We left Lienz early, and took the train to Fortezza for the connection direct to Bologna on the Munich to Bologna run. We had time to go across the street for a cappuccino and espresso, then ate lunch on the very comfortable Inter-City train as we cruised through Italy, a moving feast for the eyes out the window, like watching a Rick Steves travel show without Rick.
It’s funny about trains; they can be the very best form of transportation, or the very worst, like the other day on the hot, no-airconditioned ride through Italy.
I mean, I remember the great food from our first trip here, but I had forgotten how much there is to see and do.
We walked over to see the Neptune Fountain first. I think it is the very best in all of Europe. The pose reminds me of The David in Firenza.
At the four corners of the base are four “Nereids” (sea nymphs or mermaids) shooting water out of their breasts to the four major rivers of the (1560s era) world: the Ganges, Nile, Amazon and Danube.
I just think the entire fountain is so well done.
The main cathedral, Basilica di San Petronio was being built to be larger than St. Peter’s in the Vatican City, thus it is half-finished because the very jealous pope cut off funding when he found out.
You see, to the church, size does matter.
So here is this giant cathedral, nice on the inside, but the top half of the exterior is all rough brick, never finished with the pink marble facade like the lower half, and about half the size of what was planned. It is dedicated to St. Petronius.
Inside the cathedral it is sort of sparsely decorated by the normal gaudy-cathedral standards, but way up in the front right side, in a very dark alcove, are the bones of St. Petronius himself. The sign says it is his corpse, but it’s hard to tell if he is really all there. (see photos below)
I found something new: the Canal di Reno. There were about 60 KM of canals in the city, sort of like an inland Venice, but they are mostly covered over now. I hit upon one section that is still open, though there is some building reconstruction going on with some of the buildings lining the canal. Still, if I closed my eyes and really squinted through the tiniest slit in my eyelids I could sorta maybe see a slight resemblance to Venice.
I enjoyed walking along the Via Malcontenti; the Way of the Malcontents!
Along the way we found a wine bar, with very good wine but no snacks to go with it.
Past that we hit the big stairs built in the 1800s, the Scalinata del Pincio. This looks like something out of Rome, and the stairs lead up to a big-tree park. The view off the top of the stairs, down the street, is worth the climb.
Across from the stairs is the Rocca Galliera, crumbling ruins that we tried to figure out. A castle? Roman aqueduct?
This is not to be confused with the Porta Galliera which is the old entrance to the Bologna city walls.
I learned that Cardinal Bertrand du Pouget tried to built a fortress here in 1330-1333. In total five times, the pontiffs tried to build a castle, and each time the Bolognese rebelled, destroying what had been built. Plucky people, these Bolognese.
The ruins that can be seen today are the remains of the last attempt, that of Giulio II, built in 1507 and wrecked by the citizens in 1511.
We did make it out to the Porta Galliera (the old entrance to the Bologna city walls) by simply following the main street out, away from the square.
But as we looked around, it turns out it is pretty hard to be a semi-vegetarian in Bologna. I mean what is one thing they are famous for?
Pasta with the Ragù Bolognese (meat) sauce, right?
We ended up down the street at the very cute and very small Trattoria La Montanara. It is really a hole-in-the-wall place, with a business card that has Mama on it.
Anyway, it was quaint and we snagged a table right on the street. I decided to skip the whole appertivo-primi-secundo routine and just go for the pasta.
Two pasta dishes.
The first was a fantastic Tagliatelle with ragù (typical bolognese first course, pasta served with a mixed mince meat sauce) and it was everything you want to taste and more. It paired perfectly with the mezzo-litro vino rosso della casa.
My second pasta dish was a very good Gramigna pasta (typical Bolognese short pasta, like short solid worms) with sausage and tomato sauce.
I liked the first dish best.
Gail had the Quiche Lorraine with leeks and zucchini, and a chopped salad. She was disappointed by both. As I said, it is hard to be a vegetarian in a meat-sauce city.
We walked the streets as it got dark, stopping by the plaza where the free nightly movie was being shown. The lighting in the covered porticos is magical, little tunnels of gentle light, the arches and columns lit so delicately.
It rained a lot our second day, thunder and lightning storms, and we did not have to carry an umbrella (though to be fair we did have to go across some exposed places).
We wandered up past the old convent and church of San Francesco, with the very cool bears on the fence and coffins displayed prominently out front under green tile teepees.
It is so strange to go from the quiet village of Amlach to the noise and congestion of a big city where you can barely hear the noon bells above the noise. But what a great city to be in, with interesting sights and fashionable people, and so many interesting little details to look at.
And did I mention the food? Great cheese and ham especially.
We stopped at a café behind the street that is off the square. It is a block of nice sidewalk cafes, and of them we chose the Fleur du Vin with the cute colorful tables and brightly painted mis-matched chairs.
We drank through a liter bottle of sparkling water, then ordered.
Gail had a dry muscat that was dry, smooth and tested of spring flowers. It was from the Loire, muscat “Sur Lie” Domaine des Genaudieres. She stuck with this wine the entire meal.
I had a three grape blend Rosé (Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah) from Provence. We shared a cheese and honey plate, and I had a croc Monseiur.
I switched over to a Loire Rosé (Pinot Noir) just to sit and sip after eating.
Both of my wines were strong tasting, smooth, dry and so cool on a sunny hot day.
While we sat, American oldies played on a jukebox out front.
It was so pleasant we decided to sit a while longer, read and talk, watching the people go by. So I ordered the third Rosé on the list, a Bouchy - Tannat blend from the Sud Ovest, while Gail had another glass of the good muscat. This last rosé was intense and fruity, the darkest pink and robust. It was also the best chilled and was an excellent finish to the meal.
It was hard to leave, but after more sparkling water we pulled ourselves up.
Walking the streets we found art exhibits, statues, and bizarre seeds for flowers, vegetables and even to grow your own dog, cat or turtle!
Oh the crazy stuff you see.
We came across some sidewalk stars, kind of like a mini-version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Duke Ellington had a star, as did Ella Fitzgerald.
We are heading to Osteria dell Orsa, a place recommended to us by my friends Steve and Kathy. They are in Croatia right now, but have been through Italy as well. You can follow him on TripAdvisor here.
I ordered the traditional tagliatelle with Bolognese ragu, while Gail had the vegetarian pasta. Both were good, but I was not inspired enough to order a second dish.
We were seated inside the very small room, sitting communal style, shoulder to shoulder. We sat next to two British couples, and exchanged information about places to eat and see.
Then they asked if we had heard about the latest “scandal?"
It’s in all the news here, about the British Ambassador's leaked messages home about Trumps incompetence. He is doing his job: informing his government about what is really going on.
And Trumps response? He proves the British Ambassador right by tweeting like a ten year old: “I won’t play with the U.K. Ambassador any more."
Well then he should just stop playing period.
I’ll tell you that every single person we have talked with in Europe so far, if the conversation lasts more than ten minutes, gets around to Trump and what an incompetent idiot he is. There is zero respect for him, and the US has lost all credibility at this point.
I mean seriously: what grownup picks fights with a soccer star, name calls world leaders, and tweets like a crybaby in reaction to negative news?
God I miss the dignity of Obama, the quiet tone of Bush One, the forceful talk (and even the later senility) of Reagan, or the quiet “lead by doing” example of Carter.
We left and walked down the street a block to Trattatoria Belle Arti, a very quaint looking place with such a huge selection of wines they look like a wine shop instead of a restaurant. I wanted to try another tagliatelle with Bolognese ragu.
Gail was full, so she had a gelato and cappuccino.
The house wine here was excellent, and the pasta meal was unlike the other two I had eaten. It’s funny how everyone makes their tagliatelle noodles slightly different, and the Bolognese sauces unique to them.
I had a great espresso, maybe the best ever, very strong taste almost like tobacco. So I had a second. Sahib brand coffee.
Gail has shot of Amaro Fernet Branca, a local Italian liquor that is not bitter, not sweet, but dark and herbal.
The way we order and eat, all out of order, or perhaps just two pasta dishes, I am sure is a mystery to the waiters.
Tonight’s waitress was totally flummoxed by our orders.
But by god I’ll eat what I like.
Tomorrow we leave for Madrid. There is a bus from the train station direct to the airport. It costs €6 each. Our guesthouse owner said he could get us a taxi direct to the airport (cutting out the walk to the train station) for €21. So for an extra nine euro we can save an hour travel time and avoid a walk in the rain. That seems like a plan.