Jaya's Italian journal - Italy Trip day 2- Morning in Bologna

 For one tiny morning, we ate in three places, and everything was amazing.

I think I had enough coffee for the whole week. Bologna was not lively last night — I guess there’s no nightlife — but it was very busy during the day. Bologna really felt like the food capital of Italy. 

Too many good-looking people, all dressed up, going to offices, walking, using public transport, and cycling. It looked like public transport is the way of life in this town.

After walking around, going into too many shops, and taking too many pictures, we finally took the bus back to the hotel and checked out.
Remember to have €12 cash for the tax for two people for one night.

We took the bus back to the station, and because it was within 90 minutes, I think we didn’t have to pay again. There are three transaction boxes on the bus — one for passes, one for cash, and one for credit cards. When you swipe your credit card, it says “credit card validated.”

At the station, we went for a quick coffee. Google Maps showed many places, but the actual coffee shop was inside the station. Bologna looks like a smaller town, but the train station is huge, with so many levels of train tracks.

The train we were supposed to take wasn’t showing on the platform screen. I’m so glad I went into the ITALO office — that’s where I found out our train would arrive on Platform 18.

The train was 10 minutes late, and I think they were announcing it only in Italian. The screen on the platform didn’t even show our train. Make sure to note down the train number — on the screen outside the train, it shows the number and the final destination.

I was panicking and asked at least three people if they were waiting for the train to Florence — luckily, they all were.

Since I booked the ticket last minute, I had to buy the Flex seat (more expensive), which means I could take another train if I missed this one. The train journey was interesting — even though it was a premium train, it still got delayed.

The station is humongous. I could never have imagined such a big station in Bologna. With multiple levels, make sure to check with your train company — they have the right information about the platform.

The food tour trolly, Wish I had more time. Well another reason to go back to Italy

Our fav mode of transport. Local buses 

My half of the sandwich. 

Jaya's Italian journal - Italy Trip day 1- Evening - Bologna

 Italy Day 1 – Part Two Bologna 

The ride was an hour and forty-five minutes. We were tired, but the train was very comfortable—reminded me of Swiss trains.
We reached Bologna right on time, got out of the station, and exited from the wrong side of the station. I was totally overwhelmed when I saw how far the hotel was—the walk from the station seemed very long.

We called the hotel; they said there are many buses from the station to the hotel. But we couldn’t find any bus stop. We walked about a quarter mile, only to realize that we were going further away from the station. With the language barrier and all, a helpful bus driver took us in and dropped us back at the main station and told us to take one of the six buses available. That’s when I truly realized how big that station was. 

If only we had come out on the correct side of Bologna station, we would’ve found the huge bus stop immediately and been at the hotel in no time.

The hotel is away from the city center—just as the train station is. We checked in, then got ready and walked toward the center. It started getting dark. We were tired. Bologna felt a bit underwhelming—maybe it was the jet lag.

There was a lot of construction, which made it take even longer to reach the main center. Finally we found a restaurant called Panini 8, and ordered the meat plate and a sandwich. It seemed a bit overpriced, but it was in the main center, so I suppose that was to be expected.

Places - Piazza Maggiore

Panini- 8

https://www.panotto.eu

The train ride

Jaya and her Italian journal - Italy Trip day 1- Milan

Italy Day 1 – Arrival in Milan Sept 29th Monday

We landed at Milan Airport — a huge place and not the easiest to navigate. Immigration took forever, just like in India when several flights arrive together.

I’d read about fast trains and local buses to the city, so we chose the bus to get a glimpse of Milan on the way. Big mistake — Monday morning traffic made it much slower than expected!

We finally reached Milan Central Station — another giant maze. After some walking around, we found the luggage storage (€6 for four hours, €1 per extra hour).

Freed from our bags, we started toward the Cathedral and Fashion Street. The stroll was lovely, and we stopped at Swiss Corner for coffee and a pistachio croissant — both excellent (and the server too!). That cappuccino and croissant reminded me why I was in Italy. 

The Cathedral area was buzzing with people and pigeons — straight out of a DDLJ scene. I think we missed going to real Fashion Street ,went to the area called  Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, No shopping, but it was fun to explore. 

We took the tram (€2.20 via the ATM Milan app- Azienda Trasporti Milanesi) back to the station, enjoying the ride despite our tiredness. With time to spare, we wandered around, grabbed some gelato, and returned to pick up our bags.

At the station, we scanned our tickets and waited. It’s a major transport hub, so platform announcements came late, and our train was a few minutes delayed — but that’s Italy for you! We had booked our tickets by Train Italo. 

Flight Delta - Non Stop to Milan.

 Customary Pic Immigration line - 

One for European passport and another one for "Others" 

Our ride to the station, Paid € 10 per person 

A cycle stand outside the Milan Station 

The Grand Station

The Swiss Corner Treat - Welcome to Italy

. usually No-one expects Tip there - you pay some money to sit and drink its called COPERTO 

A flower shop in the city, she was very kind to let me walk though her shop knowing very well I am not going to shop anything

The Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) 

Back to the station - time to go to Bologna - food capital of Italy

People waiting for their train

Dawa daru dono shuru - Medicine and poison together

 The last couple of years have been tough on my physical health. I had been coughing for some time, and the doctors had been treating me for spring allergies, as is common in New England.

Thank goodness, a doctor friend of mine and her husband, who is also a doctor, visited us. The very next day, he declared that I should look into acid reflux, not allergies. If you’ve met me in the past two years, you must have seen me struggle with the cough. I trusted his advice—thank goodness I did—because with his recommendations and the medication, I was much better by day four. I followed his dietary modifications, consulted my doctor, and things got back on track.

However, every time I strayed from the plan,  drinking tea, enjoying some drink, or eating late, my cough would return. I worked on changing my lifestyle, and I was feeling much better. Then, Amma’s passing took its toll on me. The grief and stress made everything worse.

These friends suggested I visit them in Surat when I was in India. They were pretty insistent, so I decided to give it a try.

I arrived in Surat on the third day of my trip to India. They already had a plan. First, I met the cardiologist. He didn’t find anything worrisome but advised me to lose 10 kilograms for my overall health.

For dinner, the doctor friend who had once made me stop all the fun drinks took me out to experience Surat’s street food—but only after I shared a drink with them. The restrictions he had imposed on me were lifted just for this one night, celebrating my arrival. He joked, “Dawa and Daru dono shuru” (both medicine and fun are starting now).

I’m fortunate to have such friendships and the healing power of good company. With laughter, care, and a little indulgence, I was reminded that life is about finding balance—no matter the challenges.