Day 8 - the one heading to Bologna

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As indicated in the last blog, our friends headed for the airport around 8am sadly we did not wave them off as we were still fast asleep. It had been a great couple of days together sharing the adventure.

So back to the two, we enjoyed our final breakfast at the Grand Hotel des Arts - checked out, stored our bags and headed out for a final fling around Verona to soak up the excitement and see some of the set we had seen on the stage returned to its area in the square. We went back to our little cafe near the hotel for an Aperol Spritz, picked up our bags and headed to the station to catch the 14:52 train to Bologna ( only 50 minutes away by train). The train was busy although still able to find our seats (GWR take note).

Once we arrived into Bologna, our hotel Starhotels Excelsior was right beside the hotel so only had to drag our cases across the road. Having unpacked we headed out to explore the city, which at this point looked like any other Italian city we had visited. That is until we reached the main squares at the other end from our hotel.

To say WOW I think would be an an understatement- the buildings were breathtaking and so well preserved. They towered above us in their splendour and I wished I had read up some of the history before our trip so I could take all this in. We went into the Cathedral of St Petronus, which was never finished, the interior was huge and contained the meridian line. It is difficult to explain and photos were not allowed unless you paid, however I do not think they would do it justice. The organ was being played which added to the ambiance of the building.

We continued to explore the narrow streets and stopped for the famous Bolognese sauce, which tastes different to ones around the world. One of us had lasagna and the other Spaghetti alla Bolognese. This was the best I had ever tasted with home made pasta to add to the taste.

I think you can tell from this blog that we have found Bologna to be amazing and are looking forward to a full day here tomorrow - hopefully we can cram it all in.

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