To Bologna for a bit of a jolly, visiting Jeff on tour with Dinosaurs Live.
Sometimes on tour you get great hotels right in the centre of things – this time however it is a not so great hotel with a view of a MacDonalds, a petrol station, and the Bologna Ring Road. It's only a short bus ride into the city though.
Bologna has a very old centre containing the oldest university in the western world. The layout and majority of the buildings are medieval and ancient towers puncture the skyline. We climbed up the tallest – a nerve-fraying ascent of almost 100 metres up a well worn and narrow staircase. It yielded fantastic views at the top though.
The city is surprisingly unspoiled by tourism and has a busy and vibrant atmosphere in part thanks to the university but also to industry. Its narrow streets contain gob smacking food shops, cosy little bars and coffee shops, and many hidden courtyards and churches. Some real gems here.
The obligatory evening glass of prossecco is enhanced by impressive buffets spread on the bar. I've seen small but delicious offerings elsewhere in the world laid out for the enjoyment of customers, but here the free snack is practically an art form. Of course it isn't done to scoff large amounts, but it is very tempting!
Sorry to those of you stuck in cold old England, but the temperature was in the mid teens here yesterday and it was fantastic to walk out in only a light jacket and feel real heat on one's skin from the Spring sun. If it is any comfort, the weather is a thick chilly mist today.
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