The Leaning Tower... no, not THAT one.

My last day in Bologna was a free one for us bloggers, so I figured that I should probably do at least one “touristy” thing on my own while we were in the city. Each blogger was given a “BlogVille” city card that granted us free VIP access into just about all of the sight seeing spots in Bologna, so after waking up, I grabbed my card and walked to the Torre Asinelli, the famous tower of the city. When you stand outside of it and look up, you can see that the tower is slanted, just like the leaning tower of Pisa. I don't know what it is about these Italians, but they can't seem to get their tower building right...

It was an overcast day and I've recently come to terms with the fact that I am extremely out of shape, but still, I decided to climb the __ stairs and get to the top. The tower is taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa (see picture below).

The climb of course ended up being worth it because there was quite a view at the top. I was able to see the redness of the city as well as into the mountains that we had our first blogging adventures in on Friday.

After ten minutes at the top and getting pictures on my camera, iPhone and Blackberry, I descended and met up with the rest of the bloggers to do what I just may do best-- shop.

If you happen to be living in Florence and are feeling deprived of good (cheap) shopping that doesn't consist of only H&M and Zara, then take the 10.50 euro hour- and- a- half train ride to Bologna. There were so many stores with inexpensive clothes for 20-somethings, such as Pull and Bear (got three dresses, two shirts and one sweater), Jennyfer, Pimke, and more. The H&Ms there are also much better than the one in the center of Florence (you know, the one that smells like sewage...)

After picking up some new things, I hopped the train and sadly headed back to Florence.

The bloggers of BlogVille in the apartment!

Well, that's my amazing trip to Bologna, thanks to BlogVille and the Tourism board of Emilia Romagna! I have some more trips coming up so keep an eye out! 

The grand opening of Brandina in Cesenatico!

The same day that we were in Cesenatico, Brandina, a luxury bag and accessory line, had its grand opening of its new "Bottega" along the port, and us bloggers were invited to attend! 

Only the best champagne!

Upon arrival, we were lucky enough to meet Brandina's founder and designer Marco Morosini. He told  Nicola and I how he came up with the idea for the line...

It all started when Marco was putting together a collection of photos of people around the beach town of Rimini. When he was publishing it, he wanted the cover to be more than just a typical hardcover. So he decided to cover it with a sleeve made out of recycled beach chair material from Rimini.

With this came the idea for the Brandina brand and the patterns and styles that all of the bags and accessories are designed with. 

The new store is absolutely stunning.. this boat sits right in the middle of it.

I was dying to get one of those beach bags!

Lots of colorful accessories

Nicola spoke with Giulia, who told us how the bags are created and the thought process behind the naming of them. Each piece is named something that has to do with the beach or with traveling, such as "Overbooking" and "Duty Free".

Outside

Some jazz music for the party

Brandina gave Nicola and I the most adorable wristlets-- mine is called Houseboat. 

Thank you Marco and Giulia!

Check out the bag and accessory line on Brandina.com-- there are stores in Italy, Ibiza, and the US.

The port of Cesenatico and Frecce Tricolori

After our delicious gelato excursion, we headed to the port of Cesenatico, which was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. The buildings along the canal were so colorful and vibrant, as were many of the sailboats that sat in front of them.

"I'm on a boat!"

A long walk down the canal brought us to the beach. It wasn't a warm enough day to go swimming (although some of the visitors in the next picture disagreed) but the temperature was perfect for a nice stroll by the water.

This is where the high-speed boats depart from to get to Croatia. They only take about two hours to get there, I was very tempted to just hop on one and go...

Taking in the views

As we were enjoying the sea breeze, Frecce Tricolori began an airshow. It was fun to watch, but what I really enjoyed was turning around and seeing every single person behind us with their necks craned upwards!

The sun and water... couldn't ask for more!

Up next--  the opening of the Brandina store in Cesenatico! 

Day Two in Bologna-- Gelato and beach time

And so begins the second full day in Bologna... 

We didn't have anything scheduled by the BlogVille, but our awesome Master of the House Nick arranged for some really fun stuff for us to do. 

The city of Bologna is a lot different than Florence, so it was a nice change of scenery. Most of the buildings are a shade of red...

The train station in Bologna

This clock that is attached the to train station always read 10:25... it is there to represent the 85 people that died in the terrorist bombing in the train station on August 2nd, 1980 at 10:25 am.

Nicola and I on the way to Cesenatico!

Alfredo!

Nick's friends picked us up from the train station and brought us to an AMAZING gelateria... definitely some of the best I've had since I've been in Italy. Every time that I go to a new gelateria, I try Cookies and Stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate chunks). Both were SO GOOD 

Striking a pose..