Parma, Bologna, Padua (5/25/09)

Well, yesterday there wasn’t much at all, so it’s not going to get its own post. Due to the events of the previous night, we got a late start on the day and both of us were a little queasy. We took the train from Vernazza, to La Spezia, and then to Parma, which was a miserable, though scenic ride. It was very hot on the train, and it kept stopping for no apparent reason, causing us to be 30-40 minutes late to Parma. Our arrival in Parma was uneventful and I just ran out to get us a pizza. This Pizza, mind you, may have been one of the better pizzas I’ve had – covered in Parma Ham (Proscuitto) and Parma Cheese (Parmigiano). It was fantastic.

Anyway, today in Parma was great. The town was much more pleasant than either of us really expected. A walk around town introduced us to some great squares, a modest Duomo with an impressive interior, and some great walking streets, not to mention some wonderful ‘Salumi e Formaggio’ shops. Had we the time, I’m sure we could have spent another day in Parma. I should also add that our hotel was pretty impressive. It was called the Century Hotel and was very modern. They paid attention to every detail. The shower may have been the coolest one we’ve ever seen – it was a frosted glass cube that jutted out from the bathroom and into the room. Anyway – we really liked the hotel.



The train from Parma to Bologna was short, less than an hour. Thankfully Bologna had a Baggage Deposit, so we stored our larger bags, and stopped at the tourist information booth, where the wonderful lady behind the counter paused her telephone conversation to throw a map at us with a ‘Tourist’s half day guide to Bologna’. Perfect! On the way towards the center of town, we saw Bar Serendipity, which is always a good sign for us. After a fantastic lunch of typical Emilia-Romagna fare, we saw Bologna’s ‘not as scenic, not as famous’ leaning towers, and wandered its busy streets. One thing that was great about Bologna was that all the streets are arcaded, so they were shaded. This was incredibly helpful on such a hot day. The large Duomo in Bologna (another one of those unfinished ones) is dedicated to St. Petronio, or St. Petronius….oddly similar to Petronis, we’ve decided. It was on the Piazza Maggiore which also contained an interesting fountain of Neptune and the Sirens (see the pictures). The last stop in Bologna was the Basilica of St. Domenic which also houses to tomb of the Saint. Some of the small statues adorning the tomb were sculpted by a teenaged Michelangelo.



We left Bologna in the early evening and took the train Padua where we checked into our hotel, wandered around downtown, got a quick meal that took 2 hours, and retired fairly early (after some gelato of course!)