Foodie Central ~ Emilia Romagna, Italy
Bologna is the best city in Italy for food and has the least number of tourists. With its medieval beauty, it has it all. – Mario Batali
Bologna lived up to every bit of the promise of being a foodie paradise when we finally got there, but we had a few things to taste on the way. Balsamic vinegars, parmesan cheese, a very traditional meal in a trattoria and an overnight stay in Parma were all on our itinerary before we could make it to Bologna, and we enjoyed every mile of it.
First stop on the foodie trail in this section of our itinerary was a stop at a high-end Balsamic vinegar operation. The vinegar is like black gold and family traditions and vintages are closely guarded much like wines in the wine growing regions. When a child is born in the family. the current year's vintage is barreled with the child's name and birthdate. In bygone days these were dowry that went with a girl when she married and left home.
The vinegar is aged through 5 barrels, each barrel smaller and more concentrated than the last. A small concentration of aged vinegar is used to kickstart the process. It's quite interesting when they explain the process stating how the starter from an ancestor's barrel is used to kickstart the fermentation process.
Depending on the aging process, the vinegars are used for different purposes including a variety that can be used with fruit and dessert. We thoroughly enjoyed the tasting and the education.
With all the vinegar but no food or bread we were feeling pretty peckish as we pulled out from the vinegar tasting. But not to worry, we were soon pulling into a traditional village trattoria.
Traditionally the Nonna cooked hearty fare for all the folks that worked the farms in the area. At lunch time all the worker bees stopped by for a quick filling home cooked meal so they could go back and continue to work the land.
Our meal was definitely not quick as wine flowed, accompanying the different dishes that made up our lunch. The lady next to me was vegetarian and her pasta looked and smelled delicious whereupon she shared some with me. Thanks to where I was sitting, I got to enjoy both the vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Replete we left for our one night in Parma.
In an interesting side note there are a lot of Sikhs from India who have settled in this region producing Parmesan Cheese. We, however, were quite a distance from the town where these Sikhs are based and could not make it to see their operation.
Besides its reputation as the foodie capital of Italy, Bologna boasts of the oldest university in the World established in 1088 where it has been the site of study for canonical and civil law. We truly only walked the ground floor which is absolutely beautiful.
After a tour of some of the major sites of Bologna we got to the main event of our program here. This map so aptly summarizes why the province of Emilia Romagna has the reputation for being Foodie Central.
We strolled through the oldest food market on our way to our food tasting though our guide stopped at a variety of shops to explain and introduce us to various foods that are traditional here. As our guide explained, no part of the pig is wasted here.
In Italy food consists of meat, pasta and vino. On our stroll through the food market, we saw fresh fruit, fresh fish, fresh handmade pasta and of course the various varieties of ham and pork and shops selling vino.
Bellies full of fabulous fare we were let lose to enjoy a little bit of time in the city strolling around the churches and shops.
As we all snoozed off our full stomachs the bus made its way to Vicenza where we were to spend the last couple of days in country with the tour. We all desperately needed the stroll through the quaint town with its medieval buildings and squares.
As we headed into Vicenza we had more food on our itinerary for the evening, an introduction to Venetian Cicchetti accompanied by local Venetian wines.
After the day long feast, we barely managed to roll out of the bus into our gorgeous historical hotel on the outskirts of Vincenza province. Finding our room was like traversing a labyrinth until we found it tucked it away in a corner after ascending some steps, descending others and turning a few corners. Our room was complete with a little window overlooking the gardens at the back, with a sloping wooden room complete with a skylight on which we could hear the soothing pitter patter of rain.
Prosecco and Grappa still to come. Thank God for the sightseeing portion which included some walking to help make room for the fabulous food and wine that we were consuming on a daily basis.
I read some posts from other travelers who complain about the quality of the food or the quantity of the wine, let me tell you this is one itinerary where the tour company does not stint on quality or quantity. I have never been fed so well on any organized group tour before.