Holiday - Bologna

​Bologna (pronounced bo-lone-ya) was an interesting stop for us. After the immaculately clean streets of Florence, Bologna was more or less the opposite. Being north of Florence, it was much chillier as well. We stayed in a dodgy part of town (which you don't really know until you get there) but we were hyper aware of our surroundings and ended up at a restaurant Tuesday night that was oh so delicious. People always say you find the gems on the outskirts, and we did indeed. Funny enough the restaurant was called Snoopy 2, and it was a fellas joint - we were the only gals in the whole place. We arrived about 630, and they didn't technically open until 7 (a European standard.. not a eurojules favorite when i'm hungry) but they sat us anyway. Hol and I crushed two baskets of bread (which you pay for but in the end it was necessary) and shared some really meaningful conversations. Hol is so easy to talk to, and she makes you feel comfortable to open up beyond the average surface level conversation. We both ordered the tortellini (we did that often throughout the week. We'd go to order and realize we chose the same thing. Great minds think alike?) and it was divine. Best tortellini I've ever had. Tuesday night we both washed a bunch of clothes in the sink with some detergent we picked up. Man do I love and appreciate washing machines - AND dryers when my stuff was still wet Wednesday night and I had to use the weakest blow dryer known to man to try and dry the underwear I had to wear to bed so as not to flash Hol in the middle of the night. On Wednesday we slept in for the first time all week, and it was delightful. We have been running on little z's between the loud exteriors of where we stay or just inability to sleep that well. We then ventured out into the city (not on bikes.. we were salty about that) and hiked up the Asinelli tower. 498 TINY SLANTY STEPS! Multiple breaks were had, giggles exchanged, and no wipe outs which was a real blessing. The view at the top was definitely worth it - and we worked off the tortellini.. right?

the city was really pretty with the brightly colored buildings, fairly consistent with the other Italian cities, and we aimlessly wandered to some sites - their main piazza and cathedral as well as popping in and out of shops. For dinner we went to a suggested local favorite for some traditional bolognaise pasta - good but not great after the tortellini at Snoopy the night prior. The next morning we made our way to the train station (on public transit buses - seamlessly thank you very much) and trained to Genoa. Another great stop on our tour of Italy! 

cheers & ciao, jkro