Scott says that I have to write about the Bologna experience, but honestly I would rather forget it...perhaps later in the blog (and completely out of sequence) when the sting has faded a bit...I mean, I haven't even written about Milan yet and that was days ago! Milan is such a big city, bombed heavily in WWII, but what remains is pretty spectacular! The Duomo took 5 centuries to build (makes me feel great about the slow progress on our house) and has over 3,400 statues perching on the exterior. It is a spectacular thing to see! Very delicate in some ways, almost lacy architecturally, but amazing. Off to the side of the Duomo stands the Galleria, a "mall" of sorts. I believe it was the first indoor shopping center in Italy. It is many stories high with a glass ceiling (or at least that is what it looked like). The upper stories are all offices and the structure looks very old...maybe 18th century (not very old by the standards here). The bottom is all stores. Marta would be in heaven...Prada, Mercedes-Benz, etc. Beautiful, pricey stores, but wonderful to window shop.
We got around by bus and the Metro. The subway was fun, albeit a bit confusing. We would head somewhere and after 2 stops realize we were going in the wrong direction and get off, cross over to the other side and get on another subway going the correct way. We had passes so could get on and off at will, which was great! Public transportation is very cheap here: bus, subway and train and we have utilized all three (the Nightmare on a Bologna Bus story is yet to come). Our room in Milan was in a hotel that was 5 flights up in a great old building. The elevator (like all I've seen in Italy) was tiny. It would fit either us or our luggage, so we would pile all our luggage in the elevator and then run up the 5 flights of marble stairs to meet it (feel the burn, Scott would tell me, and indeed I did). The room was simple and smelled constantly of sulfur. But it was clean and had a bathroom (which many did not, the common bathroom for other guests being next to our room hence the strong sulfur smell). We had a huge floor to ceiling window that opened out to a courtyard 5 stories below. We left the window open day and night. We found great paces to eat in Milan, dropped a pile of $$ at a restaurant called O'rologico for dinner the first night. It was lovely and romantic and we ate, drank, laughed and lingered until we were glad for the long walk back. The second day we met with a man named Massimo Novelli who has a shop called Motorcicli Veloce (basically Fast Motorcycle) and Scott shopped with a big grin on his face. Massimo was a wonderful man and I fell for him immediately! He had a smile exactly like my son-in-law Justin and was so sweet and mild mannered. He has a cafe named Motorcicli Veloce Cafe (catchy, huh?) and it has motorcycle memorabilia everywhere. He treated us to a wonderful meal, complete with some of the best wine we've had here. His partner, Marco, was quite a card. At one point, when Marco brought us our appetizer (a beautiful plate of assorted meats) he was explaining each meat (proscuitto, speck, etc.)and he got to one that was completely white and sliced extremely thin. He said "Lardo" and I looked up at him surprised. He held up his finger, "Wait, wait, don't eat yet..." and he ran back in the kitchen only to show up a minute later with a piece of toast that glistened gold on top. "This way," he instructed and placed a piece of lardo on the toast. Okay, I thought, lard on toast, this is something to tell the kids and I bit down. The toast had honey on it and since it was warm, the lard practically melted into it. It was heavenly! However, it is one taste treat that I probably won't make at home.
Tuesday evening we were to eat at Laurel & Emilios' home. It was a long subway ride (great for people watching) and then a 4 block walk through a cool part of town. Their place was great and we were so excited to have a visit with them, the last time was at Laurel's brothers wedding in Boerne in April. What a meal Laurel made! The best fish we've had on this trip (and Venice is known for it's fish!)...salmon served on a bed of grilled fennel with capers and topped with an orange slice. But the meal started with a scrumptious pumpkin risotto. Creamy and succulent, it was a dish to remember (this I will make at home!). Emi cheered us with many different kinds of wine and spirits (boy, did I have a hangover the next day!) and we were finally able to ask about all the oddities of Italy (what IS it with the bathrooms anyway??? another story that will come later...) We laughed and caught up and I was so impressed with this young couple, they are open, gracious and wonderful! Thank you Laurel and Emilio for making our last night in Milan our best!
We are now on our last night in Bologna and I will be glad tomorrow morning when we wave goodbye from the train as we head for Florence. It hasn't been all bad...had a fabulous meeting with Biancamaria at Dream Engines about the MotoGiro and then we were given a private tour of the Ducati factory and Museum. Fascinating! But had the worst food of the trip yet here (a shame and a travesty here in the food capitol of Italy!) and then the Nightmare Bus Story. Suffice to say that I walked along a deserted road late at night about 30 Km from our room, sobbing. Yes, Scott was with me, he was walking ahead of me speaking very calm, soothing words, wondering where to run if I completely flipped out. He finally called a taxi (when we got somewhere where a taxi could come get us...I am not kidding) and he had them drive us back to our room. I rode the whole way with my head on his shoulder, glad to be with him and heading back.
Well, I am running out of time on my internet card, so more later from Florence. Shopped like hell today-oooh boy, did we get goodies!
Ciao!
We got around by bus and the Metro. The subway was fun, albeit a bit confusing. We would head somewhere and after 2 stops realize we were going in the wrong direction and get off, cross over to the other side and get on another subway going the correct way. We had passes so could get on and off at will, which was great! Public transportation is very cheap here: bus, subway and train and we have utilized all three (the Nightmare on a Bologna Bus story is yet to come). Our room in Milan was in a hotel that was 5 flights up in a great old building. The elevator (like all I've seen in Italy) was tiny. It would fit either us or our luggage, so we would pile all our luggage in the elevator and then run up the 5 flights of marble stairs to meet it (feel the burn, Scott would tell me, and indeed I did). The room was simple and smelled constantly of sulfur. But it was clean and had a bathroom (which many did not, the common bathroom for other guests being next to our room hence the strong sulfur smell). We had a huge floor to ceiling window that opened out to a courtyard 5 stories below. We left the window open day and night. We found great paces to eat in Milan, dropped a pile of $$ at a restaurant called O'rologico for dinner the first night. It was lovely and romantic and we ate, drank, laughed and lingered until we were glad for the long walk back. The second day we met with a man named Massimo Novelli who has a shop called Motorcicli Veloce (basically Fast Motorcycle) and Scott shopped with a big grin on his face. Massimo was a wonderful man and I fell for him immediately! He had a smile exactly like my son-in-law Justin and was so sweet and mild mannered. He has a cafe named Motorcicli Veloce Cafe (catchy, huh?) and it has motorcycle memorabilia everywhere. He treated us to a wonderful meal, complete with some of the best wine we've had here. His partner, Marco, was quite a card. At one point, when Marco brought us our appetizer (a beautiful plate of assorted meats) he was explaining each meat (proscuitto, speck, etc.)and he got to one that was completely white and sliced extremely thin. He said "Lardo" and I looked up at him surprised. He held up his finger, "Wait, wait, don't eat yet..." and he ran back in the kitchen only to show up a minute later with a piece of toast that glistened gold on top. "This way," he instructed and placed a piece of lardo on the toast. Okay, I thought, lard on toast, this is something to tell the kids and I bit down. The toast had honey on it and since it was warm, the lard practically melted into it. It was heavenly! However, it is one taste treat that I probably won't make at home.
Tuesday evening we were to eat at Laurel & Emilios' home. It was a long subway ride (great for people watching) and then a 4 block walk through a cool part of town. Their place was great and we were so excited to have a visit with them, the last time was at Laurel's brothers wedding in Boerne in April. What a meal Laurel made! The best fish we've had on this trip (and Venice is known for it's fish!)...salmon served on a bed of grilled fennel with capers and topped with an orange slice. But the meal started with a scrumptious pumpkin risotto. Creamy and succulent, it was a dish to remember (this I will make at home!). Emi cheered us with many different kinds of wine and spirits (boy, did I have a hangover the next day!) and we were finally able to ask about all the oddities of Italy (what IS it with the bathrooms anyway??? another story that will come later...) We laughed and caught up and I was so impressed with this young couple, they are open, gracious and wonderful! Thank you Laurel and Emilio for making our last night in Milan our best!
We are now on our last night in Bologna and I will be glad tomorrow morning when we wave goodbye from the train as we head for Florence. It hasn't been all bad...had a fabulous meeting with Biancamaria at Dream Engines about the MotoGiro and then we were given a private tour of the Ducati factory and Museum. Fascinating! But had the worst food of the trip yet here (a shame and a travesty here in the food capitol of Italy!) and then the Nightmare Bus Story. Suffice to say that I walked along a deserted road late at night about 30 Km from our room, sobbing. Yes, Scott was with me, he was walking ahead of me speaking very calm, soothing words, wondering where to run if I completely flipped out. He finally called a taxi (when we got somewhere where a taxi could come get us...I am not kidding) and he had them drive us back to our room. I rode the whole way with my head on his shoulder, glad to be with him and heading back.
Well, I am running out of time on my internet card, so more later from Florence. Shopped like hell today-oooh boy, did we get goodies!
Ciao!
2 comments:
We had a wonderful time with you guys too! If you want the recipe for the salmon, I posted it recently on my blog here. http://the-cooks-we-are.blogspot.com/
Have fun and happy travels!
Love,
Laurel
Post a Comment