Brothers Unite: Sunny Bologna, Snowy Venice

After 2 days in Rome (more on that soon) we headed to Venice to catch the end of Carnival. However since this is one of the busiest times of the year for this island city, and since Laurika and I are notorious procrastinators, we found ourselves boarding the train with no place to stay that night! So, completely on a whim, we jumped off in Bologna in order to spend the weekend in this city we knew literally nothing about. Luckily, Bologna, like most cities in Italy, turned out to be a fascinating place.


Bologna's Native Son, Pope Gregory XIII. He initiated the calender we still use today...THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR.

We ate pork sandwiches cut right from this pig!


Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore was full of pedestrians, street musicians and little kids in costumes for Carnival.

The 900-year old Asinelli Tower which was built more or less because the Asinelli family could afford it. Naturally, we decided to climb the 500 steps to the top.

Laurika takes in the views…and catches her breath.

I found a stone set of furniture…turns out real couches are more comfortable.

Since we are very cultured people, we took in some art like Giuseppe Crespi’s Winter. Pretty grim…

With the weekend rush over, we finally were able to find a B&B in Venice. But as we stepped off the train we were greeted immediately by…a snowstorm! The snow kept falling all afternoon and evening, eventually accumulating 3-4 inches. However, by the next morning it was all gone since that night’s high tide brought one of Venice’s famous floods with the water rising 4.5 feet above sea level! This of course is a problem for a city that is basically built at elevation = 0 or below.

Oh no, our vacations are ruined!

Even in a blizzard, this city doesn’t lose much of its charm.

This family decided they were going to get the full Venetian experience, regardless of whether or not they enjoyed it!

Laurika is not really able to comprehend what is going on around us.

Basilica di San Marco

Piazza San Marco

Ice flows in the flooded alleyway below us. Our building, like most in Venice, had a significant amount of water enter its first floor and had to be cleaned the next morning.

But on day 2 we got the Carnival experience we were hoping for. By the afternoon, the sun was peeking out its head and Piazza San Marco was FULL of people in wild costumes and tourists taking their photos.