piazza maggiore, bologna, italia

cindy had her first true bolognese at the montegrappa da nello to go with a plate of mortadella and prosciutto and a platter of misto fritto. trying to get out of the rain, we ducked into an alleyway - Via Pescherie Vecchie - lined with one shop chock full of italian goodies after another. we bought stuffed tomatoes and aubergine, wedges of frittata, marinated artichokes, green plums, wine and bread sticks and had a delicious rainy-night picnic. i bought a hunk of parmesan, soppressata and truffle oil.

in ravenna, city of byron & byzantine mosaics, we lunched at La Gardela. while fiza had an encounter with a bottle of balsamic vinegar (let's just say we got whiffs of the finest modena balsamic vinegar for hours after!) i savored a spaghetti with cozze and vongole.

but our trip was not all about food, i swear. we danced the night away one evening at the villa della rose in riccione and slept it off on the beach in rimini the next day. does anyone ever had a bad vacation in italy?