An interesting class on 10 more cantos of Dante, and the drafting of a humorous poem, was a great way to begin our first full day in Bologna.

I didn’t understand why we were there, initially. Typically, cities had some sort of significance to the course. Granted, Dante studied at the University of Bologna (the oldest university in the western world), where he took courses that aligned with his interests, and wasn’t forced to adhere to some structured curriculum. If only colleges were like that nowadays…

But Bologna was fascinating in its own right, especially in regards to its cuisine. One of the first stops was at a pretty bomb gelato place called Cremeria Funivia, where I ordered a dairy treat and walked to a nearby park to enjoy it and watch the local kids act like beggars.

The next stop of ours was at the university. We purchased tickets to see the anatomical theater where a young Mary Shelley was inspired with ideas for her then forthcoming novel, Frankenstein.

Dr. Permenter encouraged me to cross the roped-off section for a photo-op, but my hamfisted civil disobedience attracted the unwanted attention of university security.

A man, who looked like the Italian version of Dampe the grave keeper from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Getting yelled at in a foreign tongue is not as bad as getting yelled at in a language one understands, as embarrassment really isn’t as much of an issue.

We were instructed to check out the library instead of fucking around in the anatomical theater. The library was impressive, but nowhere nearly as impressive as the one in the castle in Poppi.

After visiting the university, we wandered the streets, whereupon we encountered a street cellist. He entertained us with riveting renditions of classical music and scores from Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. 

Some of us stayed to watch the musician continue to play, while others (including myself) splintered off to see the two towers of Bologna.

The towers were some of the most interesting designed buildings I saw on the trip. Garisenda, the smaller tower, had a strange lean to it, while Asinelli, dwarfed it by comparison.

Being very affordable gave us more incentive to climb the challenging steps of the Asinelli. The effort expended was definitely worth it, though. Words couldn’t do the experience justice, so I’ll just say that the view was absolutely breathtaking.

We enjoyed some pizza that out Sbarro’s to shame, in size, quality, and price. And then I stopped at a dog store to buy some souvenirs for MacKenzie’s dog, Ruby.

The day ended with us vegging out in our hotel room, napping and getting homework done.