Trixie's Travels Part Tre

It was an early morning for team Xbox.com. Videomonkey and I woke up around 5 A.M. and worked for a couple hours before joining the finalists for breakfast in the hotel lobby. Espresso out of a crappy vending machine in Italy is better than any fancy coffee bar in America.

We all hopped on a chartered bus for our day of touring. Our driver Tomasso impressed everyone with his killer (and scary) driving skills. Watching Tomasso pass a Smart Car on the autostrade while laying on the horn and gesturing wildly inspired a round of applause from the passengers.

After touring factories where Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar are made we had an amazing six course lunch at Trattoria Dei Mugnai. The tortellini with fresh parmesan and traditional balsamic vinegar was the most amazing substance I’ve ever eaten.

The city of Bologna is breathtaking. We saw a 1,000-year-old church that is protected by Knights Templar, medieval towers, a thirteenth-century castle, a cloister where Dante used to hang out when he was a student in Bologna, a fresco that is so controversial it has inspired terrorist threats, and just a million things so beautiful and steeped in history that my head is still swimming.

We had a unique opportunity to climb to the top of Torre Prendiparte, one of Bologna’s medieval towers which was once used as a prison for errant priests and now is a very narrow bed and breakfast. The stairs are incredibly steep and terrifying. Check out the above pic of TTRMcLarenF1 coming up the stairs. I made it to the fourth floor prison area before I had a claustrophobic freak-out and had to go back down. I missed champagne and an amazing view, but it was preferable to throwing up on our finalists.

Though Major Nelson gave Videomonkey strict orders NOT to bail me out of jail should I find myself there, it was not necessary. I did get sent out of a church to cover my sinful shoulders with a sweater, but they let me go on my own recognizance. This time.

Now I’m back at the hotel, where the lobby is on floor zero, finding Diet Coke (Coca-Cola Light in Italy) is close to impossible, and I’m afraid to go anywhere near the bidet. Tomorrow, we visit Lamborghini and a global champion will be crowned!

Check out Part Due of TriXie’s Travels where she meets the PGR 3 finanlsits. And don’t forget Part Uno where Craig VideoMonkey Mathewson is revealed.