Pied a Terre. I always wondered what that really meant. Now I know. Cathy and I have now stayed at Paola's Pied a Terre for the second time. This time was even better than the first. Yes, the breeze throughout the fifth floor apt. still cools you without the artificial cooling of a machine. Yes, the refrigerator was stocked with a wonderful bottle of cold Rose and enough food to enable us to cook as much as we liked. The bed now has marvellous linen sheets, the bookcase has very interesting books, and there are various bottles of alcohol should one care for a drink, however we tended to go to the bottle of lemoncello that was almost frozen in the freezer! Coffee bars, wine bars, restaurants, and a grocery store are all within a five minute walk from the apartment. Piazza Maggiore is only about a 10 minute walk from the apartment. Basically anywhere in the old city is about 10 minutes or less from the apartment.

I love Bologna. And yet it is Paola's apartment that we returned to after each outing that makes us part of the city and yet hides us away from the city. Our views were of sky and roof tops. Our sense was that we were in our own small world, cozy, able to think, able to slow down and appreciate each other. That is when I learned what a pied a terre is. It is a state of mind, and Paola's "Luminous Peace" is what you can get when you stay in this wonderful apartment. Thank you Paola and Michele, for a wonderful time. We will return.