Sarah and I made a short stop in Bologna on Wednesday. We weren't sure if it made sense to spend any time here but given its title as Italy's "Culinary Capital" and the fact that Rick Steves left it off his list of places to visit in Italy, we figured it would be a less touristy place to get a few great Italian meals. We were right...on both counts. The town was deserted compared to the other cities we've visited so far and the meals we had were amazing.
We arrived around 2pm, dropped our bags off at our hotel and immediately headed to town to find a lunch spot. Café Santangelo turned out to be just what we wanted: delicious food served by locals who barely spoke English. I had the lasagna, Sarah got the caprese salad; both were prepared with fresh, simple ingredients and were among the best dishes we've had in Italy so far! After lunch we set out to see some of the city's sights.
The square in front of the Basilica of San Domenico. Didn't even need to wait for any tourists to get out of our way for this shot - this is how it was when we showed up!
The other big church in Bologna, the Basilica of Santo Stefano.
Though the outside looks nondescript, the detailing inside was pretty cool...
...and there were several nice courtyards like this.
Bologna's Two Towers. Seems like every city in Italy has at least one tower that is leaning.
The colorful, quiet streets of Bologna.
The courtyard at our hotel.
By late afternoon we were practically melting from the heat so we decided to take a break at our hotel to cool off. Once we were showered and ready for more, we headed out to see the Piazza Maggiore and the Fountain of Neptune, the last must-see attractions in Bologna.
Neptune always has the best fountains.
We ate dinner at Al Sangiovese, a well-reviewed place that was only a few doors down from our hotel. Turned out to be another culinary highlight for us in Italy. Our favorite was the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese, one of Bologna's most famous dishes. Though simple in execution - who didn't eat that when growing up? - these guys really have the recipe down!
On Thursday morning, Sarah was feeling ambitious so she took a walk up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. The walk is about six miles total, from the center of town to the church and back, and the entire walk is covered entirely by arcades (basically high archways). Good thing it was covered since it started to drizzle during her walk...
A pretty unique view for a hike up to a church on a hill.
We're now on the train again, heading to Venice. Sarah has been before, but given the beautiful setting and our newfound ability to "outsmart" the big packs of tourists I think she is pretty excited to go back!