Travel Diaries: Bologna The Red City

I decided to escape routine for a weekend and went to Bologna to see some friends. I really didn't had any expectations about the city itself as I was more anxious to see my friends than anything else, but from the little that I got to see I fell in love with it. Bologna is a beautiful little city, literally picture perfect, full of fun facts and great food! And the best part is that it is not an expensive city at all! The shuttle from the airport to the city center is 6€ and it takes only 20 minutes to get to the center if there is no traffic. The food on restaurants it's about 15/30€ and if you choose to eat on a pizzeria or a trailer its even cheaper.

I arrived on a Friday evening, and at night we went to the city center. We had pizza for dinner and then went to a free concert on a venue called Botanique. I had a chance of observing the nightlife and as expected on a Friday night the city was full of activity and that good vibe that announces the weekend. There is a large array of bars all over the town, both open air and indoors. I've also noticed that there are a lot of teenagers in Bologna and my friend explained to me that there are a lot of students there, the University of Bologna is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Italy.

On the next day we walked a lot, and I got to see the beauty of the city on the sunlight. Bologna is called the red city because most of it's buildings are in different shades of this color, there is no official reason for this, but the most popular opinion is that it's due to past political inclinations. Whatever the reason it is very beautiful to look at, specially on broad daylight where you get to see clearly the beauty of the colors. Throughout the day my friend told me some sorties about the city, one of those stories was about the two towers on the center of the city. In the old age building towers was seen as a symbol of status, the highest the tower the wealthier the owner. Another thing that I found peculiar is the church on the center that has 7 churches inside of it, it was very interesting to see.

The things I enjoyed the most were the beautiful colors of the buildings, the food, the overall relaxed environment of the city, and the fact that things are not expensive at all.

I found it to be a great get away for the weekend, Italy never disappoints when it comes to good food and great views. I totally advise a visit to Bologna, if you like laidback environments you won't be disappointed.

You can see more videos and images on my facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/elizebonheur/

#bologna #italy #travel #blogger