The Good Rabbi's Blog

Well, two years into this marriage it finally happened. We finally got around to taking a honeymoon. We bantered on about a number of possible places to go, and ultimately settled on Italy. From the outset, this was due to be one of those trips that would always be remembered. Maybe not by me, but certainly by the local folk who would talk for generations about the fat man that came through and ate his way through the country. It would be the ultimate meeting of the minds - on one hand a people who are very hospitality oriented, who would give as much as they could offer, and on the other hand a man who would eat more than anything they ever imagined. Anthony Bourdain has nothing on me.

This journey started at Kennedy airport, where we waited, seemingly endlessly, for our flight to board. This was followed by our flight boarding, and our waiting, seemingly endlessly, for the flight to push back from the gate. We then took a nice leisurely taxi around the outer grounds of Kennedy airport as we waited, seemingly endlessly, for our flight to take off (after about 40 minutes of taxiing, we got word that we were 18th in line to take off). Once airborn, we waited, seemingly endlessly, for the Italian family sitting in front of us to realize that they did indeed need to change their infant's diaper, and that they could not, in fact wait until we arrived. We were starting to think that perhaps the Italians lacked that sense of urgency that seems to be abundant in American individuals from the northeast.

Eventually, we landed in Rome, and took a train to the first stop on our tour - Bologna. We expected to see a good amount of Northern Italy, and seeing as how I am in the culinary profession, it made sense to start here, in the heart of Emilia-Romagna, which is one of the culinary centres of Italy. On the train ride up, we had a series of conversations with a lovely eldery Italian couple. They were very charming people who collected postcards. We got off the train, and took a taxi to our hotel to check in (at this time, it was early in the afternoon). This is where we discovered our first great terror in Italy - the drivers here are crazy. It's bad enough that the streets here in Bologna are comparable to alleys in D.C. The drivers here all know about traffic regulations, they just choose not to abide by them. Now, don't get us wrong, your Rabbi has had more than his share of cardiac aromatherapy sessions in the back seat of a New York City taxi, but for some reason, it never seemed quite as terrorizing as this.

Our hotel is within the walled city of Bologna. After a brief nap, we decided to walk around town, and see various parts of the city (we hadn't scheduled a lot of travelling for this day, since we had just arrived, and we didn't know how reliable Italian public transport would be). It's hard to describe the environment here. On one hand there is something incredibly small about this city that is probably older than many of its counterparts in the United States. On the other hand, it seemed very familiar, even though this was the first time we have ever been here.

The architecture, or more accurately, the combination of architectures, is fascinating to me. You will have a building here, that looks like it came out of the Middle Ages, sitting right next to a modern architecture building. We stopped for an aperitif at a nice little cafe, and sat outside and drank some very nice Tocai (a white wine from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region). From there we walked a little more, and had a traditional Bolognese dinner at a local restaurant. Due to our travel schedule, neither one of us was really up for sitting for that long, so instead of the traditional two courses, we opted for one, followed, of course, by some gelato. What a great way to cap off the evening.

Primi Piatti:

Tagliatelli Bolognese
Tortellini in Brodo

Wine:
Tocai (Friuliano)
Soave

Gelato:
Chocolate Mint
Chocolate

Somehow on day two of our leg in Bologna, I managed to wake up. I had not yet eaten or drank myself into a stupor. I will definitely have to try harder. After a couple of cappuccinos and a very nice breakfast that includes most of my mother's fiber regimen, we set off to explore more of the town. I thought that this should be interesting, because at this point it was a Monday morning, and the opportunity presented itself to see the city as it normally operates during the week. We walked in the northern part of the city, where the university is (the oldest university in Europe, according to the guide books). What struck me about this city is that although there is almost no litter at all on the streets, almost all of the buildings are covered in grafitti (and this problem is not limited to the university area).

We stopped by the renowned Tamburini market. This place was incredible. It had almost every type of cured meat, cheese, pasta, etc. that you could possibly imagine. However, given all of this, there was one thing missing: Italians. I got the impression that this was a shop that has passed its prime, and incredibly expensive. The wine store that is attached to the market was very cool, and well stocked, although equally expensive. We decided to hold off on buying anything and have some lunch. After lunch, we inquired with a travel agent about train tickets to Milan, where we were thinking about going the next day. Ultimately, we wound up shelving that idea, in favor of something else (which you'll read about shortly).

We walked up to the northern part of the city, where the university is (the oldest university in Europe, according to the guide book). One of the things that strikes me about this city is that while there is no litter on the ground, almost all of the buildings are covered in graffiti. Maybe it is a form of expression here, rather than a public nuisance, but it still makes the place look terrible. On our way back down toward our hotel, we stopped at a Gelateria, and picked up a scoop of Gelato. We returned to the Tamburini market, bought some wine and cheese, and headed back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. That evening, we ventured out again to the main piazza for dinner, and found a great little neighborhood trattoria a little bit off the beaten path. We decided to do the traditional two courses, which felt like fourteen. After dinner we decided to do some evening walking (and more gelato, of course - two scoops per day, as per doctor's orders). We returned to the hotel after walking around for a while at night, and just hung out in the hotel garden for a while. We turned in a little early, since we had to get up the next day fairly early. Another great day in Italy in the can....

Primi Piatti:

Tagliatelli Bolognese
Tagliatelli Pomodoro

Piatti Secondi:
Scallopini al Limone
Penne al Arrabiata

Wine:
Soave

Gelato:
Mexican Chocolate, Melon
Bacio (Chocolate Hazelnut), Milk Chocolate