Cristallo Bologna

... I am encouraged that I will soon be arriving with family. I can put my travel miles card away, put my feet up and have a proper vacation. Because as I've been saying to some people. This is not a vacation, it's Hard Work!

I arrived in Ferrara at 5:30ish on Monday evening, It was already starting to darken, the skies saying goodnight for a while. I found my hostel with only asking one person for ...

Ferrara is a Medieval town that dates back around 1300 years when Ferrara was a Byzantine military fortified city. In 1115 Ferrara became a free commune and in 1135 the Cathederal was built.

The driving was flat and the highways were fast with lots of speeding passers. The parking was limited at Ferrara and the complexity for the parking signs left us concerned while we were touring. The parking spaces were tiny and many of the vehicles were dented and ...

Short train ride from Florence after a hair raising trip trying to return the rental car in confusing, congested and traffic restrictied Florence (don't rent a car downtown go to the airport). Bologna is an university town (even Johns Hopkin has a campus). Very historical town with a great plaza area like most towns and a great antique market.

... next opportunity. Wish had laptop and SLR camera with me, but Iām struggling under the weight of my load already.

NB3: I hate mosquitoes. If thereās anything that might turn me off of traveling for good, theyāre it. I count 12 on my LEFT CALF. I think someone once told me that garlic repels them, but not sure. If anyone can confirm or provide any other info on dealing with the little *******s, would be incredibly grateful.

... situation I have found myself in. I went to bed at 4am on Saturday morning after sending out emails, planning trips, and getting my gear ready. I was a little upset at myself for keeping such late hours. I got up around 11, picked up my laundry at Reggie's, purchased a few more groceries for Sunday and then finished packing for Bologna. On the bus ride I slept for two hours before waking up and drinking my frizante mineral water that I had bought. I ...

... despite what we think about the public service in Australia - it really is very efficient compared with many other countries. Last weekend I went to Bologna by train with Manuela. It takes about an hour and a half to get there by train and we had a nice chat and I got to see the countryside which is beautifully green and looks very healthy compared to Australia. The train ride was very comfortable, the train was clean (and double story!) and it ran smoothly over the ...

... in our living room and some amazing Buddhist prints hanging throughout the apartment. The church bells seem to ring all day long providing me with a great sense of my Catholic upbringing and endearing memories of St. Ann's School. Our first week here was a little rocky. Getting our computer into service, getting the bank set up, car insurance and adjusting to the time difference have finally all been successfully completed, so we have really started to have some fun ...

We all woke up at about 8am, got ready, packed everything, and went down for breakfast. They had cereal that looked like rice chex, but was brown and had nutella in the center. I didn't want my stomach to rebel, so I didn't have any, but it looked pretty amazing. We left our bags in a small room in the hotel and went out for our last walking tour. We visited a big museum that had many medieval art. It also had a section for ...

... introduction in a presentation room was the component processing area. Here in a very new and spacious building the employees were producing crank shafts, cylinder heads and cylinder blocks, with the factory floor also home to a dazzling collection of classic Ferrari models from various eras – intended to be an inspiration to the workers of the finished masterpieces they are each playing a part in creating.

After then passing through the paint ...

... for dinner. It’s a beautiful spa town and smells good! I took a long walk through the park and had a Gran Marnier on the patio. Peggy had Amaretto which pleased the bartender/host. He didn’t like my ordering a French liqueur! The hotel was one of the nicest on our tour.

We left our window open and it was actually cold when we got up!