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Emilia Romagna 2023Emilia Romagna 2023
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Emilia Romagna 2023

marraskuuta - joulukuuta 2023
I'm here for the food! Lue lisää
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  • 12päivää
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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 7

    Lazy day

    26. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    I stayed in bed until almost 11 a.m., but woke up around 9 am. I checked the free walking tour, but it was sold out. I booked the one for tomorrow morning instead. Then I looked at the tour I wanted to take on Tuesday, and it was unavailable. So now I have to rearrange my plans. Sarah had messaged earlier and and they were headed into the center. So I got my contacts in and got dressed. I needed caffeine, and there was an espresso vending machine in the hotel lobby. For 0.80€ I had a pretty good espresso shot!

    I started walking towards the main piazza and ended up at the Duomo. I hadn't heard from Sarah again, so I just sat in the sun on the steps across the square. Sarah messaged to say she was at Gamberini. It was just her and Lucy--no Florian. We ordered drinks at a small table in a street side enclosed area. I had a small sandwich with salmon and a "smoked" negroni. The negroni came under a dome of smoke!

    We chatted for a bit until Florian called Sarah to say he had already driven close by to pick her up. She had just ordered another drink, so we got the check and to-go cups. I walked with her to the car, which was about 10 minutes. It was in a more residential neighborhood. We said our goodbyes...for now. She invited me to stay with her in Milan on Wednesday night. (She actually invited me for Thursday, too. But I will stay at the airport hotel, as it will be easier on Friday morning) So I will see her then.

    I decided to find a grocery store to pick up supplies. I had to buy some conditioner so that I can wash my hair tonight. I found one close and ended up getting a bottle of wine, some spread, stuffed peppers, and mortadella. As I was walking back to the hotel, I passed a café that looked interesting. 051 Tigella e Vino had mostly outside seating and served "tigelle," which is a small, round, yeast bread, which reminded me of a flatter English muffin. I ordered 4 tigelle with mortadella and a cedro (cedar liquor) spritz. It was all very good!

    Back at the hotel, I changed into my "squishy clothes" and got into bed. I am exhausted and had planned this to be a lazy day, and I'm going to finish it that way!    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 8

    Walking tour

    27. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    I am currently at Bar Vittorio Emanuele, facing the main church. I don't think it is a "duomo. " Maybe a basilica? I'm having an espresso and a cornetto before my walking tour of Bologna.

    The tour started at the two towers in the center with about 12 people. Our guide was from Ferrara and gave a shout out to there. We learned about why there are so many porticos in Bologna. It was very dirty and smelly near the street, so they put pillars over the walkways to extend their 2nd floor. Next, we went to the old market, which is now the chamber of commerce. It seemed like we crisscrossed the main area several times. We went to the old university, which is now a library. There were city and country crests from all over the world--including the US and Peru. She took us down the market street, which was amazing!

    Finally, we went to the original Jewish ghetto. I knew that the first ghetto was in Venice. But I learned that at first, the ghettos were only in the towns ruled by the pope. She showed us a "peep hole" in the ceiling of the portico that they would use to see if there was danger. Then, they could escape through tunnels and passages between the buildings.

    This is where she left us. The girl next to me asked whether I had changed for a 20€ so she could tip. We started chatting, and I found out that she is Polish, but she has lived in Rome and currently lives in Barcelona. There was a young guy from San Francisco who I'd talked to a bit, and the 3 of us decided to get lunch...    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 8

    The rest of the day

    27. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    The tour guide had recommended a place called Ragu for lunch. It was a mostly take out place, but we ate our food out of the boxes inside the restaurant. I learned that Kasia worked for a European airline and that she travels often. The guy was on his first trip to Italy and was heading to Florence the next day.

    After lunch, we ended up wandering around together. We grabbed a coffee so that we could use the bathroom. I told them about the "Margaret Rule." We went to the big church, San Petronio. There is a fresco that depicts Muhammed being thrust into hell. Apparently, Islamic groups have threatened to blow up the church because of this fresco. You have to pay 5€ to get close, but you can see it from the main nave.

    We stopped again for food and drinks at the big Mercato in the center. It is full of different food stalls, just prepared food, not groceries. I had an octopus and potato salad and a spritz. We wandered about some more, stopping for another coffee. Finally, we tried to go to the old university bookstore museum, but it was closed. We ended up going to the Anatomical Theater, which was cool. The tour guide told us that they usually cut up women (prostitutes) because they didn't think they had a soul. Luckily, the brothels were all across the street!

    At this point, we said ciao to Kasia. She had to find a bus to the airport. I went with the San Francisco guy to the Archeology Museum, but it was closed. Then we went to the Sala Borsa library, which was huge. At this point, I actually asked the guy his name. Rory. Anyway, we looked around and finally had a drink IN THE LIBRARY. Seriously...this is how you get kids into books. 😀

    After the library, Rory knew of a cocktail bar that had a special drink. He had the special drinks, some sort of sour, with egg whites. I had their house spritz, which used lambrusco instead of wine. It was good but tasted like Coke! Rory had dinner reservations at 8 pm, so we left and said goodbye.

    I was figuring out my next step and decided to go back into Aurum and have the sour drink! The people in the bar were very nice and they let me speak Italian! They were closing, so I said "ci vediamo" and headed towards the hotel.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 8

    Dinner like a real Italian

    27. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    It was after 9pm when I was back at the hotel. Even though I'd been eating all day, I still wanting dinner.

    The original choice was closed, but there was a place next to it that looked good. I went in and I am glad I did!

    It was all delicious! I had a pasta with some sort of yellow cream sauce with guanciale. Then, a raw artichoke salad. For dessert, they brought cookies and a bottle of limoncello. Dangerous for me!

    It was great and the staff very gracious. As I was leaving, people were still coming in!

    I got home about midnight. So tired...    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 9

    Slow start

    28. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F

    I woke up at 9 am and laid around in bed until almost 10 am. I decided that I really need to wash my hair. The shower is tiny, and the water was lukewarm, at best. But it felt good. The blow dryer was not worth anything either. So I hung out in the room until my hair was reasonably dry.

    Heading out towards the Piazza Maggiore, the first thing I noticed is how cold it is. Maybe 40°? I passed the statue of Neptune where they were putting up a Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the cafe on square, where I had breakfast yesterday, was closed. So I wandered around trying to find a place in the sun, or with heat lamps, to have coffee and cornetto. I came to the market hall where we had food yesterday and stopped there. 3.20€ for a coffee and a roll!

    I noticed that my phone was not using data, even though I had 4 bars. When I got back to the hotel, the wifi worked, but no mobile data. I ended up spending the next hour on the phone with AT&T, trying to figure out the problem. No luck. So, I do not have mobile data now. 😞    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 9

    Portico walk...hike

    28. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F

    After I got off the phone with AT&T, I took pictures of my route to the portico walk to San Luca. It started at Porto San Saragozza, which was a 20-minute walk from the hotel. My phone still shows me where I am and what direction I'm going, so that helps.

    The first section is flat, along the road, with stores on the side. But then it really starts... It is uphill the entire way. Some parts have stairs, but most is just walking uphill. I started strong but backed off quickly. I needed to pace myself! My knees, hips, well everything was hurting. I thought it would take 1:15 to 1:30 to get to the top, but I made it in under an hour. The views were amazing--both the city and the countryside.

    I didn't go into the church. Instead, I rested on a bench in front. It was getting late, and I wanted to head back down. Originally, I had dreams of taxis or busses at the top. I did see the little "kiddie train" come up the hill, but I don't know where it parked.

    So down I went! It was hard, and I really tried to take it easy. I'm not sure what was worse, the stairs or the ramps. All hurt!

    By the time I got to the bottom, I knew I was going to take the bus for a bit. One came when I was almost at the stop, but it wasn't the one I wanted. It was a 15-minute wait, and it was nice to sit and relax.

    The bus was crowded! I squished my way in and looked at my phone to see where we were going. After we passed the Porto Saragozza, we were still heading in the direction I wanted to go. But I jumped off the bus sooner to avoid being suffocated!

    It was a short-ish walk to the center.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 9

    In search of food.

    28. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ 🌙 45 °F

    I had not eaten since breakfast and was okay, but I wanted to sit and regroup. I picked a place with a heat lamp outside, after wandering through the Mercato several times.

    I was looking for the meat and cheese and I found it. I had the mixed meat and cheese board and a glass of wine. It was a lot of food, but I ate it all. Plus, another glass of wine. I wanted to find the cocktail bar from last night--Aurum.

    It was pretty close--not that far? The walk took me down a Christmasy street with trees and lights. Very magical! I found the bar, and the guy from last night greeted me warmly. I asked him to surprise me with a drink. It was some sort of delicious brandy sour. The drinks come with taralli, olives, peanuts, and chips. Too much!    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 9

    Da Nello

    28. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ 🌙 41 °F

    Originally , I wanted to go back to the same place from last night. But it was closed. This place was on my Yelp list for Bologna, and it was closed last night.

    I arrived at 7:20 and asked for a table for one. It is one of the first places I've been on this trip with all men waiters. Fancy? For one person, I was directed downstairs. It's a very big space! I got a table that would only fit one. Perfetto!

    I ordered grilled artichokes and tortellini in brodo. That and a glass of white fizzy wine. The artichokes were interesting. Almost raw, but smoky. With a little olive oil they were great. The tortellini was amazing... I ordered a Montenegro and rice cake. It was a bit dry, but topped with Saranno liqueur. Yum.

    Right now I can barely keep my eyes open!    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 10

    Last day in Bologna

    29. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F

    I woke up around 8 am. and started to pack up. I figured out that I could have coffee downstairs without paying 8€ for breakfast. So I had a few coffees in the lobby before going back up to my room to pack the rest of my stuff. Before I went up, I asked at the front desk about luggage storage, taxi to train station, and room tax.

    I took my time packing up while watching "TV" (my laptop). I was in the lobby a little after 11 am, paid the bill, and checked my luggage. I decided to have a small bite to eat at the piazza before exploring more. It's sunny today, but cold! (46° now)

    Later... I just enjoyed my first gelato of the trip. Sitting in the sun, in the piazza, it's almost warm. A woman asked if it was okay to sit next to me, and we ended up chatting. Pauline is from France but went to university here and now works at a travel agency.

    Before this, I bought some balsamic vinegar for myself and gifts. My train is at 3:56 pm. I will start moving towards the hotel after 3 pm. Until then, I will look for a few more gifts.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaEmilia Romagna 2023
    Päivä 10

    To Milano

    29. marraskuuta 2023, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F

    I'm at the station in Bologna waiting for my train to Milan. It is an underground platform, which is nice since I didn't want to sit outside.

    I wandered around for a bit and thought about lunch. However, I was just not hungry! So I stopped at a café and had a spritz... and a sbagliato. At 3 p.m., I walked to the hotel to pick up my suitcase. I reorganized to put my purse and its contents in my suitcase. The cab I requested arrived fast! There were about 50 teenagers in the lobby and they were all leaving. I couldn't get out the door! The hotel staff let me out another door.

    The taxi took about 10 minutes and cost 11€. So much better than schlepping my suitcase for a 20-minute walk!The train ended up being 3 levels down. Thank goodness for elevators, escalators, and that I planned enough time!

    The train was crowded, but it had assigned seats. It originated in Rome, so this was the 2nd to last stop. The ride was comfortable, and all was going well until about 2/3 the way there. Then train slowed down to a crawl. Later they came on the intercom and said there was a police action going on at one of the other Milan stations, and we were going to be late. No big deal for me since Sarah was running late, as well.

    I didn't rush to get off the train since I wasn't in a hurry. I was in the 4th car, and by the time I got 2 the beginning of the 1st car, there was a major crush to get out. People trying to go both ways, but no one was moving. At one point, it was a little scary. I am guessing what happened was that since the train was 25 minutes late, ALL the people were getting on to go back south at the same time. As soon as we got off the train platform, it was fine. But it was a crazy 10 minutes!

    I found the taxi area, but there were 2 or 3 separate taxi lines. And of course, no taxis! I finally had to get aggressive and jump to one of the few that arrived. The cab took about 20 minutes to Sarah's, and she was waiting at the door for me.    Lue lisää

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