The first half of June was a continuation of our holiday visit to Switzerland. So once again hundreds of snaps were taken. So many to choose from. During this time we managed to fit in a long weekend in Italy, staying in Bologna. This was our first visit to this part of Italy and deserves a post on its own. Bologna is a large city and the capital of the region of Emilia Romagna. As with most Italian towns it has an incredible number of churches. A few can be seen below.
However Bologna is not just very old buildings. The centre in particular was very lively and seems to be a popular place for weddings. This bride carried a beautiful bouquet of red and white roses which I could not resist capturing.
Bologna is also famous for its food and restaurants. Below is a selection of the goodies on offer near the Piazza Maggiore.
The restaurants were simply wonderful and we enjoyed just about everything we tried. Here is yours truly enjoying a glass of lemoncello after our last meal. Photo curtesy of Alessio.
While staying in Bologna we made a day trip to Ferrara, the capital of the province of the same name. Ferrara is more touristy than Bologna, and much cleaner and tidier. It has an amazing cathedral which occupies one full side of a very large rectangular piazza. Here is the bell tower and the side view and next the beautifully intricate front façade.
Ferrara is not all pomp and circumstance. At the corner of one of the narrow streets was this delightful teddy bear blowing bubbles.
Back in Zürich we found the time to visit to one of our favourite cafés - the Café-Bar in Neumarkt, which is part of the Neumarkt theatre. We always like to enjoy a café crème and an almond biscuit there. Here is the wonderful old fashioned interior.
On this visit Emma and I managed to take in a new museum to both of us - the Bärengasse Museum. The museum has a lovely façade which you can see below. You can get an idea of what was inside here.
Another little known museum well worth a visit is the Zunfthaus zur Meissen, right by the river Limmat. This was previously a guildhouse and is now an adjunct of the Swiss National Museum. Its speciality is ceramics and it has a fine collection of the major European manufacturers as well as Swiss pieces. If you love ceramics as we do, then this is a must. Here is handsome couple from the current exhibition. You can find out more about the museum here.
We never restrict ourselves to either Zürich or Kilchberg, Emma always ensures that we extend our knowledge of the whole of Switzerland. Thus we went on one of Emma’s walks round the Zürichsee - this time from Nuolen to Schmerikon on the Upper Lake. It was a lovely walk and you end up walking along the banks of the river Linth, where I just managed to catch a bird about to land on the river.
Below is another view of the river with the remains of Castle Grynau on the other bank. This bit of the walk is part of the Swiss section of the Camino de Santiago, or Jacobsweg as it is known in Switzerland. This short section goes from Schmerikon to Grynau and we walked it in the reverse direction. Kathleen still has a long way to go.
Though most of the photos were taken in Switzerland or Italy, I did manage to get a few snaps on our return and I close with this charming scene of a mother swan gently coaxing her young into the safe waters of Tayport harbour.
Lots of lovely photos as usual!
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