Bologna, Italy in Sept. 2018

[smiles33]

We have never been to Europe and plan on doing our first trip ever in Sept. 2018. The current plan is to take a red-eye on Thursday night so DDs miss 1 day of class (their school has an unusual week-long Fall break barely 2 months after school starts). We plan to return on a Saturday so we have a day to get settled and try to recover from jet lag before Monday work/school. This means we have 8 nights in Italy. I've been haunting TripAdvisor but wanted to get real-life opinions from BBBers who have taken your families. My target is Bologna, Italy because:

1) we all love to eat. Full stop. Everything I've read says that the Emilia-Romagna region has the best food in Italy and that Bologna would be a great base for forays into smaller towns. I've already seen from TripAdvisor that there are day tours to sample parmigiano-reggiano, prosciutto, and balsamic vinegar from Modena straight from the factories/production sites. We aren't going to Europe for the art or the history (although if there aren't long lines, I'm willing to carve out time for some cultural experiences). Our typical vacation is planned by choosing a locale known for its food (everything from street food to 3 Michelin star restaurants, even with the kids). We usually plan our vacation around the meals and then retreat back to a 2 bedroom rental to relax/nap/read/watch movies (basically things we rarely do at home given our more hectic schedules). I know other travelers are go-go-go and want to focus on wringing out every last second doing stuff, but that's not our style at all. I will say that I found on our last trip to Montreal, we also enjoyed some random activities (e.g., escape room, aerial ropes course, baking lesson, visiting the public markets). That's a more active-than-normal vacation for us, but we also had a whole week instead of our typical 3-4 day weekend trip.

2) DH and I had planned to honeymoon in Italy 15 years ago but after 9/11, I canceled those plans. We haven't made it to Europe and only just had our first int'l family trip this past April (for a sibling's wedding) and then went to Montreal this past Fall and loved it. I had been focused on Florence or Cinque Terre when planning our honeymoon back in 2001, but now I just want to focus on fewer crowds and great food. I'm also hoping late September won't be as crowded.

If you've been to Bologna/E-R with your DC, what activities did you do? What were your favorite restaurants? If you rented a VRBO/AirBnB, would you recommend yours or are there any specific neighborhoods you'd recommend?

Thanks!

[georgiegirl]

I can’t imagine going all the way to Italy just to eat and not to visit museums and see the sights. (But I also have a Ph.D. in art history and focused on the Italian Renaissance.). I’ve been to Bologna a few times as day trips. I studied abroad in Florence, and I’ve lived in Venice and travelled around northern Italy extensively as part of my grad research.). Bologna is a nice city (big university there), but I can’t imagine just focusing on Emilia Romagna. I’ve been to Parma once, and I don’t remember many details. It didn’t stand out as a really cool town. There are amazing towns around Florence, like Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, Assisi, etc. There’s amazing food and wine pretty much anywhere in Italy. I would always sample the local cheese in every city. Just beware of Tuscan bread. They don’t salt it, so it tastes like nothing.


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[smiles33]

LOL! I knew someone would be shocked at my statement re: not caring about historic sites, churches, and museums. We are the people who went to NYC and didn't go to the Statue of Liberty, Empire State, museums, or Central Park. DH saw a musical while I was working, but that was the most "touristy" thing he did while in NYC. Instead, we did a massive eating tour. We don't do the tourist thing, usually. It's more about eating where locals eat (as well as the special occasion restaurants locals may rarely go to, like Eleven Madison Park, Daniel, Jean-Georges, etc.) and then relaxing because our normal lives are so crazy. To each their own!

Anyhow, I was initially focused on Florence given my honeymoon research but Chowhound and TripAdvisor foodies told me E-R is better and less crowded. We don't need to see hill towns or scenic local towns so really, it is JUST about authentic specialties (like the cheese, meats, pasta, and balsamic vinegar) and relaxing.

[gatorsmom]

Dh and I were married in a tiny church outside of San Gimgnanio (sp?) so I think the area is wonderful to visit. September should be a quiet time to visit since the kids will be back in school, if I’m not mistaken. So I wouldn’t be afraid to venture into some larger towns like Siena and Florence. You’ll have more eating options in the larger towns too. We go to Europe each year and do what you are doing- rent a house and spend half the day venturing out and touring but then coming back and hanging out at the house. For that reason we usually rent a house with some sort of activities like a pool or game room. In 2016 we rented a roomy apartment in downtown Strasbourg that put us in walking distance of lots of stuff BUT then in the afternoons there wasn’t much for downtime. That trip was a little more difficult because of our homebase location. What we have found works best for our family is to rent a house in a village that is small with less traffic but one that still has some places we can walk to like a restaurant and grocery store. Then while I’m doing laundry in the afternoons and some of the kids are relaxing, the antsy ones among us can make a trip to the store. Or go grab dinner for us.

Also, I’m not sure if you have been looking at plane tickets but there have been some great deals lately. I’d check them out ASAP. We are renting a house on Sword Beach in Normandy next summer and Dh snagged us some very cheap tickets to Paris and then on to Caen for cheaper than he’s ever seen them. Start watching now.

Enjoy the gelato!

[ged]

Where are you flying into/out of? I might spend a few days at a larger city as well...since there will also be good food there, amongst other things. That being said, I see no real issue with you basing your trip in Bologna. You can take a host of day trips. Just realize if you want to eat at better/less touristy restaurants, regardless of where...dinners will start later for the most part. And many are closed between 2-6pm. Not sure how old your kids are. But I get it. I liked visiting the smaller towns in Italy as well. That being said, with kids in tow, I do think a few interests besides fine dining are in order. But that can be as simple as visiting the local playgrounds and gelaterias. We lived in Munich for several years and would often drive down to holiday in that general area. I have fond memories of doing things like getting "fresh" milk from the machine in city center, making up silly games while strolling through the towns/shops/hillsides and visiting tiny museums that are far from world class destinations, etc. Not in the ER region, but I just adored Mantua/Mantova in the Lombardy. LOVE it to pieces. Good food there, too! I also liked Bologna, but I guess I didn't find it as lovable. It is cool though, how the University is the oldest in operation. And I distinctly remember how my girls loved visiting the Disney store there, haha -- sorry (bc we didn't have easy access to Disney back in Germany). So, maybe my hangup is that Bologna is still not far enough off the beaten track for me, and it's *supposed* to be such a foodie place, but...so I found it kinda meh. But I don't know... I also love super touristy places like Venice and Florence, etc.

[HannaAddict]

Bologna is not necessarily the best food in Italy. I would expand your horizons a bit as there are amazing food tours in regions or cities or towns with more to offer. But Italy is fantastic and if you really want to fly and only see Bologna, I’m sure it will be okay. Just a real waste to dismiss the hill town and culture as the culture and history is intimately entwined with the food. And there amazing meals to be had in hill towns too. It all goes together.


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[lizzywednesday]

Bologna is only on my list because the patron saint of my childhood parish (St Catherine of Bologna) has a shrine there; she's one of the Incorruptibles.

Beyond that, I couldn't imagine not going to Florence for the Uffizi, or to Siena for the cathedral (and the head of St Catherine of Siena; yes, I am strange) or Assisi (St Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan order, which ministered to my childhood parish when I was very young) ... but I've also got a head full of art history and Catholic trivia.

[smiles33]

Thanks, all.

Gatorsmom: we rent a place for every vacation as DH needs his unscheduled down time and we need more space than a tiny hotel room. When I can, I try to book a place with a pool since we don't have one at home. DDs can then play for hours in the pool while DH relaxes. Yet we are also all total bookworms so we happily spend 4-5 hours reading between meals. So when we were in Montreal and didn't have a pool, we each read a ton of books! That was a longer trip, though, so I hit Tripadvisor to look for more activities to do outside the house. And yes, I've been checking prices but there aren't any deals yet to BLQ. My friends went to Italy last year for under $500/person. My rates are coming up closer to $900/person so I'm not in a hurry to book.

ged: We fly out of SFO (although SJC is close so we could fly out from there, too, if we got a deal). Kids will be 9 and 12 and to be clear, we don't only take them to fine dining places. They love street food just as much (which I don't think is part of Italian culture) and we had fun touring markets in Taipei and Montreal. Our winter Mazatlan trip is already scheduled with a street food tour and a public market tour. We are the kind of family that talks about what we want to eat for the upcoming week and DH plans the meals in response to our cravings. I know, most people aren't as food-centered. Yes, we plan to do lots of trips out of Bologna. It's a good place for an evening stroll or morning walk to the market, but most of the day would be spent relaxing or going to visit a nearby town. Given the short trip of less than 8 days, I figured we would have one home base as I hate packing/unpacking. I had thought about renting a villa in the countryside or staying at an agriturismo, but that requires a car. I don't want to rent a car because DH is a terrible navigator and gets stressed out when I don't know where we're going and can't give him explicit step-by-step directions.

HannaAddict: I have heard the hill towns are gorgeous (my in-laws have been to Italy a few times) but I figured we could book a private driver for short drives from Bologna, which is less popular (and presumably less crowded) than Rome or Florence. We are very much the "off-the-beaten-path" travelers. DH hates crowds, hates standing in line, and cannot stand traffic and noise (he's also a light sleeper). Frankly, he'd be fine never traveling but does it for me when I plan carefully and ensure that he still gets his peace and quiet intermixed with great food. This is why I don't want to be based in Rome or Florence--those are prime tourist destinations and I've been told Bologna is more "under-the-radar" but still close to amazing food options in the ER region. I already found some food tours (Italian Days organizes day trips to surrounding towns in the ER region) and we can take a train to Florence (which google tells me is only a 35 min train ride away). I'll keep researching. We're just starting this process now.

lizzy: interesting. We aren't Catholic and I was not raised with religion, so the only time I go to church is for a relative or friend's wedding. I can appreciate that the architecture and stained glass masterpieces are significant and difficult to construct, but art/architecture/historical significance are not experiences/observations that bring me joy. Fortunately, DH is on the same page. My kids may grow into that appreciation later but I don't feel the responsibility to force it on them now. Anyhow, I hope you can make it to Bologna one day since the city is meaningful to you in other ways beyond food.

[lizzywednesday]

...

lizzy: interesting. We aren't Catholic and I was not raised with religion, so the only time I go to church is for a relative or friend's wedding. I can appreciate that the architecture and stained glass masterpieces are significant and difficult to construct, but art/architecture/historical significance are not experiences/observations that bring me joy. Fortunately, DH is on the same page. My kids may grow into that appreciation later but I don't feel the responsibility to force it on them now. Anyhow, I hope you can make it to Bologna one day since the city is meaningful to you in other ways beyond food.

I'm not religious, but I did minor in art history in college, which grew out of taking interest in the history of western culture in high school. And then there's the specific area you've mentioned - while I am no longer religious, my father takes great comfort in DD's birthday being St Catherine of Bologna's feast day, which deepens the connection. (I also have a fondness for relics, reliquaries, and funereal arts from other cultures, so my taste runs a bit ... odd.)

If you're not into museums or the study of art or whatever, you're not into it. It's personal preference and you have to do what makes you happy, especially if you're spending the money and time to travel in the first place!

That said, I think your plan to seek out the food is a great one - the old Molto Mario TV show on Food Network, hosted by Mario Batali, opened the idea that "Italian" food was a lot broader than I'd ever imagined! He "visited" the various regions and told little stories about the regions, the foods, the preparations, etc., before introducing the recipe(s) of the day. It was fascinating ... knowing that what I like to do and what you & your family like to do coincide in a great country like Italy is really amazing.

No matter what you decide, I hope you have a lot of fun and maybe learn something new about the region's culture that you wouldn't have learned from a book, TV show, or recipe.

[AnnieW625]

I agree with Lizzie. You have to do what makes you happy. I have never been to Europe, but if I were to go I would be doing thing s that are off the beaten path and visiting where my ancestors are from vs. doing what is touristy because that is what I find fun.





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