View from my room on the third floor, Hotel Porta San Mamolo
This morning after my delicious breakfast of hot chocolate, tangy peach juice, scrambled eggs, ham, cheese, yogurt, orange slices, and a chocolate-filled croissant, we went on a walking tour of Old Bologna. We had a female city guide who told us about the history of the old Catholic church and the university library as we toured them.
The two towers of Bologna
Then Alessandro took us to a specialty tortellini restaurant where we sat outside under umbrellas, and we tasted two different kinds. I liked the one with lemon in the sauce best. We stayed for lunch, and Linda and I split two orders. One had the lemon sauce and the other had a bolognese sauce. Through the window we watched a young woman making tortellini. It takes quite a bit of time to make this fresh pasta.
Tortellini making
This afternoon, Linda and I walked to the Music Museum. We were given audio handsets in English to guide us through the museum. Bologna was named the UNESCO City of Music in 2006. The rooms were full of original manuscripts of operas and other musical works by the likes of Verdi, Rossini, Mozart, and many others. It was fascinating to see these old manuscripts and books under lighted glass cases. We enjoyed recordings of some of these works through the headsets. Many beautiful old instruments were displayed as we walked through the galleries.
In another room we saw a special display. The gallery was featuring about half a dozen paintings created by a famous opera singer, Francesco Tricarico.
After this, Linda and I strolled back to our hotel: Hotel Porta San Mamolo. On the way back, though, we stopped at Alessandro’s favorite gelato shop. We each got cones with three flavors of this delicious gelato. I had strawberry, one similar to French vanilla, and vanilla with tiny chocolate chips in it. Yum!
Currently I am relaxing in my room for a couple of hours. This evening after 7:15 we will have lasagna for dinner, according to Alessandro. In Italy, people have dinner later than we do at home. That is why their breakfasts are not as heavy as a typical American breakfast.
Later….
Dinner tonight was delicious. Â The restaurant which was near the hotel served our table of eight three bottles of delicious Sangiovese.
