La Bella Bologna

Ciao da Roma!

This past weekend, I decided to be spontaneous and take a day trip to the beautiful city of Bologna, the home of spaghetti alla bolognese (aka spaghetti with meat sauce), some of the best red wine in Italy, and medieval architecture.  Upon going there, I did not know what to expect, as this beautiful city in the Emilia-Romagna province is one less traveled by Americans.  However, I thought I would take the plunge and check it out.

When I got off my fast train from Rome, I immediately went to a wonderful restaurant for lunch called the Ristorante Donatello.  For my meal, I ordered a glass of house red wine, lasagna, and tiramisu.  The red wine tasted very full bodied, almost like a cabernet, but with a bit of a fruitier after taste, which regardless, paired very well with my lasagna.  The pasta used in the lasagna was a spinach pasta, topped with a hearty, meaty ragu sauce.  The tiramisu, in my opinion, was the best part of the meal.  It was served in a martini glass, where the cake part was topped on top of a custard-like frosting.

After lunch, I decided to take a look at the central plaza, the Piazza Maggiore, where I found the central cathedral of Bologna.  As you can see from the featured picture, the Cathedral was absolutely massive, breath-taking, and an utter delight to visit.

Once I spent about half an hour inside the cathedral seeing the various alters (unfortunately cannot be pictured because photography was not allowed inside the cathedral), I ventured along a main street to Bologna’s most famous set of towers, Le Due Torre.  One of the towers had not been completed, as construction was forced to stop in the 12th century.  However, the other tower had been completed, and its inside is currently accessible to tourists.

For just three euros, I was able to make the hike to the top, which, if you decide to go there, is a hike.  Although I was out of breath once I got to the top, the views of the entire city of Bologna were incredible.

For the next several hours, I decided to wander the streets of Bologna and visit the numerous parks and shops in the city.  Once I got tired, I went to a gastropub called Swinebar, where I was able to get another glass of red wine.  This time, I ordered a Sangiovese red, which was paired with some simple crackers and olives.  Since I had time to kill until my train back to Rome, I headed to another restaurant, Caffe Roberto, where I got a 7 euro aperitivo special.  For just 7 euros, I got a glass of house red wine, cured meats, cheeses, crackers with aole spread, tomato topping, and peppers.  The setting was very tranquil, as I was able to read my book, sip on wine, and relax in peace in the center of town.

All in all, this experience of traveling by myself and taking the chance of a new city was incredible.  Because I enjoyed myself so much, I decided to take another spontaneous day trip this coming weekend.  Tomorrow I head for Genoa, and I cannot wait to continue my travels.

Ciao per ora,

-I