Bologna blew me away. Why are people not talking about Bologna? I have the sneaking suspicion that everyone is trying to keep it a secret. You hear so many names on the roll-call of places to visit in Italy but they're always the same ones. As we try to visit new places and new faces every weekend in Italy, my husband and I had the pleasure of checking out Bologna for the first time about two weekends ago. Now we're wondering why we took so long to discover this city. I know I shouldn't say things like this, like it's probably in some kind of loyalty code to the city that you've expatriated to, but I really love Bologna. I might even love it more than Bergamo, I might even love it more than Rome. I might love it more than many other Italian cities that I've been to.

Bologna is a university city and because of this fact it has an unspoken energy to it. The students, that arrive in this orange-tinted town, come from all four corners of the world and they give the city it's pizzazz. Every night feels like a party and all you have to do is spill out onto the streets to be part of it. We started our trip in the worst of ways: looking for parking. To be honest this was the worst part of our trip, we arrived on Saturday morning during the market and spent about 45 minutes looking for a spot to leave our car overnight. Almost everything near the center was paid parking and we really had no intention of spending our food money on something so frivolous. So like a good Italian, my husband refused to give up and managed to squeeze our car into an impossibly small spot in a residential area. Italians love nothing more than to screw over the system, so sorry Bologna you didn't take our money that day. We dragged our carry-on suitcase to our apartment for the weekend; we thought that we would look out of place walking so far with the trolley, but it was the perfect accessory for the city as it seemed like everyone was pulling luggage around, I suppose students coming and going for the weekend.

We were guests of , a new offering run by two sisters right in the heart of Bologna in an old palazzo that their grandmother owned. The location cannot be beat and the owners, Francesca and Federica, are so helpful and have curated each apartment to perfection mixing old and new to create an eclectic and luxurious home away from home. Our apartment was equipped with a kitchen, making it a perfect option for anyone who needs to stay in Bologna on business or longer than a weekend. My favorite space was actually the bathroom. The sisters chose to leave some of the original tiling while updating all of the finishings so you have a lovely walk in shower surrounded by fabulous vintage tiles chosen by their nonna with little purple flowers. They also gifted us two invaluable pieces of paper: the first was a walking tour highlighting all of their favorite spots in Bologna and the second was a list of restaurants, bars and other places to eat like a true Bolognese.

​Word of advice: if you happen to be in the city on a Saturday, do try to make reservations for dinner the day before, we didn't do this and we ended up drinking all night instead because all the restaurants were fully booked!

After settling in and dropping off our luggage, we set out on foot to take in the city. Bologna is best known for its porticos, on a rainy day, there is no need to sit inside because you can easily walk about the whole city and shop and eat and visit without ever needing an umbrella. The portico system is extensive, Bologna is home to the longest covered walkway in the world in fact. The thing I loved best after the porticos was the color of the city, or shall I say the colors. Bologna boasts facades of all different shades of the sun: yellows and oranges and reds and beiges, bright and cheery and dull and weathered. If I could've photographed every building I would have. We wandered for the better part of the afternoon and as the sun started to set we found ourselves, unknowingly, in one of Bologna's most beautiful piazzas- Piazza San Stefano. Do yourself a favor, when you go to Bologna, accidentally stumble on this piazza as the sun is going down. It will top your list as one of the most beautiful moments you'll ever experience in Italy. I'll admit that might be slightly exaggerated, but every Italy moment I have seems to top the one before it. There is something about the light in this piazza, it's that dim, warm color of candles and it reflects off the stone of the church and the cobblestones in such a way that you can't help but stop in your tracks to take it all in. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be during the summer months when the evenings are long and the sunset is slow. We walked around the monastery in the piazza, at first as a time killer, but then with heightening enthusiasm as we became increasing enchanted by the courtyards enveloped in the darkness. We sat in one of the courtyards for a good amount of time, just completely entranced by the peacefulness and the evening. ​

One of the most amazing things about social media is that it allows you to connect with other expats and other Canadians who live in Italy. So Saturday evening after seeing the city by day, I was able to meet up with a fellow Canadian who has lived Bologna for the last four years and she took us on a whirlwind nighttime tour of her adopted home. The highlight was grabbing a bottle of Pignoletto from Bologna's oldest osteria: Osteria del Sole, and drinking it out in the streets because there wasn't any room inside. This place is a legend and it serves only drinks, not food, so you can bring your own of the latter! The photograph above on the right shows the exterior of the bar with the only indication of what lies within being that teeny-tiny sign saying "VINO" over the door.

​The city was absolutely bustling and we bar-hopped out and drink-hopped from wine to craft beer as we learned more about our newfound friends and our love for the city continued to grow. You could stay out all night here and never get bored or hungry, or thirsty for that matter. However, we ended up calling it a night around one in the morning, having spent all day on our feet and planning to climb the mythical Torre degli Asinelli (view in the photo below) the next day. 

​Bologna you were some kind of beautiful, we'll be back!

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to "dare un'occhiata" at these ones or anything in the category "Travel in Italy":
​
Under The Tuscan Sun: In Photos
​Catania Photo Diary: Two Days on Sicily's East Coast
​Tour Review: Val D'Orcia with Ciao Florence Tours
Milan Food Tours: Beers and Bites Review 
How to Eat Rome with The Roman Food Tour
Snowboarding and Après-Skiing in the Dolomites
Mishmash of Ferragosto, Abruzzo, Lake Como, and Monza
In The Steps of St. Francis in Assisi 
Ferragosto in Abruzzo's Mountains 
Milan and Magnolias in Spring 


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​Ciao a tutti! As many of you Instagram diehards might already know, I was lucky enough to be invited to The Grand Blogger Dinner in Milan last Friday night, the inaugural event hosted by Mr. Experience Creators, a PR and event company based in Amsterdam. This was their third event after Berlin and Amsterdam, with another three up-and-coming in other cool-kid European cities. The event was held at the ultra-trendy NHOW HOTEL in the center of Milan and featured 39 hand-picked bloggers from all over the city, plus...yours truly! The evening began with me arriving in typical Canadian fashion, 30 minutes before the 6pm start time. I was ecstatic to have arrived at all, having never driven in Milan before and certainly never even having entertained the idea of driving right into the heart of the city at rush hour on a Friday evening. When I parked the car with minimal scratches and minimal “multe” (fines), I had to sit for a few minutes to calm my heart that was rammering against my chest, high on adrenaline and espresso. The dress code was “Indian Summer” and I had to wear my interpretation of it to work since I would have no opportunity to change beforehand. I was interested to see how the other milanesi bloggers would be dressed and all I can say is that there was a lot of black with accents of colors. A few of the fashion bloggers opted for the very hot-right-now turban that just a few days before had caused, and is still causing, a stir in the fashion world thanks to their inclusion in the Marc Jacobs show. I applaude them for taking risks. I wanted to wear flowers on my head but balked at being too "last season" or too "Coachella" and in fact, maybe I was right because the only headgear I spotted was the notorious head wrap.

​Upon arrival, the bloggers were treated to what might have seemed like champagne at first sight, but was actually a Poretti beer. I drank my share rather enthusiastically much to the bemusement of the Dutch organizers and the rest of the women who might have preferred champagne. Most of the conversation and exchanging of account names and blog names took place in Italian and I was more than excited to flex some linguistic muscle. Once stomachs started rumbling, we were escorted into a delightfully-decorated candlelit dining area that looked like something off of Pinterest. Seats were assigned and written in golden cursive, my card bearing only a first name, “Jasmine”…I felt as significant and special as Cher. The flower arrangements towered over our heads, cake-like layers of every white flower you can imagine, flanked on either side with candles ready to burn the midnight oil. I was starving. 

The dinner proceeded thanks to a number of sponsors and featured products and brands, before each dish was presented, the brand’s chef (including high rollers like Chef Giancarlo Morelli, pictured above) would make an appearance to give us the backstory on his or her use of the product. Five courses later, I headed to the bathroom to unzip the top of my skirt and sneakily hide the evidence under my top. An interesting touch was that each dish was accompanied by a specifically-chosen Poretti beer rather than wine and I kept thinking that my husband would have been in heaven!
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This blogger dinner was my first event in Milan and it’s safe to say that the organization and execution of it all just blew me away. Mr. Experience Creators hosted a top-notch event that let a variety of bloggers rub shoulders in an elegant and refined atmosphere that felt neither stuffy or snobby. I expected to feel like a fish out of water in such a swanky venue in the world's most fashionable capital city but I felt completely at ease. They also sent us home with the biggest swag bag seen this side of Hollywood, packed full with fresh pasta from Giovanni Rana and many other brand products as you can see in the photographs below. Here’s hoping to be invited back next year! ​

Hands-down, the highlight to our Florentine weekend was our hotel. I rarely get to say something like this because Massi and I are the kind of folks that don't fret much about where we lay our heads, as long as it's clean and reasonable. However, our jet-setting ways let us accumulate a free night to use anywhere in the world with Hotels.com and after a bit of TripAdvisor research, I chose this one. Hotel Loggiato dei Serviti was probably one of THE BEST hotels we've ever stayed in, it is simply oozing with Old World charm and is the perfect refuge from the busy streets of Florence. Plus, the price is right. Even if our night was free, they go for something around 80-90 Euros a night which is very reasonable for being literally two blocks from the Duomo and all the action. So here's Massi rolling up to the entrance of the hotel, tucked into one of Florence's historic residences facing Brunelleschi's Spedale degli Innocenti, in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata: 

Here we are waiting our turn after these ladies at reception. How cute is reception?! When you step into the hotel, it's like the rest of your crazy, tourist-dodging filled day dissipates into nothingness and you're suddenly in a perfect Italian dream. Can't you just picture yourself coming in from a long day of sightseeing, having a long soak (you'll see the bathroom if you scroll down) and getting all pretty for your fabulous evening in Florence? The photograph immediately below is of the sitting room that leads into the breakfast room which was quaint, elegant, and welcoming all at once (no photos of it unfortunately, too busy eating my surprisingly good brioche). 

Here is Massi stopped in the corridor of the second floor, he was in awe of the old wooden chairs flanking the mirror. The floors are wooden and creaky, but in my opinion, it's an endearing feature. You don't come to a city like Florence and stay in a modern hotel, you just don't, it's such a shame. Our room, in case you want to request it, was a Superior Room, #9 to be precise. We had a bit of an inner struggle convincing ourselves to leave the room to walk around Florence in the evening, it was just that beautiful. The only thing I would say is while all the amenities are there, don't expect all the finishings and furniture to be up to 'modern-day' standards. But who cares about that anyways when your bed and bathroom looks like this- 

No photograph could do justice for that bathroom, it was probably as big as the actual bedroom with frescos on all the walls and exposed wooden ceilings that were the highest I've seen in a hotel. It was equipped with a towel warmer, a bathtub (which I thoroughly enjoyed) AND a shower. Here I am being a weirdo and taking a mirror selfie although I shouldn't have been smiling, my feet were suffering from having had broken in my new Stuart Weitzman loafers on the cobblestone streets. 

We did end up going out for the evening- stopping in a corner bar to have a raspberry beer with pretty much all of Florence's American exchange students and the odd Italian teenager hoping to get lucky with them. I was hungry as per usual, even after my monstrous steak, so we had some more beer with a side of pizza before heading back to check out that amazing poster bed. Here's some of what I saw before the first beer on a empty stomach made my head hazy: 

Thanks for an amazing weekend Hotel Loggiato dei Serviti and Florence! Even if I embarrass Massi, I still love being an eternal tourist in Italy...!