| Erin's Bologna Journal 4-07-02 to 4-09-02 Today we're in Bologna, just relaxing and working on our website. We arrived yesterday on the train from Venezia, and met another couple as we tried to get tourist info at the train station. They were clearly recognizable as fellow travelers by their backpacks, and as it turned out, we were both couples trying to take many months out traveling the world. Silvia and Andres were originally from Columbia and were living in London when he was laid off, and they decided to go see the world while the opportunity was right. Same as us! So we found our way - the long way - out to the hostel in Bologna. This took about 2 1/2 hours, and when we reached it, we were glad to have a spot open to us. Glenn and I were able to book dormitory rooms (separate from each other) until Tuesday, and our compatriots managed to get a family room for two for the night. For dinner we all ordered pizza - and as we sat there deciding what to get, several other travelers came up and decided to do the same. This hostel is far from the town center, so food from restaurants is harder to come by out here. We ended up with a pizza feast, all of us gathered around the table in the gathering room. It was wonderful! That alone made it worth the communal showers and squeaky beds. Not to mention the bargain price! Monday we went into downtown Bologna with Sylvia and Andres to wander around the few historical sights there. We wandered through a couple of truly impressive churches, the main square which is composed of 3 castles, the fountain of Neptune, and a basilica, and the two towers. Then, our friends caught the train to Florence and we headed to the post office to see if our mail from FL had arrived. It hadn't. Afterward we found a wonderful sandwich for lunch, and decided to hunt up an internet cafe. We found one after some minimal wandering, and waited about 20 minutes for two computers to free up. We ended up spending almost 4 hours there, uploading journals and figuring out how to get our pictures from cameras to computer. By the time we left, it was 7pm and time for dinner. We ate a lovely meal not far from there, then walked through a light drizzle to find the bus stop. Tuesday was another day for internet updates and a little bit of shopping for me. I needed black pants to replace the ones I'm wearing out quickly on this trip, and there are lots of great shops on the main streets here! One thing about Italy: fashion is tantamount! After a leisurely breakfast, we went out to wait for the bus with a couple of other travelers from the hostel, and got wet as it was about 15 minutes late. We made it into town, and split up to do separate things in the morning. Glenn and I went shopping for black pants as planned, and to my dismay all the stores had tiny sizes! Nothing fit right, and I was at wit's end. I had decided to give up with Glenn pointed out Benetton, a familiar name. Gamely I tried one more time, and this time lucked out. Success! We then, to my great shame, gave in to our weakness and went into McDonald's for lunch. I was craving fries, and Glenn has been missing his milk content from his diet. I won't be going back any time soon, though...everything tasted very different, and the local cuisine is much more appealing! The afternoon was spent in the internet cafe again as we rushed to add all current journals and figure out how to get pictures on our pages. It's a lot of work to add pages and then remember to update all your links between the old ones and new ones!!! Tonight is our last night in the hostel, as they're booked for the rest of the week. If we can't locate other reasonably-priced accommodations in town, we'll be heading to Florence a little early and making a day-trip back to get our mail later this week! |
 |
 |
| Above, a beautiful flowering vine framed by an arched corridor. Bologna's architecture abounds in archways! Below, Glenn with our new friends, Sylvia and Andres, whom we met up with again in Florence. |