Thursday, August 9, 2007

Since it was still a possibility of going to Venice tomorrow, my first task was to find out about transportation. I asked Anna the receptionist about the train schedule. She gave me a website to look up the information & the bus schedule to get to the train station. I got online to the website & stupid me . . . it was all in Italian. I tried to figure it out by picking up a word here & there, but of course that didn’t work. As much as I hated to bother Anna, I went downstairs & she was more than willing to help me out. I think it took her less than 2 minutes to get me the information I needed. Even though the possibility of going to Venice was still remote, I couldn’t help but get my hopes up a little. I always try to take things one step at a time, but when you actually plan for it, it’s hard not to get a bit excited. Guess we’ll find out one way or the other when George gets back from class tonight.

I did my usual morning routine & ate breakfast downstairs before making my way through the city. The temperature was in the low 70s & I was feeling pretty comfortable walking around & exploring the different shops by myself. So comfortable that when I stepped off the curb onto the cobblestone street, I about ate it! I stepped on the side of one of the stones & all but fell completely to the ground. I recovered . . . none too gracefully & not before the man in front of me heard it & an elderly woman to the right of me saw the whole thing. The man stopped to see if I was okay & the woman was saying something in Italian with a big smile on her face. All I could do was laugh & throw my hands up in the air. Great way to start the morning!

I did my daily 2 mile walk to the Piazza Maggiore took in the sites & breathed in the air. Not that it’s probably all that clean, it is the city after all. But I think I was just taking in the character of the city itself. Remembering the tour I took yesterday & all that I learned about Bologna. It was like meeting a new friend for lunch or something like that. I bought some souvenirs, browsed through some of the shops then headed back to the hotel a couple of hours later. There’s really not a whole lot to do except shopping. And those of you who know me, know how much I LOVE to shop! :p NOT! Most of the stuff here you can get in the United States. There are dozens of women’s shoe shops & all kinds of little deli type places. There ARE quite a few places to eat, just not any of the nice sit down places. So I never got the opportunity to try any of Bologna’s finer cuisines. Not even tortellini, which it is famous for. And wouldn’t you know, the place Nastro Azzurro where we’ve been eating the last few nights, doesn’t serve it. The owners are from Napoli – a different province of Italy. They specialize more in their pizzas. Apparently, it’s an old world recipe. They do have quite a variety of other pasta dishes & even seafood. Napoli must be near the shore. So even though breakfast & lunch may be routine, we at least get a really good dinner.

When George got back from class, he informed me . . . no Venice! Oh well. It WAS a remote possibility. He said the instructor was going to take the 4 guys out for lunch Friday. I guess as a farewell sort of thing or maybe even a way of making up for the lunches they’ve BEEN serving them all week. Didn’t want to leave them with a bad taste in their mouths. (pun intended  ). As to whether or not they’ll still have a full day, who knows, but either way, Venice ain’t happenin’. C’est la vie! Oh wait, wrong country. Non importa!

After dinner, George, Mike & I headed for the Fontana del Nettuno to get some gelato, show them some of the places I toured & get some pictures of George & me to prove that we were actually here together. I’ve spent the majority of our stay here by myself & only get to see George for dinner & afterwards. He nor Mike have seen any of the city because they’re in class all day & there’s not much time to do anything when they get back around 5:15 or so. The only time they were able to see anything was when we went on a restaurant safari looking for a nice sit down place. Obviously, we never found one cuz they’re all closed in August! I’ve never walked so much in a day or a week in my life, but at least I’m getting a little exercise & it’s the best way to go exploring.