the ten tastings of Bologna

No, I didn't count.  Hmmm...  No, Not going to.  We tasted plenty that day.

We didn't do too many organized activities whilst in Italy.  No particular objection to doing them, but we wanted a lot of freedom to do or not do things while on the trip.  Still, it's good not to leave everything to chance - we made some restaurant bookings before leaving the US as well - and so it was that I booked us a walking tour of Bologna:  the Ten Tastings of Bologna, booked through the WithLocals site.

It was a beautiful sunny day in Bologna, though we knew the porticoes would provide us protection from the sun.  The three of us set out

the few blocks west to the Mercato delle Erbe to meet Sarah, who took us inside and had the tastings begin.  We actually spent a goodly amount of time in the small market, admiring the produce and such,

but also tasting things.  Tortellini en brodo

from a shop where the tortellini was made by hand according to strict rules - Bologna has a lot of official rules about size and shape and more for its signature dishes, it seems - accompanied by a Lambrusco. 

Piadine from another shop

- this was already shaping up to be a more than sufficient lunchtime-ish activity.  A tasting of cheeses from another shop. 

No, we didn't try the horse meat,

though I've had it before and would be game for it again.  We also sampled (and bought) some of the really syrupy good, aged balsamic vinegar.  Leaving the market, we scooted around the corner and tasted olive oils and chocolate, again resulting in purchases.

Sarah took us east toward the university at that point, indicating to us interesting features of the city.  Some of the buildings and porticoes we had already seen came into more vivid detail for us, and that was a great complement to the tastings.  We ended up at Camera A Sud,

sitting outside,

devouring a platter of mortadella (or, as we know it here, baloney)

and drinking an effervescent pignorello wine, a regional specialty. 

That was a great stop, the three of us leaning in as Sarah notated a map for us for future reference.  And how funny to find, when I had to use the restroom, a sticker on the toilet tank from Conrad's neck of the woods!

But Sarah wasn't done, and I have to say, I really appreciate how she gave us extra time (and I hope we tipped suitably) because she didn't otherwise have a busy day after the tour.  She next took us to a bakery to try the local rice cake, really a rice pudding/cake hybrid. 

We bought some other pastry from there and then headed to the Fabbri shop. 

We love the cherries for our cocktails (and the syrup is delicious drizzled on ice cream), but I was tickled to find an array of other products. 

So, of course, I shopped!

And still there was a stop to go.  I think Van

was the most thrilled that we had a gelato stop because he had wanted gelato at each destination in Italy (and we sort of reached that goal, I think).  Cremeria La Vecchia Stalla had a line out the door

but handled things briskly.  I got a simple cream gelato with amerena cherry and the marsala-flavour, a small scoop of each. 

We devoured them outside the shop along with so many others, and then Sarah took her leave.  We wandered back to the hotel, delighted by the tour, grateful that we had booked it.  In fact, we enjoyed it so much, I sought out and booked another such tour in Como for later in the trip!

The day made for quite the lunch, truly.  And we weren't all that hungry, but eventually we needed dinner.  We decided to check out the cocktail bar at the hotel

and grab some food there.  We had a booking for a dinner in the dining room the next night, so it was a nice preview of the menu.  I had the Jack's Road,

a sloe gin and tonic cocktail, and then the table began filling with food. 

My dinner was simple, a vegetarian dish of zucchini, ricotta cheese, and a pea and mint sauce. 

Gorgeous, right?  That made us excited for the next night.  And even though we had had a filling day, we squeezed in a craquelin puff pastry to share

and an amaro for me.

The weather deteriorated in the next couple of days, but no matter.  We had had a beautiful day on foot seeing the city and sampling its dishes.  Bologna, though, still had treats to offer!

la prima colazione

I think I have that translation right (thank you, Google Translate!).  La prima colazione, or breakfast.  Our hotel in Bologna was the only one of the three (well, also leaving aside Rome, which was one night at an airport hotel) that didn't offer breakfast.  And that was fine!  Because each morning we could emerge from the hotel courtyard into the protico and head east.  Before we made it to the next corner, there was Caffè Letterario - Sebastiano Caridi.  Ah, what a delightful convenience and a convenient delight!

We never really got the hang of ordering the coffees we wanted in Italy.  Conrad made the mistake on the first morning in Ischia of asking for a latte, not realizing that he would get only milk.  Shorthand doesn't work!  I always managed to get my decaf, happily.  But we realized that we wanted something with two shots, and sometimes that came with a lot of milk and sometimes not.  At another hotel we came to order it as a macchiato, but even then it wasn't always the same.  By the end, I was asking for cappuccinos, and that was fine.  But the inconsistency from place to place and even at a single place was a little maddening.  It also didn't help that at Caffe Letterario it was never consistent on where and how we ordered - inside, at the counter, with a waiter?  Who knew.  Each morning was an adventure.

What was indisputable was that the caffe knew its food.  Those pastries? 

Conrad eventually started getting one savoury and one sweet, and that was a lot, but also so good.

We were there every morning in Bologna, not even bothering to find another place to try to start our day.  So good.  And, as a bonus, a beautiful church across the street

that we popped into a couple of times to admire.

Breakfast, Italian style, as utterly bastardized by three North Americans - maybe not super traditional but undeniably good!

Italy recap: getting to Bologna

Our time on Ischia came to an end after four relaxing nights and three delightful days.  It was time to get the ferry back to mainland Italy, as you have previously seen posted.  A driver picked us up and took us to the train station

where we parked in the lounge

for a short spell and then boarded our fast train bound for Bologna.

Now, as you might guess from the flights and lounges and such, we do like to travel in comfort.  If we can afford it, we do so unapologetically.  So it was that we booked the Executive Class car on the train.  Look at those seats! 

Menus for onboard dining and beverages! 

These two looking all kinds of adorable! 

A stop in Rome (but no change of train), and otherwise it was a quick and smooth few hours rolling north.

Our hotel in Bologna was more like guest rooms that were associated with a restaurant (and yes, we eventually had dinner there - a later blog post!).  Casa Conoscenti

consisted of three rooms in a historic mansion.  The bedroom was a generous size, the living room was a little more modest.  It was fine for our four nights, but not as spacious and special in feeling as our previous hotel.  But that's being churlish.  It really was comfortable, and better still, it was an excellent location.  We didn't appreciate that when we arrived and looked out on the nearby buildings,

not able to place ourselves in the city very well.  But in the days ahead, as we walked around, we came to realize how very central we were to things and how very easy it was to walk to things.

Once settled into the hotel it was off to the next corner west of us to have dinner at Ristorante San Pietro

sitting outside along with everyone else. 

The weather turned for us in Bologna in the days ahead, but we had that first evening and the next day to enjoy a last gasp of summer.  Stuffed zucchini blossoms for us,

the classic lasagna for Van (lasagna is a Bolognese dish),

and for the first time in a handful of days, some meat for me with lamb chops scotta dita. 

After dinner we walked past the entrance to the hotel courtyard

to the other end of the portico and across the street to a grocery store, Conad (yep, we joked about that name to Conrad more than once),

to buy a few things for snacking on and drinking in the room.  And then it was to bed, a long day behind us, and exploring Bologna yet to come!