Florence and Bologna
Florence is our next stop, and it is a several-step process to get there. We walk to the metro station and take a metro train to a bus terminal. The bus is Itabus so we'll have a comfortable two-hour ride. When we arrive, we walk over to a metro train since the bus terminal is a metro stop. We take this train to a stop, get off, and catch another metro to our place. Luckily, this stop is very close to our place. We take a short walk to the apartment and get settled in. It is about mid-afternoon, and that is plenty of time for a grocery store run. Tanya and I made a list of things to get and headed out.There was a quaint gelateria on the way to the grocery store, and we stopped for some gelato. I don't know how it was rated, but it was delicious. We left and continued our walk to the store. On the way, we came across a park. It had body weight exercise machines in different stations. Further down the walking path, I could see a playground. We like parks and decided to walk down the path and see more of the park. There were a few playgrounds for kids of different ages, a dog park, a basketball court, and open space. There were lots of little kids playing with their mothers watching.
My middle son joined a group of boys on the court playing soccer and didn't care to go to the store anymore. I stayed with him while the rest of the family went on ahead. After they played for a while, we needed to leave. When I told him two boys really didn't want him to go, it was the sweetest thing. I felt good about the park and the boys, so I let him play longer while I walked to the nearby store. I met up with the family because I knew I needed to help carry groceries back. We get to the park for my son, and he and the boys he's been playing with want to make plans to meet up the next day. I couldn't guarantee a time since we had plans and didn't know when we'd return. However, it's great to see how well they hit it off.
Our next day is hitting up a few spots in Florence. We take the metro to the main terminal and walk from there. The Basilica de Santa Maria Novella is very close, so we start there. We didn't go inside but showed the kids how different the outside of the church is compared to others we've been to. From here, we go to the Duomo, or Cattedrale de Santa Maria del Fiore, and Baptistery of St. John. The last time Tanya and I were here, we had a Firenze card, which included entry to the Duomo dome, the bell tower, and several other places. That wasn't part of the card anymore, and there were separate entrance fees for the dome and bell tower. These prices were exorbitant in our eyes, so we admired it from the square. The kids didn't care to go in anyway, so we didn't want to waste money.
As we walk, we enjoy the sights of the city. I really love the look of Florence. We meander through the streets and end up at Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio. There is a display of replicas of famous sculptures called the Loggia dei Lanzi on the other side of the square. We spent time here admiring sculptures we wouldn't see otherwise. Even though the display is covered, there are tall arched openings around both sides of this corner building. It is much less crowded here, so we spend our time in the shade, out of the crowds. After this, we go into the Palazzo Vecchio and admire all we can outside the paid entry area. There are some medieval and older things here, and we have to be picky about which museums we pay for, so it's within our kids' interest. On the way to our next stop, we walked over Ponte Vecchio. It's neat to experience all the shops on this bridge.
Our next stop is the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens behind it. There was a palace tour, but we were mainly interested in the gardens. They were gorgeous and great to stroll through. There were several fountains throughout and so much greenery. It felt good to walk around in nature slowly and hear the birds and the wind in the trees. As much as I like Florence, it feels much better not to negotiate crowds. After walking around, we found a shady spot to snack and drink water. We continue up the path and find some smaller walking trails. The gardens are on a hill, with a great view from the top. Once we get there, we take pictures and lie under a tree for a while. Part of the hill we walked up was decently steep, so it felt good to rest. After almost falling asleep, we walked down another part of the gardens. This was shorter but still so nice.
To end our explorations, we got some gelato. We went to Cantina del Gelato, another incredibly delicious place. It was so good some of us got seconds. It was fun to compare the different gelato places we've gone to. Along with knowing the right kind of gelato, Tanya and I only went to highly-rated places that made it traditional. All of us appreciated being picky in this regard. Now, it was time to go home. We found our bus stop and hopped on to take it to the central station. Here, we purchase our tickets for the metro to our place. We arrived with enough time for my son to go to the playground and play with the friends he made the day before. I stay at the park and enjoy the weather. When it's time to leave, I get the boys' contact information so my son can stay in touch. We already know we won't be back in time the following day for him to play, so has to say goodbye.
Our next day of explorations is a big one. Today, we'll see the inside of the Duomo, see the statue of David, and hear the monks chant at the Basilica de San Miniato. We catch our morning train to the station and walk over to the Duomo. For some reason, the square was much less crowded than the day before. The line was long, but only about a 15-20 minute wait. About halfway into our wait, we realized we forgot to have our daughter wear pants. Per the rules, women must have their shoulders covered and wear a long skirt, dress, or pants to enter the church. Guys can't wear tank tops or shorts too far above the knee. I hurry off to find a vendor selling shawls. I see one and make it back just in time. We tie her shawl around her waist and go inside. It's a huge church with high arched ceilings, a massive painted dome, and stained glass windows, which was a sight to behold. I would love to hear a choir singing in a place like this. We leave here, heading to our next stop.
We walk to the Accademia Gallery of Florence to view the statue of David. Of course, it's crowded, so we move with the flow to get some good pictures. Tanya and I talk to the kids about the history of the statue and Michelangelo—nothing like first-hand history lessons. From here, we enter a large room full of busts lining the high walls. There are also lots of statues in the middle of the room. A path is established to circle the room between the sculptures and the busts. There are other rooms of paintings and altarpieces to admire before leaving the museum. We leave and start walking toward the next place.
That happens to be a pastry shop where we buy different biscotti flavors. Florence has some delicious biscotti, which is a great midday snack. We want to find a relaxing place to sit and enjoy the food. While searching, we found a small square behind some buildings. It's a great place with some benches, a water fountain, and a small restaurant not yet open. We sit here and pass around the delicious food. After some pleasant relaxation, we continued walking to our last destination. On our way, we accidentally walked by Tanya and mine's favorite gelato shop from our previous trip here eight years ago. As we walked by the row of buildings, which are situated as a half circle off the main road, Tanya and I both stopped in recognition of where we were. We planned on going here, but Tanya accidentally saved the wrong location. It was a remarkable coincidence and seemed crazy that it was en route to our last stop. It is Gelateria de Medici and, of course, we got some. Tanya and I were so happy to be able to share this with the kids.
To get to the San Miniato church, we catch a bus that takes us up the hill. It stops at the Piazza Michelangelo, which overlooks Florence. We are about a 10-minute walk from the church, and the bus won't leave for another 15 minutes. Due to this, we walk the rest of the way. The incline wasn't steep, so the walking was fine. The last part has many steps to ascend to the church. The views are higher than the piazza but with more trees around the grounds. We have a little time before a mass begins, so we go inside to explore the church. It isn't as ornately decorated as others, but it's still majestic. The marble columns and beautiful floor help compensate for a lack of windows or gold-plated decorations. When we're done, we go outside to wait until after mass to go back inside for the chanting. Since it's later in the day, the crowds have diminished, and we wait in a more peaceful setting.
We go back in when the chanting was supposed to start, but the mass is still going. It may be behind schedule, perhaps? Not knowing for sure, we sit down. It turns out they are doing communion, so it takes about fifteen minutes longer. After this, the monks gather in two lines before the pulpit. They face each other with open books in hand. One of them starts, and the others join in. It was a unique experience, but not what I had hoped for. I thought it would be chanting that would fill the room and be moving. This was chanting but more subdued. Oh well, not everything can meet our expectations. We walked back down to the Piazza Michelangelo to enjoy the views. Apparently, gathering on the steps to watch the sunset was common because the steps were completely covered with people. We didn't want to be here long, so we went to the bus stop. According to the schedule, it wasn't going to arrive for another twenty minutes, and there was a bus full of people already there. We decided to walk down the hill instead of wait and be stuffed on the bus. There was a separate walking path going down, so we didn't have to walk along the road, which was much better.
For dinner, we decided to eat out. We didn't do this very much, so we got several dishes. The restaurant was decorated with commemorations to the Florence soccer team and players. The colors were blue and white throughout, and a soccer game was playing while we were there. It was a fun atmosphere. We talked to our waiter about what to order and got some recommendations. Our dinner was a pizza, Neapolitan style, a calzone, carbonara pasta, and a sampler platter. Certain dishes were liked more than others, but we enjoyed it overall. On our way back to the train station, we got more gelato for dessert. We ate it as we strolled through a piazza, still busy with people. Despite the people, the atmosphere was still quite relaxed. Being out at this hour was about social time. Walking around like this feels so good and is a great ending to any day. We got back on the metro to our place. We needed to start packing when we got home. Florence has been good to us, and it will be missed.
Thankfully, we didn't have to leave early the next morning. We could sleep in a little and still have enough time to finish packing. It was great that the metro station was in front of our building since we were carrying our bags. We took the train back to the bus station we first arrived at. It would be another Itabus ride to Bologna for our next stay. The ride was short compared to the ones we've been on thus far. We arrived at the main bus terminal in Bologna and went across the street to catch a city bus. It took two buses to get to our place because we had to get off at another bus station and hop on another to our neighborhood. We meet our host at the apartment, and he shows us around. Then, we settle in.
As usual, Tanya and I walk to the closest grocery store for provisions for our stay. We always like doing this because we get a feel for the area we are staying in. The neighborhood here is nice and quiet. It's a nice area, and getting comfortable with our surroundings is easy. She and I returned with groceries and unpacked. We sit and relax for a little while before getting started on dinner. Even though we buy groceries as we always do, checking prices per ounce and comparing prices, we get things specific to the region. They have fresh pasta at good prices, so we got ingredients for a couple of pasta dinners. I already enjoy cooking, and trying these different dishes is fun. So far, the dinners have been good.
Our first day in Bologna is going to a gelato museum and university. This place is an actual university where people can become gelato maestros. They have a gelato-making class, and that's what we are here for. Before the class, we get a tour of the museum. It's about the history of gelato and how it evolved into what it is today. There were several different old machines and contraptions used to make gelato in the past century. Seeing how one thing led to another through recipes and technology was fun. As good as ice cream is, I may appreciate gelato more because it's more flavorful and healthier.
Our gelato-making class turned out to be a sorbet-making class. Sorbet is easier and quicker to make, so it makes sense to have a class where we do everything by hand. We learned about the correct ratio of fruit to sugar to water, depending on the kind of fruit you use. They had already mixed peach fruit juice with water, which we used for the flavor. We mixed it with machine-made snow to make the sorbet. After putting the snow in the bowl, we had to stir continually for several minutes. It had to be the right mixture of snow with the juice. Part of the process was stirring and letting the bowl spin. After a while, we had our peach sorbet. They gave us fior de latte gelato to go with our sorbet. It has a sweet cream flavor and tastes fantastic. The whole thing was a great experience. My American taste buds thought the peach sorbet was a bit subtle, but it was still very good.
Nothing much happened the rest of the day. We just caught our bus home, made dinner, and had a relaxing night. We explored Bologna the following day. We first went to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca. It's at the top of a long hill, and you walk it through the world's longest portico walk, which is 2.4 miles. Tanya and I know walking it would be a unique experience, but we also know it would be a fight to convince the kids. She and I decided we would take a bus to the top and walk down. We take a bus into town and walk over the bus stop to go up the hill. The "bus" is a large van with limited capacity. He only has four seats left, and we're a family of five. Only one bus is running, and it's over a thirty-minute wait for it to return. No one feels like waiting, and this situation helps us convince the kids to do the walk. We are at the midpoint of the walk, just before it starts to go uphill. With that, we cross the street to the porticoes and begin our walk.
The walk started flat, but soon, the incline began. It was steep enough that the younger kids needed a couple of breaks. The walk was mostly stramps with occasional stairs. Occasionally, these small open "chapels" were on the walled side. They look like shrines with plaques, frescoes, or both inside with a family name. Some are gated, and some aren't. My boys and I get into a stride and don't want to stop. We made it to the top, which became steeper and had more stairs. A cross is at the top of the walk which is quite profound when you approach it winded and tired. Jesus carried his cross up a hill, and it's something to think about at a time like this. Passed the cross is a walkway to the entrance of the sanctuary. It passes this and down the other side so people can enter the courtyard below.
The courtyard is beautiful, with a garden of flowers and bushes in the center. Lots of people are sitting around the edge resting from their walk. A drinking fountain is by the stairs, and we fill our water bottles. Some people get up from a bench by the fountain, and we plop down for our rest. The bench is in the shade, the water is cool, the weather is nice, and the courtyard and the surrounding foliage are gorgeous. It's hard to think of a better place to be at the moment. After a rest, we pull out our sandwiches for lunch. We enjoy our time having lunch and watching the people around us. Once some energy returns, my wife and I walk around the courtyard, taking pictures and exploring. We get some family photos and go to the sanctuary before leaving. The church isn't as large as others we've been in, but it's still a big chapel with ornate decorations. Now, it's time to walk down the hill.
The walk down took less time than the walk up. Our oldest didn't want to wait for us to take pictures and admire the porticoes, so he walked ahead and waited where we started. There were great viewpoints of Bologna, and the straightness of the porticoes made some nice pictures. We found our son resting in a corner when we reached the bottom. To get to our next place, we went through more of the portico walk. So, we ended up walking through most of it. We stopped at a sandwich shop called Mortidella Lab. The meat is the original style of Bologna, and it's very good. We got some sandwiches and sat down to enjoy them. The central shopping district is just around the corner, so we check out the area. Not long after, we arrive at Piazza Maggiore. There is a large library here, and we go in looking for a bathroom. One thing we don't like is having to pay to use the bathrooms, but what can you do? The Salaborsa Library building has had many uses over the years and is an elegant complex. There is free WiFi here, so we get caught up on some things and go out into the piazza.
Here, we came to visit the Basilica di San Petronio. Despite its size, the outside isn't very impressive since the construction was never completed. Halfway up the facade, the white stone stops, and the rest is the dull brown of the stone used to build the main structure. However, inside is a different story. It is one of the most impressive churches I've been in. The ceilings were incredibly tall, and the portico design made them look even taller. The enormous round windows near the top let in lots of light, which reflected off the white walls, lighting up the vast space. The inside design was quite simple. The columns were a reddish brown color with carved stone halfway up. This color accented the white walls at the edge of all the archways and followed the lines into the ceiling. I absolutely loved the look of everything.
We have yet to eat gelato today, so we must address this problem. There is a well-known gelateria nearby, so we walk over. We aren't the only ones looking for the traditional gelaterias with good ratings because there is a line when we get there. I step in enough to see the flavors so we can talk about who wants what. We get our cups and go across the street to a small park. There is an open bench where we can sit and sample the different flavors. As usual, we aren't disappointed. The park is comfortable and pretty, so we sit and talk for a little while. After letting the gelato settle, we walked to a bus stop. On the way, I stopped at a Starbucks to see if they had any special cups for a friend back home. While I'm looking, the rest of the family goes down the street to a grocery store to pick up some things for our last two nights. We catch a bus to our place and hop off at our stop. Since there is another high-rated gelateria on our walk back, we must stop to have a broader basis of comparison for our gelato experience. Thankfully, there is more deliciousness for us to enjoy.
The next day was Sunday, so we went to church. We caught a bus to where we needed to go. On the bus, a lady asked Tanya if we were going to the LDS church since we were the only other family in church dress. She and her mother were going as well, so we made friends. We walked to church from the bus stop and talked to the people we met. Everyone, including us, was excited about our visit. We discovered they were having a ward lunch after church and were happy to include us. For the main service and the meeting afterward, we had an interpreter. Our kids made friends and were having a good time. Everyone was friendly and more than accommodating. Tanya and I were having a great time talking to people about Italy and our trip.
The lunch was a grill-out. They had a cooler full of meat, and people brought sides and desserts. There were pork chops, skewers, sausages, and loin cuts. One dish was a sliced baguette with sausage squeezed from the casing on top and grilled. Potato salad is a "thing" in this area, and there were a couple of different versions, to my delight. When the meat was served, it was every man for himself. No one was upset, and it was understood you would get some from the next round if you didn't this time. To make sure you did, people started to wait at the grill so they would be served. I joined in, and the guy grilling commented on how he liked it that way. We ate to our heart's content. Everything was good, and we had an unexpected meal for the day. We said our goodbyes and returned to the bus stop with our new friends. The lady and her mother would travel to some places we already visited, so we got their contact information to stay in touch. We arrived at our place and started packing since we were leaving the next day. Bologna has been an excellent experience for us.
Comments