I heart my SIL!

Mark had to work part of the day Friday unexpectedly, so we decided to make it a Bologna touring day. In the morning my sister-in-law Lynn suggested that she stay home with the kids and just Steve and I do a city bus tour. They've done it before and will do it again when Steve and Lynn's mom comes next month, and and she also didn't think it would be that much fun for Griffin. Plus he was really enjoying everyday could have been anywhere wrestling and playing with his cousins. 

Whoo hoo!! Freedom!!! Best sister in law ever! We worried we'd get home and find her tied in a corner with a ransom note- 4 crazy kids might be just enough to tip the odds against her favor. (Not that this fear stopped us from going, mind you)

We walked downtown to the center of Bologna, and bought our tickets for the open air double decker city tour bus. We sat at a cute cafe on the main plaza with coffees and sandwiches staring at the famous Neptune statue and people watching. Until. The inevitable. Italian child belting out that unmistakable tune, even in another language. Does Disney own the world? It seems so. I had an old boyfriend in college who got a job with Disney- wonder if he's a millionaire by now. 

The bus tour was pretty cool, we learned a lot about Bologna and saw great sights. Did you know the radio was invented in Bologna? And that Bologna has more fancy tombs and shrines to university professors than to heroes or leaders? The first university in the world was in Bologna, though we once went on a tour in India where they claimed the same thing, and I bet the Greeks might have something to say about it too. 

We finished the tour and explored a bit more, then settled on a snack at a cute outdoor cafe in a bustling, historic. narrow street shopping area. Steve went in to order and came back with a bottle of prosecco and a proschuitto and cheese platter. Did I mention how much I love my sister in law Lynn?? :) We could have sat there all day just enjoying the sights and each other's company. 

We returned to find all the kids playing a board game in relative tranquility. So we all headed to the train station to a town outside the city called Sasso Marconi (where the inventor of the radio is from, who was named Marconi) where Mark's company is located. We had dinner at their favorite place called "Luca's" where he eats lunch everyday and where the family stayed at Luca's guesthouse when they first arrived, before moving into Bologna closer to the international school. All I can say is that I'm still not yet tired of amazing Italian pasta!