bvlenci

Would you be interested in meeting up, annhig, while you're in Bologna? We're not far from there, and go fairly often. My email address is easy to guess: think of the world's biggest search engine.

annhig

another nice place, jamikins. Shame I only have 4 nights there!

BTW, I just spent a happy hour or so reading the Bologna segment of your 2013 TR, and [mainly] looking at your food recommendations. I particularly liked the sound of the Hosteria Giusti in Modena; though I couldn't find menu anywhere I trust you two not to steer me wrong. How far in advance did you book for these places? I won't necessarily know that far in advance when I can take various trips, so I'm hoping that in mid Feb making reservations a day or two in advance will work.

thursdaysd, I remember la Bitta because we had our last lunch there at the end of our family trip to Venice about 10 years ago; DS still talks about the heap of different meats he had presented to him, swimming in a sea of polenta. Worth being reminded of it though - thanks.

bvl - great idea - I'd love to meet up with you. I'm not sure about the email address - I'll give it a go though. if it bounces back, I'll be back.

gertie3751

Hello again annhig. I'm a bit late here as usual...

1. I wouldn't stay anywhere else but Canareggio in Venice. Quiet and off the beaten track... at least it used to be. Probably still is in Feb. Will be chilly though. I stayed there every year from the mid-90s to the mid-00s in a variety of different places at different prices. Probably most of them are no longer there, but the ones that are...the Giorgione ( bit busy), the Abbazia (bit chilly,)and the Ai Mori di Oriente( bit expensive). Have a look at them and see what you think.

2. Never done a tour of the Ghetto but mooched around it a lot.

3. Got the bus from and to the airport. Goes from the bus station in Piazzale Roma.

4. I reckon you could easily get to Padua and back in a day if you just want to see the Giottos. Not far on the train.

5. What Fra Diavolo said about Ravenna. Do it from Bologna.

6 My favourite canal-side restaurant in Venice is also in Canareggio... looks like it is called Osteria Bea Vita these days.

Lucky you, such a great trip. And Italian language school into the bargain.

HappyTrvlr

We spent two weeks in Canareggio and enjoyed it. A few restaurants we enjoyed were Vini da Gigio, da Alberto, and Anice Stellato.

kybourbon

>>> and my "hotel" is a room in an apartment found for me by the school. It probably won't be very luxurious, but I will have use of the kitchen <<<

Between the school and Piazza Maggiore are dozens of restaurants and food shops (Via Clavature and Via Drapperie) and several streets (more alleyway than street) are pedestrian. A couple of famous salumeria (Simoni for one) and fish markets, etc. There are several regular grocery stores too. I remember the fish markets shut down for a few hours in the afternoon and then set their tables back up in the alley. I don't remember if the salumeria closed (think they did though). I was there last year. For restaurants, you wouldn't need to wander off those three or four streets for your two weeks. You will find more than enough choices.

As for day trips, I would catch the bus to the train station as walking would probably take longer than you think (depending how close to the school you are staying). You can catch the bus to the station on Via Rizzoli (near the two towers). Make sure you get on heading in the right direction though or you will have a long ride.

Where do you plan to stay in Ravenna? It books up at times (or at least I found it did when I was looking for hotels last minute). I was looking at the budget Centrale Byron (great location), but it was booked. I ended up staying at the NH which was a couple of minutes walk from the station. I wasn't sure if I would arrive after dark so chose it for the short walk. It had the biggest breakfast selection (included with my room) of any hotel I've stayed in (other than AI's). Multiple milk selections (including lactose free, almond, others), juice bar with half dozen selections, yogurt bar with all kinds of toppings, regional cheeses and meats, etc.

http://www.hotelsravenna.it/byron/en-GB/price_list

My room was much better than the room that appears on their home page. If you click through their pics, you will see most rooms look better than that (no clue why they would put what appears to be the worst room on the home page). I think I paid about $100 USD last fall.

https://www.nh-hotels.com/hotel/nh-ravenna

annhig

oh, so much information! Thank you all so much. I have made a note of all the restaurants and some of the hotels, though I have to say that I am very pleased with my choice in Venice.

kyb - the NH hotel in Ravenna looks more than ok - we were very impressed with the one at Geneva airport which also had a stupendous selection for breakfast. in fact it was probably the best breakfast of our whole 12 day stay in Switzerland. If I end up doing an overnight to Ravenna, I'll definitely bear it in mind.

Good idea to think about taking the bus to the station - when I'm there I'm sure that it will all be come clear. And thanks for the info re the restaurants - I can see from google maps that there are more than you can shake a stick at. It's nice to have a steer to ones that people have enjoyed though.

Thanks to you too, Gertie. It so happens that my hotel is only a hop, step and jump [hopefully not literally] from an Alilaguna stop so it seems to me to make sense to use it. I've found the Bea Vita - looks good and not far from the Synagogue so it would be a good choice for lunch after taking the tour. And I think i'm decided on a day trip to Padua - it's nicer to be able to "come home" for a few nights rather than dotting about. And as you say the train ride is very quick - less than 30 mins.

Keep the ideas/tips coming!

cruiseluv

Hello annhig,

Sounds like a fabulous trip! I'll be looking forward to your report about the school, I'm always looking for Italian schools!
From Bologna I did a day trip to Parma and loved it. Next time I'll do Ravenna for sure

Good luck, keep us posted!

jamikins

Annhig - sorry, I am just seeing this!

We made the reservations a few weeks in advance but then we travelled mid-summer! And a table for 1 May be easier. We loved that place. I don’t think they post a menu online but you can see our food pics in this album of our day trip to Modena

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...57634453378296

Happy planning!

annhig

thanks, jamikins. lovely pics as ever.

I suspect that midweek in Feb I'll be pretty safe booking just a day or two ahead at least I hope so. it will be interesting to see what activities the school offers; I know that the first afternoon they take you on a walking tour of Bologna which will be useful.

cruiseluv, I've not been to a bad language school yet and my friends spoke highly of this one. There is quite a lot of competition - we found 3 in Bologna that we liked the look of - so they have to keep their standards up. Also IME Italians are very serious about education - much more so than the British who have a more laisse faire attitude. As you get more advanced one difficulty is finding a place where they have enough people to run a class at your level, so smaller schools may not be suitable, but this one seems large enough for that not to be a problem. I hope! I will of course report back.

gertie3751

Lol annhig! You are dead right about language schools having problems running classes at higher levels. Which is why I speak several languages not very well... never seem to get beyond functional ability. Which is OK for tourism purposes but not very inspiring. It would help a lot to actually live somewhere for a year or so but the foreign country I live in these days uses a version of my native language and is even worse than UK at promoting foreign languages.

Hope you will send us your progress reports.

massimop

Whether you will need reservations for restaurants in February depends on whether there are trade fairs in town (and in other towns, like Modena or Parma) when you are there. I can't remember whether it is Modena or Bologna that has a big weddings industry trade fair in February (sometime around San Valentino, I seem to recall). But there might be other fairs. San Velentino itself will mean typical fixed menus and some other festivities. Likewise Mardi Gras if it falls around that time this year.

In general, I would recommend that you only do out to eat if you are looking for a special dish -- like grilled mortadella from Da Gianni on the via Claveture or a Sicilian fish feast (from Da Maro on via Broccaindasso). Pizza from da Niccola (unless your host landlady has a better idea). In general you will eat better in Bologna if you shop for fresh pasta and take-away saucess and boil the water yourself where you are staying. Your landlady might very well steer you away from the high priced shops in the historic market area. There are often equal or better in the neighborhoods.

Bologna is a generally safe city but it does have few pickpockets and purse-snatchers (partly because the local shoppers and students make it too tempting by carrying around cash instead of credit cards), so keep your money and even your purse under the winter coast you'll surely be wearing.

Other February tip: Bologna's terrazzo sidewalks are quite slippery when wet or slushy. Be sure to pack your best non-slip shoes and also to be careful as you walk about. Those terrazzo sidewalks are quite old and uneven, with many broken patches and sudden unexpected changes in levels. Rather treacehrous and not always well-lit.

On a brighter note: Bologna is often filled with high quality music events in winter, all over town. If you have an interest in music, you might enjoy visiting the very beautiful music museum (via Farini, but double check the address). Bologna also attracts small gems of traveling art exhibits -- recently one of early surrealism, now one of Mexican muralists -- keep checking the Bologna Welcome tourist website to see what's on.

Maybe I just hate buses, but all together in my lifetime I think I have now spent nearly 200 days in Bologna, including some days with leg or foot injuries, and I have never taken the bus once to get anywhere, least of all from the piazza Maggiore to the train station. (About 20 minutes straight up the via dell'Indipendenza, but 5 minutes more if you take the more serene, beautiful via Galleria, which has some nice food shops as well). Taxis are not expensive in Bologna, but you need to learn where the taxi ranks are (not hard, but not always obvious).

Bologna is a nice shopping town for all budgets and sizes and tastes.

maitaitom

Scout out some good restaurants for our autumn trip to Bologna...they don't need to include jello.

annhig

oh thanks so much for those tips, massimop. I had already started to think about which of my winter boots to take [to the criteria of style v comfort I now have to add non-slip!] and of course I am aiming to do some of my own cooking, as well as to sample some of my landlady's. [though the deal is B&B I believe]. My problem I suspect will be buying too much from the local delis, not not buying enough.

I had started to look at museums and galleries, but not yet at what concerts might be on, so thanks for that idea too.

As for the buses, I will have to see which go where and how much of an advantage they are over walking. i agree that when there are lovely things to look at in the shops, walking can be very attractive; OTOH if I am in a hurry to catch a train, the bus may be just the thing.

<<Which is why I speak several languages not very well... never seem to get beyond functional ability. Which is OK for tourism purposes but not very inspiring. It would help a lot to actually live somewhere for a year or so but the foreign country I live in these days uses a version of my native language and is even worse than UK at promoting foreign languages.>>

gertie, i too would like to get beyond

annhig

how did that happen? I meant to write:

gertie, I too would like to get beyond mere functionality, and I agree that it's very difficult to do that without living in a country. However that is not going to stop me trying to improve my Italian, one way or another. It's certainly an interesting and absorbing way to spend a week or two, and sociable which is part of its attraction for me that the moment. IME when your brain is concentrating on one thing [eg singing, speaking Italian] it's more difficult to think about other things that you don't necessarily want to think about.

tom, despite massimop's doubtless size words, I'm sure that I will suss out some of the Bologna restaurants, and I'll try to come back with a list, though probably not an exhaustive one, given that I've only got 2 weeks!

massimop

For footwear (and other clothes): The portici of Bologna are great for keeping rain & snow off your head but turn into refrigerators in the winter, keeping the warming sun off you as well. In particular the stone walkways can mean that cold is creeping up one's bones. Long socks, warm leggings, lined boots can help ward off fatigue and aches.

Bologna interiors are not normally over heated, so vests, high-collared sweaters, etc, are not usually a problem. Of course check the weather forecasts a few days before you go. Bologna can have mild, humid weeks in winter, so you can pack accordingly. The city is overflowing with cheap scarves, hats and gloves if weather forecasts prove wrong. (Also, unlike Milano or even Roma, Bologna is not about flashy, competitive dressing. Practical dressing, for faculty & students alike, is the norm).

One last tip: If you want a baseline for appreciating the true "spag bol", which in Bologna is tagliatelle al ragu, I noticed that Twinside Trattoria, the sister bistro of the neighboring ristorante Caminetto d'Oro, is now offering tagliatelle al ragu on the Twinside menu, made by the Caminetto d'Oro kitchen. Its rendtion of tagliatelle al ragu is just about the gold standard for this traditonal dish. Twinside is a very informal place that is quite comfortable for a solo diner.

But otherwise, you should say "yes" to every home-cooked meal offered to you, and buy fresh pasta in the shops to boil and eat at "home" with a bit of melted butter or a fresh-made sauce from the delis. These "take away" fresh pastas can be unforgettable. (But don't forget to ask the vendor how many minutes to boil your pasta purchase.)

gertie3751

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2...ls-museums-art

yestravel

You're going to Italy -- fabulous! I loved Bologona and some great day trips from there. Enjoy your planning.

gertie3751

Annhig, presume you will get in touch with the author of Venetian Game while in Venice?

annhig

Next on my to do list, gertie - and thanks for the link.

massimop - I'm not sure how much home cooking I'll be offered but rest assured I won't be turning it down. And i'll be sure to look out for local pasta and sauces in the delis, as well as making sure I try Twinside's ragu.

Interestingly [to me anyway] I was given an authentic traditional bolognese ragu recipe in my italian lesson last week; it turns out that the Cornish town of Helston is twinned with the municipality of Marconi Sasso which is just outside Bologna and several members of the class are part of the twinning association which visited Sasso not long ago. Marconi, who was born near Bologna, set up a mast on nearby coast at Poldhu on the Lizard when he was making his wireless telegraphy experiments, hence the link. I had no idea of this association when I joined the class or when I signed up for the school in Bologna but it looks as if there may be other visits on the horizon if I decide to get involved.

Yestravel - thanks for the encouragement!

bilboburgler

You have to remember that Marconi was Irish (a Jameson) before he moved to England ;-)