Blogs from Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Europe

When people think of the Second World War, most have images of Germany, France or Britain. Most people wanting to visit historical sites will go to the D-Day beaches or concentration camps which is understandable. I had four uncles who fought in WWII; two each from my mother’s and father’s family. My maternal uncle, Harry, served in northern Italy. Uncle Harry was 23 years 19 days old when he died. A sniper shot him in the neck and he perished a couple days later. My Uncle John had been recuperating from a wound of his own in an English hospital when he found out about his brother’s death. When he got of bed and began to dress, the nurses asked what he was doing. He politely told them he was going to kill the bastard who ... read more

Buon giorno! Hier, on a passé la journée dans la ville de Ferrara, inscrite a l'Unesco (on l'aime, nous autres, Unesco, on trouve qu'il a de goûts pas pires), On a pris le train de Bologne et 30 minutes plus tard, on débarquait a Ferrara! C'est le fun, l'Europe, c'est tellement facile de se rendre d'une place a l'autre. C'est tout le contraire de l'Amérique, ou il nous faut une auto a la moindre occasion. Et ici, on n'en voit pas, des gros pick up comme en Floride! Juste des petites voitures qui passent partout, même dans les petites rues étroites qui semblent piétonnes, haha. Bref. Ferrara. On a beaucoup aimé! Quelle jolie ville au coeur médiéval rempli de petites rues charmantes (dont la delle volte, la plus vieille, tellement jolie, on se croirait dans Game ... read more

Tag 66 - Ferrara Wir hatten beschlossen, unser freies Wochenende zu nutzen, um nach Ferrara zu fahren. Zwei Stunden dauerte die Fahrt dort hin; das bedeutete viele Serpentinen, zwei Mautstellen, italienisches Radio und eine französische Navistimme. Als wir schließlich am Piazzale Castellina parkten, um unser Hostel anzuschauen, konnten wir es erst nicht finden. So fragten wir erst in einem kleinen Kiosk und riefen dann unseren Vermieter, Raffaele, an. Dieser ging jedoch nicht ans Telefon. Kurz darauf entdeckten wir dann doch den Eingang der Nummer 1, doch auch auf unser Klingeln bekamen wir keine Reaktion. Nun, suchten wir uns eben erst einmal eine Kleinigkeit zu Essen. Nachdem wir an einigen Cafés vorbei gegangen waren, die nicht allen Ansprüchen entsprachen, fanden wir schließlich ein geeignete Cafeteria. Ich bestellte ein Piadino Vegetariano, eine Art Wrap mit Tomate-Mozzarell... read more

19 Sept 2008 With our last day in the area, we decided to have a look a the Castell Estense in Ferrara. After the usual nightmare of finding a park, which in this instance would have been easier with Ferrara's directions for carparks if only they hadn't been full, we walked in to the castle. Complete with a moat, cannon balls, dungeons and a tower to climb it was great for the kids, apart from the (for them anyway) boring bit in the middle where mum and dad were again staring at the ceiling a lot. The painting, frescoes were great (not a par with others we've seen, but still worth the visit), with a strong theme of infants doung various activities and lots of unclothed men and women in sporting endeavours (greco-roman wrestling, that type ... read more

After waking up, shuttling a luggage over to Fabio's place on the back of my bike (mind you tied on with the strap from Dad's bag), and having some breakfast, we finally set out on foot in Ferrara. We start on our way to Piazza Ariostea, but we end up meeting up with our dear Fulvio, who is studying tourism -- the perfect tour guide! We decided to change plans and we walked to the oldest street in Ferrara, Via delle Volte. After a little bit more site seeing around town, to name one the Duomo/Cathedral, we go to "Brindisi" bar, which Fulvio informs us just so happens to be the oldest enoteca in Europe, which was established in 1435. I don't know how many times I had passed by this bar (as it is on ... read more