Trafton’s European Adventure Part Two

Trafton’s European Adventures 2024

3/7/23 Bologna Italy

Bologna from one of it’s highest points.

Greetings from beautiful and mostly sunny Bologna, Italy.

Entry way portal, walled city of Bologna, Italy.

Tour guide Cindy has been nice to me, and gave me some time off as we explored the ancient and beautiful city of Bologna. Let’s take a tour of what we’ve seen over our nine days here in beautiful Bologna.

The pictures we are seeing were taken over our nine day stay in Bologna.

Piazza Maggiore (with the statue of Fontana del Nettuno)

We’ve already covered the food scene in Bologna, it’s fantastic!

Another view of Piazza Maggiore (Taken on March 1st during a rain/snow storm. The piazza is usually packed.)

Bologna is a very wealthy city and it’s historic old town reflects its powerful past.

Beautiful, well designed city, with lots of parks and very clean. Very little “street art” and graffiti! No homeless!

Started in 40 AD and added onto for the next 1000 years. This is one of the holiest spots in this part of Italy, which says a lot.

The two towers, Garisenda and degli Asinelli. Built in the 1200’s, it’s purpose was as watch towers for the city of Bologna.

The portico of San Luca. Cindy hiked up the 3.8 km stairs to reach The Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca, which looks out over the city of Bologna. The whole walk is under the porticos.

Tour guide Cindy at the top of The Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca. (Cindy walked over 70 miles last week!)

The scooters are everywhere, but unlike most southern Italy, the drivers here actually follow the rules of the road.

It took me awhile, but I found an outstanding bakery. I can tell we’re getting closer to Germany, the bakery’s are better😜

Of course, we found a fantastic pizza place.

Ok, we’re off Thursday to Munich, one of our favorite city’s in the world. The forecast is cold and wet, so we better be prepared to drink BEER 😜

I can’t tell you how much we’ve enjoyed Bologna, clean, safe, wonderful transportation system and friendly people. Also, the food is the best in Italy and that’s saying something. Highly, highly recommended, possibly my favorite city in Italy.

That’s it from Italy, two very enjoyable months! We love Italy, it’s a wonderful place to visit. Ciao, Ciao Ciao!

3/04/23 Ferrara and Parma Italy

Greetings from beautiful and sunny Bologna Italy! Yes, after our snow/ rain downpour Wednesday we have been enjoying sunny weather. Highs around 58 degrees, so very enjoyable.

Frescoes, one of many churches in Parma, Italy

You didn’t think tour guide Cindy was going to let me sit on our lovely patio, enjoy some wine and read a book, did ya?

No, we’ve got places to see and stuff to eat! Let’s goooooo!

First up, Ferrara.

We’re training to these locations. It’s much simpler than driving and parking in these ancient cities.

Ferrara, like all the cities in this area, is very old, 600 BC or so. The history is long and brutal, as is the worlds. However, the majority of the sights we’ll be seeing were built in 1,000 AD when Ferrara was at the hight of its power.

Castello Estense was built in 1,000 and rebuilt in 1400 when it was destroyed by fire.

The Castello is one of 4 Castellos with a functioning moat. This is the actual drawbridge!

It’s now a museum and city offices, very cool!

Walking now, we’ve already walked from the train station. The steps are adding up🥵

The cathedral is located in the Piazza Trento e Trieste

The cathedral is under full renovation, but still beautiful.

Porticos and garden of the cathedral museum.

Ferrara is a beautiful city, clean, wide streets, but filled with bicycles. Bikes are everywhere!

Yes, your right, I’m not leaving until we see the food scene.

As we discussed, this area of Italy is famous for Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s fantastic, peppery, and a nice smooth flavor. The Italians like it finely ground, like dust, it delicious.

The local butcher, selling all things meat!

This area of Italy has fantastic salami’s, the famous Prosciutto hams and Capocollo.

Ok, back to the train and then home. 25,000 steps! I need some wine😜👊✔️

Parma Italy, 1600’s.

Ok, up bright and early! We going to Parma, Italy on the train today!

We going to train to Parma, it’s about one hour from Bologna by train.

Parma is a beautiful city that’s famous in Italy for its fantastic food. When we tell Italians we are visiting Parma, where should we eat? They all say, “There’s not a bad restaurant in Parma, they wouldn’t survive”.

Parma is featured in a John Grisham short novel, “Playing for Pizza”. It’s the story of an American football quarterback who rediscovers his love for football and life in Parma.

This is Parma’s Duomo, it’s spectacular. Parma is a noted university city and also world renowned for music and culture. The locals dress to the 9’s everyday. It’s a wonderful place to visit.

Inside the Dumo. Built in 1,100 AD to 1,200 AD, the Duomo is breathtaking and has been updated many times over the years.

Monastery di San Giovanni Evangelista, so close to the Dumo they almost touch.

General Garibaldi is the George Washington of Italy. He lead the war to unite Italy in the 1880s.

Fantastic shopping in Parma, lots of high end clothing and shoe stores. Unfortunately, I don’t think they carry my size🫣

Ok, as my father would say “let’s get down to the brass tacks”, we’re here for the food!

Parma’s a beautiful city, lots of cultural and historic sites, but come on. When an Italian tells you it’s the best food in Italy, we’re all in!

Our VRBO host recommended this place, wow!

Salami, marinated onions and fried focaccia. The wine, sparkling Lambrusco 👊

Cheese and spinach ravioli and Ragu, should we have more Lambrusco, sure! Fantastic meal, wonderful service, just a couple run the whole restaurant. As good as it gets!

Ok, we stagger back to the train, everything about Parma is true!

Beautiful, clean, safe. Wonderful, wonderful day as we train home and walk through Bologna to our apartment.

Ok, let’s not think Tour Guide Cindy is slacking, 65,000 steps in three days! Touring Bologna today, and getting caught up.

Ciao, Ciao, Ciao from Italy!

3/01/23 Bologna Italy

Greetings from beautiful, but cold and snowy Bologna, Italy.

Tour guide Cindy and I left beautiful Montepulciano on Tuesday and made the quick two hour drive North to Bologna. We’ve never been in this part of Italy before and are quite excited to spend the next nine days here.

Your probably wondering “where the heck is Bologna in Italy”? It’s technically in Northern Italy, just north of Tuscany.

It’s a very famous area for many reasons, but the main reason we are here is, FOOD!

Italians love food, they are fantastic cooks and they love rustic foods.

When we talk with the locals of any area in Italy and tell them about our adventure, and that we are going to visit Bologna, they all say “ach, Bologna, the best food in Italy”!

Ok, that’s high praise. Let’s see.

Quick, easy check in to our VRBO. It’s an apartment near the Old town. Safe parking for the trusty Peugeot under the building.

Bologna is a very, very old city, with over one million inhabitants, but we’ll take a walking tour on Saturday. Let’s concentrate on FOOD!

The central market here is a little weak, we’ll find out why later😜

What’s going on, I’m thinking. This is supposed to be one of the great food city’s of the world?

Ok, let’s walk. The city has covered walkways called Porticos. They’re excellent when it’s snowing🤔

Ok, new district, the Quadrilatero District😜

Fantastic shops, filled with beautiful foods.

Ok, 20,000 steps and back to the apartment. Yes, it’s snowing and cold in Italy. But that’s ok, Europe had a very hot and dry summer. They need the water.

Tour guide Cindy has a lot of day trips planned, and I’m warning you, a lot are about Food!

Until later Ciao, Ciao, Ciao.

2/27/23 Bagnoregio and Cortona Italy

Greetings from beautiful, but cold and a little rainy Tuscany. After being very lucky for five months, winter, and rain caught up to us the last three days and it’s been raining on and off😳

After our trip to Naples, tour guide Cindy says, short driving trips to end our time in Tuscany. Ok, says I😜

Bagnoregio is about one and a half hours from Montepulciano, and is in the Umbria region of Italy. Walking tour time!

But the real star is Civita di Bagnoregio. It is the old village that has been separated from the main village due to erosion over the centuries.

The old village is now a stand alone village that’s reachable only by the bridge above. Only 16 people live full time in the village and it receives it’s supplies by carts.

Cortona is another hilltop village in Tuscany. Unfortunately it’s cold, wet and even trying to snow when we visit😳

Below the village are two huge cathedrals, Santa Maria del Calcinaio.

Walking tour time! Guess what, it’s hilly with cobblestones, my going away present from Tuscany.

Quite a lovely village, a lot like Montepulciano without the wine.

It’s very slow as this is way off the main tourist path and it’s snowing!

Cindy wanted to visit the cathedral at the top of the village, up we go.

This is the fortress located on the top of the hill.

That wraps up our five weeks in Tuscany. We had a wonderful time. For the most part, the weather cooperated and the crowds were manageable.

We’re off to Bologna tomorrow, it’s about 2 1/2 hours north of Montepulciano. Nine nights there, then on to Munich!

2/24/23 Naples Italy

Greetings from Naples, Italy!

When tour guide Cindy and I were planning this adventure, we didn’t have Naples on the must visit list. We’d visited this area in 2013 when we visited Pompeii and the Amalfi coast and listened to all the stories of crime in Naples. We’ll pass we said, but one thing drew us in!

We covered the pizza trip on a previous post. This post is of the city of Naples.

Naples is a very old city, founded by the Greeks, and still today, Naples is a very important port in Italy. Naples is a major stop for the cruise lines, from here you can visit Pompeii and the Amalfi coast on day trips.

Traffic is brutal in Naples and scooters go everywhere. The scooter drivers, men and women, are crazy and dangerous!

After arriving in Naples by train, we walked through neighborhoods to a local pizza place, Naples is like one big flea market. Thousands of people selling stuff everywhere.

Ok, lunch done, we head down to the Metro.

Naples has a terrible mass transit system. It’s the 3rd largest city in Italy and has two lines and limited bus lines. Traffic here is a disaster.

Naples is well know for thieves and pickpockets, we are on guard.

Courtyard of our hotel, right in Old Town. Fantastic hotel, very well run.

Ok, walking tour.

Naples has the large cobblestones, that’s sometimes good, sometimes bad depending on the size of the holes. Naples has huge holes.

Duomo of Naples, Cattedrale San Gennaro. Churchs are everywhere in Naples. At one time, I’m sure it was a beautiful city.

Inside the Duomo is beautiful. There are dozens of churches closed in Naples.

Unfortunately, the graffiti in Naples is terrible. They have even covered the church walls with graffiti.

Naples uses the apartment design you see in much of southern Italy, open courtyard that leads to balcony’s.

The food scene in Naples is amazing. Great cafes on every corner that you see beautiful pastry’s and Rum BaBas, delicious rum soaked cake. Coffee is a way of life here.

Coffee and a pastry delivered to your door?

Beer delivery guy, old town. On the scooter😳

Diego Maradona is referred to as “ the God of soccer”.

Whole streets are dedicated to the man who played here 1984-91. You’d think he was still playing here, they idolize him so.

I don’t know what to tell you about Naples, it’s a crazy place.

Naples is huge, it’s filthy, it has a fantastic opera. Naples is full of crime, and, it’s a center of higher musical learning. I’m trying to say it’s a city of contradiction.

Are we glad we visited, yes. Will we ever go back, probably not. Should you go? That’s a question only you can answer.

Tour guide Cindy has a few more things to do in Tuscany, then Tuesday we move to Bologna, Italy. We’re headed towards the finish of the adventure. Remember, we finish hard😜✔️👊👍

Ciao, Ciao, Ciao

2/24/23 Naples Italy, Pizza

Ok, I freely admit it, I’m a pizza addict! I love everything about pizza, the ingredients, the preparation, the baking and most of all the EATING!

I baked my first pizza when I was 12, and have been baking pizza ever since!

I’m lucky, I’ve been to the great pizza hotspots of the world and ate pizza there. New York ✔️ Chicago ✔️ New Haven ✔️ Detroit ✔️ Los Angeles ✔️ Portland Oregon ✔️ Rome ✔️

Before we start our tour a few things about Neapolitan pizza.

Neopolitan pizza is a TSG, traditional specialty guaranteed food. It’s also a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage food. They take pizza very seriously in Naples.

Next, what is a Neapolitan pizza?

The flour can only have 20% hard protein flour, never any oil. That’s the big difference between Roman style and Neapolitan style, Roman adds oil, Neapolitan doesn’t! The sauce only stewed tomato’s from two sources ground up with salt added, no spices. The cheese, mozzarella from two sources, cow’s milk or Buffalo milk.

Then the make up, always hand made, never rolled out. The baking, 900 degrees 60-90 seconds. That’s the basic Neapolitan pie. You can add ingredients, but these are the fundamentals you must follow to be a real Neapolitan pizza.

The result, traditional Neapolitan margarita pizza

Is Neapolitan my favorite pizza, no I enjoy a crispy crust pizza. But as my father used to say “When in Rome “

I’m seeing a major hole in my resume here, I’m missing Naples, home of the Neapolitan pizza. Ok, with a little trepidation we headed to Naples from Tuscany. Easy trip, Chiusi to Rome, Rome to Naples, four hours.

First up, Pizzeria Tutino dal 1935, 15 blocks from the train station and into another World!

Tour guide Cindy and I have been staying in the Tuscan countryside the last four weeks and this walk, with our luggage took us right into Naples neighborhoods. Wow, crazy!

Old school pizza place, you eat outside on a standup table.

Fun place, the crew here was a hoot and we became part of the family quickly.

Before I get into scoring ( we always keep score in the Trafton family) I note that Neapolitan pizza scoring starts at 6.8, we like it don’t really love it. Pizza and coke €5.50

Pizzeria Tutino dal 1935 6.85

Fun place, pizza crust good, bake/ undercarriage good ambience of the place, a little rough.

Walking to the hotel to drop bags off then on to the next spot.

Old school spot, away from tourist crowds. Fantastic ambiance and service

Excellent pie, this one had the addition of Ricotta cheese, decadent!

Lombardi 1892 7.65

Wonderful ambiance, great service and delicious pie.

Ok, my plan to eat 9 pies in two days is falling apart. Two pizzas in I’m comatose. I say let’s go to the room and nap, tour guide Cindy says no, walking tour, ok here we go.

Ok, 12,000 steps later, we’re ready for more pizza.

Gino e Toto Sorbillo 7.00

Gino’s receives great hype, they have them in Rome and Milan. Highly recommended by our Hotel. Lots of tourists, ok ambiance, crust didn’t have a lot of flavor. Two pies, two beers €25

Ok, we’re comatose, take one pie to go. My specialty pie with the Buffalo Mozzarella and parm over the top with olive oil sprinkled after baking.

Back to the patio life, a little vino and some more pizza later

Ok, great nights sleep, nice walk to get the day started and one more stop on the way to the train station. My brother, it all starts with the dough. 24 hours fermentation!

This place is very famous. Lots of pictures on the wall, crowded, noisy and everything you think of when you think pizzeria in Naples.

Sometimes you get so famous you forget to be what made you famous.

L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele 6.8

One pizza, one coke €10

Fun trip, filled out my resume. Would I recommend a pizza trip, sure it was fun and educational .

But the best pizza in the World is still in Eagle Idaho at our house 👊

Until next time, Ciao, Ciao, Ciao

Sorry the blogs a little rough, problems with pictures on the IPad, having to use the phone🙃

2/21/23 Orvieto Italy

Greetings from beautiful Tuscany! Tour guide Cindy is still running hot and asked for another driving/walking tour to Orvieto. Sure, says I! The above is not my picture, I copied it.

Orvieto is an ancient city, (pieces of vases from 15,000 BC were found here) that is built on a plateau above the Tiber River valley. It’s located about one hour south from Montepulciano and it’s about half way to Rome from Montepulciano. Orvieto is in Umbria, we are below Tuscany now.

As you can see, Orvieto is way, way up in the sky. The views from the top are spectacular!

You can see, we were lucky, the sun came back out.

Entrance to Fortress Albornoz, the first defense of Orvieto.

Orvieto is a very well laid out city, it’s easily walkable, with hills and cobblestones. It’s very, very well maintained, and has great signage for us tourists. About 20,000 people still live in the city. It’s very lively.

Bell tower, this style is common in this part of Italy and reflects the city’s heritage.

**Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta**

Started in the 1200’s, the cathedral had over 20 artists that worked on its interior and exterior. It’s truly spectacular.

While the inside of the church is spectacular, the Facade is an unbelievably beautiful hand carved spectacle. Each of the panels on the facade are hand carved from bible verses.

You could spend the whole day or days studying the church, it’s that special.

But we are on a mission to see the city in a day, let’s go a walking.

As I said earlier, the city is inhabited by thousands of folks. Very few abandoned buildings, however lots of churchs are only open on special occasions. There are dozens of churches in Orvieto.

Walking now, lots to see in his beautiful historic city on a plateau.

We’re to the end of the plateau now, scenic viewpoints everywhere!

Ok, swinging around and heading for the trusty Peugeot!

Beautiful city core, just the right mix of tourist and locals.

Tour guide Cindy and I highly recommend Orvieto if you visit the area. Alice Watters and Nancy Silverman of cooking/baking fame both have homes in this area. That should say enough right there.

Back to Montepulciano to enjoy the afternoon sun and maybe a glass of Vino.

Headed to Naples tomorrow for a couple days. Pizza time✔️😜👊🍕

Until later, Ciao, Ciao, Ciao from Tuscany.

2/19/23 The Villages of Val d’Orcia, Tuscany

Greetings from beautiful and cloudy Tuscany. You know Tour guide Cindy is on fire when I write two blog posts in a day. She’s on fire!

Driving/walking tour today says The tour guide 👍 First stop, San Quirico d’Orcia.

San Quirico d’Orcia is a beautiful little hill village that has wonderful gardens. It’s Market day and yesterday was Carnival here, so the town is quite busy.

Sometimes we forget that the Allies invaded Italy in WW11. San Quirico d’Orcia had substantial bombing damage in WW11.

As I said, it’s market day here, small markets, lots of flea market stuff, quite lively.

Quite a beautiful village, just what you think of when you think of Tuscany.

This is an example of a Tuscan specialty store. They sell products made in Tuscany.

Beautiful Cathedral, first built in the first century. This version is from 1200, wow. Inside is spectacular, they asked, no pictures please.

Back in the Trusty Peugeot and a short drive to Bagno Vignoni, a Terme village. The Romans loved baths and when they could find Termes (Hot springs) they made them into baths. Bagno Vignoni is now a very high end Spa destination. No pictures of the resort’s they asked. The baths have been in use for thousands of years in many different forms.

No bathing in this pool, it’s a reminder of the old soaking days.

This fortress was started in the first century, and updated, as late as 1975. It has a commanding view of the valley and holds the distinction of never being overrun.

It is closed for the winter. I was bummed about that. The views must be spectacular.

Across the valley a sister fortress Rocca Aldobrandesca. You can see it’s in poor shape and is undergoing renovation.

You know Tour guide Cindy loves her some Rick Steves. Rick says this is the Tuscan landscape we see in most pictures. The views here are staggering.

Main entrance, Monticchielo ,a Very, very small village, less than 500 residents.

Quiet streets, it’s an artist commune now.

My camera phone doesn’t do this place justice. It’s a knockout!

Ok, I’m exhausted and I’m hearing of a long road trip tomorrow to Orvietto and Civita di Bagnoregio , 👊✔️👍

Until later, Ciao, Ciao, Ciao from Tuscany.

2/19/23 Tuscany

Greetings from beautiful Montepulciano and Tuscany!

Unfortunately, the weather in Tuscany has changed. It’s now cloudy and they say several days of rain are headed our way! Europe had a very hot and dry summer, so they need the rain. Tour guide Cindy and I grew up in the PNW, rain doesn’t effect us 👊

Lest you think we’ve been lying around in the Tuscan sun, drinking wine and reading books😜 let’s get started with our latest adventures.

Thursday is the market day in Montepulciano. It’s held in the bus station parking lot, right up the hill from our Villa. Everything is uphill from our Villa!

Look at that delicious sheep cheese, pecorino. It’s absolutely delicious.

Up bright and early, tour guide Cindy says enough of this resting stuff, walking tour Montepulciano 2.O🥵

This short video shows the Cathedral Tempio di San Biagio below Montepulciano. It was built in the 1500’s and while the outside is not finished, the inside of the cathedral is fantastic. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get in yet, hopefully this week.