basha goes to b o l o g n a ( part one)

my latest trip was to ITALIA to stay with dear artist friends from the states who rented an apt. in the center of bologna. ( thank you V & P)  i have decided to jump on all opportunities to travel in europe and the chance to visit friends, visit a country i once lived in and have my go at speaking italian again - i couldn't resist.  
most of our time in bologna was spent wandering the winding steets soaking up the amazing architecture, piazza nettuno & piazza maggiore, visiting a few museums and of course - eating. 
unfortunately the wet, overcast weather frequently found in holland followed me but that did not deter us from walking up ( 2.4 kilometres) to the chiesa san luca under the portici, covered arches. a real live italian pilgrammage was happening along the way.
one of the funniest moments was being mistaken for a traffic polizie - ( city police woman) luckily i know enough italian to joke with the elderly gentleman who was trying to ask me about his parking situation.