All Roads Lead…

Up early this morning I bid a wistful farewell to Bologna. I have little left to see here from a tourist’s perspective, but that is no longer why I visit. There is something unique about her presence, her age, her vitality, her smallness. And her tangible, palpable, real-ness. This is a place where people live […]

Yes, I Am From Detroit, Texas. I’m Glad You’ve Heard of It

No day trips today. Just me and la grassa, la dotta, la rossa: Bologna. I just love this city in so many ways. And strangely it doesn’t get high priority in many travel guides. I don’t know why this is, but the benefit is that the crush of tourists is less. I met a couple […]

In Fair Verona…

Today I went to Verona. I got an early start and was there by 930. I intended to pick up a tourist map at the train station, but the tourist information center was closed. There were no signs and I had no idea where the station was relative to town (it wasn’t in the guidebooks […]

Into Every Vacation A Little Rain Must Fall

My history with day trips is spotty at best. There was Parma, on a Monday, when everything was closed. There was Lucca, which I visited in the midst of a comic con. There was Modena yesterday: ok but a bit disappointing. When you are on a day trip, you have no escape from the elements […]

Timing is Everything

Time for a day trip. In settling down in Bologna I made a decision that rather than haul luggage continuously I would rather stay in one place and take day trips to surrounding towns. From Bologna I can easily reach Modena, Verona, and Ravenna. Scheduling is an issue: tomorrow is Monday and I previously have […]

I Must Have Joined the Junior Campers!

Still without any rumor of luggage, I got up and dressed in my new clothes and had a revelation. Although Steve Jobs was famous for his reality distortion field, designers and clothing vendors have a similarly effective field. Basically, you look through the store and reorient your expectations. You step into the dressing room, try […]