One day, my friend Natosha (hey, girl!👋🏾) changed my view of travel when she explained the difference between a “trip” and “vacation.” A trip is usually a quick break away from your regular life, but it's not restful. Either you're juggling kids all weekend or working through a super packed itinerary that doesn't let up, but you usually come home needing a vacation. Think business trips, weekend trips.
On the opposite side, vacations are restful, easy, and if you're lucky, you get a little break away from the kids. Beach vacations will always be my favorite.
Paris was definitely the “trip” part of our time in Europe. My husband and I were focused on making sure his mom had a great time, which means we stayed on the go, hitting up as many sites as possible.
But when we parted ways at Charles de Gaulle Airport, my in-laws making their way back to the States while we boarded a plane to Italy, the energy relaxed.
We were leaving the beautiful, but cold city of Paris behind for the warm sun of Italy. And we slipped back into that ease that comes from knowing someone, loving someone for over a decade.
My goal for Italy was simple and hadn't changed since I made the decision decades ago to travel there—eat my weight in pasta. To know me is to know my favorite cuisines are Mexican and Italian food. And not just the American interpretation of them, but I love to learn about the dishes that are special to each region of these countries.
If I had all the time and money in the world, I would spend months eating and drinking my way through Italy and Mexico. But when you only have five days, you have to make tough decisions. I narrowed our destinations down to two cities—Rome and Bologna.
Rome was an easy decision, the history alone made it a must-see, plus we could take a direct flight back to Atlanta.
But I went back and forth about the second destination. Should we visit Venice, Florence, Milan, or the Amalfi Coast—all popular tourist destinations for a reason. An episode of “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” settled my heart in Bologna.
Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, and while you might not have heard of this part of Italy, you do know their products—parmesan cheese, mortadella, balsamic vinegar, and Parma ham, which can be used to make prosciutto. For this reason alone, I knew I needed to visit Bologna, which was the next stop on our European tour.
We grabbed a quick pizza at a local chain, which was pretty good BTW, and walked to the Piazza Maggiore and visited the Basilica di San Petronio. We also grabbed our first gelato because duh, but the exhaustion won that day, and we ended up back in our hotel room with mediocre room service.
I felt more prepared to handle life after waking up in Italy. We ventured back into town for a walking tour through the city center, but first, we made a stop to indulge in an Italian breakfast of pastries and espresso. As soon as we walked into the shop, the intoxicating smell of baked bread and sugar made me swoon. But it took no time for me to select an apricot-filled donut, satisfying a month-long hankering for sweet fluffy dough balanced against fruity and tart jelly.
Our tour covered the Asinelli towers, Neptune fountain, and the Basilica of San Petronio. We also walked through the Quadrilatero Market, Bologna’s oldest market, where the narrow streets were lined with so many vendors selling the most beautiful artichokes, oranges, and tomatoes. Along with boxes and boxes of produce there were also fishmongers and shops so packed with pork that the smell wafted out of the shops, begging us to come inside.
During our tour, we learned about the history of the city center, and the resilience and ingenuity of the people of Bologna. The tour was incredible and made me realize how much history sits in plain sight, especially in these old cities. Of course after all that history, it was time for lunch. We sat on the cobblestone-lined streets of Bologna and drank wine and spritz and ate way too much pinsa. But of course, we left room for gelato.
We continued our walk through town, visiting a pub that has been in continuous operation since 1465. A simple sign that said “Vino” hung above the door. You never would know how many people had walked through its doors.
Later that afternoon, we went to a wine tasting at Ebrezze, which walked us through different wines from the region, including Lambrusco, a red sparkling wine, and Pignoletto, a light-bodied white wine.
I couldn’t leave Bologna without trying a few foods that originated in the city: Bolognese, mortadella, and tortellini in brodo. We grabbed a quick breakfast and queued up to Sfoglia Rina, a favorite spot for locals and tourists. He got the Bolognese, which was delicious, but the tortellini in brodo is still a dish that I can’t stop thinking about. Each tortellini was perfectly stuffed with a mix of parmesan, pork loin, mortadella, and prosciutto di parma. You won’t believe how much flavor they get in each bite, and the broth is cozy.
For dinner, we popped into Prosciutteria, where we had the most delicately sliced meats along with beer and bread. Pretty much the perfect way to end our time in Bologna.
On Easter morning, we caught a train to Rome. I’ll start by saying our time in Rome wasn’t long enough, and the train delay didn’t help. But we eventually made it in and immediately hit the packed streets in search of pasta. We fought through the crowds and made it to the Trevi Fountain and then to a nearby restaurant for a huge plate of Cacio e pepe, one of Rome’s four pasta dishes. My goal was to eat all four dishes, but there wasn’t enough time to get them all into my stomach.
We made the most of our second day, getting up early to visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum. One of my favorite parts of this experience, besides the food and the walkability of the cities, is the history. And the best way to tap into that history is with a tour, which we had to get creative with because everything was sold out since we were booking at the very last minute. Dominick was able to find a great tour via Rick Steves, which also happened to be free. Highly recommend his tours if you're traveling through Europe!
The rest of our time in Rome, we spent roaming the streets, stopping for gelato and food along the way. For dinner, we ducked into Osteria del Tempo Perso Oca where I had a delicious plate of carbonara and the richest, creamiest tiramisu. After dinner, we took the long way home, savoring those last bits of Rome before we hopped on our flight in the morning.
This was truly a dream trip, and it’s hard to believe it’s already behind us. But I know the memories, the flavors, and the beauty of the cities will stay with me for a lifetime.
What’s Good
Excited to share that I have a special discount for anyone interested in going to the Georgia Craft Brewers Festival on Saturday, May 18th at Westside Paper here in Atlanta. Enter “THESHARE” at checkout for $10 off general admission and VIP tickets. It’s going to be a great time with 50 breweries from across Georgia participating\!
Read the Dinner Party That Started the Harlem Renaissance and Thinkin’ It Can’t Happen to You, and Then It Do — How Water Became a Casualty of the Everglades’ Seductive Urbanization
Thank you for reading!
Until next time,
Stephanie
About me: I'm Stephanie Grant, a born-and-bred ATLien and the writer behind this newsletter. I’m also a content creator for the food and beverage industry and one of the hosts of the award-winning Good Beer Hunting podcast. In 2023, I launched The Share Community, a digital space for women and non-binary people of color who want to advance their career in the beer industry. You can also find more of my work on YouTube and Instagram.
Bologna is a treasure! What a great trip