Trip Overview
Teresa and I had discussed taking a trip during either Thanksgiving break or Christmas break, as we both would have some time off due to both of us working for schools. Then, one day, I received an email from what was then Scott’s Cheap Flights (they’ve since rebranded into something I can never remember…good job on that one) with good deals on flights to Italy in late November/early December. I texted Teresa to see if she’d like to go to Italy for Thanksgiving, but I need to know *right now*. It was a resounding “yes!”, so I booked while the deals were still available. Ended up getting Premium Economy flights entirely on points! The only things we paid for were the apartment rental, rental car (one day rental, more on that in a bit), tour guide (also for one day), and of course daily spend. Our apartment came with vouchers for coffee + pastries at a nearby caffè, which was nice.
I chose Bologna (with side trips to Modena and Verona) because we had just watched the Stanley Tucci: Searching for Itlay Bologna episode. During the episode he toured a Parmigiano Reggiano factory, a Balsamic producer, a Prosciutto producer, and also visited Massimo Bottura’s Francescana at Maria Luigia. So, we basically copied that portion of the trip. We found a local guide who set up the tours for us. We met her at the rental car place, and off we went to the countryside between Bologna and Modena. We dropped the guide off at the Modena train station so she could head back to Bologna, while we headed to Francescana at Maria Luigia, where I was able to get reservations months in advance. Francescana is a 3 Michelin Star restaurant, so that was the highlight of the trip.
We had several days to explore Bologna, which we loved (especially the food, but also the Christmas Markets), and took a wonderful day trip to Verona, which shouldn’t be missed if you’re in the region.
Now, on to Day 0 – our arrival in Bologna.
Arrival in Bologna
We arrived in Bologna in the evening, took a train from the airport to the Bologna Centrale train station, then walked about 20 minutes to our B&B, Casa Isolani Santo Stefano. Our room, the Santo Stefano room, overlooked Piazza Santo Stefano, also known as the square of the Seven Churches. The room had a private bathroom, and there’s a shared room in the building with a microwave, sink, dishes, The building is a 4 minute walk to the Two Towers, and very close to the main shopping area of Bologna – perfect for the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season!
After dropping off our luggage, we headed out to find a late dinner. We found a trattoria very close to our room, down a side alley: Trattoria Leonida. Turns out it’s a well-known restaurant and has been open since 1938. I had a Bolognese specialty: tortellini en brodo, which was excellent. Teresa had tagliatelle al ragu, which was also excellent. We shared two half-bottles of wine: Le Papesse di Papiano (Sangiovese) and Col D’Orcia Rosso Montalcino. Both were very tasty. After our meal it was time for a quick shower then some much needed sleep.
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