Bologna, Italy

Our first stop in Italy was Bologna. Smack in the middle of Florence and Milan. The only reason we made Bologna on our list was because we were going to watch the SBK (Superbike) race in Imola that weekend. I am glad we made this a stop and spent 2 nights there. Bologna is a fantastic city. It is old and has many historical sights.

It is more of a university town and houses the oldest University in Europe. We didn't have time to sightsee in Bologna but driving around it was good enough. It has those typical cobbled streets which I love, small roads which makes driving a big car impossible.

There are not many cafes littered all over like in France or Florence but peace and tranquility you can easily find. It has its own international airport which means in future we can avoid the busy Rome airport.

Khadijah was probably wondering all the while where am I and what am I doing at this bike race. The noise for the lower cc race was bearable but I had to sit out the final race. Little did we know that the tickets we chose which was for a covered grandstand was the Ducati grandstand. Such high adrenaline rushing through me during the race. This is the first bike race I attended and definitely would love doing it again.

Bob said watching the race there was something to remember because for one the crowd was not rowdy and after the race there was no rush or traffic jam to go out like in Sepang. Despite the massive crowd and also one exit and one entrance, people were calm and walked out orderly. The weather did help of course.

In Bologna we stayed at a hotel I found through the internet. It was a little street but we were so glad to find that the room which we paid Euro85 for had a kitchenette and a washing machine! The room was spacious which gave me chance to repack and of course do laundry.

What I liked best about the hotel was the courtyard below us. We were on the first floor so opening the windows you can look down into a green courtyard. If you knew the neighbour there would be no problems talking to them across the window.

Sightseeing in Bologna meant churches and the possibility of seeing some early works of artists like MichaelAngelo. I enjoyed driving through the streets though and watching students mull about. There is a street for die hard shoppers and you can find brands like Gucci and Prada. So not such a small city after all.

The other reason we were in Bologna was because of the Ducati factory. Bologna was the home of Ducati and Modena the home for Ferrari which was about 30mins away. We went there too. Worth the trip of course. Bob enjoyed it and so did I actually.

After Bologna we made our way to Florence. Ahhhh .... another beautiful city of course. Tne museums, the small and cobbled streets and walkways. Getting lost in Florence was just as nice as getting lost in Paris.