks, doorways, and patios flooded with water in the darkness. I honestly don't think I could ever get over the fear of flooding living on the first floor of a building off the grand canal.
Interesting things I noticed in Italy...
- Nearly everyone in Bologna owns a scooter. They are definitely the most popular mode of city transport.
- Italian is a beautiful language.
- Italian men are very flirtatious.
- People do not wait for the "walk" signal and most times cross streets wherever they want to.
- Food and clothing is cheaper than in Germany.
- People fight for a seat on the bus from Maestre to Venice.
- Venice is a tourist city to eat, drink, and buy souvenirs.
- The boat taxis in Venice are extremely slow because they stop so often. Sometimes it is faster to walk.
Monday morning we headed back through the mountains in Italy and Austria in the rain. It pretty much rained the entire way and we were happy to arrive back in Boeblingen with time in the evening for dinner, relaxing, and laundry.
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