16 Oct.08--Bologna, Padua

Bologna has many of these porticos, which are useful when it rains. Bologna is home to the oldest university in Europe, so it also has a pretty large medieval center.

















Here's part of said medieval center. The tourist office is in this area.
More of the medieval center.
I really liked Bologna. It's got scads of bookstores and Italians who are more jolly and less complaining than other Italians.
One Sunday morning I was there, I walked under an open window with someone playing an opera recording quite loudly at 9AM. I like that; no one was complaining.

Basilica of St. Anthony, Padua. This basilica had some interesting side alters, and the tomb of St. Anthony is kept loaded with all kinds of brightly colored flowers; it's really pretty.
Padua, another university town with old medieval lanes and buildings, is small enough to walk pretty much everywhere.