We returned from a week in Bologna ( and some time in Venice) last week.
Bologna is a lovely, interesting city.
San Luca is spectacular , Vila Ghigi is worth a climb

I'm soo jealous. I'm still carrying a bit of Bologna around my waist from just a one week stay. Scary to think of what could happen in a month! Enjoy your stay.

danon - thanks for the recommendations. was planning on San Luca very soon.

Marija - I don't even want to think about what is happening right now to my waist either..!!

traveling in Italy several years ago - Bologna was my favorite place to eat!!!

I enjoyed your TR

S.L. is a looong uphill walk - 3.6 km.
We took a taxi up from town( glad we did) and walked down.
There is a nice restaurants at the top ( cold beer!)
The views are lovely.

I frankly think we need that kind of walk with all the eating we've been doing!! Although 3.6 km both ways is a lot. It would be easier if I wasn't trying so hard to blend in and refusing to wear sneakers

Taxi up, walk down to San Luca. When you reach the bottom of the hill, get off the arcade walkway and stop at Meloncello. Divine restaurant. Best gnocchi I ever had!

the restaurant at the top is just a pizzeria.
I heard about Meloncello, but did not have the time to stop.
If you wish to do some walking ( also uphill)

http://www.comune.bologna.it/quartieresantostefano/parchi_giardini/villa_ghigi/index.php

sharbear84 - I'm one of your blog followers. It's great to check in on my blogger dashboard to see what other artists are up to and see a post about Bologna!

Loved my week in Bologna in 2010 and dreaming of going back, would love to be able to stay for a month! Now I'm off to check out your blog!

I don't recommend following our example of having a huge meal at Meloncello and then climbing to the top. Great meal!

Ha, yeah maybe better to do the walk and then eat?? But now I'm definitely set on some kind of walk/Meloncello combo.

And for a day trip to Modena, and to taste some balsamic vinegar, here is my report on that: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/morning-in-modena.html

So jealous!! We will be there for only 1 night in June...looking forward to hearing about your recommendations for food!!

haha loved the dog driving. looked like a charming and peaceful spot

Hope you're OK after the earthquake.
What an awful thing for everyone in the area.

what PP said

Thank you for thinking of me! Oddly enough we were in Florence for the night so we missed the quake. I'm in the Florence train station now whwre I've been for many hours waiting for a tain...everythin is delayed...so we havent gotten back yet to see the extent of the damage. So sad/awful/crazy.

Wow hope everything is ok!!

Just got back "home".....it was dark out, so I can't tell for sure, but on the bus ride home the city seemed totally fine, and our apartment is also fine....I think the smaller towns around Bologna got the brunt of it perhaps.

Glad to hear things seem OK for you.
Look forward to hearing more about your apartment and what you're doing in Bologna.

Just found your blog - what a wonderful adventure - your Venice pictures reminded me of my trip in Sept 2010 -
looking forward to more!

glad you are OK and Bologna.

Read part of your Italy blog; love the photos of Venice; I 've never been but have to put it on my list.

I also read your Paris highlights/recommendations, & I have added Montparnasse Tower to my list when we go to Paris in July. If the lines are too long for the Eiffel Tower, might skip going up in the Eiffel & instead go up Montparnasse Tower. The views look amazing.

Where are you staying when you leave Bologna?

MaineGG and Cathy - Thank you. I will be posting more about Bologna soon. We've been travelling a lot too, so I haven't had the time!

Kwoo - I hope you enjoy Montparnasse Tower, I really regret that we did not get up there - ah well, next time. After Bologna, we are going on to Ireland (a few days in Dublin and then based in Galway for the remainder of June), and our final month will be spent in Israel where we have family.

I am trying to find out more about what towns were affected by the earthquake and how much, but not speaking Italian I don't understand the local news, and the English news I see is not that specific...anyone know a good news outlet?

Love your blog, love your pictures.
We'll be going to Bologna, Paris, CT, Florence with a few few day trips here and there.... Venice, was also thinking of Ferarra but it sounds like they got the worst of the quake. Very sad, the last I heard was that 4 people were killed in a ceramic factory. The old city looked to have lots of damage, as well.

Yes, extremely sad. Ferrara seems to have taken a bit hit. It's crazy to think of these centuries-old structures being felled in an instant. I was planning to either train there, or Verona or Ravenna this week for a day trip, hadn't decided yet, so am trying to find out a little more about the relative damage but I don't know much honestly.
That sounds like a wonderful trip with Bologna, Paris, CT..wow. We just spent one night in Florence and did a fun bike tour of Tuscany if that's your kind of thing (http://www.tuscany-biketours.com/)

Some more thoughts and photos on Bologna: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/bologna-porticos-and-pasta.html

sharbear84, I thought about you yesterday. My kids and I are counting the days for Venice now....

Sharebear84 - Great to hear your doing ok!! It is disheartening to think about the instantaneous and extensive damage to buildings that have survived for so long!

Do you have any additional information you would like to share on the Florence bike tour? My friend and I have reserved a spot on the tour for early October and would love to hear some feedback (besides from trip advisor ).

sharbear,
Thanks for the link. Bicycling is indeed our cup of tea. Would also love to hear more about it. The site photos don't show much except a few young people mugging for the camera.

I am going to hopefully post on my blog about the bike tour, but a few thoughts, and I"ll try to not to repeat too much of what is already on TripAdvisor:
-Despite everyone saying on TA that it's an easy bike ride, I found portions of it very easy, and portions of it not so easy. And I"m not just talking about the ending hill. If you're at all unsure of your biking abilities, don't eat too much or drink too much wine at the tasting or at lunch. My husband didn't find it hard at all (until the last hill), so perhaps I was just having a low energy day, or I'm out of shape (the likelier possibility).
-On the flip side, if you're a really good biker, you'll probably find having to stay with the group pace and stopping a lot kind of annoying. Just know this is a leisurely type thing.
-You do bike on roads with cars but I felt pretty safe, except at one point when I fell behind the group, but Alessio was always up ahead with the van waiting to see if we were ok.
-It's also not a wine tasting trip. Andy, who runs the company, took us on a tour of a castle where they make wine and olive oil but he's clearly not that into giving the tour, which was fine with us because we've toured wineries before. Then you get a tasting of wine and some amazing olive oil on bread, and a chance to buy (but no pressure).
-Lunch is salad, a choice of pastas, and desert/coffee/wine. Nothing fabulous, but its good, and its included in the price.
-There is a 5 euro discount if you pay cash. Also, they say to arrive at 9:30 but they really don't leave until 10, so no reason to show up that early!
-The views are absolutely fabulous. I've been to Tuscany before (briefly) but my husband never had and wanted to just see a little bit to see if he wants to come back - and of course he does, and soon! So it served its purpose in my opinion Also nice to get some exercise and feel better about all the eating we do!

We were in Bologna last week and went to Meloncello and definitely recommend it. We made reservations on line a week ahead. The meal was delicious and the service was lovely. We then walked up to San Luca only to learn that the Madonna was on tour and was being celebrated in Piazza Maggiore so we hoofed it back down in time to join the fun. FWIW, most of the people walking - or running - up to San Luca were in sneakers. We were not

The best gnocchi we had were at Da Gianni but the best pasta we had were bought from Le Sfogline (via Belvedere 7) next to the Mercato delle Erbe (better prices than Mercato di Mezzo). Her tortelloni w/ricotta and parsley were amazing, especially the ricotta and her passatelli were wonderful too. There's a very good cheeses shop there too: Fromaggeria Bernardi.

We also had a couple of good meals at La baissanot (a Basingtoke / LCI rec - TY!). Simple food prepared well by lovely people and very inexpensive.

So sad about Ferrara and environs - we stopped there on Saturday enroute to Padova and really liked the town. Hope to catch up w/your blog soon.

Thanks for the recs! We haven't gotten to eat in as many restaurants as I would like, for various reasons, although I've cooked a lot - but we have a few more days to try to squeeze stuff in!
And I really appreciate knowing that you saw people in sneakers going up to San Luca!!

If I could only have one repeat meal in Bologna it would be pasta from Le Sfogline - hope you get to try it. Although we had no bad meals or even mediocre ones for that matter.

We had dinner twice at Da Gianni....what a great spot
We were treated like old friends the second time, even given a complimentary
grappa after the meal ( ice cold and delicious)
Bologna is often overlooked
as a destination in favor of Florence and Venice.
Understandable.
Also, too bad.

Also..I am embarrassed...but I have somehow missed the Mercato delle Erbe! I must go tomorrow! Is it open every day?

Shar,
Thank you for the bike info. It sounds perfect. A good chance for DH (who's never been to the area) to get a glimpse of the country side. The food and wine sound like a bonus.
We're avid bikers but have no problem stopping or checking things out.
Love hearing about all the eateries in Bologna.

Sounds like it will be the perfect thing for you guys! Enjoy!

Hopefully you already found the hours:

http://www.mercatodelleerbe.it/orario.html

I think you'll really enjoy it - so different from the food quarter. Wish I could remember the name of the bread store but if you enter from Ugo Bassi, it's in a nook in the far left corner. Best bread I've had in a long time.

Just got back from climbing up and down from San Luca! It was a great climb - very glad I wore sneakers. Sadly Trattoria Meloncello was closed on Tuesdays (I did not do my h.w.), but we went and ate at Al Sangiovese, which was also on my list, and was great.

Thanks for the info on the bike tour sharbear84!! We are so excited and it will be so nice to get out of the city. I really appreciate your feedback!!

I hope the rest of your trip is wonderful! What an amazing 6 months!

Hi sharbear84, and thanks again for this very intersesting TR series. I'm so jealous of the amount of time you and your DH are able to spend with this trip.

Hub and I took a cab to the top of the SL hill and walked down! We spoke enough Italian to get us into trouble and never did figure out about the Easter season walk up the hill. Is it done on one's knees? I'd love to find out.

Agree about the area at the bottom being very interesting. Modena looks very nice.

Also, I love your blog and the ability to change the format of it. Did you use any particular company to set it up or did DH with his software ability?

As I was climbing up I was thinking, do people really do this on their knees?!?! Unbelievable.

I set up my blog using Google blogger, did not use my DH at all actually! I am a neophyte with this stuff, and it was really easy, much easier than wordpress from what I've been told. I'm glad you like it, thanks!

sharbear84, that's what I'm not certain of. We don't know if the person we spoke to said he was so drunk he crawled or that the penitent crawl! Did you hear that folks crawl?

I love the various formats one can use on that blog.

mvor - had the MOST amazing pasta that I bought from Le Sfogline today!! And watched them make it for me - ricotta tortelloni. Thank you so much for the tip! Also visited Mercato delle Erbe, which was great.

sharbear, I'm SO glad you got to have the tortelloni. Did you dress then in butter & sage? That's what we did when we had them in Bologna. We bought some more on the day we left for Padova that we had w/a light lemon, garlic, cream sauce. Unfortunately the pepperoncini we used somewhat overwhelmed the dish. Need to find a passatelli iron before we leave. Fun and safe travels for your next adventure. Going to Parma tomorrow to eat some cheese

Yes, I made a butter sage sauce! So simple, so good. A passatelli iron, I'm impressed! Honestly, I've never done homemade pasta...when it's so easy to buy, I just figure why not!

Have fun in Parma...I'm sad we never made it to a cheese factory/farm tour, but we couldn't figure out how to do it without a car.

Not on the subject of Bologna, but here is my blog post from our day in Florence: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/florence-at-glance.html

Heading to Rome tomorrow for a long weekend!

Lovely pictures, especially the Piazzale Michelangelo sunset series. Nice jacket too!

Thank you!

In Rome and LOVING it...but on the train I got some posts done that I was behind on...here's my post on climbing up to San Luca: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/long-climb-san-luca-in-bologna.html

your blog looks great.

My round-up of food recs in Bologna: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/bologna-tagliatelle-tortelloni.html

Just catching up with your report and I think we ate lunch at Bistro 18 on the same day (Friday 18th?), although we were their first customers so we may have left before you arrived. I recognize the business people from your photo. The waiter made a dramatic production - to me - of icing their glasses for their Lambrusco. He actually was a lovely guy but I was in a bit of a snit since we were supposed to go to Parma but ended up staying in Bologna w/out any reservations and I didn't want to waste a lunch.

We had "holiday decision fatigue" and couldn't decide between eating at Tamburini or La Baita so we ended up going to Bistro 18 which we'd noticed on our way into Da Gianna the day before. I wasn't sure what to expect but I had the Trofie w/Pesto and it was terrific and my husband had a great pasta w/eggplant and ricotta salata. And, as you noted, the people watching was also good (especially tourists trying to find Da Gianni and the ladies going to the delicious bakery two doors down with their teeny-tiny doggies). My husband bought raisin cookies from the bakery that were amazing.

Oh to be back in Bologna...