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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Great Friends, Great Food – A Weekend in Bologna

Last weekend I took my first solo trip of the semester. I went to Bologna, the food capital of Italy and a lively university town, but more importantly, where a couple of my friends from Barnard, Suzannah and Jackie, are studying. 

I almost didn’t go because Bologna was hit by a pretty bad snowstorm.  Even though Florence and Bologna are a half-hour train ride apart, Bologna had been getting snow for the past few weeks while in Florence we’d just been getting flurries.  Ten minutes out of Florence and the world was already completely white, the snow falling down in gusts. Uh-oh, I thought – what had I gotten myself into?! 

The first thing we did was eat lunch at a French & Italian restaurant, Colazione da Bianco.  We all ordered croque monsieur.  The bright and warm atmosphere provided a pleasant contrast to the weather; the walls were painted cheery shades of orange and yellow.  It was an idyllic place to sit, warm up, eat great food, and catch up with my friends, while watching the snow fall outside.


    Watching the snow fall from inside Colazione da Bianco

    Jackie and Suzannah


    Suzannah and me

    Me and Jackie


    We split a strawberry tart 




After lunch we took a passeggiata (walk) around the city, stopping in Piazza Maggiore, the main piazza, and wandering into a beautiful church, San Petronio.    

There was something about Bologna that resonated with me.  Perhaps it was its youthfulness; it seemed most of the people walking around were college-aged.  Or else it could have been the overall feel of the city.  It was a little darker, edgier than Florence…an almost New York feel – yet, still intensely European.     


    The Fountain of Neptune in Piazza Maggiore 

    Piazza Maggiore


    Snow graffiti!


My favorite part of the day was going to Eataly, Mario Batali’s restaurant that has locations in Italy, Japan, and New York City.  In Bologna it is not just a restaurant, but a bookstore as well. Gourmet Italian food plus floor after floor of books equals my kind of a store!

At the wine bar on the top floor Jackie said something along the lines of, “It would be so much fun to come here someday.” 

“Why not today?”  I replied.  We sat down and ordered prosecco.  Mamma mia, they gave generous portions!  (By the way, Italians really do say “mamma mia.” Just a little interesting fact!)  It was the first time in my life getting tipsy in a bookstore.  


    The Wine Bar at Eataly


Another highlight of the day was trying the only kind of salami I will ever eat.  I’ll give you a hint, I got it from a pasticceria, not a salumeria.  If you’re thinking chocolate, you’re correct!  This dessert could easily be mistaken for real salami, but doesn’t contain any meat.  Instead it’s made from dark chocolate, butter, eggs and chopped nuts, and tastes similar to fudge.  

After the pasticceria, we loaded up on groceries, and bought mozzarella from a famous cheese shop, La Baita Formaggi.  We walked to Suzannah’s dorm and cooked a feast!  (It was mainly Suzannah who cooked, while her Italian roommates offered suggestions.)  For an appertivo we snacked on mozzarella and tomatoes.  The main course was tagliatelle with melted mozzarella and tomato sauce. Kinder chocolates (the Hershey’s of Italy – except, it’s a thousand times better than Hershey’s) and fragolina (strawberry wine) topped off a great meal.  




    One of the oldest streets in Bologna, Via delle Pescherie Vecchie. La Baita Formaggi is on this street.  



La Baita Formaggi, where we picked up some mozzarella





At around midnight we all headed to the hotel I found (for just 18 euros a person!) because Suz and Jackie, being the ridiculously nice people they are, didn’t want me to stay there by myself.  The next morning I left after breakfast – it was still snowing and I was afraid if I waited much longer that the trains back to Florence would get canceled.  I would have loved to have stayed all day. Nonetheless, it was the perfect weekend trip! 

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