After being rained out of the mountains on our hiking trip to Italy we decided to go back to Milan, re-plan the journey and continue with the adventure despite not being able to wander around the mountains. After a day of much-needed rest, we set off to Bologna- a safe place to go in rainy weather due to the seemingly endless supply of covered walkways giving much-needed shelter.
We kicked off our first hour in Bologna by taking the bus in the wrong direction and being talked at by a lady in Italian for 5 minutes (she didn't give us a chance to tell her we couldn't understand and after the two minute mark it would have been too awkward so we stood there smiling, hoping she wouldn't ask us anything) after which our bus came and since she didn't get on we were in the clear. Having picked up the keys to our accommodation we set off on a quest to find some food and do some sightseeing.
Our route took us through the university the atmosphere of which was pretty incredible. Political murals and graffiti covered the walls and students were actively advertising their groups and events to passers-by. Our lunch destination was within the university area and so we got a little taste (hihi) of what it was like to be a student there.
We continued to walk around the city hitting the historical buildings, churches and parks where we took a bit of a rest from tourist'ing to spin some poi. We ended the day off at a Couchsurfing meeting where we hoped to find a host. Instead had a couple cool conversations with travelers with some interesting stories.
The next morning we set off to Ravena with a mission to visit a Basilica with some special mosaics. A great part of this bit of the journey was time spent on the train. This was a time to reflect and rest from the constant rush from place to place. We did end up running to catch the train back (which after all that ended up being late...), but you can't have everything go smoothly now can you?
Back in Milan we wanted to do something nice for my sister to thank her for hosting us. We decided to cook Chinese food for dinner so spent some time walking around china town buying produce and even popped into a restaurant to try a Chinese take on a pasta dish (not sure I'll ever have such an experience again).
Despite having to completely change our original plans I had an amazing time on this trip. It was wonderful to travel with a dear friend, spend time with my sister and see more of Italy- by far my most visited country recently.
