Bolonga/Florence

Hi all,

This trip was planned by Journee, so I am not going to do a full iteniary on what I did but I will give you things I did outside of what they planned for me. For those who do not know what Journee is, there will be a link at the end with a description of this company.

Lets start with my flight, it was a round trip flight JFK to Bologna. The company did not book airport transportation as there are several more affordable options. Bolonga airport offers a train service called Marconi Express, that goes straight from the airport to the Bologna Central train station. It runs every 7mins during peak times and off peak every 15 mins from 540am to midnight. The cost is only 12,80 euros, however it can take at least an hour to get on at times. The other options are the bus or a taxi. I took a taxi and it was roughly 20 euros and about 15 minute ride. To get to/from Bolonga to Florence, I took a express train, that was 40 minutes long and cost around 30 euros. Journee did book this for me, however it is very easy to book on the Trenitalia site.

Bolonga

In Bolonga, I did a lot of sightseeing and eating. Bolonga is the captial of the Emilia- Romagna region, so basically they have lots of cheese, prosciutto, and balsamic vinegar. For restaurant recommendations, I would say you can go to any italian place and the food would be phenomenal. Every night I was there I just chose a restaurant once I got hungry and they did not disappoint. For sightseeing, Bologna is one of the best preseved medieval cities, there is history all over the city. Just walking down a random street you might be walking under one of the UNESCO protected porticoes. Porticoes are covered walkways that were used for social gathering and have beautiful designs on the ceiling.

While visiting Bolonga, I did take a 20 minute train ride of the town of Modena. In Modena, you can visit a proscuitto and parmasean cheese factory and learn how each are made. You can also visit a balsamic vinegar factory and try different aged balsamics. If you are not in the mood for food, Modena is also the home of Enzo Ferrari. I was able to not only visit the museum in Modena but as well as the one in Maranello. They offer a combo ticket and there is a shuttle between both museums. While I was there I did learn that this region was also known as Motor Valley due to the amount of factories in the area. In the Bologna area, you could visit Ducati, Lamborghini, and Maserati factories. Some of the companies also offer driving experiences.

I only had a few days in Bologna, but I would say a week there would be best to be able to truly experience everything it had to offer.

Florence

This will be a very unpopular opinon, Florence for me was underwhelming. I was there for the weekend and I heard more English walking through the streets then Italian. The city is very beautiful and I loved the architecture all around, I think I just went during a very busy time and it made me not like it as much. I would like to go back to experience it at a less busier time and see if my opinon will change.

While in Florence I tried the famous affogato gelato, which was definitely worth the wait. They had different flavors and you could add booze to it. I will say, be prepared to sit on the ground or to stand as there isn’t much seating. I also went to a wine window, which was just okay for me. Firstly, if there is a line you dont get a chance to acutally knock on the window. Secondly, if it is after 6pm, they only offer drinks in to go cups. I acutally prefered this option because I was able to continue exploring. If it is before 6pm, you have to hang out there to return the glass, which again you have to be prepared to stand or sit on the ground. There were a couple other places that have gone viral I wanted to try but the lines were very long and I was able to get similar things at other locations.

For sightseeing in Florence, just walking around you could see all the beautiful architecture. They also have very beautiful gardens you can visit. Obviously the main attraction in Florence is the Duomo. I did not walk up to the top because it was roughly 450 steps and I already had several miles in for the day. To get a great view, I visited View on Art rooftop bar. I was able to get a drink and snack while taking in the views of Duomo and Florence. Other areas in Florence that were beautiful to see were the Piazza della Republica and Piazzaa della Signoria. Both piazza’s had may resturants you could dine at with a view.

For museums, I was unable to visit the Uffizi gallery and Museo Galileo, however just walking by they looked stunning from the outside. I did visit the Accademia Gallery that was the home of the stautue of David. I felt like the it was a musuem of very similar paintings and sculptures, surrounding David. I went through the museum in about a half hour.

I think my favorite parts of the trip was a trip to the spa and a tour I took to San Gimignano and Pisa. The spa was called Della Calza, I was able to book an appointment for the massage and facial. I would highly recommend to do this the last day of the trip. A little relaxation before heading home. On top of massages, the spa also offers a pool and different wellness rooms such as a suana, Turkish bath, and diffferent shower experiences. I would say this could be a full day experience. As for the tour, San Gimignano is a medieval town with 13 towers. I could spend the whole day going through all the alleys. The town is on hills, so there is a lot of up and down but completely worth it. There is also an area were you can look out to the hills of Tuscany. Then Pisa, was just cool to see the leaning tower, and take the cheesy photos and as well as seeing their Duomo.

Like I said, Florence did not do it for me this trip but possibly a trip back will change my opinion.