Day 7 The home of Bolognaise

When most people think of Spaghetti they tend to think of Bolognaise. So you might expect that on a visit to Bologna in Italy we might experience authentic Spaghetti Bolognaise. There are two problems with this reasoning. In Bologna the sauce we all know as Bolognaise is known here as Ragu. Secondly the locals don’t really care much for Spaghetti (long thin pasta) but are instead famous as the inventors of Tortellini (a very yummy parcel of pasta filled with meat) and Tagliatelle a flat pasta more like what we would call Fettuccini. Bologna is also the birthplace of Mortadella which the Americans refer to as Baloney. So we begin our time in Bologna with a bowl of Tortellini Ragu and Richard, who has spent his whole life eating and enjoying pasta, is temporarily transported to pasta heaven. Wendy enjoys the most perfect tomato gnocchi and a shared Tiramisu ends a wonderful meal.

Bologna, however, is a lot more than food. The town is not by any means near the top of the Italian tourist destinations, although it should be. The ancient city is something to behold with its numerous high towers dating back to the 12^th and 13^th centuries, several of which lean like the tower of Pisa. The largest of these we climb, of course,  and it’s worth the 490 steps. The human traffic jams on the narrow stairs and its only the odd American tourist who doesn’t seem to get the system of waiting in a tight corner to allow the traffic to pass. Richard enjoys letting  people pass and hearing them saying ‘Grazie’ so he can utter his favourite word ‘Prego’ (you’re welcome). Once down from the top of the tower we continue to explore the town. The town hall is huge and over 700 hundred years old. The Basilica de San Petronio, is only one of dozens of churches in the old town and is the fifth largest cathedral in the world. The city has the most wonderful porticos (covered walkways) which stretch out in every direction for an amazing 53kms. We even discover the remains of the city’s ancient underground canals which remind us of Venice. 


With the temperature at a pleasant +6 degrees we spend hours doing what the locals seem to love, strolling. But food tempts us again and a pistachio gelato on a stick from ‘The Stick House’, reminds us that the Bolognese are still inventing wonderful food.