Holidays

So, terpsichore1980 and I are back from an exciting almost-a-week touring Emilia-Romagna and eating lots of big dinners. You may, if you so wish, peruse my photos, which contain some pretty landscapes, some dull photos of mediæval and renaissance architecture and several instances of terpsichore1980 looking uncomfortable at being photographed. A few observations:

• Italian driving (at least in Emilia-Romagna) isn't as scary as it's made out to be, as long as you're prepared to adjust to the local rules, eg about the permissibility of pushing out at junctions. If you drive at the speed limit, people will sit on your tail and then overtake on blind corners, but at least they won't honk and gesticulate rudely in the process. Be mentally prepared for sections of road unaccountably missing any form of tar, let alone macadam, sharp ninety-degree bends round blind corners on cobbled streets only a couple of inches wider than a small car, and the fact that the outside lane of the motorway is reserved for cars that are larger, newer or more expensive than yours.


• If you're looking for somewhere decent to eat in Ferrara, we cannot recommend better than the Ristorante "Big Night", hidden away down a little alley facing the West side of the Castello Estense. Never have I seen so much truffle on a single plate, nor drunk from larger wine glasses. It's the restaurant of the "Hotel Ferrara", which is also recommended.


• If you're flying back from Bologna, then consider staying the previous night at the Albergo "Antica Locanda Il Sole", in a small village nearby. As hotels go it's an undistinguished 3-star affair, but it shares its premises and name with a Michelin-starred restaurant, which is unsurprisingly pricey but superb.