Opal and Pimpa go to Bologna!

See below for the story of how Opal visited Bologna and sparked her curiosity about the history of this incredible town.

Gibbs was lucky enough to get to be with Opal in Minnesota for her 7th birthday in November.  We found what seemed like a fun gift in the Libreria Coop Ambasciatori; a children's book in English (there's an Italian version, too) designed to help children discover the city with the help of a beloved Italian children's cartoon character, Pimpa.  Gibbs and Opal read through the book in Minneapolis, then Opal brought it with her to Bologna as an interactive guide.

Here's Opal greeting Nettuno for the first time.  We said Ciao to him nearly every day Katy, Jack and Opal were here.  In the background you can see the top of the Palazzo Re Enzo, named for the son of Emperor Fredrick II, Enzo the King of Sardinia, who was captured by the Guelphs in Bologna in 1249.  He was kept prisoner in this palace for nearly 23 years until his death in 1272.

Opal was fascinated by the Story of Re Enzo in the Pimpa book, and had lots of questions, like: Did he ever try to escape?  and What did he do all that time?  Here's a photo of Gibbs and Opal doing some follow up research.  You can follow in their footsteps and read a little more here. (Note: Opal's photographic likeness will be available online if she so chooses sometime in the future)

Opal delighted us daily with requests to visit places on her Pimpa list, and even drew maps for us showing us where we would go.  Here's a couple of photos of Opal putting stickers in her book as she completed the visit to the Sette Chiese di Santo Stefano, as well as a photo from inside a cortile di Santo Stefano.

Another bonus Opal found in the Pimpa va a Bologna book was traditional Bolognese recipes.  Here's a photo of Opal and Papa Gibbs using a recipe from the book to make pasta.  We used our pasta to make Tortelloni di Zucca which was part of our Italian-Polish Vigilia meal on Dec 24th.  I think they made a pretty tasty replacement for the usual Polish Pierogi.

Our last day in Bologna was Christmas day.  Opal was anxious to visit all the sights in her book and there was still one on the list, the longest human made arcade in the world, the Portici di San Luca. The portici lead from the historic walled city to a hill with a view of the Apeninne Mountains where the Santuario della Maddona di San Luca sits.  It didn't seem likely that we'd have the three hours we needed to get our there and do the hike on a holiday, but three things were working in our favor: great weather, a robust public transit system that had busses running every 15-20 minutes even on Christmas day, and a cook-time of our Zampone that was exactly 3 hours.  Gibbs had a cold, so he volunteered to babysit the cooking Zampone while the rest of us headed out.  Here's a view from the top of the 600+ portici headed back down the hill.  I think if you asked Opal, she'd say she was very proud to complete all the visits and activities in the book, but that the walk UP the portici was a long one. 

If you come to visit us, you might want to start your trip plans with Pimpa!