Day 3: The World's Oldest Profession

Date: 9/10/07
From: Modena
To: Bologna
Miles: 28.2 (200 ft. of climbing)
Miles Completed: 156.7 (2,300 ft. of climbing)
Lunch: La Rotunda (via G. Amendola)
Dinner: Donatello
Accommodations: Hotel Europa



Today was our shortest scheduled ride of the trip – just under 30 miles. We rose at 7:00am and again had breakfast in the hotel, it was a modest but solid spread and the coffee was especially good. Coffee in Italy is twice as good as the U.S. and costs half as much as Starbucks (even with the Euro appreciation) – they also make it everywhere and serve it almost as if it was water. I digress.

We visited a few shops on our way out of Modena and one thing is becoming apparent: Dr. Ed likes to shop – I don’t. When Dr. Ed talks about shopping and asks if I want to join my standard joking response is “I’m a man, Ed”. I digress again.

I finally cave and do some shopping as I see a shop that carries high-quality balsamic vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is only made in Modena, where it has been made since the Middle Ages and some of the names (notably: "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena") are protected by the Denominazione di Origine Controllata and the European Union's Protected designation of origin (thanks Wikipedia). The woman who works behind the counter offers me tastes of all the vinegars. I decide the 30 year tastes best so I bought three bottles (one for each of my parents, brother and sister) – I begin to think about extra weight and wonder if I’ll be cursing these bottles riding up the mountain passes. The woman packs the bottles in bubble wrap to protect them on our journey.

As we are approaching Bologna, I start noticing an interesting phenomenon. Random, attractive, scantily clad women are littering the shoulders of the highway (via Emilia) into the city. When you are traveling the world at only 15mph, the world slows down for you and unfortunately, sometimes your brain follows. It took me about four or five sightings to put two and two together. First woman I saw I thought to myself “wow, look at that beautiful, stranded woman…wish I had a car to help her out”…then again, “hmmm, there’s one with her daughter…and the daughter is cute also – wait, how old is she?”…finally it hits me. I tried to joke with one of them to get on my bike but they are all business.



Bologna is a cool city. Has the charm of a small Italian town but more of a big city feel on the fringes with an excellent energy to it. If I lived in Italy, I’d definitely live in Bologna. Our hotel is great – four starts and only €125 per night. The person behind the desk suggests La Rotunda for lunch – excellent suggestion. Dr. Ed and I split caprese salad (the mozz was super fresh) and I had tagliatelle Bolognese and it was great. However the pizza looked incredible and I think it was a mistake not to order one. If I ever return to Bologna, I’ll be sure to get a pizza at La Rotunda.

We ate dinner at Donatello, which was solid. I struggled through ordering a martini to a guy who spoke “un poco inglese” – when I mention vodka, his head twists and his eyes blink as if he’s confused. “Martini?”, he responds. “Yes”, I say. He returns with a putrid tasting drink – I have no idea what it is. I try to question him and he points at the drink stating “martini!”. I just drop it. For starters, I had lasagna, which tasted exactly like the lasagna at Nani, a restaurant we go to near work – big props for Nani. Second course was veal with prosciutto and chesses sauce – very good. We get gelato after dinner and it is phenomenal. The name of the place is Gelateria Pellati di Gola and it’s located at via Augosto Righi 43. The girl behind the counter is very cute and she’s showing some interest/being a bit flirty. Dr. Ed and I are joking around outside and I tell him confidently I’m going in to get her number. I was really heading in just to get the address. I had her write it down for me in my journal so it appeared she was writing down her digits. Dr. Ed was pretty keen to my scam – I need to get more complex with my pranks it seems.

Buena notte.