Bags out by 7. This hotel had hard beds, the sink stopper doesn't work, and the shower was weird, but the location could not be beat! Now we leave for our next adventure. Breakfast first, though. It's still excellent, but we are ready for a bit of a change - let's see what the next hotel has to offer.
At 8:30 our group walked the short distance to the shore for another water taxi. The water still a bit rough so when the taxi docked, Randy helped everyone off so the waves didn't dip anybody.
By 9 am we were on the bus with our driver Nicola. Along the drive Giuseppe talked about local ship-building plants; they build a lot of cruise ships here.
Bologna is famous for food and meats. And Risotto grows well in northern Italy. This area gets water from Alps which means it's great water.
Giuseppe put in a plug for Italian free education and health care, although he said they pay high taxes to pay for it and there is 30 percent unemployment in some areas. He also voiced some real appreciation for the Marshall plan after WWII. Italy was poor before the war and of course even worse afterwards, so the Marshall plan was a much-needed gift that Italy seems to have used wisely.
Bologna was surrounded by 2nd century roman walls, many of which remain. Giuseppe mentioned again that salt was a very important commodity in Italy. He said people used to be paid in salt, which led to the term salary. The best Italian salt now comes from Sicily.
Bologna was not bombed in WW2, which helped preserve a lot of the buildings. It's known a "the red city" because of all the buildings made from local red bricks. Giuseppe told us that Ferrari started making tractors then switched to cars. His friend Lamborghini kept making suggestions to improve the cars until they weren't friends anymore, so Lamborghini started making cars just to do it better. They make just 5 cars a day, entirely by hand. You can get one after a 2 year wait but not a red one; red is Ferrari's color.
We passed of the old Romans here. Some of them have been repurposed, of course; the square is built from reused Roman bricks.
Giuseppe walked us through a great market/restaurant area. Throughout Italy they take these narrow roads, close them to traffic, and set up tables in half the road.
Then we were on our own for lunch, with instructing to meet back at the square at 2 pm. Aaron, Glenda and ourselves went back to the restaurant area and had great lunch.
I don't have a clue how to take selfies but we had a wonderful time!
Afterwards we walked around, admiring the hams, cheeses and pastas in the shops. Wish we could have brought some of this home!
It very common here to decorate the corners of buildings with religious images, although this is the first one I've seen that is paired with a gargoyle. Weird.
Another thing we've found everywhere is a lack of toilet seat. Except for our hotels, every toilet has been just like this!!
Oh well, some things cannot be explained. Back at the square we stopped by the Monument to the Fallen Partisans, full of photos and names of people who died in the war. Which is sad, but it's also nice that they are not forgotten.
This was also where we saw the cutest, littlest mail car. Aaron was checking it out when the mailman came back. He just smiled at us - he knows it's a silly little car!
It's pretty amazing, inside and out.
Full of tombs and statues, of course. I loved this double tomb statue of Felix and Elisa. This couple are planning on being together forever!
And in one of the side areas is a brightly lit ornate box with somebody's bones in it. I have no idea whose relics these are, but they are not in very good shape.
At 2 our whole group walked back to where the bus was waiting (it cannot go into the center of the city) and headed to Florence. The terrain became hilly so the bus went through several long tunnels. Everything is so pretty here!
We went to the Star hotel, got a very nice room, then got back on the bus to go downtown. Along the way we learned that this picturesque part of Florence is full of 15th century buildings with no sewer system, only septic tanks. And that monks in Florence started producing leather goods a long time ago and now leather is one of Florence's most famous products. Giuseppe took us to a nice leather store named Misuri, where a couple of ladies told us about leather. Real leather should not have much scent and the inside and outside should not be glued together. And you clean lambskin with face cream - who knew?
There are some gorgeous 16th century fresco above some windows here. How amazing to be in a place where so much history is still around!
There is an amazing display of statues just outside the palace/museum - mostly of angry men kidnapping or killing someone. And naked, always naked.
And here I found one of my favorite lions again! I saw this guy 23 years ago and I was so happy to see him again, still whole and on display!
We went inside the Medici museum's entryway - it's spectacular! Unfortunately we did not have the time on this trip to get a ticket and go through the whole museum. But I'll bet it's amazing!
The entree was brought out in large portions and served onto our plates.
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