One thing I have learnt so far here is that we should all worship the Flixbus and the Megabus. I know we have National Express in England and it is the same thing expect it is ridiculously cheap here. We spontaneously decided to take a day trip to Bologna just because it was one euro each way from Venice with Flixbus. One hundred and eighty miles worth of travel for the price of a gelato! Also we found out it is where the sauce in spaghetti Bolognese originates from, which meant dinner was sorted before we left!
When we got off the bus we walked into the town and ended up in the huge market. It was selling everything anything and everything; clothes; food; shoes; rugs and there were even shisha stalls. We had a look around but I did not get anything, mainly because I do not stand a chance with any of the clothes and shoes sold here as I am six foot tall and wear size eight shoes and that is not the common stereotype of an Italian woman. Everything either does not cover me enough for me to maintain my dignity or ensures the crippling of my feet. But I did spot this jewel encrusted, sticker bombed scooter which was just asking for its picture to be taken!
It is a really cool city with some quirky buildings and there does not seem to be too many tourists there which was strange for us wannabe Venetians.. but maybe it is because the streets are a lot wider! Food was the next thing on our minds so we found this little tiny deli place where the lady would make whatever sandwich you wanted from her ingredients, so I had a mozzarella and sun dried tomato baguette and it has definitely became my new favourite thing.
We made our way to the main square and on the way we found big strips of shops, high end and high street. But in between a few there was what we assumed was a church so we poked our heads in as living in Venice has taught us that the churches are the most amazing things to see. It was actually Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Pietro, and it was so beautiful. When we walked in we all just stood there in silence staring at the ceilings, so it was definitely a worth while detour. When we walked out though we got caught in a mob of people running down the street. Turns out it was the men who sell the fake designer bags getting chased by the police, followed by the public trying to claim a free bag as they were dropped one by one, which was quite entertaining to watch actually.
The square seemed to be where all the people were as there was a lot more going on. The tower obviously stuck out from miles away so we had a look and found out we could climb to the top for three euros. I was definitely up for it and was all excited to see the views until about half way where I am sure a few of us died for a minute or two. I thought it would be fine because I have done similar things before like climbing to the top of Canterbury Cathedral, but this was whole different ball game.
So these were the stairs up and it does not look too bad because you can see a platform, well, do not be fooled as this was just one of the many on the way up and they tricked us every time into thinking we were nearly there. In total it was four hundred and ninety eight steps which we all tiny. So my huge feet hung over each step which meant I was tensing my whole body the whole way to try and keep my balance. It is hilarious thinking about it now because I stupidly wore sandals. But the top was sooooo worth it.
You get to see Bologna with panoramic views and it is amazing. You can see right over to the mountains behind as well as each and every building in the city. It was a beautiful day which was perfect and it was the best way to cool down after the climb!
I think I only took this photo as some sort of self victory and perhaps proof for my parents. After being up there for about half an hour it was getting pretty crowded (it is tiny!) so I went down, and I think this was actually harder because you have to cross over the queues of people coming up and because the steps are so small I all of sudden was terrified of falling. A lovely young Italian couple luckily took me under their wing and helped me down with them. I am so glad I got to see Bologna that way though because it was definitely the highlight of the day.
It was only early afternoon so we went into the Bologna museum, I think it was only six or seven euros for a student entry. We did the tour which was interesting, I think my favourite part was this walk way which was covered ceiling to floor in posters. At the time we went there was a photography exhibition all around the city, so we signed up with our emails and got given a lanyard with a pass on it which meant we could get in for free. We saw the Hein Gorny exhibition and it was really good, I was definitely picturing some of his work on my wall when I am a rich old lady!
There was a few interactive games in there and one was a light up memory game and we all won weird round notepads which were supposed to look like salami, a good memento though I guess.
After we left it was time for dinner which meant it was time for the hugely anticipated Bolognese! I had it as tagliatelle al ragú and it definitely met my expectations. I am just not sure how I can even justify eating spaghetti Bolognese in England again now, I will just have to eat enough Bolognese in Italy to last me. In the midst of our food comas we forgot we had to be back at the bus stop by seven which left us with five minutes to run from the other side of the city. Luckily it waited for us and we all got to nurse our stitches from running straight after dinner on the journey back to Venice.
*all photos are my own.
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