June 23, 2022

Galavanting with Galvani

After stopping back at the bakery we found yesterday, we made our way to the train station in Florence and hopped on board to head to Bologna. We eventually made our way out of the train station and our first stop was, of course, to drop our bags. We found the cutest hostel where we ended up with lots more space than we were expecting (and no bunk beds!). We looked around quickly and then stopped for gelato at a very local shop next door (it was already way too hot to just walk by). 

Before the trip, we had found an exploration game in Bologna that is similar to a scavenger hunt for different monuments and attractions around the city. It’s also similar to a self guided tour but has a story and puzzles to go along with it, in addition to history and directions on where to walk. We really liked it because it was interactive, so we stayed engaged, but it was also self paced so we could take a break to go look at shops or get lunch or explore different areas more (or less) based on how we were feeling. The only downside was not having a physical person there to answer questions or give restaurant suggestions.

Bologna is full of towers, monuments, and porticoes which were really fun to explore. It felt like a much more medieval city than anywhere else we’ve visited which was entirely because of the architecture. One highlight was Bologna’s leaning tower which actually leans more than Pisa’s (but is harder to take cool pictures with). We also thought Neptune’s statue and Galvani’s statue were very cool with fun stories. The last highlight that we both enjoyed was an intersection of two tunnels where two people could stand in opposite corners and whisper into the corner and hear each other. We also loved that most of the sidewalks are covered (which helped protect us from both sun and rain). This was because, as Bologna’s population grew, people wanted to expand the size of their homes without taking over the sidewalks and roads so they built patios above the sidewalks with pillars holding them up.

After the game was finished, we made our way back to the hostel to officially check in and give ourselves a few minutes to cool off. When we were ready, we set off and explored some more of the city and went back to see more of a few areas including a street with lots of meat, cheese, and fruit vendors where we ended up for dinner. We found a cute restaurant, got a table in the street, and ordered an amazing charcuterie board and a salad with pears and parmesan. It was the perfect dinner and was exactly what we heard is a must in Bologna. On our way back to the hostel, we ran into a store to buy some water because we heard it’s crazy expensive in Venice. Tomorrow, we’re off to the canals!! 

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Best birthday present

For the first time in (what felt like) forever, we turned off all of our alarms and let ourselves sleep in. When we woke up, we took our time getting ready and getting ourselves organized before heading out. We got a late breakfast at a really cute cafe nearby which surprisingly served iced coffee (probably just to cater to tourists but it was hot so who cares). We also had read reviews that said they had the best cannolis so of course we also had to put them to the test. Everything we tried was amazing and we were excited to hear they open early so we might come back for breakfast before our train tomorrow. 

After breakfast, we set out to wander through the market which turned out to be mostly a leather market with shops selling belts or purses or jackets. It was really cool to see but not the market we were expecting. We had been hoping to find some fruit to add a healthier component to our brunch, so we headed into a grocery store and got a large container of melon which we ate in a nearby square. 

We headed back to the same bus stop as yesterday to meet our guide for a Chianti wine tour that visits 2 vineyards. We had a very interesting guide who spent most of the bus ride telling us fun facts about Florence, Chianti, wine classifications, olive oil classifications, and information about different places we were passing. 

The first vineyard we visited was Sant Appiano which is a very cute place that was originally owned by the Pitti family (like the Pitti Palace in Florence). We tried the following five wines…

  1. Spumante “brut”
    • Floral and somewhat fruity 
    • We both really liked this one 
  2. IGT Toscana Rose Secretum 
    • Very light with the body of a white and flavor of a red, hints of red fruit
    • We both loved this one and ended up buying a bottle 
  3. Vin Santo del Chianti DOC 
    • Strong dark red fruit flavors like blackberry and lots of tannin 
    • We both agreed that we liked this less than the previous two even though this one is much fancier 
    • This was probably our least favorite of them which is good because it was going for about 98€ a bottle. 
  4. Cottaccio 
    • Very acidic and tannic 
    • Might be better with food but neither of us liked it much alone 
  5. Supertuscan Syrah 
    • Less acidic than the other reds but similar tannin level 
    • You can taste the flavor from the French oak barrels it aged in
    • Hints of berries like blackberries and maybe some caramel 
    • Isabel liked this one more than Stephanie 

The next vineyard was Tenuta Torciano which has been in the same family since 1720 and we learned that the original owner had 18 kids which we were told was because of the aphrodisiac qualities of their truffle olive oil. They make high quality wine, truffle oil, and balsamic vinegar that can only be purchased directly from the vineyard (so we had to buy some balsamic). The atmosphere was amazing and we could feel the family values in the hour we spent there. In addition to 2 truffle oils and the balsamic vinegar, we tried the following 4 wines… 

  1. Veranaccia S Gimignano 
    • Very sweet with hints of pear, green apple
    • We loved this one and were very tempted to buy some
  2. Morellino di Scansano DOCG 
    • Very light and not very tannic
    • We also both really liked this and it was definitely our favorite red of the day 
  3. Baldassarre Super Tuscan wine 
    • Good balance, more tannic than the first two wines here with flavors of dark chocolate and cherry making it very rich 
    • We both liked this one, it was probably our second favorite red 
  4. Rose (forgot to write the specific name)
    • We both liked this one but definitely liked the rose at the first vineyard better (so we were happy with our purchase) 

Overall, we both agreed that this was one of the best days we’ve had so far and this was one of the top excursions we booked (it was a belated birthday present for Stephanie and she said it was the best birthday present)!! 

After the second vineyard, we headed back to Florence just in time for dinner. We took the suggestion of someone on the vineyard tour and went to a very local Florentine restaurant, called Trattoria Da Giorgio. Stephanie had been hoping to get a Florentine steak and this restaurant had the option of a fixed price menu with the steak, a side, water, and wine, so Stephanie got her steak with a salad, lots of water, and more wine, They also had a different fixed price menu with a first course, second course, side dish, water, and wine which Isabel ordered. She had gnocchi, Turkey with lemon, farro salad, lots of water, and more wine. It was all delicious and we were so happy to have gotten the suggestion. 

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