Like Florence? - Try Bologna!
We had booked a very grand hotel, the Grand Hotel Majestic Gia Baglioni – would we feel out of place? A very grand hotel, yes – full of charm and opulence, but with no pretensions or pomp – Tick!
We were greeted most warmly at the Majestic and had a very welcome and pleasant upgrade to a junior suite. A very typically Italian room with cloth walls and draped bed – even the television was framed in an ornate “picture frame” so that it was in keeping with the décor. The Majestic is very well located, just a couple of minutes walk from the central square, Piazza Maggiore.
Bologna is a very walkable city – we walked for miles each day, mostly just wandering around, looking at architecture (I have never seen so many churches, and although this is not really “our thing” they are all very beautiful and we loved just looking) and numerous statues, people-watching and stopping frequently for a beer or glass of wine – just our sort of place. Wonderful old fashioned delis, pasta shops, cake shops, cheese shops etc mixed with more modern quirky shopping - and a few leaning towers too - Pisa has good competition there! There are unfortunately rather a lot of vagrants and street vendors but it’s the same in most European cities these days, and fortunately they weren’t persistent or threatening – the whole city feels very safe, and it’s bustling but not too touristy.
One day we went to Modena by train – we had managed to secure a table for lunch at the 3 Michelin starred Osteria Francescana – WOW! If you want to splurge this is most definitely the place to do so (though you will need to book a table well in advance – for example they open bookings for April on 1st January and they sell out immediately). Once or twice a year we like to go to Michelin star restaurants – not TOO often otherwise our money tree would definitely be with all the other money trees in the sky now – and this one was the best experience so far and one we would definitely go back to. About 650 Euros for two for a 10 course tasting menu including the wine pairing, but worth every cent. Each dish just kept on coming and coming and each was a work of art with an interesting story behind it. It was a full sensory experience – sight, smell, taste, a perfect mix of contrasting textures and colours, and we even got sound with the oohs from everyone in the restaurant including our own table! As I always say, it has to be likened to going to a top theatre show – we have paid similar money for a mediocre show which has soon been forgotten, but this meal was more entertaining and enjoyable and will never be forgotten.
We didn’t prebook any other restaurants, and as we tend to have dinner around 9pm when we’re away, and, unlike other European places the Bolognese tend to eat a little earlier, we had difficulty getting a table at the best places, but twice we ended up in a little place called 051 just around the corner from the hotel which was fabulous. They even served our favourite champagne for 50 Euros a bottle – amazing value as we pay the same price in the supermarket here! The food was also great value, the biggest chicken Caesar salad I have ever seen for just 8 Euros. Compared to the larger cities, eating out is relatively inexpensive (apart from the Michelin star restaurants of course!) and even in the Majestic they charged only 13 Euros for a champagne (real champagne, not sparkling wine) bellini cocktail. Oh, and it was warm enough to eat outside in the evenings – did I mention that the weather was beautiful in early April?!
Bologna is such a central hub with easy train journeys to so many places in Italy – we could easily have done day trips to Venice, Verona, Milan, Florence etc – even Rome is possible for the day.
Would I return? – a big fat YES. Tick!
