Chocolate show last weekend!

Last weekend I visited the chocolate show in Piazza Maggiore, Bologna.

There were so many kiosks full of every kind of chocolate, from everywhere in Italy: chocolate from Modica, in Sicily (they say it's the closest variety to the Aztec one!), from Piedmont (the famous gianduia), from Florence (where Pistocchi, the best chocolate torta in Italy, is based).

What about chocolate from Bologna? Well, with Majani and La Sorbetteria Castiglione, chocolate lovers can satisfy their needs even without the cioccoshow!

Bologna, heart of transportation in Italy

Bologna is quite a big city. In the 70's it exceeded half-a-million people, now the population has reduced but it's still around that amount. By being the capital town of a rich region like Emilia-Romagna, its train and transportation system is very well developed.

In addition, by being in the center of Italy, Bologna is the heart of the Italian transportation system. If something goes wrong in Bologna, the whole of Italy is split in two, whether it's trains or highways: Bologna is the connection between the northern and the southern part of Italy. If you go from Milan or Turin or Venice to Florence, Rome, Naples, Le Marche, Abruzzi or Puglia, you have to pass through Bologna.

I leave you to imagine how crowded the station of Bologna might be on Friday afternoon when all the daily and weekly commuters are going back home; now, add a holiday and you have this amount raised by 40%; say that the holiday is the 8th of December - when the biggest exhibition, the Motor Show - is taking place with thousands and thousands of visitors, and I wouldn't be exhaggerating if I said you would feel like you are at the gates of Hell...

Bars in Bologna

Bologna is full of bars. Being a wealthy town, people are used to having colazione (cornetto e cappuccino), or simply an espresso at the bar.

The aperitivo, on the contrary, is more typical of Milan, where you can even have dinner without going back home. In Bologna it is instead a way to make you hungry. Over the last few years, some bars have tried to offer the same aperitivo as Milan, but there's no comparison. In Bologna, people want to sit down and eat, and they want to eat seriously, not just a simple slice of mortadella served in a tiny piece of bread. We may clearly state that in Bologna the real aperitivo alla milanese will never take place.

After dinner, the bolognesi and even more so the students, like to go out and sit down at a bar, or a pub, sipping some wine, beer or even grappa. In spring or summer it's great to stay outside; but in the winter it's rather cold. No problem: here is the way to make the winter warm outside. Somebody says it's not the best way to fight the energy wasting, but bars need to work.

I personally like to stay in when the weather is cold, but a lot of people don't: with such a view outside, they can't be blamed!

Why don't you have a walking through Bologna?

A project is in progress: walking days in Bologna.

Why should you have a walk with me? For the same reason that you should have a tour in Le Marche with me: you can see the places you explore with me also by yourselves, but with me you can take the deep meaning, their essence, their secret stories.

I don't want to seem boasty or overestimating my skills: I decided to promote this second project only after some informal tests. I now see that this project can work, as Le Marche project is working very well. I myself would like to explore another town with people who can help me to see what I cannot see with my only eyes.

The first walking days in Bologna will take place from December on. Differently from Le Marche, which give the best in the mid-season (April, May, June, September and October), Bologna is nice to see all year long, except July and part of August, when it's too hot. You can follow this blog to see how things are going.

Please spread the voice: December is near.