Travels in the 2nd half

Palazzo d'Accursio Bologna is an old city with a history in education. It is home to beautiful churches and distinctive porticoed streets. It is also home to some wonderful museums that offer both classic and innovative views of art. After spending Easter morning visiting some churches (see last weeks post ) I ate lunch and took in two of those museums. For lunch I walked half a block off of the Piazza Maggiore, to a great lunch place, the salumeria Simoni Laboratorio . In 1960, the Simoni family opened a salumeria in the Centro Storico of Bologna, two blocks from the center square of the city. In 2015 they opened their restaurant/laboratory on via Pescherie Vecchia II where you can order and eat from a menu of sandwiches and plates. I ordered the ballerina and for €5 I received a large sandwich of amazing ham and pecorino cheese. It was delicious. Salumeria Plate at Simoni Laboratorio Meat and Cheese for sale  After lunch I walked across the...

Basilica San Petronio My first full day in Bologna was Easter Sunday. I was unsure of what may or may not be open for visitors. Holidays can be iffy for travelers. What I didn’t realize was that I had my holiday wrong.  I started off with breakfast at Pasticceria Saffi, a small cafe across the street from my apartment. Saffi is usually closed on Sundays, but on Easter it was open, and there was a constant flow of customers picking up the breads and cakes they wanted to help celebrate  the day.I stood at the bar with my cappuccino and ham sandwich, listening to the locals complain about the results of the football matches from the night before. Right away it was clear the Easter in Bologna was going to be different than in New York. Porto San Felice After breakfast I walked past Porto San Felice and into Bologna’s Centro Sotrico. After wandering around for a while I ended up in front of  the Basilica di San Francisco . I waited until after the morni...

Vis San Felice Bologna has always been on my “want to visit” list. On my recent trip to Italy I finally had the chance to get to some places that I had not yet seen, so Bologna was my top choice. Porto Mascarella, at the foot Via Stalingrado I am drawn to Bologna because it has a long history of supporting left-wing progressive politicians and causes. It is has a large university, so its population tends to skew younger. Driving into town along Via Stalingrado, a tribute to those who gave their lives at the Siege of Stalingrad during WWII, convinced me I was in the right place. This trip was the first time that I rented a car while traveling in Europe. So I left Florence on the highway, rather than on a train. This gave me a very different perspective to the country. For example, on my trip to Bologna, I left the expressway to find a place to have lunch. I ended up at the Trattoria Vilma , in the small town of Borgatella. My waiter spoke about as much English...

This week I am taking a break from Italy to present an even more perilous journey I recently took. My on-going search for small museums took me from The Bronx out to the wilds of Staten Island, where I found two unique places to visit. Actually, I love traveling TO Staten Island. The ferry trip across New York Harbor is one of my favorite things to do, and it is free. The boat trip offers 25 minutes of calm in what can be a nerve racking commuter residents of visitors. It also gives the best views of the New York waterfront skyline. Boarding the Ferry The Manhattan Skyline Once I arrived, it was on to the S51 bus for the 20 minute trip from St. George to the Rosebank neighborhood, which sits along to shore of the bay.  By this time I was definitely hungry and I stopped in J’s on the Bay for lunch. This small store-front diner serves excellent, fresh delicious food. The teriyaki steak sandwich was seasoned to perfection, and the manager kept handi...