Lease Signed!
November 3, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
Done deal!
The lease is signed; the three-month deposit is wired; the realtor fee is paid. Now we wait for the Agenzia delle Entrate to register the lease!
After our meeting, we went to Il Duca d’Amalfi for cappuccino and cornetto … except that I ordered the infused tea I had last time … Fleur de Passion. This time I remembered to take the wrapper so Mui can see if he can find it somewhere … maybe Amazon.
A quick peek inside Chiesa di San Paolo Maggiore was next. The church was built on behalf of the Catholic priests belonging to the Order of the Clerics Regular of Saint Paul — aka the Barnabites.
Leaving the church, we were on our way to the AirBNB when Mui suggested we check out Via Pescherie Vecchie. I think he was thinking he’d find a street lined with fish mongers. That was certainly the case in the olden days. Today we didn’t see a single fish stall. We did see plenty of salumerias with huge shanks of prosciutto hanging from the ceiling; meat markets; cheese shops with 100-month aged Parmigiana-Reggiano for €99.90 per kilo; and fruit and vegetable stalls with crisp and colorful produce.
Our second attempt at going home was derailed by a detour to the Bologna Welcome office in Piazza Maggiore. It was such a beautiful blue-sky day that we thought we might climb the clock tower at the municipal building. No can do today, but we now have tickets to do so tomorrow.
As we were preparing to pay for the tickets, the woman who was helping us asked if we wanted to do the English-language introductory tour of the medieval city. Turns out that the guide was about to leave since there were no takers. Hmmm! A private two-hour tour? We were sold.
Stella turned out to be a great guide. She has a private tour firm, so this is a way for her to generate additional business. There was no push for us to book with her, however, and she was generous with links to places around the city and suggestions of places to visit. She even went so far as to check with a friend of hers who teaches Italian for recommendations for classes when I told her I wanted to take lessons.
Anyway, we started the tour at the Neptune Fountain, moved onto Palazzo d’Accursio and Basilica di San Petronio … among other places. Many of the places she took us to we had already been to on our own, but without the informative narrative that added a different dimension to what we were seeing. We wrapped up at Bologna’s only remaining portico made from wood … no longer allowed because the wood deteriorates too quickly.
After resting up a bit at the AirBNB, we left to have lunch at La Montanara. Stella had mentioned that this was her go to place for tortellini in brodo (broth), so I ordered it. She was right on with her recommendation. Mui ordered Cotoletta al Bolognese … Bologna’s version of a schnitzel, if you will. He said it was excellent. A glass of red wine each, and we ended with a shared order of Zuppa Inglese for dessert.
A brief stroll after our meal and we decided to call it a day.Read more