Bologna, Italy 1 via Paolo at il Portico

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ROF= Ring of Fire  ITL= Italy journey 

Thursday November 19, 2015  

Bologna, Italy 1

Bologna via Paolo at il Portico  

This is going to take 2-3 blog posts for Bologna.

Bologna train station depot

Bologna train station main lobby/ ticket office.

The cab driver from the train station dropped us off at the address... we were in an alley in Bologna, Italy and there was graffiti on the walls. 

?Are we in the right place?

I was lost in a foreign country. I saw an alley sign for the consulate of Costa Rica parking spot. I thought... I could find someone from Cost Rica- ... which I'd spent a Summer in 1977... and speak some Spanglish to try to find where we were going.   

I asked in the corner restaurant if they knew where the office was. A young... 30 year old man tried to translate and understood we were lost looking for an air BNB apartment somewhere near this address.

Paolo,... I didn't know his name then, stopped what he was doing at his restaurant... getting everything ready for the days business... table arrangements, table settings ect... and took a few minutes to help some lost tourists.  

Crazy gringa tourist is lost.

Patient with our lack of Italian language.... Paolo spoke more English than we spoke Italian/ Spanish but he translated enough to know we were close to our apartment. 

Paolo took time to help us... lost travelers... and that made all the difference. 

We found our AirBnB apartment w/ Ms Sandra... $69 a night which was a bargain. Dropped off our bags and went out walking the main drag to "The Old City" historical district of Bologna. It was just 4 blocks away.

The main street between the train station and the Old City district.

Arches are very common.

Main street architecture. The covered sidewalks... that's marble flooring & it's a work of art & craftsmanship.

There are vespas and motor-scooters all over the place in every Italian city. I saw many business women in suits driving scooters to commute to work.

The "Old City" square was phenomenal... The old library and Veterans memorial with Neptune's fountain in the square. [The Basilica of San Petronio.... see a separate post. Too many pics for here. ] 

Piazza Maggiore.

The city library and the white plaques on the wall are the Veterans Memorial.

The Neptune fountain in the heart of Piazza Maggiore.

A beautiful piece of sculpture and craftsmanship.

Walked on down to another square with a cathedral and a leaning tower.  

Honestly... a leaning tower.... a huge masonry tower, clearly leaning beside the cathedral tower. You can look at the base of the tower and see the foundation structure is not plumb.

This is really phenomenal to see.

This afternoon was salvaged after being lost. Paolo... you were a real gentleman. Thank you. You are my friend for life... even if our paths will never cross again. You took your time to help lost travelers... thank you, dearly!!!  

Also see the post of our dining at "iL Portico" later that night. We were treated like kings! 

While we were talking with Paolo getting directions... The smell of fresh baked bread. ... the smell... the aroma of the bread was really good. We will have to come back here to eat tonight. 

 [from the il portico post: And the olive oil was the house brand, but it was the real pristine,... real Italian olive oil. The best olive oil in the states doesn't taste this good. ... and the balsamic vinegar was just as good, real rich flavor.]

 The aroma of fresh baked bread would knock you down it was so good. The chef was really good!

NOT just because we were in Bologna, Italy on a journey. Food usually tastes better when eating out but this was 1st class dinner at very reasonable/ similar pricing of other restaurants we ate at. Not over priced and very clean.

I don't do commercials on this blog,... but if you're fortunate enough to get to Bologna, Italy... stop and eat at il Portico. Real Italian food! a good place!  

In all of Italy... Bologna was my favorite place.     

You never drink twice from the same stream.

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