Oct

30

BolognaJust back from a one-week trip to Bologna, a Northern Italian town know for its academia, hospitality, Etruscan ruins and extraordinary gastronomic offerings. We visited the same city three years ago as it is known for its non-touristy, 'the real deal' atmosphere. Consumer prices are startling. The buzz of the city feels the same, call it La Dolce Vita with a measured forward pace. Definitely no signs of the dire Spanish malaise nor the forecasted tough times expressed by the new German Finance Minister creeping in yet. However, even netting out the obvious €/USD changes and the 20% VAT on most products, the good life is becoming costly.

We ate at a number of places including white tablecloth restaurants, Mom & Pop Trattorias and the periodic hole in the wall frequented by the natives. From high end to low end, the food was extraordinary and not to be experienced anywhere else. As for the cost, a decent bottle of local Lambrusco or San Giovese wine will set you back 30-45€ while a modest plate of pasta as a first course is 12-18€ and a second course of protein is 22-30€. A plate of sweets will set you back 6-12€. Everything on the menu is 2-8€ up from when we visited last. Ya better start digesting before you do the inevitable conversion.

Due to an infernal scheduling change at British Airways, we were forced to switch from Heathrow to Gatwick for the legs of the trip and both of our drivers concurred with the nutty price levels on the continent. As they said, "So long as you're being paid in Euros, fine. Frankly we don't buy anything here in England either…When we need something we take vacation in the US and stock up."

Fortunately the handbag gods were looking the other direction when my wife entered a few luxe establishments but the boot gods got their mitts on her and we came home with a few new acquisitions. Still wondering why something as durable as a boot needs to be replaced every year?!?


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