We Have A Contender

That we have our first contender for an apartment is good news.

That my throat is scratchy and my eyes are burning is not. I was hoping that it was just allergies, but I think that was just wishful thinking.

The Haus Gruppo agent Mui reached out to yesterday responded this morning and we have a couple more showings scheduled for later this week. She suggested another property as well … on a busy street it looks like, but we’ve added it to the list, too.

Our day getting off to a good start, we left to meet the realtor from yesterday to see the second apartment she wanted to show us. Wow! What a difference from the first place. Bright and airy; quite spacious with two bedrooms and two baths; a dryer as well as a washer … the former is a luxury for sure. The furnishings are in good condition, too. The only downside … no terrace or balcony. Nonetheless, we are keeping it on the contender list.

It was after noon by the time we bid the realtor ciao. We had earlier spotted a place called Il Duca d’Amalfi … around the corner on Piazza de’ Celestini. Figuring that we should check it out as it might become our neighborhood café/patisserie, we headed there for lunch.

As the temp had been falling and a light drizzle was adding to the chill factor, we opted to sit inside instead of dining al fresco. We both ordered the tagliatelle al ragù and wrapped up our meal with a fresh-filled cannolo that was excellent.

It was still drizzling when we left Il Duca. We were prepared for the rain, however … and also took advantage of the porticos to stay dry where we could.

With our ‘work’ completed, it was time to do some sightseeing. First, we went to Cattedrale di San Pietro. It wasn’t easy to get to as we entered Via dell’Independenza on the wrong side of the construction work for laying tram rails. No matter, we walked until we found a break in the construction barrier. The bonus was that coming the way we did, we were able to check out a big supermarket located adjacent to the cathedral.

The current cathedral, which dates back to the 17th century, with some parts a century older, was built on the site of a former cathedral from 1028 … destroyed by a fire; rebuilt; radically remodeled to the extent that it caused the dome to collapse; and rebuilt again from scratch.

The lights were off, but we managed to see bits and pieces, including Alfonso Lombardi’s “Compianto su Cristo morto” (Lamentation of Christ) from the 16t century, and some beautiful frescoes in the side aisles.

Our next stop took us into Biblioteca Salaborsa, a modern multimedia public library. Located in a wing of the massive Palazzo d’Accursio — the historic seat of the Bologna municipal government — it is the city’s main library.

The first thing that struck me was the amazing ceiling over the central area, which is known as Piazza Coperta. I went up to the third floor for a bird’s eye view of the interior and got a closer look at the ceiling. The floor of the piazza is a much-mentioned feature. Made of glass tiles, it allow people to see down into the ruins that have been excavated under the building … ruins that date back to Roman times … some to Etruscan times. We’ll return another day to take a peek at the ruins.

After we left the library, I opted to go back to the apartment since my throat was getting scratchier by the minute. Mui went off to run a few errands … withdraw Euros using our fee-free Schwab ATM card; check out options for cell phone and internet providers; replenish the larder as we have hardly anything left in the fridge … except for the leftovers from lunch.

Our time in Bologna is proving to be fruitful. We are making good progress with our search for an apartment and getting to know the city while we are at it. Since the wheels of bureaucracy tend to turn slowly, we would like to decide on which property to rent by Monday. That will leave us with two weeks to get the lease signed and registered with the authorities.

Keeping fingers crossed all goes to plan.Read more