The last stops of the Italy tour - Bologna and Verona

I only had a few more days in Italy and it was hard to decide what to do. I don't know why, maybe because the last time I went to Italy I only passed through, but I wanted to go to Verona. I also wanted to go to the Lakes but it was expensive so I opted for Verona which would allow me to explore a new city and visit Lake Garda very easily. 

I was only going to Bologna for one night because I decided to spend an extra night in Firenze but they are so close that I could go to Bologna early in the day. Bologna is an unusual city. It doesn't have the golden yellows of Firenze but instead many of the buildings are a warm red. I went on a walking tour and realised that I could have spent so much more time exploring the city but a day was all that I had. Thanks to a friend of a friend, I was able to have lunch and then dinner with a local so could eat dinner away from the tourist traps. I could have easily spent time just sampling all the foods - the cheeses, gelato, meats, wines etc. - but it was also fun to walk around and look at the shops. There is one very old shop where you actually can bring your own food (cheeses, dips etc.) or buy some at the restaurant but all you have to do is buy some of their wine. Do we have this in Melbourne?? It seems like such a brilliant idea. 

Verona was my next stop. My visit to the lakes was a little underwhelming. I accidentally chose a national holiday as my day to visit the lakes so the buses were few and far between and also the weather was overcast and drizzling at times. Walking around the lake gave me an idea of how stunning it would look in the summer but it wasn't as beautiful as the internet promised! The rain didn't give up but I was still able to explore the city. The weather gave me an excuse to sit in a beautiful cafe that was cheap, authentic and relaxed - there is always a silver lining. While Verona is beautiful and every corner revealed another idyllic Italian town picture, the highlight was catching up with one of my former students who is also travelling. We had a great time exploring together in the rain and hopefully will catch up later in our respective trips when we are in the UK. 

Bologna

 

Verona