Bologna Day 2 (Modena)

A nice slow morning in Bologna today. Today we decided to take the train to Modena - home of balsamic - which is about 25 minutes away. Getting to the station is an easy 5 minute walk - yay for convenience!

We book our tickets on the Trenitalia app and head to the train station. Looking at the arrival board to confirm the platform, luckily we're at platform 1 so we step out the doors and we're there.

The trains in Italy, and this may be true for most places, don't have static train car numbers. At each car location is basically a TV screen on the ceiling that indicates the car's number. Because what's life without inconsistency, the arriving train could be numbered 1 thru 8 (from left to right), but the train we'll be leaving on will flip to 8 thru 1 (still left to right). Yep, so easy right? This was exactly our problem today with this train. Thankfully Bologna is a main stop so the trains usually linger for a few minutes before taking off, but usually they only allow one minute to board before they leave. So you gotta be paying attention as to not miss your train.

The train pulls in and we look at the screens on the ceiling - 1 thru 8 - and we're standing at 8. So we book it down to our car which is 1. We get on and out didn't seem right...the seats don't align with what we booked. We sit down anyway but then curiosity gets the better of us and we move to the next car. And the next. And the next. And finally we figure out we're in car 8. But we followed the signs! Sigh, oh well. We finally find car 1 (all the way at the other end) but the seats still don't look like what we booked layout-wise. But we concede and just find seats. The train is pretty empty anyway so no issue.

No stops until ours, so we ride through some farmland before arriving at Modena. But first, we need to get off the train. Sounds simple, but when the doors don't open, that's not good. Another gal was getting out ahead of us and knew what she was doing - a local - and she couldn't get the door to open so she goes to the next door and that also won't open. So she then rushes down the next car to get to the next door. Thank goodness this one opened! Although the train also sat there for longer than we expected so the rush didn't seem necessary, but you never know if the train will leave immediately.

The Modena train station is blissfully quiet. Especially compared to Bologna. Complete opposites. Another pleasant surprise is the train station bathrooms. You pay 1€ to be able to get into the restroom, which helps to keep it fairly clean (not Japan station clean, but pretty darned good). Walking out of the station, I navigate us towards lunch which is just off the main piazza.

Trattoria Aldina is a small restaurant on the second floor of what looked to be an old apartment building. It's packed but we manage to get a table for three at the back window. Seating is so tight we had to pull the table out and move out about so we could get on our seats. It's certainly a popular place.

Unknowingly to us, you order in courses. Most people we saw (after we ordered) ordered a primi piatti - first course - of a pasta and then a secondi piatti - second course - of some kind of meat dish. Then sides or dessert. But of course, us not knowing this and the addition of a language barrier made for interesting ordering. Usually when we eat out, we order three dishes and share them amongst us. And usually one of us orders all the dishes. I think this confused our server. I mention we'd like the tagliatelle and then mention the gramigna. The server then tells us oh, we don't do buffet, we'd need to all order the same thing. Hmm...okay? We hesitantly agree but then she says oh but you (me) wanted to try the gramigna so she could bring two plates of the tagliatelle and one is the gramigna. At this point we're so confused we just agree. Seems perhaps if we reach ordered our own dishes it would have been more clear instead of me ordering multiple? Honestly no idea at this point.

The food was good, although to me was not as good as other pasta we've had. Italians also eat their pasta pretty aldente compared to how we eat it in the States.

We finish up at the trattoria and right across the street is a cool indoor market with flowers and plants, produce and bars.

Departing the market, we make our way to Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini to stop at La Consorteria for a balsamic tasting. We tried 12+, 25+ and 60+ year old balsamic. Definitely sweeter and more viscous, the 12 and 25-years still have a zing that hits the back of the jaw - like eating a really tangy lemon. We decide to get the 25-year as a splurge. This traditional balsamic is used by the drop, not the pour, so should last is a long time. Only time will tell! But it will be delicious either way.

Next is gelato! Of course. Across the Piazza is Gioelia Cremeria. How convenient. It's cones for us today! Mom gets chocolate, the store specialty which is white chocolate and salted caramel, and Greek yogurt. I choose cherry, stracciatella and Greek yogurt. Not very punchy flavors, but creamy.

Cones consumed, we book our return train tickets and slowly make our way back to the station. Along the way we pass through a lovely outdoor market with art, food and plants. Of course I took most pictures of the plants. Can't resist!

Our train ride back to Bologna is just as...eventful. And actually it's not even the train that's the eventful part. We get to the station and look at the board for our platform - 3. Walking out the doors is platform 1, so we look for stairs to go down and walk underneath to the other platforms. Coming up the stairs we wait with everyone else. A train comes in but it's not ours so we continue to wait. Seems the trains are running late - this one was 20 minutes late - so I assume our train will be late as well. I check the TV with the timetable and platform numbers and confirm platform 3. A few minutes after the train leaves, I go to check the platform bulletin again and now it says platform 4. Well shoot. Other people have also realized the platform number changed so a bunch of us are now hustling back down the stairs to get to the platform across the tracks. Just as we get up the steps to platform 4, our train arrives. What a nice pleasant wait for the train. Not. At least we made it, that's what matters. And thankfully the ride itself was uneventful. We disembark and walk back home.

After resting for a bit, mom and dad head out to pickup pizza from Pistamentuccia. And with a side of salad, perfecto. Time to tuck in for the evening.

Ciao!