Monday, July 5, 2010

Bologna: La Dolce Vita


The train from Lausanne to Bologna was lovely. Watching the Swiss mountains go by in high-speed was beautiful. In First class, cute Italian girls strolled by offering a choice of newspaper. Complimentary drinks and snacks included Prosecco and chocolate biscuits.

We strolled by the Basilica San Domenico and Hubby treated himself to some shopping.
Our hotel, Il Capello Rosso was a contemporary design hotel. The rooms were luxurious, offered 8 choices on the pillow menu. The bathroom contained a fully-equipped bidet with its own set of parts-specific towels and separate 'intimates' cleansers. The staff was helpful, recommending a restaurant a few blocks away for dinner.
The restaurant was a tiny, rustic spot off of a side street. The prices were very reasonable, and it had played host to many a celebrity in its 67 years of business. Our waiter was incredibly helpful in suggesting dishes to try. He was spot-on for each one. I started with delicately fried zucchini blossoms with hints of egg and sea salt. My primi was a truffled pasta, Hubby had a spaghetti Bolognese (of course). Our secondi was a shared veal Bolognese, which was a large breaded piece of veal, covered in cream sauce and prosciutto. Too full for dessert, but we shared a rich tartufo.
I couldn't think of anything more romantic to end our first day in Italy than watching La Dolce Vita play on a giant screen in the Piazza Maggiore. An extra treat was Anita Ekbert came out personally to introduce the film. Not understanding Italian, Hubby and I initially thought she was rather schizophrenic in her speech, before realizing she was doing impressions of her director Federico Fellini and co-star Marcello Mastroianni.

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