Villa Salina

I have to start off this post with saying that jet-lag is a real thing. Historically I have never had a problem with it, but it’s hitting me hard here. We went to bed last night and I could barely keep my eyes open. I finished my 10 minute meditation and was wide awake. I mean WIDE awake. I tried a 30 minute meditation. Nothing. It actually frustrated me more since I could not remember for the life of me the name of my favorite instructor who was doing the meditation. I was relieved after to know Dave was awake with me too at that point. We tried music. Nothing. Then Dave played a story for us from the Calm app. Sounded like a good idea until I realized it was Harry Styles telling us a story and I couldn’t stop laughing- I mean hysterically. Another few hours and I finally fell sleep. Maybe around 6. Then our alarm went off at 7:30- we agreed to go on a run and a run we did.
Dave kept saying during our two days in Bologna, “I wonder what this city is like on a Monday morning”. I didn’t think anything of it- assumed it would be the same. I was so wrong and we figured that out quickly as we went to cross the large pedestrian only street we had walked on the day before, just to see a huge bus racing towards us. They literally close off the main parts of the town during the weekend to cars and it was absolutely glorious to just wander and not worry about the cars. Plus, there was outdoor seating everywhere. But I also loved seeing the city this way. It was quiet and the town was just waking up. People heading off to work, pasticerrias just starting to set up their tables to welcome their patrons, and a nice cool breeze in the air. We went almost 3 miles before heading back to the hotel to pack up, grab breakfast, and say Ciao Ciao to Bologna.

So now we are on the train to Venice and I’m always so impressed at how easy it is. The public transportation in Europe just has it right. We bought our tickets online, knew what car and what seat we were on, and it didn’t cost a fortune. Even the bus was easy. We have barely pulled a credit card out here. Everything is Apple Pay/tap accessible. Including the bus and train. The US public transportation system needs to get it together. But enough with my diatribe.

The Italian countryside was beautiful and I was able to grab a quick 20 minute nap during our 1.5 hour train ride. That should get me enough energy to explore Venice!Read more