Bologna & Florence

Bologna

After leaving Venice, I moved to Bologna, which is located south of Venice. I only stayed one night there, but I quickly walked around the city and enjoyed the local food. The first thing that came to mind in Bologna was "Bolognese" — the pasta dish everyone knows. Bolognese is actually called ragù in Italy, and it's traditionally served with a flat pasta called tagliatelle.

This restaurant seemed popular and I ordered tagliatelle al ragù — it was really good. The pasta was al dente, and I discovered that real Bolognese isn't cheesy or heavy but savory and meaty.

Gelato after dinner is a must! Prices in Bologna were slightly cheaper than in Venice.

I also visited these places (just to see them). I hadn't known Bologna also had a leaning tower (the one in Pisa is far more famous), but unfortunately it was under construction and I couldn't go inside.

The Two Towers of Bologna (Le Due Torri) — Asinelli and Garisenda — are the iconic 12th-century leaning towers rising over Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, all that remains of the roughly 180 medieval towers that once bristled across the city. Torre degli Asinelli stands 97 meters tall and can be climbed via 498 steps for one of the best views in Bologna, while the shorter Torre della Garisenda (48 m) leans so dramatically — nearly 4 degrees — that Dante mentioned it in his Inferno.
The Basilica di San Petronio is the vast late-Gothic basilica dominating Bologna's Piazza Maggiore, dedicated to Saint Petronius, the city's patron saint. Begun in 1390 and technically still unfinished — its façade abruptly transitions from marble to bare brick halfway up — it was originally planned to be even larger than St. Peter's in Rome before Pope Pius IV cut the project down. Inside, look for the famous meridian line by Giovanni Cassini (1655), one of the largest sundials in the world, cut across the floor to track the sun's noon shadow through a hole in the ceiling.

Florence

The next day, I moved to Florence. Florence also has many great foods, and I tried a few restaurants. One dish I couldn't skip in Florence was the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina — a massive T-bone steak from Chianina cattle, seared on the outside but nearly raw inside, served on a wooden board and typically shared between two or three people. I ordered a smaller size and managed to finish it by myself.

On another day, I watched the World Cup match between Japan and Brazil at a local pub and made some local friends there. Unfortunately we lost the game, but I had a great time.

Continuing to Rome