Italy Days 8 & 9: Bologna and back to Rome

We had decided to go to Bologna because it is supposed to have some of the best food in the country. Also, our guide book recommended the town in general. Well, it was a bit of a disappointment. Yes, the food was very good, but the food all over Italy was good. And there really just wasn't much to see in the town. Additionally, it was not a tourist town, so we felt a little out of place and had some difficulty getting by with our extremely limited Italian. On the bright side, the bed and breakfast we stayed at was very charming, and the owner or manager was very nice. He was a middle-aged, stocky Italian man who was always running around frantically and sweating. He didn't seem like your typical B&B proprietor, but he sure made a good breakfast. If we had it to do over again, we would have just stayed another day in Venice. But, I'm content with one "just ok" day compared to 8 awesome days.

 Neptune's Fountain in Bologna. I didn't realize there was a kid sitting there; that makes me look like a creeper.

We went back to Rome for our last night before flying back. We had decided to splurge on a little nicer hotel room since it was our last night, and it was well worth the price for the bed. It was the only truly comfortable bed we slept in the whole time. We walked down to Castel Sant'Angelo and across the Tiber River. Then we enjoyed a final delicious dinner and, of course, a final gelato.

It was such a wonderful trip. I feel like we had a really good balance of seeing a lot of sights but also taking time to relax and just enjoy being on vacation. Yes, there were a few minor hiccups, but I don't think any trip is ever perfect. The whole time Darby and I just couldn't stop thinking about how lucky we were to be there. I highly recommend it to anyone as a vacation destination.

As great as it was, I can't say I was too sad to come home. I love routine too much to ever be one of those people who travels for months at a time (not to mention the fact that 10 days is about our budget limit). It was a wonderful way to celebrate our 5th anniversary (a little early), and, whether we're in Italy or Illinois, I feel incredibly blessed to be married to Darby.