20 October 2015 - We are Bolognese...for a couple of weeks!

The trouble with overnight travel is that the days and nights sort of blend into a hazy seedy memory as your body struggles on until a chance to lie horizontally comes along.  Morning possibly started at 3 AM with the lights on the bus being turned on with the announcement in French that we'd arrived in Torino!  However, it was probably at 6 AM where our journey terminated and we were dropped off at a Metro station somewhere in the suburban Milan.  It was still dark.

I somehow had my camera on a different setting which makes Milano Centrale look even more amazing!

Milano Centrale

We were a bit out of town so negotiated the ticket machines and Metro map and found our way to Milano Centrale.  A big city after all our lovely country spots was a bit of a shock.  There were signs warning against pickpockets and plenty of beggars and gypsies and crowds. 

First stop was breakfast!  The kids sniffed out McDonalds which turned out to be a good choice with free clean toilets and enough space to put all of our bags safely and also free Wi Fi.  Much as I am not keen on McDonalds, it does tick all the boxes for us at times.  The coffee was actually good being Italy and everybody felt a bit refreshed.

 Karl had bought our tickets to Bologna on line but it turned out, after a bit of asking, queuing and sorting that the tickets still had to be collected from the ticket office!  Once we had our tickets, we still had a bit of time to spare so Tim, Annika and I walked around the local streets to find a supermarket and bought some salady things and snacks for the rest of our journey.  Milan actually felt like a nice city and the station is a beautiful building with grand architecture.  We did ask ourselves why stations were built on such a grand scale.

Karl and our bags dwarfed by the huge doorway

Grand

Karl looking even smaller!

Our next leg of the journey was comfortable enough but for the young guys in front of us playing Turkish music loudly with no consideration for other passengers.  With our tiredness, the extra noise was a bit much! The conductor was a jovial chap who seemed to spend more time talking than checking tickets! Just one more train to go from Bologna Centrale. 

We were almost at our destination, Bologna Roveri, suburban Bologna, but by the time we had worked out where to buy our next tickets, this time from a tobacco stand, the train had departed.  It was another 1.5 hours to wait but as we had lugged our baggage to the platform I for one just couldn't think about trying any other options and lugging our gear any further.  It was time for a bit more sustenance to cheer the troops up.  We left Karl on the platform and headed for the toilets where they wanted a Euro each!  No wonder every post outside smells like urine: no one wants to pay a Euro for a pee!  They are asking for it if you ask me! We decided to find McDonalds again (twice in one day!) to use their free toilets AND have a milkshake -  now that is good travel economy, as Tim and Annika will tell you.

Milan to Bologna

Bologna Centrale to Bologna Roveri

 Eventually we did get to Bologna Roveri and after a 300 metres walk we were met by our new neighbour who let us into our lovely home for the next two weeks! After all the city-ness and graffiti and grubbiness, this accommodation is like paradise, in a quiet "borgo" (little village), clean, spacious, lots of toys and homely. We were so relieved to finally be settled.  Travel does have highs and lows, such that are not generally experienced to the same degree in the relative normality of life at home.

Old style Bolognese house in the midst of industry and apartment blocks - not sure what it is used for these days.

 To the kids' joy, Tim discovered there was a projector and screen and so in no time, he'd set up a movie, Luke had had a bath, and everyone had worked out where they were going to sleep.  Annika had a ferocious headache and went to bed, so Karl and I left the boys watching a movie and we went to stock our pantry.  The local "Ipermarket" is about 2 kms away in a newish shopping mall.

Even though no one was particularly hungry, I cooked a basic Spaghetti Bolognese (I suppose Bologna is where the original dish comes from!) and it was gobbled up swiftly.  A lovely shower and bed were most welcome!