Mama Mia! Mealtime Magic with Anna Maria!

It was, by far, the most memorable meal we had in Italy; in fact, the most memorable we’ve had in some time.  And we attribute it to the serendipity of circumstances that can so unexpectedly happen when you travel. . .

It was the night we met Anna Maria Monari; the night we experienced Trattoria Anna Maria.



The serendipity began weeks before our Italian trip. I’d written, BolognaWelcome, the  city’s tourism site for some information. 

Enter Giorgia Zabbini, (pictured to the left). She works for the Municipality’s tourism office and became our source of information both before and during our visit.



She was guiding us on a winding path through the city’s famous arcades, when several blocks from the tourist-filled 13th Century Piazza Maggiorri, she stopped before an unmarked store front so that we could note the pasta being made inside.

The ladies were more than gracious in granting my request to photograph them as they kneaded and rolled out pounds of pasta, that we learned would later be served to diners at Trattoria Anna Maria.

Anna Maria’s is one of those places that all the locals know about – the kind of place that serves ‘real authentic Bolognese food’ Giorgia said, adding that we ‘might want to try it’ while in town.

 Understatement! Within minutes we we at the restaurant securing  reservations for the next night. . .

Mama Mia! That’s when the fun began! 

We’d hoped to meet Anna Maria  as she made the rounds that evening, chatting with guests, checking on customer satisfaction – as she does each evening.  But what we didn’t expect was a full-blown visit with her.

We’d barely been seated when Laura Bizzari, (on the left in the photo above) introduced herself and said that Anna Maria would join us shortly and Laura would serve as our translator.



The wine was poured. The antipasti plate with omelet squares, bruschetta and mortadello (the meat for which Bologna is famous) arrived and we met this delightful 72-year-old restaurant owner.

Trattoria Anna Maria began 24 years ago in a smaller location a few blocks from its present site. Back then, Anna Maria was both waitress and chef, serving menu items created from her mother’s recipes.

The restaurant may have changed locations, but recipes have stayed the same.  Tortelloni en brodo, those wonderful stuffed pasta pockets served in broth was our first, ‘first’ course.  It, like the pasta used in lasagne, tortellini, and the long thin strands of tagliattelli, is hand-made daily by the ladies pictured above. (They had used 136 eggs the day we visited – which should give you an idea of quantities produced each day).

Our second ‘first course’ was tagliattelli in Bolognese, the famous meat sauce of the area. My mouth waters at the memory of these thin, near-translucent noodles that melted in our mouths.

Anna Maria sources as many of the products as she can from nearby farms and producers. She’s worked with some of them for years and was practicing that culinary ‘farm-to-table’ philosophy long before  it became trendy.

Yes, this lasagne was the third ‘first course’ and I hate to admit that it was so good that I forgot I was taking photos of each course until half way through it.  We did declare a stop after this and didn’t sample any of the items on the extensive ‘segundi’ or second, main course list. (Okay in full disclosure, we shared a home-made gelato and fruit for dessert.)

The restaurant was jam-packed by the time we left, several hours after our arrival.  Anna Maria was making her rounds, obviously enjoying her guests. Her earlier comment, when we’d asked about retirement plans, came to mind: 

“I am here every day.  Where else do I have to go? This is the party.  . .Mama Mia!”

If You Go: Trattoria Anna Maria is at Via Belle Arti, 17/A, Bologna. Information at www.trattoriaannamaria.com Credit cards accepted and is English spoken.

In full disclosure: We didn’t know until we asked for the bill, that we were Anna Maria’s guests that evening.  That wasn’t our intention in going there.  (I will add that going back to this restaurant is high on our list of reasons to return to Bologna. The pastas were incredible.)

This is our contribution to Travel Photo Thursday.  You’ll find more photos at Budget Travelers Sandbox.

Living in Italy: Rethinking Life’s Routines

We ‘lived’ in Italy for a very short time this fall. Staying in apartments that allowed us to play house, we were able, for a brief moment, to experience what expats must when dealing with new cultures, customs and behaviors. 

We sampled this travel style last year in Spain and were eager to try it again in Italy.

Two apartments. Two cities. Two completely different experiences.  But each provided us an opportunity to re-think the routines of daily life.

Our first home was a warm, cozy place in Bologna,  where the owners had anticipated  our every need, right down to scotch tape and scissors.

 
Our Venice home was  functional, but lacked the warmth and charm of the first place. You can probably tell that  from the photos.

If you’ve ever lived – for however long – in another country you know that everything about daily life is sort of the same as the one you live back home, yet different.

Different, in visible ways,  like water-craft ambulances in Venice and gas stations to fill up your boat (photo below). 

Tasks as simple as turning on the dishwasher, washing machine, adjusting the heat, buying groceries and cooking, finding the ATM machine, even locking the front door were just enough different to require some thought about how to accomplish them.


Our first night in Venice, a bit tired, somewhat disappointed in the apartment and short-tempered, we thought we’d locked ourselves out of it because no amount of turning the key opened the door.
Why hadn’t we tried the lock before both of us stepped outside and shut it? How could  it be so impossibly difficult? we grumbled.

You  are probably thinking, wouldn’t it be much easier to stay in a hotel? For that matter, it would be easiest to stay home where those day-to-day routines require no thought whatsoever. 

But one of the great things about this type of travel is that it forces us to sometimes live on the edge of comfortable. 

It makes unlocking the front door a high-five accomplishment and  turns fresh bread, cheese, olives and a glass of wine – eaten ‘at home’ – into a feast.

It forces us to turn off life’s auto-pilot and rethink the art of living. It also makes us grateful for the familiarity of the home we return to after each trip. 

It’s a great way to take travel to a new level. We’ll do it again and would recommend it, but with reservations because it isn’t for everyone. 



On this Travel Tip Tuesday:  We recommend that before before booking such a stay, you ask yourself:
1.  Am I comfortable not having a front desk resource available 24/7 to answer questions, provide maps, and solve problems?  Can I figure out how to call for emergency response (medical, fire, police) if the need were to arise?
2.  Do I want to go grocery shopping and prepare some meals at home?
3.  Have I researched the area and the user reviews of the place enough to feel comfortable, if not eager, to book it?
4.  In case I find myself in a neighborhood where English isn’t prevalent, do I speak enough of the language to get by?
5.  Am I ready to live on the edge of comfortable and rethink the routines?

If You Go:  We booked both our apartments through the on line rental agency, Vacations to Go.  Another similar site is HomeAway.  Both these websites offer user reviews, but we often check TripAdvisor as well.

Have you ever traveled on the edge of comfortable? If so, where was it that made you re-think routine?

TPThursday: Sample Bologna’s Beauty and Bounty

It could well be Italy’s hidden tourist gem; this capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, just north of  its better-known neighbor,Tuscany.

I wrote some weeks ago that we were returning for a second helping of this culinary haven nicknamed ‘la grassa’, (the fat), whose historic town center is recognized for both its towers and a ribbon of arcades (porticos) that wind through its ancient narrow streets for some 38 kilometers or 24 miles.

I can tell you, we heaped our plates (literally and figuratively) the four days we spent there and yet didn’t satiate our appetites.

We could easily return to this history-rich university town; the place where in 1088 the Alma Mater Studiorum – the first university in the western world -- was founded. Today university students bring a round-the-clock buzz to this once Etruscan capital.









On this Travel Photo Thursday I am offering a sample of the piccolino, (small), details that become travel treats here:



Let’s begin with this building.  At first glance you notice the arcades, those famous covered walkways that loop like pastel ribbons through the town. But look more closely, up at the roof line:



It’s a facade of faces. . .who were these people watching over the square, immortalized by time?



You could – and we did – walk for miles through the labyrinth of arcades that wind through the historic center of town. Some sadly defaced with graffiti, and others intricate murals of art.  But if you  looked at the doorways along those arcades. . .



You find magnificent works of art in the  form of door knockers, many as ornate as this one . I fought the desire to grab them and rap hard, just to see who might answer the door.



Buildings so old that their ages were hard to comprehend but their history reflected in the details. . .

In even the more modern rainbow-colored neighborhood where we had rented an apartment . . .

even a flower’s blossom on our deck each morning  made for another travel treat in Bologna . . .



If you go: Bologna can be reached by any number of European gateway cities and is served by numerous airlines. We flew to Milan and took a train to Bologna – an excellent way to see the countryside.
We rented our apartment through the online company, Vacation Rental by Owner 

That’s it for our contribution to TP Thursday hosted by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox, so head on over there for more destinations.

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Sunday Morning: At ‘Home’ in Italy

Anna Rita, the owner of the place we’d rented in Bologna, and I wrote several times before our arrival. In one email she said she hoped we’d find the place we expected. . .


We didn’t. It  quite simply exceeded our expectations!!

I wrote about this place after we had booked “Cassiopea”, our home away from home.  It had some 50 guest reviews and a 5 star rating. . .it also had a deck that called out to me.  Could it be that good? we wondered. Yes, it could!

(I love ‘my’ deck!)

On this Sunday morning the church bells are chiming and I am watching the sun rise over the neighboring roof tops from the front room of the most charming apartment we’ve stayed in to date in our travels. 


Our fourth floor apartment is some 60 steps and four flights of stairs from the entry door, so it isn’t for those who can’t walk and haul suitcases that far (now you see why we travel with small bags and wash clothes along the way).


All the rooms are much larger than we expected and are so beautifully decorated with Anna Rita’s artistic eye.  And details are important to her and her husband Piero – right down to the stapler and tape on the desk where I write to the shampoo and soap in the bathroom and the French Press and coffee in the kitchen.

And several of you knew I had my fingers crossed that Anna Rita was still greeting guests with one of her homemade ricotta cheese tortes. . . .well, she didn’t disappoint. She even had set the table for us! (It is soooo good!)



We’ve had unseasonably hot weather for our stay here with sunny days and temperatures in the low 80’s.  Our time draws to a close tomorrow as we head south to find that Tuscan Sun – although it can’t be better than here can it?

If you go:  We rented through Vacation Rental by Owner and used PayPal for the required deposit, paying the remainder owed upon arrival.  (Anna Rita and Piero picked us up at the train station – another very nice touch.) We are paying 104 euros, or $135 US which includes the cleaning fee.

Travel Tuesday: When Twitter Tweaks the Trip

This mini-tale began on Monday with a notice that we had a new follower on Twitter; a newcomer, it seemed, to the social media: Podere Assolatina in Tuscany.  I responded by becoming the eighth follower of their handful of tweets announcing their new web site. 

Since we are heading to Italy this fall, I checked their site (link above).  This agriturismo – between Florence and Rome -- looks charming. Their rates, surprisingly inexpensive. San Casciano Dei Bagni, the town they are near is postcard picture-perfect.

“Too bad we’ve already booked a place in Florence,” I thought as I found myself writing them and asking a few more questions about the place.

I showed the web site to Joel, along with the photos they’d sent in a return email within hours of my inquiry. 

“Too bad we’ve got a place in Florence already,” he said. “Wonder if we could cancel those reservations?"

Our plans had been firm: take a train to Florence, spend three nights there, then a train to Rome to board another to its port town Civitavecchia.

By Tuesday evening we’d cancelled our reservations in Florence and booked a rental car that we’ll pick up in Bologna and use for three days en route to Civitavecchia.

The agriturismo folks haven't responded to my rental inquiry yet, but that doesn’t really matter. . .

By tossing our original itinerary we have the freedom to head out and stay where ever we find ourselves. And in case you are wondering, we didn’t take the car’s GPS option.

If You Go:

Podere Assolatina, Fraz. Celle Sul Rigo, 53040 San Casciano Dei Bagne, +39 331-447-4328

How about you? Have you ever changed travel plans based on some fluke like we did?

Monday Meanderings: A Second Helping of Bologna

The night we spent in Bologna, Italy as part of a return to Seattle from Venice a few years ago wasn’t enough. 

The snippet of a taste we had – Roman ruins, great food and wine, architecture – was enough to draw us back this fall for a ‘full meal deal’ taste of this gourmand land known for its stuffed pastas and 'Bolognese' sauce. 

We’ve extended our ‘land-time’ prior to the cruise from Rome which allows a visit to Bologna. After successfully changing our frequent-flier mile airline seats, The Scout (that’s Joel) went to work on finding accommodations there.

An apartment named Cassiopea, in central Bologna, won out over the dozens of other options he perused.  Joel was taken with the more than 40 reviews singing its praises and I was sold when this photo came up as part of the information:

A flower trimmed deck for morning espresso and afternoon wine will sell me on a place every time.  We’ve booked this  little Italian ‘home away from home’ on a quiet side street with a view to the hills beyond town for four nights.

One of the previous guests wrote that the La Vecchia Scuola Bolognese cooking school is nearby and an afternoon lesson and tasting there shouldn’t be missed. Others wrote about places to visit and people watching in the piazza each night.  Will we have time to fit it all in?

The photos in this post are courtesy of the apartment owners/hosts, Anna Rita and Piero.  I’m not showing you all the apartment views yet, but those of you who know what animal lovers we are, will understand why the second photo --  after the one of the deck -- to catch my eye was this one:

Portraits with cats and dogs line the walls. We've learned through our email exchange since booking the apartment that these works are Anna Rita’s.  A quick visit to her web site shows she’s an artist who loves animals as much as we do.  If you want to see more of the art (or videos of her furry ones) just follow this link:  http://www.annaritadallolio.it

One of the best benefits of this type of rental is getting to know real people. On the flip side, renting any place – hotel or apartment – does requires a somewhat moderate leap of faith; you hope photos and reviews are truthful. In the case of Cassiopea the reviews not only sing praises of the place but of the people as well.

One guest proclaimed, “It was like staying with the most wonderful cousin you could ever have.” And in my mind that said a lot. I suspect that our stay in Cassiopea will only make us want another – bigger -- serving of Bologna the next time!

If You Go:

We found Cassiopea on  Vacation Rental By Owner where deposit and payment is accomplished using Pay Pal.  It is also listed on the French-based site, Homelidays, or on Perfect Places.  

Bologna is about 2.5 hours from Rome and a half hour from Florence by fast train. For more information visit the city's user-friendly website:  Bologna Welcome.

Now that you know we’ll be in Bologna, do you have some recommendations for us?  What shouldn’t we miss while there?