Prodotti da Italia

We picked up our wheels for the rest of our Italian odyssey and headed out of the city of Bologna toward our next destination of Reggio-Emilia, a village with its origins dating from 187 BC.  This was a short stopover village on our way to our Verona.

Fiat Panda, our ride

Our little Fiat Panda was not the fastest on the road but was small and better for parking in cities and small villages.  We had a hard time hiding all our bags in the small back boot.  But we made it work.

Our first stop out of Bologna was a Lamborghini Factory Tour.  We arrived a bit early and had to walk a long way from parking our car.  We wandered around the museum and drooled over these marvelous machines that are all automobile but also handmade works of art.

Lamborghini, not our ride

The history of Ferruccio Lamborghini is very prominent as we began the tour, even though he sold the company relatively early on.  The factory floor tour was spotless and pretty quiet, except for the occasional engine purr. It was really fascinating to watch such a small group of people build a car from the all the disparate parts.  There was some robotic technology used to facilitate the process and keep the lines moving efficiently.  Each car can be personalized in every aspect to the owners preferences.  If you own a Lamborghini, you own a work of art.

We had a very lovely lunch near the factory on our way out of town.  The restaurant was filled with Lamborghini workers and locals.  The food was delicious.  Mike had wild boar steaks with pecorino which were unique and tasty.

Original cask from 1600's

Our next stop the House of Guisti Balsamic Vinegar.  It was a small villa off the side of a countryside road in Modena.  The family has been making balsamic vinegar since 1605.  We had a guided tour of their small family museum and aging attic and then a tasting of their various aged balsamic vinegar, including their 25 year aged balsamic.  They still have the original cask from the 1600's, in use in their attic.  They have since added several more, but the process of aging in the casks is strictly followed from year to year as the different casks add a variety of flavors and complexity to the balsamic over time.  It was another example of Italian craftsmanship and devotion to their family's history

We arrived late afternoon in Reggio-Emilia for a couple night stay in the area.  It was a lovely little flat within walking distance to the village.  It was a small, but quaint town with several interesting squares.  We saw very few tourists and mostly families or locals going about their business.

As we are in the land of cheese and meat as I mentioned in my earlier post,  our next full day was spent on two tours. Our first tour of the morning was to 4 Madonne Caseificia dell Emilia to tour and taste the famed Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  The tour was very good and took us through all aspects of their production.  Near the end of the tour we were treated to the aging room to see the several hundred wheels of cheese aging in racks.  A robotic arm was carefully removing each wheel, wiping the wheel, turning it, then replacing it on the shelf.  It was fascinating to watch. Again, the Italian commitment and quality was displayed in every aspect.  We had a marvelous tasting after the tour and bought a wedge of our favorite Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Aging wheels

Say Cheese!

Robotic cheese turner

Our tasting platter.

Our next tour took us toward Parma to see how the famed Parma ham is produced and aged.  Our tour guide Luca explained about the black pigs used for Parma ham and that only hind quarters are to be used for the "Parma" ham designation.  He was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the farm where the animals are raised to the finished certified products of Parma.  The testing of the quality of the ham is still done by the historical method of a horse leg bone which is stuck into the ham and then sniffed to smell the quality of the aging. Seriously, that is old school. 

Parma Ham

Parma Ham making Mike smile.

Of course we then had to sample the tasty products with a glass of local wine from ancient white grapes of the area, Pignoletto.












Our stay in Reggio-Emilia was short, but fun-filled.  The weather was spectacular with a little hint of autumn in the air.  We walked to the morning market before departing a picked up a few local products to enjoy. 

On our way to Verona, a stop in Mantova proved to be another lovely little break for lunch and place to wander the market and village streets for a bit.

Church ceiling in Mantova

Mantova clock tower

Mantova canal

 Our first sunset in Verona.

Bologna, La Grassa and much more

Our next stop was Bologna via train from Venice. As it our usual plan for train travel, we brought our own charcuterie food items and some wine to have lunch on the 2 hour train ride.  After our very enjoyable train ride from Venice, we arrived at the Bologna train station. The quaint, quiet passageways of Venice were behind us for now and we arrived in the very noisy, big city of Bologna.

Pic from Venice train station which is right on the Grand Canal.

Our lovely Airbnb hostess Christine had provided excellent directions to get the bus from the train station to the flat and Mike channeled a little Lewis and Clark to find a nearby Tabacchi store in which to buy bus tickets.  We were able to negotiate our bags onto the bus, only smashing a few Italian citizens along the way.  Christine met us at the flat and gave us the local info. The flat was well equipped and well located to the city center, yet quiet at night for sleeping.

We arrived Bologna on a Saturday afternoon and previously learned in Venice that many of the restaurants in Italy require reservations on weekends. The restaurants are small and have 2 seatings 7pm and 9pm. Without reservations and speaking only poor Italian there was a challenge ahead for dinner. Mike found a lovely restaurant within walking distance so we walked to Trattoria Nonna Rosa at around 7pm.  At first they indicated there was no room, but then we understood if we were done by 9pm we could stay.  We were the only people in the restaurant.  Our first meal with shaved truffles, a Cotoletta alla Bolognese was delicious.  By 9pm an the restaurant was bustling with locals enjoying their Saturday night out with friends.  We very much enjoyed our first meal in Bologna and there were so many more to come.  

Cotoletta alla Bolognese with shaved truffles

As  we learned on another very good Free Walking tour Bologna is known by several nicknames: La Dotta, La Grassa, and La Rossa. The educated, the fat, and the red. The oldest university in Europe is in Bologna which earned the city its La Dotta moniker, the educated. Bologna is famed for its food products and its cuisine. Thus, La Grassa, the fat, is a second nickname the city wears, referring to its famous pork products and pasta. The tour had some history, some art, some humor and a lot of waking and enjoyable way to spend the morning. The incredible number of porticos in Bologna is striking, over 40 kilometers of covered walkways protect you from the elements as you walk this beautiful city.  

Porticos

Bologna filled in most of its canals, but one remains

 As luck would have it, we happen upon the local Ragu Festival on Saturday after our tour and had our first experience eating Mortadella, a Bolognese specialty.  Also sampled some lasagna Bologanese too on the main square Piazza Maggiore. 

Now that's a Mortadella!

Porky goodness

The weather was still pretty hot in Bologna.  Mike had pre-purchased tickets to an afternoon soccer match for Bologna FC 1905.  It was a fun match and the crowd was rowdy and loud, the Bologna team upset Roma to win 2-0.  












So far on this trip our mantra has been..."Meat, wine, cheese...Repeat".  This continued in Bologna.  A stop at Salumeria Simoni was a highlight of our food in Bologna.  Order the Royal Plate, you will be glad you did.  We continued to enjoy Bologna's food, wine, cocktail culture throughout our stay. 

Yes, we ate it all!

It was easy to enjoy the city sights in the daytime and at night.  Between Google and the bus system, we were able to get around everywhere we wanted to. On our last full day, I found a tour and tasting experience slightly outside the city at Caprigiani Gelato University.  Luckily, a local bus took us right to the door of the facility.  We toured their museum of gelato equipment and learned the origins of gelato dating back to 1700 BC, the Mesapotamians used snow to freeze fruit liquids into a granita-like treat.  Oh but it has gotten so much better over the years.  Caprigiani holds 80% of the worldwide gelato machine market and offers courses to become certified in gelato making. 

Old time gelato cart

Mike intently working on granita

Sign for women's toilette

This gelato is a work of art

Our tour included a short gelator-making course which involved making our own granita and learning about the differences between ice cream and gelato.  It was a lot of fun and very delicious too as we sampled pistachio and the original plain cream gelato.









We both really enjoyed Bologna, not too touristy, but a vibrant with fantastic food and easy transportation.  Now the fun really begins, picking up a rental car from Bologna and the onward to Emillia-Reggiano for more Meat, wine, cheese...Repeat". 

Church at Piazza Maggiore

Bustling alley of diners

Neptune Fountain shadow

Mushrooms of all kinds

Beautiful side street

Meats of all kinds

Venizia - Just go there. You will get lost. You will not mind.

Venice did not disappoint. It was unique, romantic, ancient and just splendid. Our Airbnb apartment was right in the heart of the Dorsoduro district, the university district. Our hostess Anna met us upon arrival from the airport via our transfer boat and ensured we were informed about the area before she left. The apartment was perfectly outfitted for our stay with a lovely view of a quiet side canal.

View from our flat in Venice.

We walked, and walked and walked. Crossing canals via bridges seeing expected sights such as the famous Grand Canal, singing Gondoliers, the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco and then just happening upon other marvelous unexpected sights as well. Sometimes it was a small side canal or art, sometimes string quartet music streaming from inside a church, or food or leather shoe/clothing displays in shop windows creating the vibrant tapestry of Venice.

Rialto Bridge

Gondola carving, all by hand

Floating fruit market on the canal

Basilica San Marco

Canal delivery boat to local restaurant/hotel

Wine and cichettis

  We were constantly amazed and confounded at the daily life of this city that operates with no automobiles, only canal boats and wheeled carts. It was a topic discussed many times over an apertivo  and cichettis (Our two favorites were Osteria Al Squero and Osteria All'Arco) and as we witnessed new and interesting things on the canals. The history of wealth and prominence is still alive and well and obvious on the Grand Canal and the designer shopping area. Tourism is a staple of Venice today, but you can minimize your exposure to the hoards, we certainly did.  We got lost, got found and got lost again.

DHL delivery boat, we did not see any Amazon boxes

More wine and cichettis

When not on foot we got around via the Vaporetto (water bus).  They were a little crowded at times, but provided great views of Venice from the Grand Canal and on of our outer island trips to see the Basilica San Giorgio Maggiore and take a lift up the tower for amazing birds eye views of Venice and its waterways.

Lunch one day by the canal

Obligatory Tiramisu, not the only one we had

Rialto Fish Market, 10 centuries old market

I always post pictures of food, as it is so beautiful to me. I will do so again here because I just can't help it, but suffice it to say we ate several delicious meals. We have muddled through Italian menus with Google Translate and the help of mostly friendly wait staff. And wine, fugetaboutit, it's all good and regional! However this region has offered an opportunity to fall in love with very dry Prosecco which we enjoyed much.

Display in Pasticceria window

After taking a walking tour, hearing about the history of this place and the people in 400 AD who out of necessity to survive forged this city on tiny islands in the water, I feel humbled by their ingenuity, their spirit and their resolve.  It is a magical jewel in our small world, and I feel lucky to have gotten a glimpse of it only for a few days.  I have so many other lovely photos from this place, can't fit them all here, maybe I will try to post albums by location when I get home. Ciao.