A Solo“ish”Trip to Bologna with a dab of Bern and Colmar
Nov 19th, 2022, 11:14 AM
#1
Original Poster
A Solo“ish”Trip to Bologna with a dab of Bern and Colmar
Today is a cold and rainy afternoon in Bologna so I thought I would start a trip report.
I have been taking a Italian language course off and on for the past four years. I have always wanted to do a language class in Italy. So, when my niece said that they would be in Bologna for part of November, I decided to plan a trip. Since I would be in class my dh decided to stay home. So a solo-ish trip it is.
The flight- I decided to do use some points for my flights. I flew Southwest from SMF to LGA and the next day flew Emirates from JFK to MXP. The SW flight was on a Tuesday. The Emirates flight was the next day. I stayed at the Aloft hotel by LGA.
I have flown on Emirates before and really liked the airline. This time I used my points to fly business class. What a treat. The flight leaves at 10 pm so after a light dinner I went to sleep. In the morning I woke up had a great cappuccino and then the flight landed.
It took me about ten minutes to get to the train. While on the train changed my train from Milano Centrale to Bologna.
Arriving in Bologna at 3, I took a taxi to my apartment for the next three weeks. The taxi was €6 and well worth the cost of not rolling my bag across town.
I rented a small apartment through Air bnb for three weeks. The owner was really nice and gave me a discount. https://abnb.me/hjstTHWj5ub
My first few days were days I woke early and wandered through the porticos and piazzas. I found Piazza Santo Stefano and stopped for a cappuccino as well as a cornetto. There are 4 or 5 produce stands near my apartment as well as a butcher.
I had signed up with Academya Lingue for a two week course but wasn’t sure if I would do both weeks.
Class times were Mon-Fri from 9-1. We did have a good break from 11-11:40 where we all went for coffee across the street from the school. The school happens to be right by Piazza Santo Stefano. Little did I know how much I would enjoy this square.
I had two teachers and both were incredibly nice. I was in a class with four other students who could of been my kids. They were all here for various reasons to learn Italian. Some have been taking the class for months. I have to say I was a bit nervous but after the first day felt much more comfortable.
I have been taking a Italian language course off and on for the past four years. I have always wanted to do a language class in Italy. So, when my niece said that they would be in Bologna for part of November, I decided to plan a trip. Since I would be in class my dh decided to stay home. So a solo-ish trip it is.
The flight- I decided to do use some points for my flights. I flew Southwest from SMF to LGA and the next day flew Emirates from JFK to MXP. The SW flight was on a Tuesday. The Emirates flight was the next day. I stayed at the Aloft hotel by LGA.
I have flown on Emirates before and really liked the airline. This time I used my points to fly business class. What a treat. The flight leaves at 10 pm so after a light dinner I went to sleep. In the morning I woke up had a great cappuccino and then the flight landed.
It took me about ten minutes to get to the train. While on the train changed my train from Milano Centrale to Bologna.
Arriving in Bologna at 3, I took a taxi to my apartment for the next three weeks. The taxi was €6 and well worth the cost of not rolling my bag across town.
I rented a small apartment through Air bnb for three weeks. The owner was really nice and gave me a discount. https://abnb.me/hjstTHWj5ub
My first few days were days I woke early and wandered through the porticos and piazzas. I found Piazza Santo Stefano and stopped for a cappuccino as well as a cornetto. There are 4 or 5 produce stands near my apartment as well as a butcher.
I had signed up with Academya Lingue for a two week course but wasn’t sure if I would do both weeks.
Class times were Mon-Fri from 9-1. We did have a good break from 11-11:40 where we all went for coffee across the street from the school. The school happens to be right by Piazza Santo Stefano. Little did I know how much I would enjoy this square.
I had two teachers and both were incredibly nice. I was in a class with four other students who could of been my kids. They were all here for various reasons to learn Italian. Some have been taking the class for months. I have to say I was a bit nervous but after the first day felt much more comfortable.
Nov 26th, 2022, 11:16 AM
#11
Original Poster
My mornings fell into a routine of sorts. With the class starting at 9, I was able to go for a walk before class. Class was vocabulary and prepositions in the morning and would play games after break. All in Italian. Throughout my first week I felt more at ease in class.
My niece, her husband and two littles (3, 8m) arrived. I was able so see them in the afternoons/evenings. The 3 y/o loves going into churches so we went into a lot of them. The 8 m/o loves waving to people who would say ciao to her. Little kids are very much loved by Italians.
Modena- Was on my list of day trips so I met the fam at the station for a relatively quick train ride to Modena. Its about 30 minutes if you take the fast train. A walk through Parco Giardino Ducale Estense where we got to meet Nacho…the corgi. The littles also got to go down the slide and bounce on different things before we continued into town.
We found the Duomo di Modena and had lunch at a lovely place right on the square. The Balzac Bistrot was very good. My Caeser Balzac was delicious. Greens, chicken, pancetta and parmigiana.
The weather was crisp with a beautiful blue sky. Throughout the town Christmas lights were being strung. I wish that I could see it at night.
Ravenna- Ever since I read the trip report by ellenem it was someplace I really wanted to explore. I Go to Pieces — An Italy Trip Report I made this trip with my niece and her littles. Traveling with kids takes a lot of patience and the realization that you will not see everything. Our first stop was Serafina. They have a wonderful buffet at Serafinas where you can choose 3 things for €11. Rosemary chicken, butternut squash and a pea/artichoke dish were all very yummy. After a cappuccino and some cookies we wandered over to buy tickets for the five museo’s di mosaics.
With two littles and only an afternoon we did not see all five. We did see three of them though and boy oh boy were they stunning. 1st stop was the Archbishops chapel and it did not disappoint. All of the wonderful colors all in tiny squares that made such amazing art. We went nearby to Archiepiscopal museo. Lots to look at but the winner was the Byzantine Chapel. We knew that we would be able to see one more so we walked over to the Basilica di San Vitale. Wow just wow. Sat in a pew and gazed in wonder. Seeing this was something that I will never forget. We took our time to just be still and enjoy the time we had there. We had enough time for a drink and snack before heading back to the train station. We stopped and had some champagne and the waiter brought us a board full of goodies on the house. A great way to end our day.
Parma- A busy morning with laundry and catch up led to an afternoon in Parma. Walking into town we saw street after street with lights strung from side to side. We were able to stop at a small place called Panifico Castagnoli for slice pizza and a cold drink. Walking to the cathedral we snacked on chocolate chunk cookies with pieces of candied orange. The cathedral is huge and the artwork on the ceilings was really beautiful. The little wanted to see everything and had lots of questions just like all three year olds.
Our train was delayed 40 minutes which makes it hard with little ones. We did make it back though and had a nice dinner at a small pizzeria.
I think the good thing traveling for a month is that I didn’t have to cram everything into a short time. I was able to travel to most places on nice days and stay at the apartment on bad weather days to get caught up or to study.
My niece, her husband and two littles (3, 8m) arrived. I was able so see them in the afternoons/evenings. The 3 y/o loves going into churches so we went into a lot of them. The 8 m/o loves waving to people who would say ciao to her. Little kids are very much loved by Italians.
Modena- Was on my list of day trips so I met the fam at the station for a relatively quick train ride to Modena. Its about 30 minutes if you take the fast train. A walk through Parco Giardino Ducale Estense where we got to meet Nacho…the corgi. The littles also got to go down the slide and bounce on different things before we continued into town.
We found the Duomo di Modena and had lunch at a lovely place right on the square. The Balzac Bistrot was very good. My Caeser Balzac was delicious. Greens, chicken, pancetta and parmigiana.
The weather was crisp with a beautiful blue sky. Throughout the town Christmas lights were being strung. I wish that I could see it at night.
Ravenna- Ever since I read the trip report by ellenem it was someplace I really wanted to explore. I Go to Pieces — An Italy Trip Report I made this trip with my niece and her littles. Traveling with kids takes a lot of patience and the realization that you will not see everything. Our first stop was Serafina. They have a wonderful buffet at Serafinas where you can choose 3 things for €11. Rosemary chicken, butternut squash and a pea/artichoke dish were all very yummy. After a cappuccino and some cookies we wandered over to buy tickets for the five museo’s di mosaics.
With two littles and only an afternoon we did not see all five. We did see three of them though and boy oh boy were they stunning. 1st stop was the Archbishops chapel and it did not disappoint. All of the wonderful colors all in tiny squares that made such amazing art. We went nearby to Archiepiscopal museo. Lots to look at but the winner was the Byzantine Chapel. We knew that we would be able to see one more so we walked over to the Basilica di San Vitale. Wow just wow. Sat in a pew and gazed in wonder. Seeing this was something that I will never forget. We took our time to just be still and enjoy the time we had there. We had enough time for a drink and snack before heading back to the train station. We stopped and had some champagne and the waiter brought us a board full of goodies on the house. A great way to end our day.
Parma- A busy morning with laundry and catch up led to an afternoon in Parma. Walking into town we saw street after street with lights strung from side to side. We were able to stop at a small place called Panifico Castagnoli for slice pizza and a cold drink. Walking to the cathedral we snacked on chocolate chunk cookies with pieces of candied orange. The cathedral is huge and the artwork on the ceilings was really beautiful. The little wanted to see everything and had lots of questions just like all three year olds.
Our train was delayed 40 minutes which makes it hard with little ones. We did make it back though and had a nice dinner at a small pizzeria.
I think the good thing traveling for a month is that I didn’t have to cram everything into a short time. I was able to travel to most places on nice days and stay at the apartment on bad weather days to get caught up or to study.
