Bologna, Venice, Ravenna, oh my!

San Luca walk

My time exploring Bologna was limited because Bologna was more of my base to visit other places due to its central location. From what I saw of Bologna though, it seemed to have a lot to offer in the gastronomy and shopping departments. It was a lot more gritty than Florence for sure, with graffiti being prominent pretty much everywhere and a lot of dog poop. I just tell it how I see it. Bologna did have its charms though. When I arrived via train it was raining and my umbrella was wedged somewhere in my backpack. Bologna though, has this whole system of porticoes that basically make having an umbrella unnecessary for the most part. They're also very picturesque when you look past the graffiti and people begging.

Anyways, I started my first full day in Bologna with a walk up to the Santuario di Madonna di San Luca, a church at the top of a hill. It consists of 666 arches and many steps, though in terms of the Cinque Terre it really wasn't a bad walk, and I didn't even take the bus there! It only took about an hour (to walk up). One funny thing I saw was a nun being driven to the top... I guess the walk isn't for everyone. I did see a bunch of old people running up though.

Very worn and steep "steps"

The Two Towers (not LOTR)

I made my way back to the city center and wandered around Piazza Maggiore. I then managed to find the entrance for Asinelli Tower (it doesn't look like you can enter because it looks like a construction zone). Asinelli Tower is higher than Giotto's Campanile, and also a tad more scary. If you are afraid of heights, I 100% do not reccomend you attempt to climb this tower. The stairs are more like ladder steps than regular stairs because they are so worn out (from people climbing since the 12th century I suppose). There's also construction on the inside that looks as though it's an attempt to keep the tower stabilized, which is also bit daunting. Did I mention the random holes in the floor? When you finally get to the top, there are spectacular views of the city. You're also caged in, which I didn't mind as it gave me a sense of safety in a tower of questionable stability.

View down Asinelli Tower

Anatomy Theater

It took me a while to find the Anatomy theater, I will admit. So I have a terrible sense of direction, and to help remedy this problem I downloaded a compass app. Best decision ever because streets aren't always labeled (or they're difficult to find) and with this handy compass app I can head in the correct general direction, exploring the city while simultaneously eventually ending up at my planned destination. This only works if I have a semi-decent map though. Okay so the anatomy theater. This was located in the Archiginnasio library and its actually a reconstruction because the real room was badly damaged in WWII. However, it's still pretty cool and somewhat creepy to imagine the lecturer on his podium with the students in their extremely uncomfortable seats, angled acutely to prevent them from falling asleep, and a body on the dissection table.

The next day I went to Venice and let me just say hearing about Venice and seeing pictures are nothing compared with actually going. Even though it is a super touristy place, I would say go - if only to see what a cool place it is. One day, or for me what was more like half a day, is definitely not enough time to be there. I am

Rialto bridge

pretty sure I just stayed in the San Marco area; I was never really sure where I was except for when I got off the vaporetto. When I got there I did go into the campanile, no stairs, just an elevator. That was ridiculously overpriced and there were annoying signs in the way. After that I pretty much just wandered around and I know I was going in circles at some point because I kept finding myself at the Rialto bridge. I probably should have bought a guidebook because I didn't really know why what I was looking at was so important. I also wasn't sure if what I was looking at was actually what I thought it was: example: Doge's Palace and Basilica di San Marco. I did buy a map, which was somewhat helpful, but my compass app is really what helped me navigate the San Marco maze. If I were allowed to only comment on one disturbing feature of Venice it would have to be the pigeons. Imagine the audacity of Assateague seagulls and multiply their forwardness by 100, at least. They just swarmed you! No fear, none whatsoever. I suppose it has something to do with over two centuries of tourism and perhaps they've been raised to treat humans as inferiors, but they are just disturbing. Another comment is the lack of grass, yet the presence of dogs. I suppose there has to be grass somewhere, maybe? But I didn't see any and I can't imagine being a dog without any grass available to roll around in. It doesn't seem right.

Venice

When pigeons attack

Basilica di San Vitale

My last full day in Bologna was spent journeying to Ravenna. It was raining that day and so I wasn't in the best of mindsets when I set out, but I'm really glad I went. Ravenna has a bunch of UNESCO World Heritage sites and the ones that I saw, the mosaics, were amazing! San Vitale in particular impressed me with its greens and blues and the sheer amount of detail. My one glitch in Ravenna was the map. For my compass app to help me, I need to know what direction I should be heading and I usually rely on maps for that information. The map I was given from Ravenna's tourist office was not oriented in the normal fashion, i.e. North wasn't at the top. I'm not actually sure where North on that map was. All I know is that I was tired of walking around in the rain and I was going to visit the sites I had paid to visit (all-inclusive ticket). I saw a couple who I thought looked American, with their GPS out guiding them, but turned out to be

Basilica di San Vitale

German, and I asked them for directions. They actually led me to the place I had been looking for (and they also laughed at the map I showed them). It's interesting, because they didn't really speak English that well, but we were still able to communicate so that made me wonder about how if someone's language is X and another person's is Y, they can still (usually) speak basic English to communicate, which to me is just interesting. Anyways: Ravenna = mosaics = awesome. There's probably a better word I could use to describe them, but it escapes me and that's the easiest description I can think of in my sleep deprived state. I head to London next for my Leavesden Studios (where Harry Potter was filmed) tour!!! Supah excited!!

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Capella di Sant'Andrea

Basilica di San Vitale