Day 104

Went to the lovely city of Verona today with my aunt and uncle. We went to Osteria Giulietta e Romeo (Corso Sant'Anastasia, 27, Verona) - after all, this is the home of Rome and Juliette. I got homemade pappardelle with duck ragu. The pasta was eggy and perfectly cooked - this was one of the best pasta dishes I have had here!


For a snack when we got back, had to go to Sorbetteria Castiglione. So good.


For dinner, we needed some pizza. Went to La Mela where I got a pizza with buffalo mozzarella. Always delicious.

Day 103

With my uncle and aunt, we went to Parma today. I'm glad I got to go back and see the city in nicer weather because it really is a beautiful. We walked through the Ducal Gardens, modeled after Versailles.


For lunch, my aunt was seeking out risotto di parmigiano which she had had the last time she was in Italy. We went to Gallo d'Oro (Borgo della Salina, 3, Parma) where we sat outside and had a delicious lunch. As the parmesian capital of the world, we also found some fabulous risotto di parmigiano for my aunt. It was so, so good - rich and creamy and packed with parmesian flavor.


I got a really good salad, with thick slices of parmesian on top.


For dinner, we tried a place that I had been wanting to try for a while, Drogheria della Rosa (Via Cartoleria, 10). As the name implies, it is in a converted drug store. You walk in and the old shelving is still above the dimly-lit tables, cluttered with old antiques and quirky paintings. They bring you some antipasti, all of which is top-notch. Ours included mortadella, culatello, salami and creamy mozzarella di buffala. There was also a bread basket with some tasty homemade bread (one was bright green... herb or olive flavored, perhaps?).


For dinner, I ordered pasta with morel mushrooms. The pasta was light and delicate and quite good, the mushrooms and sauce full of flavor.


My aunt ordered best, though, with tortelli stuffed with squacquerone and stracchino (soft Italian cheeses) and topped with sliced artichoke.


For dessert, just some simple and perfect spring strawberries.


This place was excellent, the service for the most part very friendly and the food some of the best I've had in Italy. Besides the uncomfortable and crammed seating, this place is at the top of my list in Bologna. It is the simple, quirky Italian eatery everyone is looking for, and their food could not have been better. They even gave my aunt a rose of the way out. Does your neighborhood restaurant do that?

Day 102

My uncle and aunt came in today! For lunch I took them to one of my favorite places, Eataly (the cafe/bookstore) where we had some fantastic pasta. I got a pasta with seafood in a light tomato sauce with olives. The pasta was delicate and the sauce salty and delicious. Yum!


For dinner, we went to another one of my favorites, Trattoria Serghei, which has the best tortelli di zucca in the world. It was as good as ever this time.


Also had coniglio (rabbit) stewed with tomatoes and potatoes. This was quite good, the meat was really tender and filling and the sauce very flavorful.

Day 101

For a quick snack on this most beautiful day, Sorbetteria Castiglione for some gelato!


For dinner, some really good aperitivo at Cafe Paris (Piazza del Francia, 1) before Leah's concert.

Day 100

Wow, it's amazing that we've reached 100 days! Is there a more perfect way to celebrate 100 days than by having a perfect spring day with perfect spring food?

Started off today with a panino of prosciutto from Eataly that I ate in Piazza Garibaldi, a really nice park in the center of Bologna.


When I got home, I needed a little snack. While the Italians might be a little upset for me for making such a thing, I made a pasta panino, taking the leftover ricotta and mushroom pasta from last night and grilling it between bread. I have to tell you, it really was pretty good. While a little on the carb-heavy side, the pasta added a lot of moisture and helped substantiate the sandwich. Weird? Yes. Still good? Yes as well.


For dinner, I went to Mercato delle Erbe and picked up some beautiful, vibrant green fava beans - first of the season.


I prepared them by blanching them, sauteing them with some pancetta, then adding fresh mint, lemon and arugula. I put that over toasted bread and topped it all off with a perfect poached egg. During spring, I can't think of anything better.

Day 99

Whoa... we're one day until 100! That's amazing, and kind of crazy since it's seems like I just got here!

For dinner tonight, I made penne pasta with mushroom and onions and ricotta. Creamy and delicious!

Day 98

Today was a rainy day in Bologna, but I decided to go for a walk anyways. One of Bologna's (many) benefits is that most of the sidewalks are covered in beautiful porticos, pictured here.


I can walk the 20 minutes from my apartment to the other side of the city where I wanted to visit almost completely covered by the porticos (for those of you who know me well, yes of course I still had my umbrella and used it when crossing the street...)!

Went into a little cafe assuming I would just get some tea, but they had the most delicious looking panino sitting right there, so I decided to order it. The cafe had some outdoor seating (under the portico, so no problemo there mio amico) and the barista told me he would heat the panino up and bring it to me outside. I ordered the tea too, which came with cookies (!). Can't beat that for an little "afternoon snack." How cute is that?


For dinner, some people had organized an a little outing to a restaurant they'd been wanting to try, Grassilli (Via dal Luzzo, 3). This is a cute, warmly decorated restaurant serving some great Italian food with a slight French influence (from what I understand the chef is French but lives here with his Italian wife). They brought us some mortadella and parmigiano to start.


For my dinner I ordered garganelli, a tube pasta similar to penne, with prosciutto and spugnole, which the waiter told me were a type of spring mushroom. The pasta came in a very light cream sauce, delicate and flavorful. The spugnole, to my surprise, were morel mushrooms, a wonderful spring mushroom just bursting with flavor that I was so happy to see (and eat).


Now, usually I'm not a dessert person, but sometimes I simply must. There was, sitting by our table the entire night, the most beautiful looking tarte tatain (French for apple tart, clearly from the chef's French background). I ordered some along with Solveig - it was creamy, sweet, flavorful, apple-y, and so much more. One of the best pastries I think I've ever had. Worth going to this restaurant just for that!

Day 97

For breakfast/lunch today I made some eggs and cheese on toast with arugula, as well as a blood orange. Can't beat that.


As a snack I picked up my some olive and verdure foccocia from Terra del Sole.

Day 96

For lunch today I made some pasta with tomato sauce. Added some fresh basil from the market which was great as well as a little pepperoncino for some spice. Good stuff.


For dinner, I made little "pizzettas" using a piadina (Bolognese flat bread) and topping it with prosciutto, ricotta and caramelized onions - sweet, salty, savory. Also a salad with frisee lettuce, red pepper, white beans a fresh mozzarella.

Day 95

Today I didn't have my camera with me for most of the day so not many pictures. But the one picture that I do have is quite a picture. Let me tell you why: it is a picture of the best gelato I have ever had, hands down. It was from Sorbetteria Castiglione (Via Castinglione, 44). While they are most famous for their variety of chocolate flavors, their others are top-notch deliciousness as well. I tried two flavors, including "dolche Emma" which was made with eggs, ricotta and figs in fig syrup, as well as the pistacchio. You have to try it to believe it, but this stuff is out of this world. It's a bit of a walk from where I live, but worth every step. I'll be back soon.


For dinner, Vanessa made some delicious Filipino chicken that was amazing, with ginger, soy, and all those delicious flavors. Thanks Vanessa!

Day 94

For dinner, I made some delicious croustini.

One was with a white bean spread that I made, made with white beans, garlic, lemon, basil, olive oil and salt and pepper. It's simple and just delicious spread on some crusty bread and topped with fresh, peppery arugula. Also made some with slices of soft boiled egg, a little mayo, and a sprinkle of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper on top. De-lic-ious.

Day 93

So my plan to eat only oranges and granola for the week since I was so stuffed from Paris was, well, an epic fail only hours after returning. I started out the day with some lunch at La Scuderia (Piazza Verdi, 2, Bologna) - discotecca by night, student cafe by day. Had some pasta with tomato sauce and mozzarella.


For dinner, I was planning on resuming my post-Paris diet until Alessandra offered to make seafood pasta. How can I say no to seafood pasta? It had spaghetti, fresh cherry tomatoes, pepperoncino and mixed seafood (squid, shrimp, muscles, and octopus, I believe. It comes frozen and packaged here, but is really good). This was absolutely wonderful! A great summer dish.


I made some fresh green beans from the market in a dijon, lemon and basil vinegrette. Yum.


Then, just to completely destroy my diet plans, Alessandra brought some leftover Easter bread that was great with a hint of cinnamon.

Day 92

For our last day in Paris, I had a cheeseburger (pronounce it in French it sounds better) with fries, and an Orangina for lunch. A a nice reminder of the U.S.


The view from the outdoor seating at the cafe, however, could not have been more Parisian:


For dinner, picked up a baguette sandwich with chicken, lettuce, tomato, and lots of delicious mayonnaise.

Day 91

Today we had a picnic in the gorgeous gardens of Versailles. It included bread from a wonderful bakery we found near our hostel. We had two baguettes as well as the most amazing fig bread, in addition to camembert and munster cheese, apricot jam, cherry tomatoes, strawberries and oranges.



Then, a little dessert. Chocolate eclair and 2 perfect raspberry tarts also from the bakery bursting with flavor. Yum!


For dinner, we went to Chez George (273 Boulevard Pereire, Paris). It has a classic feel - as one reviewer describes it " it's a perfectly preserved 1920s bistro". The service is stuffy in the way that makes it feel authentically French, the atmosphere is quiet yet convivial and comfortable. The food is as typical French as it comes, and absolutely delicious. It's nothing new, nothing innovative, and that's what makes it so good. They clearly respect the classic recipes and prepare them flawlessly. The food was flavorful and buttery, and that was all it needed to be. Solveig and I both ordered the lamb with white beans. The lamb was tender and with a deeply flavored sauce that only the French could prepare like this. The beans were soft and creamy, almost like a stew. Mark and Leah got both got steak frites which were quite good as well.


For dessert, mango with passionfruit sorbet and caramel.


What a special way to end our last night in Paris!

Day 90

Woke up to a beautiful spring morning in Paris. I immediately set off on my mission to get my baguette, never very difficult in the food capital of the world. Found a delicious one at Paul, a high end bakery chain in Paris. Also got a croissant, buttery and delicious.



For lunch, we picnic-ed in the gardens outside of the Louvre. Went to Fauchon (24-26 Place de la Madeleine, Paris) for some top-quality French products for our picnic. We got a traditional baguette, a whole wheat baguette, a raisin-nut loaf, brie cheese and a goat cheese. It was simply wonderful.


For dinner, we went to the Paris institution Le Relais de Venise (271 Boulevard Pereire, Paris) for some delicious steak frites, French for steak and french fries. After waiting in line for an hour (we didn't arrive until 10pm so we didn't even get in until 11pm) we were seated and, instead of being handed a menu, were simply asked how we would like our steak cooked. After some bread and a decent salad, we were brought our steak frites, the steak covered in a garlicky, herb-y sauce, and the fries crispy and perfect. The best way to eat it was to take a forkful with a little steak, a little french fries, and smother it in the sauce (which I also mixed with a little French mustard that was on the table). Then, once you finish, which doesn't take long, they bring you more. We were planning on eating about 4 servings of this until we learned that you only get 2. Oh well, it was really delicious, and probably not a bad thing that we stopped after 2 servings.


For dessert, some crepes (this one with butter, lemon and sugar) by the Eiffel Tower.