What a Bunch of Baloney

Buongiorno !   

My trip to BLQ started years ago in my head.  BLQ is of course the airport code for Bologna, Italy.  Often, when at work, moving packages around, packages to BLQ would pass through my hands, leaving me with thoughts of what it would be like to visit BLQ one day.  But each passing thought would end with: "maybe next year".  That was due to making excuses because of Parkinson's.  Next year tuned out to be next year and then next year again.  Several years later, I had my 25th work anniversary and I was able to retire.  And still I had not taken the opportunity to go Bologna.  

Earlier this year, my good friend Dan said he had to go to choir practice.  I asked him - it's it a little early for Christmas choir practice?  He replied - it's not for Christmas.  It's for the Various Voices concert in Bologna.  My ears pricked up - Bologna!?   Yes, Dan said, and then began to give me all the details.  It turns out that there was a huge international choir convention coming up this June.  There were 105 gay choirs from all around the world meeting in Bologna in the middle of the month.   Wow - that sounds pretty amazing, I thought.

Once again, I had the fantasies of going - but I just didn't know how to break away from the Parkinson's.  I love my husband but I hate Parkinson's.  Eventually it gets to be too much at times.  In the middle of doing whatever it is I am doing, I will suddenly start to cry.  When I get to that point, I have to do something.  I ended up saying to myself - Eddie, here is the perfect opportunity for you to go to BLQ and with friends too.  Yes - friends with an s.  There are 2 gay choirs in Copenhagen and I found out later that Jørn, another good friend of mine, was also going to be singing there.  Plus over the several X-mas concerts that I have been to, I have come to chit-chat with some of the choir member.  So now I would have the experience of wandering the streets of Bologna with friends and acquaintances, some laughter, some fun and lots of good food.  

I continued talking to myself - Eddie, if you don't go now, you'll never go.  I agreed with myself and I booked a flight to BLQ.  Wow, somehow I found the where-with-all within me to get it together and actually go to a spot I have been dreaming of for years.

Part of the story has a lot to do with living in Denmark for 33 years and filing my US taxes every year. I learned from conversation with Dan that I have been missing a very important part of filling out ALL the necessary tax forms.  It's a very long story to tell it all in detail but the short version is:  the IRS has an Offshore Compliance Program to bring me into compliance with what I should have been doing for the last 33 years.  I am basically at their mercy now.  I have to apply to be accepted.  It's a long process and it requires the last 7 years of tax info.  I am still in a limbo state as there is no way to know when/if the IRS will actually get to my tax forms and only then will they take a look at it and say - OK Mr. Eddie we will accept this or Sorry Mr. Eddie but this just simply will not do.  It's out of my hands now at this point.  I did what I could do and now time will tell.  I don't owe the IRS any money and they don't owe me.  So that is a very good starting point.  However, they can easily fine me a hefty late fee.  The on-line tax company I used to help me fix my mess, assured me that they have never had any of their clients turned away from the IRS using this Offshore Compliance Program.  Fingers crossed.

All of my tax papers that I had to show to IRS.

So the whole point of bringing this up is to show that I have been under enormous stress of having to get all these tax papers - 7 years worth - in order and sent off via registered mail before my departure to BLQ.  Tax deadline was July 15th.  Departure was July 14th.  Finally I got everything I needed from the tax office and I just had to hit the print button on the 9th.  I packed several folders into a huge envelope and sent it off on Saturday the 10th.  When I came home from the post office, I hit the print button once again to make copies for myself.  That was when I noticed that a few pages are set up in landscape form.  The print at the top didn't print.  I panicked.  I called the tax office and told them what happened.  They were surprised. I was pissed.  They told me that I would have to call the IRS and find out from them if they want me to reprint and resend.  I didn't mind redoing the work.  I minded having to call IRS. I would have to call on Monday.  I was on hold for nearly an hour.  But it came down to the woman on the phone telling me that "the IRS should be able to figure it out" since my papers were going to a special office that handles this special Offshore Compliance Program.  The IRS woman told me NOT to reprint and NOT to resend. It would make things more confusing and more time consuming. 

I started feeling a little weird over the weekend.  By Monday afternoon, I was worried.  I needed a nap.  "I just need 10 minutes", I said to Jens as I lied down on top of his bed.  He woke me up 40 minutes later.  I was exhausted.  Tuesday the 13th., I was sick.  Departure was the next morning at 8.  But I had to cancel.  I was soooooooooo bummed.  I couldn't get out of bed for 2 days.  I was sure it was Corona.  It felt so much like when I had Corona at Christmas time.  I took 4 home tests.  All were negative.  By Friday I was feeling much better and could get out of bed again.  Dan told me he did several home tests too a while back and they were negative but when he went to have the PCR test, it was positive.  So I really think that it was Corona - for a number of other reasons too.  bla bla bla.

But I was still dealing with a lot of stress as well and it could just be my body said: No More fun for you Mr. Eddie.  But eventually, I did pick up where I left off and rebooked another trip to BLQ.  I was feeling sad that I was leaving Jens behind as well as not going with friends. But I was determined to give myself a much needed break.  

One very big way to relieve a lot of the stress was to buy regular airline tickets and not the usual stand-by tickets.   One of the reason why I have been wanting to go all these years to BLQ is access to cheap tickets.  It would be only $50 each way with stand-by tickets.  But I paid full price because I just could not take the chance of getting stuck in either airport - CPH going or BLQ returning.  Bologna has become a major tourist destination - and for obvious reasons. 

I had to laugh.  A few weeks ago we had a flea market in our apartment complex garden.  I was sure to make a bit of money.  Everything was set at a really low price.  2 days later I ended up taking everything to the dump because I sold nothing.  I had 2 carry-on bags filled with DVD's.  I got rid of all of it.  The day before departure I was going nuts not being able to find my carry-on.  Then it hit me.  It's at the dump.

Also not funny was the weather report.  It's been sunny all week but on departure day was supposed to rain hard.  This meant that I would have to take my heavy waterproof boots.  Plus it was supposed to rain hard also in BLQ on arrival day.  I didn't want to take the boots and I didn't want to wear them but I also didn't want to walk around town in wet ordinary shoes.  But good luck: The day that I was supposed to leave from Copenhagen, it was beautiful sunshine.  Weathermen were wrong - again!   So I wore my Sketchers but packed the boots.  I figured I will just change into them when I get to BLQ.    Good luck was on my side - sort of.  I got to Copenhagen central station nice and dry.  But when the train pulled out of the station, it poured. Luckily I was inside of the train when it all came pouring down.

And then the sun came out again.

When I was in the security line, I could look out of the huge floor-to-ceiling glass wall and see that the weathermen were only wrong by 2 hours.  Then, when I got to BLQ, the weathermen were completely wrong again.  My phone showed showed 71% chance of rain.  But there was zero rain.  However, the humidity was a killer.  Needless to say, I didn't need those dang heavy boots nor my umbrella.  Had I not taken them with me, it would have been a totally different story.

When passengers get off of the plane, 

they are greeted by these 3 people.

This guy wearing bits of frosted glass.

This woman made completely of leather strips.

And this woman made of colored sponge.

(the one on the left)

I googled how to get from "airport to city center."  Though it is only a 7 minute train ride on the Macaroni Expresso, it is recommended to take a taxi for just a few euro more.  I love train rides and I want to see what it's like.  7 minutes - how bad can it be?  The google description was:  it's like a rollercoaster - but not in a fun way.  After experiencing it, I could see how that description fits compared to other trains.  But it really was not bad at all and it was so quick and so easy.  $10 each way.   Sounds cheap.  However, the price from CPH airport to the central station is actually less than $5 and the ride is more comfortable and twice the distance.  

Anyway....  I got off the Macaroni Expresso but I didn't walk the way Google maps wanted me walk because I wanted to take the short cut and see the inside of the central station.  Google was directing me the long way around the building.  I knew that there would be something good to eat in front of the station so that was another reason for me to walk the way that I did.  And I did find a fun place to eat.

This is the inside of the central station.

I was surprised by how small it is.

The front side of the central station.

This is the place just across the street from the train station

where I had lunch.  It was a lot of fun.

But this little piggy did not have roast beef on it's plate.

Obviously a tourist place because the menu had photos.

which is a delicious idea.

I had this baloney sandwich with provolone, dried tomatoes,

artichoke hearts and tons of Mortadella.

I think there was olive oil in-between

each layer of baloney - it was so greasy.

I loved it.

My mouth is watering as I write this.

I know what you are asking.

What is Mortadella?

It's phony baloney.

That's what it is.

The real stuff is American.

But here is what google would like you to believe:

Bologna is America's signature pink deli meat, and while it often gets a bad rap, the cold cut is surprisingly versatile — not to mention cross-cultural. Fly to Europe or head to your nearest Italian food store to taste Italy's more refined take on bologna. Granted, Italy is more closely associated with prosciutto, bresaola, and salami than it is with bologna. However, try one bite of mortadella, and you'll realize that the Italian original is quite different from the bologna sandwiches of your middle school days.

Read More: https://www.tastingtable.com/1029130/mortadella-vs-bologna-whats-the-difference/

The waiters were having fun.

The baloney sandwiches in my brown paper bags were never this tasty in school.

And delicious sparkling wine to wash the bottled water down.

I scoped it out on google maps a whole week before even leaving Copenhagen, on how to get to my hotel.  I new that from the train station I just had to cross the street, turn left, walk to the park and turn right.  Easy.  But I forgot the part about turning at the park and I ended up turning after the restaurant.  I thought I was going east but I was going west.  No worries however.  My heavy waterproof boot were on wheels and I just took in the sights until I finally found my hotel.  Which was smack in the center of old town.  So, here are a few random snapshots on the way to the hotel.

Oh and by the way, in the 9 above photos, I was completely lost.

Thank goodness for google maps.

Then I came upon Piazza Maggiore (main square).  I knew I was getting close to the hotel.  In the center of town, just before entering Piazza Maggiore is Piazza del Nettuno. In the middle of the piazza is the Fontana del Nettuno. You probably know him as Neptune, god of the sea.  This fountain was created in the 16th century.  It's quite amazing and why I took so many photos.  If you are interested in knowing more, this link has a lot of info about the fountain. 

Ok..... so I snap 1000's of pix of "Neptuna" and then headed off to the neighboring piazza.  The 2 squares are side by side.  You'd never know it was 2 separate piazzas.  I had to walk through them both to get to my hotel.  The below photo shows the one square for Neptune and the other square in front of the town hall/Municipal Palace. 

At Piazza Maggiorie sits this building which is now D'Accuriso (or Municipal) Palace.  The earliest part is from 1293.  Parts of it had been through fire and several demolitions to rebuild and up date. In the 15th century, for example, the clock was added. The statue was installed in 1580 during the pontificate of Gregorius XIII and dominated the main square unchanged for 2 centuries.

I had to laugh at myself.  I knew Hotel Roma, from 1895, was just up the street from the squares. I knew it was the only structure with part of the building hanging over the street.  So I was looking for this monstruous over-hang.  It turns out that it was rather small and I past the hotel which had a very small entrance for such a large building.  The façade was shared with 2 other shops.  I had to check google maps.  It said: turn back you fool! 

These 4 photos are from when I realized I went to far.

Here I take photos looking back.

This was the awning/over-hang I was looking for.

I was looking for something much bigger.

Normally I take tons of pix of the hotel.  

But this time I only took a photo of the view 

from my room and of my breakfast cup-of-chino. 

(you say potawto)

The room was completely quiet 

and the assortment at the breakfast bars 

was so abundant that it would be impossible 

to eat one of everything.

Believe me, I tried.

From here on out, it's kind of a blur.  I walked all 4 days that I was there and many of the streets I walked several times.  So I will just now be posting many of my photos in any random order.  I will tell what they are of, if I can remember.  Most of the photos are within 12 minutes or less from the hotel.

The next 2 photos are of a shop and restaurant of the same name.  

Eataly, clever.

I had dinner here on evening #2.

The next 6 photos are from the street

 Via Giuseppe Petroni

The above street, 

Via Giuseppe Petroni 

starts at this square  called 

Piazza Giuseppe Verdi.

This building is 

Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

If you google it, you'll be surprised to see that the inside 

is unbelievably beautiful, huge and amazing.

Had I gone to Bologna on my original plans, 

I would have stayed in a private apartment 

that I booked and it was next door to this shop.

On the main road between the train station and Piazza Maggiore

on Via dell'Indipendenza is this theater called

Teatro Arena del Sole.

There is nothing about it on the inside 

that matches the beautiful façade. 

Directly opposite of the theater is this statue of 

Giuseppe Garibaldi.

This is actually the prettiest part of the main road.

Giuseppe Garibaldi is a famous Italian revolutionist and fought for the unification of Italy.  He has a long history which you can easily google if you are interested.  In 1848, Garibaldi returned to Italy from South America where he helped several countries with their government. He fought in military campaigns that eventually led to Italian unification.  Garibaldi became an international figurehead for national independence and republican ideals and is consider by the twentieth-century historiography and popular culture as Italy's greatest national hero.  He was showered with admiration and praise by many contemporary intellectuals and political figures, including Abraham Lincoln among several others.

The next 7 pix are of me on the way/at 

Piazza Santo Stefano.

The amazing thing about Bologna

are the Porticos.

There are 35 km / 22 miles of 

porticos (covered sidewalk)

throughout the old town 

and  about 15 km / 10 miles more

outside of the old town.

On the square/piazza are Sette Chiese (Seven Churches)

Though there are only 4 standing today.

I love and admire the detailed brick work.

The churches have been repaired according to my 

tourist guide and I am guessing that a layer of brick 

has been added onto of the original building.  But

it's just a guess because the book used the word

"restoration" but in the photo below, you can see 

"newer" brick over what appears to be the original

building where there is original artwork and the

newer brick layer was worked around the artwork.

The next 7 photo are from a street called

Str. Maggiore.  I had a espresso, cannoli and water 

here after my visit up in the Asinelli tower.

I am sitting across the street from 

Basilica Collegiata dei Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano

or in English

Church of Saints Bartholomew and Cajetan.

Notice the tower in the background.

From time to time I hear:  Wow, you have no wrinkles. Once way back in airport school, my teach said with amazement, "Your 40?! - You don't have any wrinkles!"  My classmate sitting behind me shouted out, "Yeah and he doesn't have any hair either!"   That was 25 years ago.  But I still hear it every now and then.  I always know that the person saying that to me, needs to make an appointment with an optometrist.  Especially now with my new large-frame eyeglasses, they enhance my lines and bags.  And besides all of that, take a look under my jawline in the above photo.  You are what you eat but that ain't boloney - or is it?

My tower visit.  For sure a tourist trap but it does offer amazing views over the city.  The tower was built between 1109 and 1119.  There are 498 internal steps leading to the top platform at a height of 97 meters / 318 feet.  Think of a football field from end to end.   At some point in history there were roughly 200 towers in Bologna. Many have been destroyed by war or earthquake.  Several still exist.  Garisenda Tower, the smaller of the 2, about half the height of the neighboring tower, had the top removed as it was starting to lean after the 1351 earthquake.  The two towers are the emblem of the city.  It was only €5 to climb up the tower.  The catch is, you have to buy tickets on-line in advance.  There were lots of people standing around at the bottom of the tower trying to download an app that just didn't want to cooperate.  Luckily a second option did work and it was rather simple.  You had to choose a specific time and be in line 5 minutes before your scheduled time frame.  I decided to give myself 1½ hours to go find a coffee shop before making the climb.  Here now are random photos of the tower and views from the top.  

This was the dome I could see from my hotel room.

In the above 2 photos, this huge church faces Piazza Maggiorie.  

It is Basilica di San Petronio.

A huge gothic church with 22 chapels.

It's the main church everybody wants to visit 

but it's not the nicest of the several churches that I went into.

So sorry about this photo not being sharp.  I very carefully stuck my hand and arm out of the grate and pointed my camera downwards and snapped it.  I couldn't see what I was doing and it was actually scary.

Most of these photos are taken with my phone.  The following pix are take with my real camera.  I don't care for it but it has an amazing zoom lens on it.  The next photos show a spot that I had considered taking a little excursion to.  I am regretting now not doing it.  But this will be my motivation for a return visit.

It is Santuario Madonna di San Luca (The Santuary of the Modonna of San Luca) on the hill, way in the background.

How's that for a zoom lens !

The thing about climbing the tower, 

is that the temperatures were high, 

heating up the inside of the tower

and I felt like I was pizza dough in a brick oven.

It wasn't possible to look all the way from the top

to the bottom on the inside of the tower because there 

were several platforms.  But all of it was baking hot.

Here is another view of

Church of Saints Bartholomew and Cajetan

where I had my cake n coffee after my climb.

One of the surviving towers.

The next photo shows both towers.  You can't detect it in the photo but it's very noticeable from the ground that the shorter tower leans quite a bit. It was leaning so much that the top had been removed.  I was trying to capture the leaning effect in this photo but it doesn't come out.

Get an eye full and ear full of this:

Now here is something that is very surprising about Bologna and you wouldn't know unless you bought a simple travel guide.  It says in my booklet: Though this is not apparent, Bologna floats on water.  Since Roman times, thanks to its position over the hills the city has had a urban water distribution system.  In the 13th century, Bologna became renowned for its machine silk weaving.  The town had a water powered wheel and a mechanic bobbin winder that made stronger yarns than those hand weaved or made using other pre-industrial techniques.  Though the major part of the town's canals is still subterranean, some stretches are over ground.  You wont come across it by accident either. You have to look for it.  It can only be seen from some much smaller side streets that are not used by tourist.  I only learned of it by scouting things out on Google maps. Here now is the Moline Canal.

I went to so many churches that I have a hard time remembering which photo goes to which church. But this one I do remember.  It's called Santuario di Santa Maria della Vita.

I was really interested to know who 

is in the painting.  So I asked the guard

sitting at the alter just to the right of the

above photo.  He said he didn't know.

I thought that was weird.  Then he said,

"Just one moment.  I will go find out."

He came back and said, "Some saint."

This is the entrance to the church.

It's pretty but you just don't get the

full impression from the ground.

So I took a screen shot from Google Maps

to show you what it looks like from above.

However, I was able to capture what it looks like when 

approaching it from the side from Piazza Maggiore.

Pretty fasinating, I would say.

I went here on 2 different evenings.  It was baking hot.  I needed something cool to drink.  This looked like a very happening spot in the town and a nice place to quench my thirst.  I sat down and ordered an Aperol.  As I was drinking it, I noticed all the waiters/waitresses serving lots of cherry drinks.  That was when I notice they were all wearing white T-shirts with "Fabbri" printed on them.  I know this cherry product.  We get that imported in Denmark.  But I didn't know you could make a cocktail out of it.  It was too late, I was already drinking my orange Aperol.  I told myself to make a mental note of where I was at so that I could come back tomorrow evening and try a pinkish Fabbri.  Here are pix from the first evening at Piazzetta Achille Ardigò.

And the next evening, I was back at the same spot - with Church of San Donato behind me.  I snapped this photo for Jeanette, but she'll never see it.  My blogs are too long for her.  Basically they're too long for anybody.  

When we were kids, we always got to drink a Shirly Temple when the family went to The Northwoods Inn.  It was a childrens' cocktail.  Basically it was 7Up with cherry sauce.  That's what this is here in my hand, but with Prosecco. 

We can get this in the market here in Denmark

but it is expen$ive because it comes in a porcelain jar.

We also have our own similar product here in DK.

Not as bitter and comes in a very affordable

milk carton type of package. Yawn.

Basically I'll drink anything if it's pretty.  

Stick a paper umbrella in it and I'll order it. 

Why, I would even try a 

Putin Plutonium Kill the Homo Rainbow Slushie 

if it looked like this.

Something else also unusual.

The sidewalks are a mish mash of materials.

Here you can see sidewalks of travertine or terrazzo.

This would cost big bucks in the north.

But in the south, it's as common as dirt.

Piazza Galvani

The next 3 pix are from Piazza Minghetti.

Marco Galvani was Prime Minister of Italy in 1873 - 76.

I can't say what this is, but it was on the corner of a parking lot.

On the opposite side of the parking lot is a church.

I am sure that the column is in connection with the church,

Basilica di San Martino Maggiore.

Originally back in July, I had booked a room on Via delle Moline.  The street changes names half way.  Closer to the main thoroughfare, the name of the street is Via Agusto Righi.  But I called it restaurant row.  One of the nicer streets actually.  At least, for eating.  Also tourist prices.  But hey!  I'm a tourist.  This was a great place to eat.  

A glass of Aperol for starters and sparkling wine

for the main meal.

I am sitting down to dinner.  It's somewhere between

8 and 9 in the evening.  Most tables are empty.

People don't start to eat dinner until 10.

That's pumpkin time for me.

One of Bologna's specialties is Tortellini.

All hand made and taste exactly like

what I buy at the discount market here

in Copenhagen.  But of course you have to 

try it.  Actually I think mine is better.

But I really had a wonderful time here.

So I thought I was ordering sparkling rosé wine.  I even asked the waiter if it was sparkling when I pointed to the menu.  "Yes, of course,"  he assured me.  It was but.....  it was red.  I didn't even know red sparkling wine existed.  Google tells me the same thing that is printed on the little label hanging from the bottle neck: "It's the best!" - for red sparkling.  It tasted ok but smelled of vinegar.  My mistake.  It says Rossi on the menu.  I thought Rossi in Italian was Rosé.  Sounds the same.  Wrong.  "Rossi" in Italian is Red.  "Rosé"  in Italian is Rosé.  Silly me.  If I had taken a better look at the menu, I would have notice the English translation up at the top.  It turns out, on the opposite page, is the selection of Rosé wines.  They only have 3 and that's why I missed it.

So you decide.  Cheap or expensive?

€50 for 

- 1 cocktail

- 1 half bottle of wine

- 1 blob of pasta

- 1 cup of dessert

- 1 bottle of water

- service was good

- place was great

and I ended up with 2 free shots

of lemon liquor - which was really nice.

Price includes tax and tip.

Merry Christmas - btw.

Here are a few shots of the restaurant.  I snapped 

these the following day in the afternoon.

This is from a quick rest stop while waiting for my

time slot to climb up inside of the Asinelli Tower.

Then on another day of aimlessly walking around 

town on a very hot day, I stopped for a much

needed brake and rest for my tootsies.

Here I am having lunch at Eataly.

On another evening, I find myself back on restaurant row.

But it's the half of the street with the name Via della Moline.

I sit down because they serve pizza and I want some

real Italian pizza.  I walk past the front door of the place

and can see a guy throwing spinning pizza dough up 

into the air.  Obviously I found the right place.

I ordered something with mushrooms and olives.

My pizza must have mushrooms and olives.

You can't see them but they're there under all the grass.

The girl brings the pizza to the table and it is huge.

The plate is under the pizza.  There is not even enough table space for 2 people to have a pizza.  "Wow! That's too big to eat", I said to the waitress.  The huge muscle guy sitting next to me says: "That's not too big."  Well, maybe not for him.  He was a giant.  And then just moments later, the waitress brings food to the muscle man and his girlfriend sitting at the table next to me.  OMG  The muscle man says my pizza is not to big but he is sharing 3 tiny tacos between himself and his girlfriend.  And I am not sure how to react.  I'm sitting in an Italian restaurant and they are serving tacos?!!!  What the heck is this place? And how can my pizza not be too big if this muscle man has to have help from his girlfriend to eat 3 taco and a small blob of yellow rice.  They eat their way thru the tacos.  The factory made taco shells were really an upsetting sight.  It made me even more upset that I was sitting in such a place.  Well, before I am done eating my giant size pizza, the waitress comes out with another pizza.  Oh, I get it.  They are sharing tacos and pizzas.  Wrong!  The pizza is for the girlfriend.  The muscle man's girlfriend devours the entire pizza all on her own.  I don't understand what he is saying in Italian to his girlfriend while he is pointing to it like there is something wrong with it.  And then a waiter comes out yet again, with a giant burger and fries for the muscle guy.  They finish. They pay the bill.  And they get up and go.  Meanwhile I am still eating my pizza.  And I thought I was going to have to have somebody roll me back to my hotel room.  It was really tasty.  But it wasn't like you haven't had this pizza yourself that you can get at any California Kitchen.  But what a fun place to eat at.  I finally finish my meal and I get up and go.  That's when I noticed that the place actually has 2 kitchens.  One in front, flipping pizzas and one in the back making non Italian dishes.

This is the main church - the one that tourist wait in line to see.  I found it to be the least pretty of all the churches that I went into.  But nevertheless, still very interesting.  The church is called Basilica of San Petronio. The entrance is at the main square Piazza Maggiore.  The construction started 1390.

The tourist were oo'ing and ah'ing 

the light of god.  

Basically it's a hole in the roof and ceiling.

The sun would shine thru into your

living room as well if you had 

a hole in your roof and ceiling.

In this church there is a painting of Mohammad in hell being eaten by demons.  I didn't see it and only learned of it as I was writing this blog.  I thought to myself - wow, if the Muslims knew this, they would try to blow up the church.  And then I saw this:

In 2002 five men were arrested on suspicion of planning to blow up the basilica.  The men were alleged to have connection to Al Qaeda.  Again in 2006, plans by Islamist terrorist to destroy the Basilica were thwarted by Italian police.  The terrorists claimed that a 15th-century fresco inside was insulting to Islam.  The fresco, painted by Giovanni da Modena, depicts Muhammad in Hell being devoured by demons.

It is from this website.

Here now are more random pictures that I took on my walks.

Colonna di San Domenico

 These next 4 photos are the same 

street going east and west but it's a 

split off of the main part of the street 

going north and south.  

The street is called Via de' Toschi.

Everything is just too cute - including the guy in the photo.

above and below

2 different meat markets 

out of hundreds throughout the city.

different varieties of tortellini. 

This is an interesting building.  It appears to have had 

  water around it at some time in its history.  

I tried to google it to get the history - but to no avail.  

It's on the north-west side of town.  

The building is now used as a  gay

and lesbian service center.  In the immediate area are

galleries', movie house, a large open park for out-door 

events, Museum of Moderen Art and the like.

This cute Vespa was just standing

all on it's own and with a rose adorning it.

Wanna know how they get that cream in your cannoli?

On my 2nd to the last day, I walked into this church

that I snapped a photo of the night before.

I put a few coins in the box and offered a prayer for my friend, 

George and his kids, Bella and Tiberon.

On my last night, I thought it was kind of crazy that so

many people were out.  I'm on my way home from the 

restaurant and it seems as if people are just getting started.

When I got up and out Sunday morning, I realized

why everybody was out so late last night.  

Sunday morning, everything is closed.

So..... since I had walked so many streets - several times,

I decided to take a walk today to the edge of town 

where I had not yet been.

Here now are photos from my last day.

This is one of several 13th-century old gates into the old town.

Port/Gate Lame on the north-west edge of town.

I ended up in a cute park on the south side, 

just out side of the old town border.

The park is called Giardini Margherita.

I saw on google maps that there was a café at the end of a pond.  I thought I made my way here (see above photo and notice café at the end of the pond).  But I realized after I finished my coffee that I was on the opposite side of the pond where I wanted to get to.  To be honest, it was just too hot to walk any further.  I needed to sit here and now and take a break.  I was satisfied to just sit and relax and enjoy an authentic Italian lazy afternoon in the park.  

2 real turtles in the pond, lounging on a rock.

After I left the park, I came upon this gate.

Porta/Gate Castiglione in the south near the park.

And these building in the next few pix 

are just beyond the gate as I make my

way back to the hotel to pick up bag

that is on hold in the hotel lobby. 

What I want to know is - who polishes the sidewalks?

I am now back at my hotel.  I still have plenty of time before I have to head back to the airport.  Just across the way from the hotel front door is this café.  I decide to sit here for a little snack before I leave town.  But I tell you, this was the hottest day that I was there and it continued to get even hotter the following days after I left.  The name of this place is called Gran Bar - Champagneria.  If I didn't have breakfast included in my room, I would have sat here every morning.  It was a completely popular spot - filled with people all day/night long.

Finally it is time for me to make my way back to the train station.  I pay my bill, walk across the way and pick up my carry-on.  I say good-bye to the guys at the front desk and head out to the train station.  If you remember at the beginning of the story, I mentioned that I got lost on what should have been a super easy path from station to hotel.  I mentioned that I was supposed to turn left from the station, walk to the park and turn right.  Well..... this is the park.  Pincio Gardens or as the Bolognesi say - Montagnola.  The park was created on the model of the great Parisian metropolitan gardens of Napoleon's time.

Galliera Castle is an ancient fortification built close to the historic walls of Bologna.

The fortification was built for the first time between 1331 and 1332. It was destined to be destroyed and rebuilt five times by the population of the city, which repeatedly rebelled against the papal government. The first revolt that led to the destruction of the castle took place in 1334. The last destruction by the revolting population took place in 1511. The legend handed down in the city narrates that the elevation on which the Montagnola park stands, which is just 10 steps away from these castle ruins, is due to the rubble accumulated in the successive destructions and reconstructions of the castle.  Probably true because for some reason, the entire park is situated about 4½ meters /15 feet above the surrounding area.

So, after a 7 minute roller coaster ride back to the airport, 

I wait for my check-gate to open.

Delayed by 40 minutes. 

I'm sitting on the floor for 2 reasons.

#1 - there were almost no chairs at the gates.

#2 - because I was number 3 in line when the message came to my phone that the flight was about 1 hour delayed.  Because there were no seats to sit on, I figured I just may as well sit right here since I was 3rd in line to get through the boarding gate.  Eventually I was first in line because the 2 parties in front of me left for some reason.  There was a lot of chaos.  One man very loud and upset.  One woman crying.  Eventually police arrived.  And the 2 Italian women behind me who were going home to Sweden told me that they should have been on the flight yesterday but because of a strike, the flights were canceled.  Jens called me to tell me that there were major security problems in CPH airport. At first I paid no attention to what Jens was trying to explain to me because I didn't need to go thru security in CPH.  But of course it was that problem that made the arrival delayed in BLQ.  All the more reason I was so happy not to have tried to fly stand-by.

Now I am home and planning my next blog adventure.

I hope you enjoyed this one 

and hope to see you on the next one.