Bologna was one of my favorite cities the first time I visited Italy. This time, not so much. The seed was planted when I was chatting with a woman in Ravenna who said to me "Bologna is an armpit of a city". Strong words!
While I still like Bologna overall, I see her point. The city is filthy in some areas but there are some very nice areas as well. It does have a great energy though, which is what drew me to it in the first place. It has an incredible art museum called Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna with some impressive religious paintings. There also aren't that many tourists here, which makes it appealing. One of the things that put me off on Florence two years ago was the amount of tourists there (said the tourist).
I'm staying at a great hotel here, the people are very friendly. I told the women at the front desk the coca cola story and they said it's just as cheap as in the U.S. at the supermarket. I just saw a "supermarket" (it's more like a big bodega) and they're right. Also, bottled water is absurdly cheap. I got two 1.5 litre bottles for 58 cent Euro. They usually cost like €2-€3 each in Tobacco shops and cafes! In retrospect I could have done a better job on saving money this trip. I still have some time left so I can put some of the things I've learned to good use. I don't want to frontrun my final summary post of "lessons learned on the trip" so I'll just stop right here.
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