Le nostre avventure in Italia - Seconda parte

If you're interested in Part 1 of our travels, you can read that here

So at the end of Part 1 of our Italian Adventure, we had just left Parma to head towards Bologna. 

To avoid any more train hassles and confusion, I had cunningly arranged a driver to take us on the next stage of our trip and he was well worth the money! Friendly, courteous and knowledgeable, he made the trip quite enjoyable. We had decided that enroute to Bologna we were going to stop off at the Ferrari Musuem in Maranello and our driver was only to obliging to wait with the car and our luggage whilst we explored.

I'll be honest the Ferrari Museum was more of a treat for the boys than the girls, although we all enjoyed it. I'd read mixed reviews of the museum before I left England - some saying it was great, others saying it was a bit rubbish. My view? I really liked it. It's not the biggest of places but if you're in the area it's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours if you're into cars and F1. I think it cost about €36 for the four of us which wasn't unreasonable and there were a lot of different cars to see - from old classics like my personal favourite, the GTO - to race-winning F1 cars over the past few decades. The children were way more into it than I thought they'd be. Only downside was the price of merchandise which was extortionate. I'd promised the little boy a keyring or something small like that but the cheapest one was nearly €40! It's a shame they didn't have a range of pocket-money buys but then this is Ferrari we're talking about.

After leaving Ferrari we went on to Bologna. This was slightly stressful for our driver as the hotel was very hard to find (was so glad we had an Italian with us and weren't trying to find it under our own steam) but after a few phone calls to the reception he delivered us to the front door.  My first impressions of Bologna driving through the outskirts of the city weren't great. I've heard a lot about the graffiti in Italy and there was a lot of it here, nevertheless I decided to keep an open mind.

Our accommodation was Hotel Porta San Mamolo which is a 3 star hotel ran by some of the most welcoming and friendliest people I have ever had the good fortune to meet on my travels.  It's a small family-run place - basic but great as a city base. The staff who owned and ran the hotel couldn't do enough for you and were amazing with the children, really warm and entertaining. If I ever return to Bologna, I would book this hotel again in a heartbeat! 

We had two nights in Bologna and this gave us plenty of time to take in some of the sights. It is true what you read about Italy in August - a lot of people go on holiday and the towns shut down, however Bologna was really the only place we really noticed this. It's a big University city so obviously during the summer it's a lot quieter and it did feel quite desolate at times, not helped by the graffiti everywhere. Nevertheless we had a good time and there was still lots to see and do.

University walkways

What we did in Bologna...

To be honest, you could spend quite a lot of time just people watching at the Piazza Maggiore, wandering around the markets and looking in the shop windows at all the produce and we spent quite a while looking at some of the amazingly decorated University buildings but there were a few other things we did that are worth checking out if you're in the area!

The Teatro Anatomico was one of those places I saw on the Italy Unpacked and I knew I wanted to see it for myself. It's well hidden away in the University buildings but worth seeking out. The Teatro is entirely made out of wood and sadly was another building that was bombed in WWII but has fortunately been lovingly restored. The wood carvings are exquisite  I was amazed by the detail on them and even the ceiling was intricately detailed.

Mr M see's a tower and he can't resist the urge to climb it. Fortunately I'm not so stupid, and also being quite angsty about small, enclosed spaces, the decision is easier for me not to go climbing very tall towers on hot days. The children however fell for it hook, line and sinker, and guess what? Yes they coped with it a lot better than he did!  Bologna is known for it's tower history, it's estimated by the end of the 12th century there were over 100 towers in the city - I can't even imagine what that looked like. Many are gone now of course but the Asinelli Tower, built in the 11th century remains and at 97ft it is the tallest tower in Italy. There are 498 steps to the top but don't let that put you off, apparently the view is great, I wouldn't know.

From the top of the Asinelli Tower. Allegedly.

If you decided to venture to Bologna with the children, the Giardini Margherita is a good place to let off steam. Slightly out of the city, and in fact just up the road from the hotel we stayed at, the gardens have everything you'd expect a large park to have. Leafy quiet areas with big trees to rest under, a good children's play area and a cafe with good facilities. The best thing we discovered in the gardens? They have a lake full of turtles. There are also some majorly big scary ass fish but it was the turtles we were interested in. The lake is literally teeming with them and they are very sociable  actually swimming towards you when they see you. My tip - take bread to feed them, the children loved watching them.

Turtle power!

We also went in the Basilica of San Petronio which dominates the Piazza Maggiore. Alas, they don't allow photos so you'll have to settle for one of the outside which is covered by huge hoarding. Pretty hoarding but hoarding all the same.  It's apparently the 15th largest church in world and it's currently undergoing a fair amount of refurbishment.

Places we ate in Bologna...

As it was August and a lot of places we would have chosen to eat were closed, it was slim-pickings on the restaurant front. Also what we found was that Bologna was very overpriced compared to Parma. We actually only ate in one restaurant and had several gelatos and hotel picnics when the children needed an early night.

Bar Guiseppe - We stopped here on the off-chance, mainly because we couldn't see anywhere else we wanted to go and it wasn't too busy. It was okay, service was friendly and we all had pizza which was nice. They were happy to share a pizza between the two children. It had an ideal location on Piazza Maggiore straight opposite the Basilica and I think that location came at a price as drinks were hideously overpriced hence I stuck to a soft drink. For the price, I thought everything was a bit average and I'd probably not return.

Sorbetteria Castiglione - I'd read about this place on the Internet before I left home so thought I'd hunt it out. Hunt it out is the right word, you're unlikely ever to just wander past here as it's slightly off the beaten track. Maybe when the University is open again it may be busier but it was down a very quiet street. Luckily it was in the direction of the park we were going to so it was an easy stop. The lady couldn't speak any English which made it difficult and it had an overcomplicated system of having to pay at one end for the sizes of gelato you wanted and then go to the other side to confirm your flavours. Seemed unnecessary. It was a really lovely place though with good gelato and sorbet though which an interesting range of flavours.

Grom - Grom is a chain of gelateria in Italy. The one in Bologna is on a very touristy route but was surprisingly not busy when we were there. The price is pretty much the same as all the others and the flavours are pretty standard. I had the watermelon which was delicious!

The obligatory gelato shot. Melting gelato at that.

That's it for Bologna, I didn't love it and probably wouldn't go back but it was nice to visit all the same. Next stop - Florence.