Bologna

Life is too short, and I’m Italian. I’d much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size 0.

Sophia Bush

Well, our journey from Malcesine to Bologna was tedious and extremely frustrating.
Hot tip: Don’t try and travel anywhere near Lake Garda by bus on a Saturday. There is one single-lane road in and out, and it seems all the Italians make their way up there from Verona for the weekend. The first bus was delayed by an hour, which meant we missed our connection and waited an hour for the next bus (which was also delayed, so it was more like 90 minutes!) and another hour for our train.

BUT…we are finally in Bologna and life is good! Far be it from me to complain about waiting for bus while gallivanting on a 7-week European adventure! The view from our Airbnb isn’t bad either.

Bologna is widely known as the “food capital” of Italy, being the home of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, balsamic vinegar of Modena, Parma ham, mortadella and everything in between. We tried a traditional local dish called Tortellini in Brodo, which is simply freshly made tortellini floating in a meat based broth. It was a strange sensation, almost like a short soup with an Italian twist! Of course we had some spaghetti bolognese, but you dare not call it that here! You need to order Tagliatelle al Ragu. The Bolognese people are very particular about this, and I’m with them! It is so much more delicious with tagliatelle rather than spaghetti – the thicker pasta holds the sauce much more nicely. We visited one particularly popular restaurant called Osteria dell’Orsa to try both of these dishes. It was well worth the wait!

The city is filled with covered walkways called porticos. They are all beautifully tiled and create gorgeous shadows at different times of day. The main square, Piazza Maggiore, hosts Basilica di San Petronio – an enormous Gothic church with 22 chapels. It’s a beautiful church on the inside, with each chapel being decorated slightly differently depending on who owns them. There are many towers throughout the city, but there are two right beside each other. One of these leans even more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

We came across the city’s oldest Osteria, Osteria del Sole, where they only serve alcoholic beverages. If you don’t drink, you are kindly asked to wait outside! They don’t serve food either, but you can bring your own. We picked up some tigelle and went in and had lunch with the locals in a very homely environment.

On our final night, we discovered the university district. I wish we had found it a little earlier, as there were bars and restaurants full of locals, in what seemed like a glimpse into real Bolognese life. The city centre can often feel completely geared to tourists, and you’re never sure if you are seeing the authentic culture or lifestyle of the city. If I am lucky enough to return to Bologna, I will definitely be starting by exploring the city fringe!