Otherwise occupied Getting up early, I check the train schedule, grab some fruit and head to the station by myself. Tim being otherwise occupied with a virus that is draining his body of all fluids. The train to Novara is on time and as it makes its way towards the mountains, I notice the frost […]
Tales from the table: Merenda Reale
Merenda Reale We arrived at Caffè San Carlo for our 3:30 reservation, the place was empty except for a few people enjoying a drink while reading the paper. The first thing I thought was, “I hope you don’t plan on sleeping tonight”. Let me explain, our reservation was for the Merenda Reale (literally meaning royal […]
Tales from the table: Smile Tree Cocktail Bar
Aperitivo The tradition of aperitivo in Italy is definitely one of our favourite rituals. Late dining, no earlier than 8, is the custom in Italy so to bridge the gap of never ending hunger, aperitivo before dinner in the early evening is exactly what’s needed. Usually, your preferred café will also have a well-stocked bar […]
Picturing Bologna
Picturing Bologna La dotta, la grassa, la rossa (the learned one, the fat one, the red one) Bologna gets called all three because of its university, its delicious food, and its red roofs. We spent two wonderful weeks there in early November, met some wonderful people, found some great restaurants, great markets, wonderful wine & […]
Modena and the Ferraris
An afternoon in Modena So far our morning was a fully packed romp through the wonders of Balsamic vinegar production but, the day was only half over. It was lunch time and our host, Simone, from the Consorzio Tutela Aceto Balsamico di Modena, had a plan to take us to one of his favorite local […]
The straight DOP (& IGP) on balsamic vinegar
Modena If you’ve been following along you know that we had a pretty full dance card in Bologna. This day would be our longest yet but absolutely worth the effort. We woke up before the sun and made our way to the train station in order to make it to Modena to meet our hosts […]
“Gelato!”: a day at Carpigiani
“Gelato!” When I mention food and Italy someone inevitably replies “Gelato!” Who doesn’t love a cone or bowl of that extra creamy lusciously flavoured Italian version ice cream? So when we were invited to Carpigiani Gelato University to learn the history and secrets of great gelato we jumped at the chance. About a 40-minute bus […]
Tartófla Savigno, Michelin star dining
Tartófla It didn’t take much convincing for us to board a bus early one morning to make the one hour trip from Bologna to a small town called Savigno. We were invited by Bologna Welcome and the organizer of the annual white truffle festival, Tartófla, to enjoy a day of everything truffles. Tartófla is an […]