Bologna

Bologna, inthe Emilia-Romagna region of Italy is renowned for its food, espically Bolognasei or Ragu as they call in. Piadina is another speciality.. and my favourite.




A jazz band in the middle of Bologna.. very cool...

Piazza del Nettuno (Neptune if you hadn't guessed the English Translation).

Part of the fountain of Neptune is this lactating nereid and I have no idea of its significance!
The fountain of Neptune is a large bronze statue and is quite breathtaking to say the least. It was designed in 1567 and has been the centre of one of the two main Piazzas ever since. Neptune is controlling and directing water... which, once again, has some important significance whis is lost to me
The other main Piazza is Piazza Maggiore and this huge church, San Petronia, is on the northern side. A few years back the Muslims threatened to bomb the church as in the 2nd fresco on the left is a picture of Mohammed in Hell. It is quite something and the fifth largest church in the world. It would have been the biggest except the Pope said it wasnt on.. as St Pauls Basilica (the house of the Pope) had to be the biggest!
Bologna is famous for its arcades. I must say (sorry to those of you who think they're wonderful) I wasnt that impressed.. yes they make Bologna unique as an Italian city but they are, after all, only arcades. Some of them have amazing artwork which are pretty impressive but a lot are just plain covers on the outside of shops. No offence meant to Italians...

And this is one of the roofs in an arcade.. pretty impressive.

And having wine tastings in the arcades is also my kinda arcade!

Statues over the doorway in the big Church in the beautiful Piazza.


And a jazz band playing in the middle of the city.. quiet cool.
The Lonely Planet talks about a wonky tower. Bologna has about 14 towers and this one, the wonky one (and its more wonky than the one in Pisa) was never completed as it started to subside.. as you can see. However it was difficult to show how wonky it was in photos...





This photo does capture the wonkiness (now is that a real word??) ...


One of the tower and the dome of the Church.

The Republic of San Marino

Me (of course) in front of the sign telling one all about The Republic of San Marino. Its one tenth the size of New York with a population of 30,000 people set in the Appenines in Italy. If you are really interested in knowing more... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marino


The view from the funicular on the way to the top.

A floral garden, just to let you know you are really here.

Ross with the guidebook so we can find all the sights there are to see..

Perhaps being a mimic is more viable than an English teacher? .. well perhaps not...




A gun shop. It would appear one can buy guns over the counter in San Marino?


A Mr Bean moment.. one of the guards at the Castle of Far far away land!




The Castle from Shrek? Far far away land.. it was all a bit fairy taleish...


And a view of San Marino looking back from across the Appenine Mountains on our way through to Urbino.


Obviously my education had failed me (as my father was often heard to protest!) as I had never heard of this small country in the middle of the Appenines in Italy. It was well worth a visit albeit short and sweet.

'Summer' in Scotland

A Day Out at the Beach, Ostia Rome.

A very very nice man... I think he has some sort of problem however.. he remained in this 'state' for over an hour.. even after donning underwear and shorts!!

A very playful man...

Perhaps a wee bit of sunblock is needed after all

Three woman trying to talk a man into a 'massage'....

If nothing else, it's a very clean beach.. all the pebbles, cigarette butts etc are all swept up. A 'shop' on the beach also sold condoms.. perhaps thats what he is cleaning up?

Tuscany Umbria Weekend.. Orvietto, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimagnano, Siena, Perugia and Assizi

Ross and Philippa in Assizi.. a very wet day!

Looking up the main street of Assizi which is absolutely beautiful and.. yep.. full of churches and monuments.

Award winning Gelato (ice cream) in San Gimagnano

Philippa, Betsy and me sitting on the wall in San Gimagnano looking over the Tuscan countryside

Yep, even here in Tuscany you must pick up that poo!

Four of us having a lovely glass of Chardonnay in Sienna.. the view was out towards Chianti but unfortunately you cant see it.. it was beautiful and so peaceful. Needless to say we didnt actually stay at this hotel.. our 'hostel' was a little more downmarket.

Philippa and I on the outskirts of Siena with the new town in the background through the Arch.

One of the 14 churches in Siena... with me on the statue.. sorry about the head

A 'statue/model' hiding behind the curtains... the emblem of the Caterpillar to the right.. one of the areas which compete in the annual horse racing event in the central Piazza

The tower in Orvietto.. we all walked up this.. and it wasnt an easy feat

I took a liking to the colourful plates in Orvietto

The ancient amfitheatre in Lucca

Me in front of one of the vintage cars in the central Piazza in Lucca on Saturday night

Ross patiently waiting in Lucca

The four of us at the top of the Bell Tower in Orvietto with a view of the city in the background.. amazing things cameras when you figure out the buttons

Me at the top of the Orvietto Tower.. cathedral spire in the background

still from the top of Orviettos tower... the cathedral in the background

Orviettos cathedral.. an enormous cathedral for such a small town.

And I bet you can't guess where this was taken?