in bologna

And now I am in Bologna! I had a rough time getting to my hostel last night, as apparently a bus only goes there every 2 hours. Very annoying. So I got there too late to go back and do stuff, but I planned all the stuff I'm going to do for the rest of the trip.

Today I walked around for a while and checked out the central Piazza, where there are various palazzi (palaces, but not really - just big houses of important people). There is also the ugliest basilica I've ever seen - from the outside - but the inside is much nicer. Italians just aren't very good at Gothic, I think they're too happy all the time.

I also saw the library of the University of Bologna, which was COOL. The old anatomy classroom was open, and it was really interesting to see where the students used to have class. They have an incredible collection of books from early medieval times on, but the actual library part is only open to readers. There were a bunch of old books on display, though, and that was fun. The ebst part was probably that the whole thing is in a former palazzo, so everything is really decorated - and the areas around the library and classrooms are covered in the coats of arms of prominent teachers and students through the ages!

Besides that I've mostly just hung around the Piazza and taken a bunch of pictures. I'm about to go have lunch, then I'll go to a handful of churches. Most museums in Italy are closed Mondays, so churches and internet cafes are about the only things I can do today! And eat delicious food, of course.