To - Bologna
Distance - 60km
Time - 3.5 hours
Total - 4222km
I had a nice meal out last night. The first course is shown below and followed by a minced pork dish on a bed of puréed potato. These meals sound so much more exciting in Italian, sorry I didn't copy the names down at the time. They were very tasty. I had a little walk around before a final ice cream and then I retired to bed.
I have had a new entry in respect of the hierarchy of words to use to describe spectacular sights. The suggestion is 'pulchritudinous' meaning 'beautiful', thanks Jill. What a wonderful word. I will have to slip it into my Bolog (that's what I should call my blog whilst in Bologna!). Makes a change from the load of 'bologna' I normally write but, you know what, I don't give a 'Giotto'!
I set off riding again at 8am. I got the impression that today wasn't quite so hot. I sweated buckets again but somehow the ride was more enjoyable. There were no notable places in between Ferrara and Bologna. I was expecting a bit more of the same when I got to Bologna but in actual fact it was different again. The city centre is made up of streets that are colonnaded giving shade as you walk down them. The top fashion shops are all here (I called into Dolce and Gabbana but they didn't seem to be there, i wonder where they are?) and there is a fantastic central piazza called Maggiore with the town hall, library, cathedral and several other pulchritudinous buildings. The two towers are close by as well, one is leaning and one is straight. Of course there are several other churches, I actually only saw three but they were all pulchritudinous.
I am staying here for two days so I will research the history to get a bit more info. I already know that Bologna is undisputed champ when it comes to having the oldest University in the world. I think it's a Trivial Pursuit question! I have booked a tour around the Ducati motorcycle factory tomorrow, its a little bit out of town to the west but I will enjoy a ride out in the morning. They will no doubt be jealous of my 'power' cycle when I arrive, I don't know how many cc's I've got?
I had to ride to the hostel in the later afternoon. It's about 6km out of the city to the north east. The hostel is set in some pulchritudinous grounds, its nice to have some greenery when you are in a city. I am in a dormitory of four and it looks full. There aren't many things nearby to I have a choice of staying in the hostel, cycling to a shopping centre (with cafes), or cycling back into Bologna this evening? I've not decided yet.
I think I will finish the days bolog before I wear out the word... pulchritudinous!
Photo 1, Spot the storks nest. There are at least four storks!
Photo 2, First impression of Bologna at Piazza XX Settembre.
Photo 3, All streets seem to be colonnaded.
Photo 4, The two towers, one is straight and the other is leaning, it looks a bit like one crooked tower from this angle!
Photo 5, Chiesa número uno!
Photo 6, Town Hall at Piazza Maggiore.
Photo 7, Sala Borsa, its the public library.
Photo 8, Could be more photos of these tomorrow!
Photo 9, Chiesa número due! Yes, it's a 'cherry picker' in the bottom left, probably doing some spring cleaning!
Photo 10, Last nights meal, it is a pasta stuffed with courgette and with a bolognese sauce.
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