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 & […]
“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 […]
Tales from the table: Drogheria della Rosa
Drogheria della Rosa “It opens at 8:30!” I said to Nat with a look of desperation. We had left our dinner plans way too late to cook anything and were scrambling to figure something out. Checking Google maps the closest restaurant to the apartment was 700 metres away, called Drogheria della Rosa. I was so […]
Movember: men’s health month
A lifetime ago It seems like a lifetime ago since I have written something about what we are actually doing with ourselves. The truth is pretty simple and by normal standards quite boring. As we have said before, we travel on our own terms which usually means on our own dime and it takes a […]
The City Of Painted Walls
Every two years Dozza is a town located in the hills of Emilia-Romagna, about a dozen kilometres east of Bologna. People come here to see the 13th century fortress equipped with its own dungeons, the Romanesque church of Santa Maria and the painted walls. Every two years internationally renown artists get together in this town […]
Lapping Up Imola In Emilia-Romagna
RIP Ayrton Senna As a self protested car lover, imagine how excited I was when we were invited to lap the famous Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, etched into racing history and the gorgeous hillside of Imola, Italy. It is the place of legends with an incredible track that lifts and turns and then drops and […]
Rimini More Than Just A Beach Town – PIADINA
Beach vacations Beach vacations aren’t for everyone but the hundreds of thousands of beach chairs in Rimini are proof that many people enjoy the sand and sea. There are over 100 bagni (plural of bagno, Italian for beach), pick one, go to the booth and pay, then someone will show you to your chair. You […]
The Big Wheel In Parma
Parma We woke up early to catch the train out of Rimini up to Parma where our guide for the morning, Giovanna, was waiting for us at the station. Our hosts at Emilia-Romagna Tourism had really pulled some strings for us and had planned a very exciting day. Thanks to the generosity of the Consorzio […]