Fav shots today in Bologna PII, too spoiled for choices.

Fav shots today in Bologna PI

The Procession of the Lord of Miracles, a Peruvian feast day in Bologna

Some of the scenes from Bologna today

Bologna graffiti and other important information.

While we were here, we bought a green lambo. We came for a red Ferrari but left with a green lambo. Oh well.

Visited a couple of museums, a slew of churches, joined a religious procession, well, carried the incense in our clothes for the rest of day and otherwise enjoyed ourselves.

Aurum for a new gin, Tiptoe from Italy. Himself went with an emiliana spritz. Last night in Bologna before train ride to Rome tomorrow.

Lastly, Modena and back to Bologna - Italian life with dogs❤️.

Modena continued - no one knew where the name originated and they said, gee, no one has ever asked us that before. The vinegar tasting was fun. Of course, a purchase was made.

Modena lunch: the tasting menu (5 courses and 3 wine pairings) at a Michelin adjacent restaurant was fabulous. Met the chef and he gave us an autographed menu. Very nice guy who loves cars. He identified the blue car seen in a previous post.

Modena highlights - part I

Came to Modena expecting to see Ferraris and saw these cars.

So we are heading to Modena for a short trip. My grandmother’s name was Modena so you know how you have to do things and oh, there is the vinegar too. Became a quest to get the statue of Trident in the best representation, the one the sculptor intended in front but the pope said no.

Graffiti in Bologna seen this afternoon/evening.

The things you see in Bologna on your the way to the laundromat.

Always look up and down - in Bologna for three nights.

Made it to our hotel in Bologna. Phew! Was scary at times. Lots of shouting, smoke bombs, people waving flags, lots of police, upset students and we do understand. Just sorry the world seems to be falling apart, no matter where we go. Stop the train I want to get off.

Protest against the interception of the Gaza flotilla through the city center of Ravenna today. All train bus and ferry services are disrupted. Currently on the platform hoping our train to Bologna will leave on time. Train has turned on, so maybe we will get lucky!

Murals in the old section of Rimini are a thing to see while on walkabout. Every self-respecting home has one.

Breakfast, every day, at Hotel Santa Maria Foras, consists of a variety of choices. You can eat as much or as little as you like. Coffee, tea and juices too! Fruit, cereals and other things like boiled eggs, waffles, toast are available as well. If you want it, they got it.

Dinner two nights ago, Osteria del Tempo Perso, a real treat in Ravenna! The restaurant is full of books, which we read, music, jazz and art. Food is excellent too! We had the tasting menu: five courses. I could not eat it all but I never do. There was also a fish dish.

Italian stone carpets, AKA, floor mosaics - deffo want to learn how to make something like this. There are schools in Ravenna where students learn the process and are able to bring home a “small” finished piece. One day…..BTW, some are Roman, some Medieval and they are not perfect but great.

So there is a bit of drama going on here - a general strike has been called by Italian rail from 21:00-21:00 today through tomorrow. We felt the effects earlier when our train was cancelled from Rimini to Ravenna. We caught a much later train. Tomorrow, we might be in trouble going to Bologna…yikes!

Portoland for dinner in Ravenna - we ordered too much food! But it was all soooo good!

The gin “get down” continues - in the final tasting of three new gins for us, the Japanese gin that smells like the ocean was our drink tonight. Personally, I liked the New Zealand gin we had last night. Husband concurred.

An orange cat was seen sitting on a balcony today in Remini - there was also a caged bird. This is a rare sighting, a cat plus a caged bird, for us on this trip to Italy.

Italian life with dogs - for the dog lovers out there.

Graffiti in Remini seen this morning.

Osteria de Borg for lunch in Remini. Excellent food here!

Italian life with dogs - no cats to be found.

Note to self: we visited five places with mosaics (three today, two yesterday) in total in Ravenna. It is difficult to remember which one was which. Suffice it say, all are terrific! I may have mixed them up so best to check for yourself!

Second night of gin tasting: Scrapeface Black gin from New Zealand. “Improving life with chemistry.” Like this even better than the Gin Mare last night. Hey we are on vacation folks! When in Italy, that sort of thing.

Trying to keep a positive thread going … beautiful mosaics in the Basilica di Apollinare, one of five places we visited today in Ravenna. So fortunate to be able to visit these places in person. Thankful to husband who planned this trip.

Saw this plaque when we were changing trains yesterday in Ferrara, on our way from Venice to Ravenna. Gave me absolute chills. The nuns were at the Venice train station.

Got some good graffiti today in Ravenna! Always looking for street art. This city has art schools so the graffiti is top notch!

For those of us who had to read/study Dante, a visit to his tomb in Ravenna. New news to some of us is that Dante is not dead.

Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, in Ravenna. Mosaics are so beautiful, I can see now why my friends who work in mosaics all recommended this place to me. Almost brought me to tears, the sheer beauty!

Basilica di San Vitale - the young Jesus in 6th C mosaics, consecrated in 547 AD. Incredible!

Dinner tonight- raw shrimp x two, cooked grouper and anchovies pasta. “You are expanding your horizons,”he said. Um, the grouper was great, raw mantis shrimp with eyes in its tail, 12 photoreceptors, over the top; I donated the anchovy pasta to a good cause. Science lesson underway. IYKYK. Wine++

Ravenna for the win as it is known as the “Mosaics Capital” of Italy. Everybody I know who works in mosaics comes here to see these incredible works of art. So inspiring!

For the person who thinks they have everything…you don’t!

There are always two points of view. Looking at things from both sides now. In an art gallery somewhere in Venice.

Out with the Aperture pro this morning - was fabulous. He took us to the non-touristy places in Venice. Highly recommend this guy.

The jewelry made of glass beads in Venice is a big deal. We searched for the beads that are different from all the rest and found them here-next door. Incredible work both bead maker and stringer. Lamp work is very difficult- I tried it - backbreaking and burns that scar from glass exploding.

On a canal in Venice last night

Graffiti in Venice, wherever I am, I look for graffiti to try and feel the pulse for a place.

Lunch was just perfect today at Cantine del Vino Gia Schiavi. Is very popular place to pick up some little bites of food and a glass of wine.

The gondolier outside our house gave us a nice trip on his dad’s gondola. You have to try it at least once, if you are in Venice, so we did and it was fun. I asked where the engine was and was shown the gondolier’s arms.

Yesterday, while waiting on the boat from Burano to Murano…we were packed on a queue like sardines. I saw this guy’s shirt and had to take a shot. The only other thing I could see was the floor. The guy had the black shoes and his gf was had the white sneakers. They were flirting with their feet.