mmm-yoso!!!

We're Back!

Yes, we're back! And yes, I'm waaaay behind on my travel posts....the ending of our two weeks in Paris, our Taiwan trip, our Prescott - Albuquerque - Santa Fe - Taos, The Big Island and Oahu in February, and even a recent road trip to Buellton/Los Alamos! And here I go again on another trip! I know most folks come here looking for San Diego - SoCal food posts, so I save my travel stuff for weekends. Hopefully, I'll catch up soon now that we're back in town.

We were actually in Italy for Halloween, which was kinda interesting.

And even had one of the best meals of our trip! Yes, it was Chinese cuisine...in Italy!

We really enjoyed our time here and can't wait to go back!

Speaking of "going back". Of course we had to spend at least a couple of days in our favorite city.

Mainly to shop.....

And of course visit our old favorites.....

And do our favorite activities here. One of which is just "people, and pooch watch".

The more we visit; the harder it is for us to squeeze meals at our favorites in a couple of days. Though this time we found a new favorite, which was in plain sight. It seemed to be and is a kinda touristy restaurant, but we found the traditional dishes there to be quite good! Heck, we'd pass this place sometimes 4 or five times a day during our stays and never even though of eating there!

That mistake has been rectified!

One thing that we'd never done in this city is a tour. One this trip, we booked a private tour of our favorite neighborhood, from one of my favorite podcasts. And man was it fun and informative.

There was so much hidden in plain sight....stuff we had walked by so many times and never noticed! The tour was well worth the time and cost!

And of course, you'll always see something new when you visit....like this rainbow!

And then we ended up where we started. We had just one full day; but I got to see an item on my "bucket list".

And to do a bit more exploring.

Things ended on a high note as our last two meals were quite good. A Sichuan restaurant whose menu was developed in consultation with on of my favorite authors.

And a wonderful meal at the favorite restaurant in this city, of a late chef, author, and travel personality.

I know I need  to catch up with all my travel posts. I'm hoping to do so soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Where in the world are we - part 2

After enjoying our visits to two large cities we headed off to an area on the Italian coast known for their five villages.

Picturesque and full of character, we really took to the area. On our first day, the Missus took me along for a hike. The main trail from one village to another had been washed out so we did an inland route which took 5 hours! Going up was not bad; but my knees are still recovering from the climb down!

You couldn't complain about the views though!

And the sunsets were fabulous!

We spent the next two days exploring the other villages; each with its own personality and character.

For a highly touristed area, we found folks to be gracious and friendly, with a fun sense of humor.

As for the food; well, it was seafood of course.

Our next stop the capitol of the region; a bustling port city.

Basically, there was one reason for my wanting to visit here.

I also booked a food tour to learn a bit more about the local cuisine and specialties.

We're now in the home stretch of our trip in our favorite city. Time just flies when you're on holiday, doesn't it?

Hope everyone is doing well and thanks for stopping by!

Where in the world are we - part 1

So yes, we're off on another trip and are having a great time. We are now on the third "stop" of this holiday.

The first stop was a place we've flown thru so many times, but really never took the time to enjoy. This time, we wanted to check things out and enjoy. And that we did. It's a bustling city, full of iconic locations.

Yes, it's an easy guess......

There's so much to see that we limited our visits; I'm sure we'll be back. After all, there's so much history here.

And spent a good amount of time at places we did visit.

And, as we've done in recent years, we carefully picked tours to suit us. Which usually have an interesting wrinkle to them.

What about the food you may ask....after all; the main focus of our humble little blog is still food.

Well, what we ate here ranged from two Michelin Star Chinese.

To more traditional grindz.

Our next stop was a pleasant surprise for us. Considered to be the fashion and business center of this country; it still seemed quite laid back. We enjoyed strolling the streets and plazas, which included one of the oldest shopping malls in the world. Which was quite stunning.

The Duomo was also something to behold.

We included a visit to the roof as part of our admission. Even though raindrops were falling, it was stunning.

There was one main reason for our visit, which did not disappoint.

And our favorite meal of our trip thus far was here.

Which was located in the wonderful little neighborhood we were ensconced in. In fact, we ate all of our meals in this area. Which included some traditional dishes of the region.

We're now at our next destination and enjoying things. We hope all is well with you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Clearing Out the Memory Card - Our Last Night in Bologna

I figure I better get these posts done. Our trip to Florence and Emilia-Romana finished up in April of last year.

We had really enjoyed our time in Emilia-Romagna; from the Culatello to the Tortellini en Brodo, to aged Parmesano Reggiano...well, that was me. The Missus loved the castles, the Devil's Bridge, and we both loved the warm and friendly people...and of course the amazing Italian Days Food Tour.

For our last dinner in Bologna, I selected a modern, yet very popular restaurant named Oltre. I'd heard it was a bit difficult to find, so while the Missus was taking a nap I headed out to find the sticker covered door of the restaurant.

So, for dinner, I basically retraced our steps. The restaurant was dimly lit and the wine and bread were quite good.

The food however, was disappointing; from the bland broth and the strange and almost rancid tasting pasta in the Tortellini en Brodo (we mentioned this to the Server who looked at us and said; "this is the way it's supposed to taste").

To the tough meat in the Sformantino en Ragu....

The Guancia di manzo (beef cheeks) were very tender, but the thick sauce was bitter and overwhelmed the equally delicious black cabbage.

We just decided to call it quits before dessert.

Oh well, sometimes it just doesn't work out, right?

Oltre
Via Augusto Majani 1
40122 Bologna, Italy

We took our time heading back to the apartment. Stopping to take in Piazza Maggiore.

And yet another amazing street performer.

Here's a little snippet of the performance.

Awesome, yeah?

As is my little tradition; I picked up a beer on the way back to the apartment.

And the next day we headed home. The Business Class Lounge in Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport is kinda cramped and the offerings nothing worth mentioning.

What is worth mentioning is the excellent fast-track security exit at the rear of the lounge.

And because "DerekR" seems to like my airline food photos...….this is for you!

The Chicken Terrine was the best item.

So that's it.....

Thanks for stopping by!

Emilia - Romagna: Breakfast in Ravenna and Returning to Bologna

Our visit to Ravenna had exceeded our expectations. I'm glad we had stayed the night; we enjoyed our dinner, and the relaxed, pleasant vibe of the city. We really enjoyed our suite at the Casa Masoli. It was so comfortable and spacious and took us back in time and waking up to this in the morning sure does make a statement!

Breakfast was included in our night's stay, so we packed and headed down to the quaint dining area.

Breakfast was basic but quite satisfying.

After breakfast; we freshened up a bit, stored our bags....our train back to Bologna wasn't until 1230, and decided to take one more walk around Ravenna.

It seems like many cities in Italy have their own "leaning tower". Ravenna is no exception. This is the Torre Comunale (Torre Civica) which leans slightly to the west.

As we made our way back to Casa Masoli, we walked thru what is considered Ravenna's Main Square; Piazza del Popolo. Things were quite lively as there seemed to be some kind of bicycle event for families. Folks smiled and waved at us, folks congregated and chatted, what I'm assuming is a Girl Scout Troop marched thru the square as older folks caught up on the latest news (and gossip). It made for a wonderful scene.

We grabbed our bags; thanked the woman who runs things, we'd had a lovely stay. Great sights, good food, wonderful people, what more could one ask?

The train ride back to Bologna was a quick 90 minutes and change. We walked to our apartment, dropped our bags and headed on out.

This being a Sunday, Bologna was buzzing. The streets full of students, visitors, and locals enjoying their Sunday. It seemed like everyone was out and about on this beautiful day.

Of course every visitor just "needed" that selfie of Asinelli Tower.

It was fun just wandering the streets and alleyways people and pooch watching.

We passed the Chiesa de San Martino.

And somehow found ourselves at Palazzo della Mercanzia.

This has been Bologna's center of trade and commerce since the 14th century!

And guess what? There was some "trade" happening on this day as well as right down the street on Piazza Santo Stefano, the monthly Antiques Market was happening.

It was fun browsing thru the different stands. Though our favorite by far was a particular used book seller...… whose "assistant" was hard at work!

All this walking and browsing made me want a snack.

So we headed off to the Quadrilatero and back to Af Tamburini. Which was quite busy as usual.

We just got a cheese sandwich and headed off to eat it at my favorite spot; on the stairs of San Petronio Basilica, where we could watch Bologna pass us by.

We love sitting on the stairs and just people watch.

Soon enough it was time to head back to the apartment for a nice nap.

This would be our last evening of this vacation and I had made a reservation at a well regarded restaurant for dinner.

You know, I hadn't read much about Emilia-Romagna over the years. A colleague of mine had mentioned his daughter going on an exchange program to Bologna, which is when, beyond all the food stuff, I started learning about the region.

From the warm and friendly people, the amazing food and ingredients (how can you beat Balsamic Vinegar, Parmesano Reggiano, Prosciutto de Parma, and of course culatello), to the history, I wonder why more people don't travel to this region.

Ravenna - More Mosiacs, Wonders (the Flooded Crypt of San Francesco), and Dinner at Ristrorante La Gardela

**** Note - this is a long post. If you want to come back on another for something shorter, or when you have more time to read, I wouldn't blame you. Otherwise, read on......

After the beautiful mosiacs at the Basilica of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia you'd think we'd seen a lot. But even after checking out Dante's Tomb, there was still much to see. Our next stop was a few blocks away, the Neonian Baptistery (Battistero Neoniano). Again, this looked like a rather simple octagonal structure.

It is one of the oldest monuments in the city; believed to be built as a bath house at the beginning of the 5th century. During the end of the 5th century it was renovated and turned into a baptistery; supposedly by Bishop Neon. Hence the name.

The interior is stunning.

The mosaic in the center of the dome represents the baptism of Christ.

This and the Museo Arcivescovile (Archiepiscopal Museum), and the two sites in my previous post on Ravenna were all covered by the combined ticket we purchased earlier in the day.

The museum is located on the first two floors of Archiepiscopal Palace and contains many precious works of Christian churches and the ancient Basilica, many of which; like the Basilica have been demolished. Like the Cappella di Sant'Andrea (Chapel of Saint Andrew), which was once the private chapel of the Bishop.

One of the other items of interest is the Ivory Throne of Maximian. This finely carved ivory masterpiece was once the throne of Archbishop Maximian and completed in the 6th century. Each of the four panels was carved by a different ivory masters. It is something to see.

Also of interest was the Easter (Paschal) Calendar, a set of rules - after the vernal equinox, the revolution of the moon around the Earth, taking into consideration the seven day week...the whole cycle revolves around Easter (Paschal). Confusing? Try and read about Computus….yikes!

We took a short break after this....grabbing some much needed caffeine.

Then it was a longer walk, in the direction of the train station to this wall.....

And this octagonal structure, which has now sunk over two meters into the ground.

King Theoderic was a Goth and when he took power the Arian (Goth) Christianity became the official religion. He did let Orthodox Christians and Arian Christians live together though. This structure was the first that Theoderic had built once he took the throne.

The main feature of this structure is the mosaic roof which depicts the 12 Apostles and the Baptism of Christ.

Our next stop we had passed on our way into town the previous day. Close to the train station is the The Church of San Giovanni Evangelista .

We had noticed it the day before because of the 14th Century Gothic Portal made of marble.

Originally constructed in the 5th Century, it had sustained major damage during the Second World War and almost all of the church has been rebuilt or restored.

A few streets over is the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo which was constructed by King Theoderic.

The interior is beautiful as mosaic friezes line each wall down to the apse.

On one side 22 virgin martyrs are led by the three Maggi to the Virgin and Christ. On the other are 26 male martyrs walking toward Christ sitting on a throne.

There's also something interesting that you might miss if you don't know about it.

If you look closely at some of the mosaics you'll see disembodied hands. So what do these mean?

Well, it means that somebody else was in power. In 561 the church was deconsecrated as a Orthodox Christian Church. This end of the mosaic featured Theoderic and his court looking grand and powerful....well, that was just not going to do with Justinian in power would it? So Bishop Agnellus had him basically "blacked out" (Some things never change, do they?)...….but I guess working over those hands was going to be too much work?

You think perhaps we were "churched out"? For some reason we weren't, but it was getting later in the day. There was just one more place I wanted to see. Remember I mentioned visiting the Basilica di San Francesco in my earlier post? Well, that was our last stop for the day. Yes, this is where Dante's funeral was held and where his remains were kept and hidden. But there was one other reason I wanted to visit.

Well, the crypt of this church is flooded (and somewhere in this pool is supposedly the remains of Bishop Neon). For .50 Euros; you get the lights turned on. The water is amazingly clean and clear.

And yes, there are goldfish swimming around.

You can read more about it on Atlas Obscura.

Whew, it was now time to head back to Casa Masoli and take a break. And soon enough, it was time to head off to dinner. Our hosts at Casa Masoli had booked us a table at a place named Ristorante La Gardela. The place was quite charming, the service very friendly. The restaurant was empty when we arrived....obviously early by Italian standards, but filled up quickly....lots of families out to have a good time.

It was amazing to watch these folks go thru the antipasti, then the primi, then the secondi, with some cortoni (side dishes - usually veggies and salads, but also fries and other stuff), and even formaggi (cheese), before finishing with a dessert from the case! All in the time it took us to finish our rather limited meal! We loved this place.

Of course I started with the Pro​sciut​to ​Cru​do No​stra​no - crudo means "never cooked" i.e. cured, and nostrano I believe means local or even home made.

This was good; though perhaps lacking in the complexity of other versions I'd had.

I also just had to have the Lar​do ​di ​Pa​ta​ne​gra ​su ​Bru​schet​ta ​Cal​da​. Aged lard from the legs of "Black" (Iberian) Pigs...melted beautifully on bruschetta.

Oh, baby...….what can I say. And there was even a nice salad underneath....the radicchio here is ridiculously good.....both bitter, vegetal, with sweet tones.

The Missus also ordered the Contorno Misto di Verdure Grigliate - mixed grilled vegetable. First off, let me say the tomatoes here taste like the sweetest, tangiest, sunshine!

And the endive was delish as well.

The Missus ordered what might have been one of Her favorite pasta dishes (along with the Strigoli con Funghi from Il Fantino), the Ta​glio​li​ni​ al​ Ra​dic​chio​ Ap​pas​si​to​ al​ San​gio​ve​se.

Remember how I mentioned how good the radicchio was? Well here it was balanced out with a perfect acidity and light sweetness of the sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly. And take a look at it...….it was dressed for success....not floating around in a ton of "gravy".

My Cap​pel​let​ti​ al​ Ra​gù Ti​pi​co​ was sauced nicely, the pasta cooked perfectly.

The meat wasn't too rich and was fairly tender. But compared to what the Missus had.....well, the name said it all "tipico". It was a nice dish.

And of course "I Dolce" for the Missus.

The prices were quite reasonable as well. The antipasti and primi were priced at 7 Euros, the veggies, 4....we even had a bottle of wine.

Ristorante La Gardela
Via Ponte Marino 3
48121, Ravenna, Italy

I think Ravenna is truly worthy of an overnight stay. Heck, it's even on our "return to" list!

If you've managed to read thru these 1300+ words, I thank you so much for sharing this with us!

Ravenna - The Basilica of San Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Lunch at Al Cairoli, and Dante's Tomb

We'd had such a great time in Emiligia-Romagna, from the Castles, to the "Devil's Bridge", to our amazing food tour, there were so many memorable experiences. And even though we had but two more nights left in the region, I had one more ace up my sleeve. Our Airbnb was very inexpensive, so I decided to book an overnight stay in Ravenna, a short hour train ride from Bologna. I'd read a bit about the city, which was once the capital of Western Roman Empire. When Theodosius I died; he split the Roman Empire into to halves, one of his sons, Honorius and he moved the Imperial Court and Administrative offices there in 401 because it was easily defended.

Well, enough of the history lesson, no?

The train station in Ravenna is but a short walk into the heart of the city. The vibe is relaxed and friendly; the city is pedestrian friendly and there's obviously a lot going as we passed this while walking past one of the many piazzas on the way to our hotel.

Our hotel; the Casa Masoli was close to everything we wanted to see; the woman running the place was warm and friendly and even made dinner reservations for us at a place she highly recommended. The prices were quite affordable; we got the Teodora e Giustiniano Suite for like a hundred Euros. The building has long history and our suite was amazing! And quite unique; it's like we entered a time machine and travelled into the past. From the Venetian four post beds and antiques lining the room....

To the huge bathroom with a marble bath tub!

To the rather dramatic sitting area.

The woman pointed to a part of the high ceiling and told us...."this is where a bomb landed during World War I"!

We had also arrived early and expected to drop off our bags; but our room was ready!

And so were we. The first order of business was head on out to the bookstore located at Via Giuliano Argentario 22 and purchase a combined ticket for five of the sites. And, it right down the street from our first site; the Basilica of San Vitale.

Commissioned by Bishop Ecclesius in 527; the church was still unfinished when Ravenna fell to Justinian I in 1540. It was then that the mosaics were done and the church completed in 1547. From the exterior, the building really looks rather staid and simple, but the octagonal plan and the use of terra-cotta bricks was revolutionary in those times.

It's upon entering the interior where you really understand the importance of this structure......

The amazing Byzantine Mosiacs are second to none and just amazing to see. It is rumored that San Vitale was used as the model for the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. And even though we've been to the Hagia Sofia, twice this really made an impression on us.

It is undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.

I'm wondering what the dome would have been like had the intended mosaic design been carried out. The painting on the dome is from the 18th century.

I mean, the mosaic on the ceiling of the presbytery is dramatic enough.

There's actually a tape that goes "ssshhhssshhh" when folks start talking too loud in the place. We actually loved it!

For a wonderful article on the history and mosaics, check out this site.

Across the courtyard is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, named after the daughter of Theodosius I. There are three sarcophagi in the structure; it is said that these are of Galla Placidia, who is said to have been placed in sitting position, Galla's son, Valentinian III is to her right, and to her left is that of Emporer Constantius III, her husband. Though because of study and dating, it is no longer thought to be so.

Some say the mosaics here outshine those in the Basilica and I can see why.

It was an amazing visit; something I wish everyone could see.

From here we headed to the next thing I wanted to see. While on one of the many wonderful pedestrian side streets, we decided to stop for lunch here.

It was a quaint shop; the upstairs was a dining area and the bottom floor like a very comfortable café.

the main reason we stopped is because the place served a small menu for lunch that featured Piadine. We'd been wanting to try an Italian version since having on Malta and I knew that this flatbread is traditionally from this region.

The Missus thoroughly enjoyed her Verdure Gratinate Squacquerone (a nice lightly acidic fresh cheese) - basically roasted vegetables in a nice, warm flatbread.

I had the Prosciutto (of course) Arugula Squacquerone version. Which was just enough for a light lunch.

This, along with two espressos was perfect since we still had a bunch of places to visit and didn't want to get filled up. It was also a nice change from all of the rather hearty food we'd been having over the last couple of days.

Nicely priced as well.

Al Cairoli
Via Benedetto Cairoli 16
48121, Ravenna, Italy

We headed straight down the street. Past all of the locals chatting, having espresso, eating lunch......

Via Benedetto Cairoli had become Via Corrado Ricci and we had arrived at this piazza. This is the Piazza San Francesco.

We'd gone a street too far. We would return here to visit the Basilica di San Francesco later on....there's something really cool in the church. But for now, I was focused on this place right around the corner in an area called "Zona del Silenzio" (Area of Silence).  Remember when we visited the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence? I noted that Dante's tomb "monument" was located in the church, but he wasn't interred there? Well, here he is.

On January 27th 1302, Dante was exiled from his home in Florence. He ended up in Ravenna in 1318 and wrote Paradiso, the third and last part of his Divine Comedy. When Dante died in 1321, he was entombed and hidden in what is now named the Basilica di San Francesco not to be found until 1865. Thus began what some say is a 700 year "battle" over the remains of Dante, which is quite a story in itself.

So many stories...….

And it was barely past noon!

Yes, there's more to come.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emilia-Romagna: The Italian Days Food Experience

If you've followed our blog for a while; you'll know that the Missus and I are not big on tours. We'd rather do our own thing at our own pace and rushing through things when on a tour is just not a lot of fun for us. We were however, in Emilia-Romagna, home to so many Italian gastronomic treasures. Trying to hunt them down in the amount of time we had  would have been quite a task. While doing my research; I'd read so many good reviews of the Italian Days Food Experience. And it delivered. It was a small group tour, a must for the Missus and I, our guide Eleanora was wonderful; funny, enthusiastic, and very knowledgeable; especially when it came to all the questions I had. And I did have many of them. This experience changed our minds when it comes to actually doing a tour. We're still cautious about it; but we're now believers. Anyway; this is already 150 words and change. I'll try to keep the verbiage to a minimum; otherwise you'd easily have 10,000 words plus. I want you to go to Bologna and take the tour, experience what we did....it ain't cheap at 150 Euros a person, but well worth it. I now truly understand the hard work, dedication, and passion the folks who make that wheel of Parmesan cheese or prosciutto, and now when I look at a bottle of Traditional Balsamico; I'll know if it's the "real thing".

We were picked up right on time from our apartment in Bologna and after a quick coffee stop headed off to our first destination in Castelvetro; San Silvestro Societa Agricola, a cooperative that takes the local farmer's milk and produces Parmesan Reggiano.

We suited up and then walked into an area with large vats of milk.

Each vat holds 1100 liters; that's 290 gallons of milk. From which the curds makes.....

Only 2 wheels ("the twins") of Parmesan Reggiano!

We all had a chance to taste the curds.

And I got the most wonderful answer when I asked what was done with all the leftover whey. Eleanora explained that some of the whey goes to make ricotta cheese and the rest to local pig farmers....hmmm.....I always thought that the great Prosciutto de Parma and Culatello had a sort of cheesy finish. Could it be?

It is then put into the classic round mold; the "fascera".

The cheese rests for a couple of days. A band is placed inside the molds which have the distinctive marks; the number of the producer, the month and year of production. The cheese also has a specific ID number; this way the actual cheese can be tracked back to the dairy which produced the milk. Only one dairy's milk is used for each production, so things can be traced.

The wheels are then put into a salt water solution and turned daily.

For up to three weeks!

Then it's time for the aging process. After twelve months an inspector from the official agency called the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano will inspect the wheels. Those that....ahem, don't "cut the cheese" have all identifying marks cut off. Those that make it get branded with the seal of the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin).

The cheese wheels are turned on a specific schedule. This is what Parmesan heaven looks like.

I'll never look at Parmesan Reggiano the same ever again.

Next up what a stop was this lovely Farm House nearby.

And yes; those are grape vines......

This was the Antico Acetaia Cavedoni, a balsamic vinegar house that has been producing the product for 7 generations...since 1860!

The current head of the family; Paolo Cavedoni, a very energetic gentleman, led us on a tour of the "vinegar loft" and production.

He also explained the specifics of "DOP" ("Denominazione di Origine Protetta") designation; which is done by a panel of 5 master tasters. If the vinegar hits a certain "score" it will be labelled Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale. This is the good stuff and can only be sold in the specific 100 ml bottle that was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, a famous car designer....after all Modena is home to Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati.

The balsamic is aged in several successive aging barrels for a minimum of 12 years. Every year, vinegar is taken from the smallest barrel, and it is then replenished with product from the next barrel up, and so on. A barrel is never emptied.

Paolo explained that when girls are born into a household, traditionally they would start an entire line - such as "Beatrice" above; which was initiated upon her birth in 1972. In the olden days; the barrels were used as a dowry when the young lady was wed.

In the "back office" we saw barrels going back to the 1800's.

The oldest Balsamico here produces four bottles a year and is sold to one restaurant in Macau.

Can you figure out which is the bottle of Balsamico Tradizionale?

We had a nice "snack" break here....which included quite a bit of food.

What was really amazing was the ricotta cheese topped with Saba; this was amazing stuff and we ended up buying two bottles of it.

Our next stop was at the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Modena, a producer of Prosciutto, right outside Modena.

Eleanora went through the entire process....it was funny when I asked her where on the pig culatello came from and she proceeded to heartily whack a certain body part.

Everything is regulated; from the pig, what it's fed, weight, age.....

There's a specific salting process, and then the washing, drying, the long curing process.

Man, this place smelled amazing.

And the very generous samples....and Lambrusco went down real well.

So, after all of this? Well, it was time for a late lunch! Man, I was kinda full from all of the samples and such. But locale was quite nice.

And there was way too much food and drink.....

We wouldn't be having dinner tonight, that's for sure.

Like I said in the beginning; this small group (ten of us) tour by Italian Days changed our opinion when it comes to taking tours. Yes, you still need to pick well. And definitely read those reviews.

I had learned so much....food is "our thing" when we travel, and Italian Days really delivered. It was well worth the 300 Euros for the both of us.

I hope you get the chance to experience what we did. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Bologna - Trattoria Tony

After exploring San Petronio Basilica and having a snack at Sfoglia Rina we wandered around a bit. There is quite a bit to see in Bologna and we only scratched the surface during our time here. We were ending our trip to Emilia-Romagna in Bologna and we still had two more fairly busy days ahead, so we decided just to take in the city a bit and wander around.

When visiting the city; you really can't miss "Le Due Torri"; the Two Towers one of the symbols of the city. It is said that there were once over a hundred of these towers in the city which were used to symbolize wealth, power, and for a more practical purpose; to protect and watch over the owners holdings. Today there are about 20 of these left.

We headed down bustling Via Rizzoli and took a random right on Via dell'Indipendenza, then took another left and ended up at what looked like a church.

This is the Chiesa dei Filippini Madonna di Galliera e Filippo Neri….wow, talk about a mouthful. Curious, we decided to take a look.

The structure was badly damaged by bombs in 1944, but was painstakingly restored to its current state and reopened to the public in 1999.

It was a fun stop for us; a nice little respite on this walk.

It was time for us to check into our apartment; so we headed back.

Down this somewhat ominously named street.

The street of "discontent"?

As we got close to the apartment; we noticed a crowd around his window.

So we took a look.....and saw....well, what looked like a stream?

Apparently there once was a whole system of canals throughout the city....most of which are now underground. This is one of the few places where you can catch a glimpse of Bologna's "hydraulic" system that once powered the city.

We relaxed a bit and took a short nap. We decided to stay fairly close by for dinner and just randomly chose this little Trattoria.

The place soon filled up with people who looked like they were headed home from work; the odd family, students, and well, us....the token tourists.

The menu had all of the regional standards. We read that this little trattoria has been here since 1968.

Soon enough the paper bag of bread landed at our table.

We never really enjoyed the bread in Emilia-Romagna; it's hard, dry, and pretty much tasteless. Though we did try the one that looks like it belongs at the end of a medieval weapon.

The Tagliere Salumi e Forgaggi was quite good; especially the Parmesan Reggiano; it was obviously aged a bit because of all the tyrosine crystals.

The mortadella was the best of the salumi.

This time it was the Missus who went with the Tortellini en Brodo.

The pasta was nice and tender; the filling well flavored. The broth was a little light and needed salt.

You do not get Spaghetti Bolognese in Bologna....in fact, there is no such dish in Bologna...except perhaps at a tourist restaurant. What you do get is the tagliatelle al ragù.

Hand made fresh pasta; with a slow cooked meat based sauce. The pasta was quite nice; good pull and texture. The meat in the sauce was rather hard and chewy. I enjoyed how the pasta was dressed as this could be on the rather rich side.

Overall, an okay dinner, it was also perhaps one of the cheapest meals we had on this trip. And, as you can tell, we didn't leave hungry.

Trattoria Tony
Via Augusto Righi 1/B
Bologna, Italy

We headed off to bed rather early.....tomorrow was going to be quite a busy day for us with lots of food involved.

Stay Tuned!

Bologna - AF Tamburini, San Petronio Basilica, and Other "Stuffs"

While we were sad at having to leave Modena, it was time to head back to Bologna, and what was to be the last leg of our trip to Emilia-Romagna.

Our apartment was located just north of the city center, which made it quite convenient for us. We'd arrived a bit early, but were able to drop off our bags and head on out to get some lunch. We headed into the area called Quadrilatero; a wonderful maze of streets and home to the oldest market in Bologna. There are tons of little shops and we walked into the Librerie.coop Ambasciatori, a bookstore and home to Eatlaly in Bologna....no not the crazy Eataly World, but an interesting food shop in the middle of a bookstore.

Where you could browse the aisles for the latest bestseller.....for some reason, I still love bookstores....aaah, the fragrance of new books in the air....and perhaps, like us, purchase some porcini cream.

Librerie.coop Ambasciatori
Via degli Orefici 19
Bologna, Italy

And just steps away, next to the plaque of Father Marella, whom I read used to collect money for the poor and homeless on this corner is AF Tamburini; a pretty well known deli and wine bar.

And walking through the door....well; I could smell heaven.

There an interesting mix of locals and tourists here. The tourist go for the Prosciutto and Mortadella and other stuffs; while I had a few other things on my mind.

And of course we got some mortadella.....

Tamburini
Via Caprarie 1
Bologna, Italy

And while we wondered around a bit more......

But in the end, we headed back to Piazza Maggiore.

To sit with the folks on the stairs of San Petronio Basilica and watch the crowds of Bologna pass by.

I gotta say; the ciccioli….all the wonderful parts of the pig was my favorite; like the best head cheese.

Such amazing diverse textures, so "swiney"....wonderful!

The Mortadella isn't your Mom's baloney....it was porky, but not salty.

The Culatello di Zebello was fine; cheesy,porky, slightly briney-sweet.....but perhaps by this time I was getting a bit jaded?

After our impromptu lunch; we decided to check out the Basilica.

And we're glad we did. As with so many of these historic religious structures there is so much to see and so many stories. For us; there was one thing that really stood out....it was on the floor.

It was a roped off interesting line that we tried to figure out.

In a roped out section of the Basilica is Cassini's meridian line. In which Cassini got permission to make a hole in the roof of the Basilica of San Petronio and put this strip on the floor.

Which is; in simple terms an astronomical calendar.

It was quite an interesting visit.

 

After our nice visit we headed back out and wouldn't you know.....we came across another church.

This one is the church of Santa Maria Della Vita.

As we wandered the city, we came to appreciate the vibrant youthful feel along with the history.

And soon enough, we came upon a bustling shop where the Missus grabbed a snack.

So, the Missus enjoyed Her snack....what is interesting is that Sfoglia refers to old style pasta made by hand in the region. So perhaps next time.

Sfoglia Rina
Via Castiglione 5A
Bologna, Italy

We were enjoying our time in Bologna!