Best Pizza and Food - Pizzaria La Stella

Go here: La Stella di Spinazzola Gennaro Pizzaria. You will have a wonderful time with happy wait-staff and fantastic food. Save room for dessert.

Directions: Via Marco Emilio Lepido, 49, Bologna, Italy. Take the 13 or the 19 bus west to Borgo Panigale.

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What to Eat, When to Eat

In Italy dinner is served after 7pm. If you're walking around town at 5pm and you're feeling the hungries, good luck! Find a "bar" and get a coffee and a sandwich to hold you over until the trattorias, osterias, and ristorantes are open. 

Shops close between noon and about 3pm. This is when you should look for a restaurant, sit and eat. People watch. Practice your Italian.

The food is great! In Bologna eat the local specialities: tagliata al ragu (above) and tortelloni in brodo. These are not vegan. But you can have any pizza made into a vegan pizza just by eliminating the cheese (senza formaggio e mozzarella). Gelato is from Bologna (at least that's what a tour guide told us, that the university of gelato is IN Bologna). Eat gelato because it is amazing and you can get vegan varieties at the better places. Go to Venchi. See street view and map below. But you should also check out (as we did) Cremeria Santo Stefano which is excellent and has vegan options as well.

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Graffiti

Bologna had a lot of graffiti which added to the character of the city. There was graffiti in other places too, like on the trains. And there was also some #occupy action.

Bologna's Synagogue - Hard to Find, Well-protected

The experience of finding the synagogue in Bologna, in the dark, on Shabbat, was one that we hadn't met yet. It was the Comunita Ebraica di Bologna. Difficult to find in the evening, it was a surprise to be asked questions to get in, told to leave the backpack in the anti-room, and see armed guards out front and in the back of the building. Once inside there was a pleasant and small group of people studying Torah and celebrating the Sabbath. We went on another day and walked by in the light of
day. The guards were still there and the only sign that this building was a synagogue was a Star of David viewable at the back of the building, in the alley, and Hebrew at the front door threshold.

Note the Star of David on the peach-colored building

What to do in Bologna if You're Visiting Over New Year's

Last night was New Year's Eve and I thought for certain the windows were going to be blown out on our apartment. It was super loud and almost scary. We're not staying in a busy neighborhood and we're not right in the center of Bologna so I did not expect the spectacle that ensued. But I was, in fact, warned...

This afternoon we thought we'd take a low-key and leisurely walk up to the "church on the hill" or the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca but nearly all of Bologna did the same thing. It was wonderful to see everyone hiking up the portico-covered hill and by hiking, I mean many folks where wearing workout gear. I think this a "thing" in Bologna and that people go to the Sanctuary for fitness (and perhaps reflection). It was a beautiful and cool day and a great activity. Walking up is more strenuous than I expected and coming down took about half the time as going up. On a clear day, the view is probably incredible.

Street Scene - Bologna

Traveling by Bus in Bologna, Italy

We're visiting Bologna, Italy, for about a week and a half. Here're some tips for when you go...
buy a bus pass. It's the best, easist, fastest way to get around. Get a bus map. But here's a hint: no one checks the pass so, take that how ever you will. There are different bus routes on the weekend, and the buses don't go into center of town because it become a wonderful walking mall. There is no need to rent a car in Bologna.