Quiet Day; Short Stroll

After walking 25,447 steps yesterday, we too it easy today. Well deserved I would say.

Not that we were entirely idle. After a light breakfast, I did the last two loads of laundry I expect to do in Bologna on this trip.

Mui had a package of fresh tagliatelle in the fridge, so he prepared that for lunch … with a nonna-style pasta sauce he picked up from Conad City. This jarred sauce would make a good base for a semi-homemade pasta sauce after we move here … unless Mui wants to go all out and make sauce from scratch. He’s been talking about taking some cooking classes. We’ll see.

Mid-afternoon, we went out for a short stroll. I wanted to see the canal at the head of Via Oberdan with water flowing, so we went to the old neighborhood first. Hah! No water! I guess there’s a delay in opening the floodgates this year.

Next, we walked over to the bridge that is at the other end of the canal for a different perspective. We were rewarded for our efforts. There, on the other side of the bridge, was the “Window on the Canal” on Via Pialle. According to the Bologna Welcome website, from this window you can see one of the few portions of Canale delle Moline — an extension of Canale di Reno — that was not covered over with asphalt between the beginning of the 20th century and the postwar period.

With no other set plans, we meandered toward Piazza Maggiore to check out the “Countryside in the City” fair. As it turns out, Palazzo Re Enzo was open as it was being used for some of the activities of the fair — wine tasting, discussion panels, and the like. Since it has been closed this whole time we’ve been in Bologna, we took the opportunity to go inside the 13th century palace that is now a special events enter.

We wrapped up with a stop for gelato from Gianni’s — near the Due Torri. We know that good gelato is always in buckets with lids, not on display as it is in most tourist-oriented gelaterias … as was the case here. But we were intrigued by the flavors so we decided to take a chance. It was quite good.

Returning to the AirBNB, we finished the movie we started to watch last night and then did a little packing. Tomorrow is our last day in Bologna.Read more