If you read my last blog about needing to go to Bologna, you know why. I guess it’s just about as good an excuse to go somewhere as any excuse would be. On Thursday (9 June) Mike drove me crazy he was so excited to be taking off somewhere. Had I realized that, I would have booked our train tickets for earlier in the day. As it was, we didn’t leave until 4:20 in the afternoon. Our neighbors Robert and Maria drove us to the train station. The plan was to arrive Bologna about 8:30, then walk the 100 or so meters to our hotel. Well, you know about plans…
And good planning is usually our forte. This trip, we learned a LOT. First, always carry food with you. Never assume that a first-class train ticket includes food. Mike is compiling a list of things to remember next time we travel anywhere.
We arrived at about 10:30 p.m. The reason we were given for lateness was that there had been seismic activity which caused the train to slow down. Okay, I guess. Then Google maps took us the long way to our hotel, arriving a little after 11:00 and starving. The concierge told us of a restaurant around the corner that was open until midnight. So we left our luggage with him and headed straight there. I had a really good pizza, Mike had a calzone. We both had beers.
The hotel was somewhat of a disappointment, but it was clean and had a good breakfast. Friday morning Google maps showed us that we had a 30-minute walk to the offices of my attorney, Marco Mellone, so we headed off just before 11:00 am for our noon meeting. Again, Google had us walking around in circles, but we were able to find the office in time.
It was really nice to meet Marco in person. He spent a full hour with us, explaining the final processes and answering our questions. It was good to have Mike with me, as he took detailed notes. I believe that Marco did a great job for us (me, Carol, Caroline, Kate, Sandra, Anne, and Frank), securing an appointment with the judge, and getting a judgment just a week later. Maybe that was just luck or a coincidence, but I’ll give him the credit anyway.
When we left his office, I was literally walking on air. Feeling like my dream is now reality. We stopped for a late lunch. I had three glasses of wine and was a bit tipsy. Since we both we pretty tired, we headed back to the hotel for a nap.
There was a big film/music festival going on that weekend in Bologna, so it was full of tourists. We found a restaurant for dinner that was okay, not great. On Saturday we headed to the Tourist office. We took a tourist train tour around the city. We visited two museums. One was the archaeology museum which was quite interesting. The other was the museum of the history of Bologna. I wish we’d done that first. It was amazing. Bologna prides itself on the number of intellectuals and scholars it has produced. And, one room in the museum is dedicated to female scholars. I was impressed. We also took a 2-hour walking tour of the city’s porticos. The porticos have been named a UNESCO world heritage site. There are 38 kilometers (24 miles) of porticos in the city. Each house or building has its own style. You should see the photos. Some are beautiful. Some you can tell were built hundreds of years ago. And, yes, the city is known for its mortadella, which is similar to bologna, but processed differently. They are very particular about the production of their mortadella. Very strict rules and government oversight.
We did some shopping, me hoping to find a pair of shoes, Mike looking for a Bialetti coffee pot. I was not successful, but Mike was. We now have your choice of coffee: French press, espresso from the machine, and espresso from the Bialetti.
To see the photos, click here.
We arrived back in Vasto Monday afternoon and Robert and Maria picked us up. How nice it is to have such good neighbors.
On Tuesday we drove to Lanciano to have lunch with our new friends Heidi and Raymond. They are from Wisconsin and have lived here in Italy for about six years. They purposely invited another couple, Sarah and Clive, to join us. Clive has had experience with the Italian health care system, cardiology in particular. So he very kindly provided us with information about the cardiology clinic in Chieti, which is a cardiology center of excellence. He offered to help guide Mike through the system and find a highly qualified cardiologist. Mike and I both are very grateful.
The rest of the week, we spent food shopping and cleaning up around the yard(s). I ordered some things from Amazon: a new pair of shoes, ingredients to make body butter, and a new food processor. I had to return the shoes. I was trying on size 39 at the stores in Bologna, but the shoes I ordered were way to big. I’m not sure about the quality of the body butter ingredients and will have to try to find better coconut oil before I make any body butter. The food processor, however, is great. I made zucchini corn fritters last night for dinner that were yummy.
This weekend we sketched out a plan to travel back to the USA in August. We have a credit with American Airlines that we need to use, and we are missing the grandkids.
Now, I’m wondering what next week will bring.
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