One of the great joys of travel is being able to spend time — weeks, or sometimes even months — in a single location. On this trip, we’re here in Bologna for six weeks. For us, it’s the dream, but others sometimes wonder what on earth we do in one place for all that time. So, when we’re not finding festivals or checking out new restaurants, how do we spend our days?

As it happens, whether we’re in Bologna or Brisbane, our daily schedule looks pretty much the same. We cook and clean, exercise, read, watch a movie, catch up with friends. Of course, here in Bologna we’re doing those things in a very different environment, and that can make it a lot more fun — and, occasionally, a bit more challenging.

Wait forty minutes at the post office for your number to be called only to discover you’ve taken the wrong type of ticket. Order a meal in a restaurant and be served a dish the kitchen staff would rather cook. Walk half an hour to the other side of town and find the shop you needed is randomly closed for the day. You can never be quite sure how things are going to pan out.

Sometimes we get to the end of a day feeling a bit like Pavarotti up there — in desperate need of a negroni or a spritz. But, most often, we tick along pretty well.

Certainly, being able to speak some Italian makes a big difference. Having conversations, asking questions, making appointments; engaging with people in their own language — or at least having a go at it — is both a courtesy and, sometimes, a necessity.

So, for us, life here is the same and different. But whether we’re being awestruck by a Renaissance masterpiece or surviving another trip to the post office, one thing is certain — Italy will deliver a new adventure every day, be it good or not so good. But, either way, we love it.