Day 26 - Saturday, July 2
The morning was spent preparing for our two different groups of guests the next day. There was a group that would be eating lunch here that afternoon, and it would also be the first time since I'd been here that the guest house would be all booked up (the other 5 rooms). The morning was a bit slow to pass as I was waiting impatiently for the 3:15 bus that would bring Bosse, who was coming for 5 days to visit me. After he arrived (big 'yay'!), I rushed through the rest of my afternoon's tasks so I could have some spend time with him until the dinner service.
Day 27 - Sunday, July 3
We all woke up early to serve breakfasts to the guests that had stayed, and from there it was nonstop; cleaning up, preparing lunch, serving the 25+ people a three course meal (upstairs), and then cleaning it all up again. Being that I was super eager to start my vacation and get off the farm, the hours leading up to departure were endless. But finally, we left on the last bus to pass the farm on the way to the city and another bus, gelato, and train ride later, we made it to Rimini. Being that it was after 10 by the time we checked into our hotel, there was only time (and energy) to take a sea side stroll and dig my toes into the finest beach sand I've ever felt.
Day 28 - Monday, July 4
Spending a sunny 4th on the sands of the Adriatic sea didn't turn out as we had planned when we were unable to store our bags at the train station. So, as we were stuck toting them around, we decided to do what we could in the historic center and head back to Bologna (with a train-picnic in hand). Being that we were both back on the Spanish time-table, we weren't hungry by the time the early Italian dinner hour rolled around, so we got a late night pizza and enjoyed the simple marinara-cheese-basil offerings of Italian cuisine.
Day 29 - Tuesday, July 5
We spent the overcast day wandering the beautiful streets of Bologna. The city is almost entirely done in colors of the earth - reds, browns, pale yellows - rendering "sepia" on your camera unnecessary. The city felt old and not very well kept, especially outside the areas around the main plaza. The lack of tourist made it especially enjoyable and leisurely. After eating paninis in the plaza, we walked the 498 steps up the largest tour in Bologna to see the best views of the red city. Admittedly, we were both intrigued by the pistachio McFlurry and McDonald's and indulged (we were both, not surprisingly, disappointed). We finished the day in a small plaza with another late night meal of crepes and some really wonderful gelato to make up for the day's earlier mistake.
Day 30 - Wednesday, July 6
We passed the morning wandering the narrow streets behind the plaza filled with the produce market and delis. We found the last visible canal channel, one of the many the city still sits on. We intentionally ate a very light breakfast so we could sit for a marvelous 3 course Italian meal (Lonely Planet recommended!) that left us full for the rest of the day (only in Italy do they serve you a bowl of pasta for the first course and chicken and potatoes for the second). After a stroll in the park and picking up some produce, we headed back to the farm on the next bus out. I was very sad to have vacation be over and Bosse leaving early the next day. But I was definitely not disappointed in how wonderful the 5 days had been.
To see the Facebook album of all the Bologna pictures, click here.
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