We woke late Sunday morning, and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. Then it was off to San Luca. No, we weren’t going to walk the 4 km of porticoes up to the Sanctuary. We had stopped at an information desk for the bus lines on Saturday, and found that while the city bus 20 goes only to the start of the porticoes leading up to San Luca, there was a private shuttle system to take visitors the rest of the way. So off we went to catch the #20, and in short order found ourselves with a few other s on the shuttle wending its way up the twisty road to the top (3 euros round trip). We arrived at the Sanctuary and spent some time admiring the panoramic views from the gardens – wonderful views of the snow topped Apenines in one direction, and the urban landscape of Bologna in the other.
Continuing on the path up to the church, we arrived in the middle of a sung mass. The church was quite full. We stood quietly at the back of the church as the liturgy unfolded, with some lovely choral singing and a wonderful mezzo soloist. Having made our respects, we moved out to let others in. We saw intrepid walkers arriving on foot, and others beginning their return journey down the hill. We stopped in the gift shop to get a couple of postcards, and I found my souvenir for the trip – a set of little music playing angels to add to my Christmas angels collection. I was thrilled.
By this time it was nearly 12:30, and Bill checked the shuttle schedule, only to find the shuttle did not run between 12 – 2 pm! Captives on San Luca! But relief was just around the corner, for a little ways down the road from the shuttle stop was a café/bar. Fearing mediocre food at inflated prices, we were inordinately pleased to have a stellar dining experience at Vico. We discovered it was a fairly large restaurant, with a large and diverse menu. Intending only to get a pizza or a salad, we saw the lasagna being served to the next table and succumbed to temptation , ordering one vegetable and one mushroom l – thin tender layers of homemade pasta with delicious fillings. We shared a mixed green salad, had the requisite aqua minerale, and then even had dessert – there were cups of fresh strawberries, served with a scoop of vanilla gelato for me, and a pastry cream and fresh strawberry tart for Bill. It was a delicious meal, in a lovely location.
The rest of the day passed quietly, dinner was in a small trattoria in the neighborhood of the hotel, and another day in Bologna came to a close.
