After walking around a bit we called it a day and relaxed back in the apartment, spending much of the time on the Internet. The Wi-Fi in the apartment isn't speedy, but after going 7 weeks without it we were going through withdrawals. We found ourselves so tired from the day’s activities that we ended up staying in and going to bed by midnight.
The next morning we headed out in search of a place to eat lunch. We passed a trattoria that looked busy and grabbed a table under the portico. Within a few minutes the tables were full. It was the Culinary Institute of Bologna, or CIBO, for short. “Cibo” also means “food” in Italian. The menu was simple – lots of typical Bolognese foods like tagliatelle or tortellini with ragu Bolognese. This is exactly what we ordered; Cinzia the tagliatelle with a side of grilled vegetables and me the tortellini. Very nice.
Next we were off to do some real food shopping at the local grocery store (another Conad). We didn’t buy much with Diet Coke, tea, milk, and olive oil accounting for much of the weight in our bags. Having just eaten, nothing was jumping at us for dinner, so we decided to find a pizzeria when dinner approached. After putting away our groceries we relaxed in the apartment.
After dinner we wanted something sweet, and in Bologna that means Bombocrep. They have 209 types of offerings and make made-to-order donuts, waffles, and crepes. I ordered #104 Mascarpone e Amarena Fabbri (mascarpone cream and Fabbri black cherries) for €4,40. Cinzia went with #86 Bianco e Crema (white chocolate cream and cream) for €3,50. Both were amazing. It was 21:48 on a Sunday evening (according to my receipt) and the small shop was packed. About 6 people were crowded around the entrance eating their crepes and another 6 waited inside to receive their order. After we placed our order more people arrived and the line stretched out the entrance and onto the street. I tell you, this is the perfect business for a college town like Bologna. Their hours are from 18:00 to 06:00.
That ends our first 2 days in Bologna. I’m stuffed, and there’s so much more to eat!