Bologna, Italy (September 4-6)

We took one picture in Bologna:






















We went to Bologna basically for one reason: food. We had heard it was widely regarded even in Italia as the best food around. They are most famous for their ragu (in the picture above, although the picture does not do it justice). What they call ragu, we know as Bolognese sauce. Rich red meat sauce, seasoned just right, it was delicious everywhere. We both ordered it in various forms on back to back nights. Was it the best food we've had here? I think we both agree it was not. But it was very good.

Bologna's main square was pretty big and full of activity, including a gay rights rally and a marathon. There was a University near by, so there were young people everywhere, as well as a lot of teenagers. The main street leading to the square was a major shopping area and very busy all day and night.

Bologna is also the fist place we noticed an important trend. If you are a cool 15 year old girl in Italy, your favorite store is Foot Locker. You and all your friends pick out matching pairs of E150 throwback high top sneakers (Nike, Reebok, etc.) with neon laces and parade all over with them holding hands. We have since seen this trend in the other big cities. (Side note, Foot Locker is the one store we have seen in every single city other than Varenna and Vernazza. I had no idea it was so popular internationally because nobody I know has been to one in the states in about 10 years. Well played Foot Locker.)

The lack of anything else to do in Bologna allowed us to take a day trip to nearby Ravenna which is famous for its 1500 year old churches and impressive mosaics. The mosaics were indeed impressive. Sadly, no pictures, some places you couldn't take any, and others just didn't come out right with the light. The other fantastic part about Ravenna is that it is the place to eat piadini. A piadina is very simple and amazingly good. Soft flatbread warmed up, meat, cheese, and other toppings popped in, and then fold the bread up. They made a perfect lunch on the run or you could probably class it up with a glass of wine and a sidewalk table.

Clearly this was not the most photogenic part of our trip, but it was enjoyable and the mosaics and piadini combined with ragu probably made it worth it.