Week #12: May 21-27

It’s our 2nd to last week in Italy so we are exploring Bologna and the surrounding towns!  Can’t believe it’s almost over.

And we have some sunshine and warm weather.  So Sunday was a day to explore more of Bologna.  I read about the funky University district so we decided to head over there to look around.  First, we hadn’t explored the Due Torri yet (two towers) so we walked past.  We decided not to test my knee by a long stretch of stairs up the main tower but maybe later in the week.  It was certainly clear enough to have a great view.  After a lovely lunch sitting right below the towers, we went on a nice long walk to see other neighborhoods.  Lance and I are similar that we’d much prefer to turn down random streets to see where they lead, and so we did!  Bologna is bigger than Florence so there is lots to explore.

We decided we had to go see Parma — the home of some delicious prosciutto and my all time absolute favorite cheese.   It’s just an hour train ride (which costs 16E for both of us) so off we went.  The walk from the train station to the center of town is quick and pretty.  The town doesn’t seem as “old” as some of the other places we’ve been but has plenty of interesting piazzas and buildings to see.  Parma has a big museum with a theater, archeological site, etc but we were more interested in the cheese.  We had a recommendation of a place for lunch that was not super touristy and off the main road in the historical center, so we decided to try that.  We had a meat and cheese platter of course with Parmesan and a variety of local ham.  It was exceptional. They serve the parm with a small ramekin of honey and one of balsamic vinegar.  Delicious!  After lunch, we wandered around more looking at the shops and other restaurants.  There is a street there in town called Borgo Angelo Mazza.  I had to check it out!  We stopped in a couple of the shops and found out that Angelo Mazza is a famous poet from Parma.  We also stumbled on a new type of Italian wine.  It was a very hot and humid day and Lance didn’t want beer with his lunch so he ordered Lambrusco.  This is a red wine but it is served chilled and it has a little bit of frizzante to it.  Not as bubbly as Prosecco but just a little frizz.  It’s delicious!  And so refreshing on a hot day.  We decided to stop for apertivo and try another winery’s Lambrusco and now we are hooked!

We enjoyed a few more days in Bologna, wandering around the town.  We tried to make it to San Marino which is a landlocked country about 90 minutes from Bologna.  We headed out on the train early but when we realized that the train had to stop, everyone had to disembark and get on a bus, just to be driven one stop away and get back on the train, we decided to pivot.  Both of us really wanted to go to San Marino but it was hot and the idea of a bus to a train to another car was just not going to be fun… plus we’d lose valuable time in San Marino.  The floods of last week really affected this area — Faenza and Forli — so we thought it made sense to reconfigure the end of our time in Bologna and get to San Marino by car.

We really enjoyed Bologna.  It’s easy to navigate, the people are so welcoming, and the food options are plentiful.  On our last night in town, we stopped at a delicious restaurant in town called Va Mo La.  We both enjoyed a nice plate of pasta.  After dinner, we walked over to the Piazza to listen to the musicians busking on the piazza and to people watch.  Definitely one of our favorite past times, so we were happy to have our last evening be doing this.