Back to Bologna

Advantages: Funny with some great description of the city
Disadvantages: Not a serious crime thriller, not many suspects

...Background: This author was recommended to me again by my well read boss. Originally she introduced me to Donna Leon and she said she thought I would like this author too. As he also writes crime fiction with a Detective Aurelio Zen also based in Italy. About the Author: Michael Dibdin was born in Wolverhampton in March 1947. He qualified as a teacher in Alberta, before moving to Italy in 1979. This was when his writing career took of. Indeed in 1988 he won the Crime Writers Association Maccallan Gold Award for fiction and was shortlisted again in 1991. He wrote in total 18 highly acclaimed novels before his premature death in March 2007. A synopsis of the book: This book features the Inspector Aurelio Zen as the investigating officer. He is summoned with immediate effect to Bologna to oversee the Police investigation...

CPTDANIELS 26.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Back to Bologna - Michael Dibdon

Bologna is good to eat good food

Advantages: Local specialities
Disadvantages: Terribly stuffy in summer

...I have stopped quite often in the province around Bologna on may way to ro back from Florence. Bologna is deservedly well known for the good food, plus some monuments. My favourite restaurant ...is actually the house of a couple of friends of mine. Funnily enough, this is not the best palce to taste traditional Bolognese cuisine, since she is from Paraguay and cooks local dishes, while her husband is from Bologna and knows how to keep up with the tradition. They also used to have a very nice, old shop near the tower, selling all kind of aromatic herbs. If it is still there, ask for the torre and then when you are there I am sure everyone knows about this shop. Apart from the herbs you can find there, which are really worth the trip, the shop itself is worth a visit, since it has been left intact since the earky fifties....

FRADUC 15.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Bologna (Italy)

A pleasant place to stay; but difficult to say (its name).

Advantages: Good breakfasts, clean accommodation, pleasant and helpful staff.
Disadvantages: If you are hot and tired it is a long walk back from the city centre.

...On the three occasions we have visited Bologna we have stayed at this hotel. The staff here have always been helpful and polite, the reception staff speak English fluently. Each time we have stayed there we have had a different room, all the rooms we have a have been clean an well furnished. The last time we went was in the Summer 2008 and we were given a room that had a modern bathroom and also had the advantage of a balcony so we were able to sit outside when we were there. As with lots of Italian hotels in cities it is possible that your room will look onto a residential area but this room was quiet and not overlooked. I cannot remember how the previous two rooms we had were regarding noise but if they had been bad in that respect I would have remembered. I can recall that on an earlier visit we had a problem using...

tue-s-day 14.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Minotel Il Guercino, Bologna

Love, love loved the Albergo della Drapperie, è molto bella

Advantages: walking distance to shopping, the main piazzas, restaurants
Disadvantages: none, although people that have trouble with stairs may not like the entrance.

...My sister and I stayed here September 08 for one night. I wish it had been a thousand nights. I loved Bologna and I loved this hotel. Right in the heart of the City. Of all the cities we visited in Italia, Bologna was my very favorite!! This hotel has loads of charm and character. The rooms are small, but very well furnished with the highest quality of everything. Travertine in the bathroom... gorgeous!! From our room we could look down on the street below and were right above the bakery, the flower shop, the fruit stand, and much more. The staff was very friendly, spoke english very well, assisted with taxis, etc. I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone and would gladly stay there again....

ValorieE 22.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Albergo delle Drapperie, Bologna

A great centre of learning and culture

Advantages: Clean, lots to see and do.
Disadvantages: Too hot in high summer!

...Bologna is about an hour and a half away from Verona and it has a great deal to see from the wonderful panorama overlooking the city from the suburbs to the towers, and the countless churches. There are plenty of reasonably cheap restaurants in the city and the city is clean and well maintained. If you are intending to stay at teh Youth Hostel, a word of caution, it is 7 km from the City Centre, and the buses aren't very regular. It is wonderful in the springtime, when the weather is not too hot, and it can be a great base to explore the surrounding area. The University is one of the crucibles of european learning and should be visited. Tehre is a great deal of renaissance art to be seen in Bologna, and the town is very pleasant to walk around in the evening under the stars....

Morgenhund 15.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Bologna (Italy)

The undiscovered gem of Italy!

Advantages: A real Italian city, without many tourists
Disadvantages: Lots of students (but then that also adds to the charms of the city)

...I've visited Bologna in excess of 20 times in the last 7 or 8 years, and every visit I discover something new and exciting about the place. As a single young female that travels alone, I actually feel safer in the city of Bologna than I do in my small home town in England!! It's such a warm and welcoming place, and due to the relative lack of tourists - although it does have a high student population (compared to the likes of Venice, Florence, or Milan etc) it exudes that feel of being a "real" Italian city. It is a real gem, and so ideally suited in location for visiting other major Italian cities! Bologna is located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, just north of Tuscany - about an hour by train from Florence and the beaches of Rimini and Riccione, and a couple of hours by train from Venice and Milan. The climate is...

annawalduck 16.02.2007 · Read review
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Review of Bologna (Italy)

Hotel Palace Bolgna- Old World Charm

Advantages: centrally located, large rooms, excellent value
Disadvantages: some rooms on the top floor too hot in winter

...I know the Palace Hotel in Bologna because I stayed there every year when we had our annual teachers' conference. I would say it is a superior three star hotel. First the location- it is very central just a few minutes walk from the main square Piazza Maggiore. It is tucked away in a small street off the main Via dell'Indipendenza. The organisation I worked for chose the hotel I think because of its central location and also because it has a large number of rooms. All are comfortable and perfectly well appointed. There is a certain old world style reception area. The quality price trade -off is just right. Breakfast is usually included and is more than adequate. They had a full breakfast bar the last time I was there and you can order coffee or tea from the staff. They have great cornetti as well which are fresh every morning...

wellness5 10.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Palace Hotel, Bologna

Pasta and Politics

Advantages: quite small, but still very vibrant
Disadvantages: expensive to stay

...Bologna is the capital of the province of Emilia-Romagna, and is about an hour north of Florence, and a bit further from Milan in the other direction. It is famed for primarily for its culinary produce and also the university, which is the oldest in Europe. It is also known as 'Red Bologna' or Bologna Rossa, both because it's left-leaning politics (which led to the tragic bombing of the railway station in the early 80s which killed 80 people)and because it was the first city in Italy to elect a communist council, and also because of the clay-like stone which makes up the colonnades, and gives the city a reddish tinge especially as the sun is setting. One of the most famous landmarks though, are the 'Due Torre' or two towers, whereas many towers once dominated the skyline of this city, somewhat like San Gimagnino, now, only two...

womble 15.08.2000 (30.05.2001) · Read review
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Review of Bologna (Italy)

Avis Bologna Airport

Advantages: BA airmiles points
Disadvantages: Hopeless unwilling staff

......

MARKIER 22.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Avis Rent A Car

Helps Make Spaghetti Like Mama Made

Advantages: Convenient Simple to Prepare
Disadvantages: Not as Good as in Italian Restaurants

...Pasta is very good for you. Even professional footballers these days have foresaken their unhealthy fry ups for pasta dishes. Of course one of the most famous of all pasta dishes just has to be Spaghetti Bolognese. this wonderful culinary gift from Italy originated in Bologna,which many consider to be the gastronomic capital of that lovely country. Now it is easy to prepare Spaghetti Bolognese or variants using Fettichine or other pasta. Go down to your local grocers or supermarkets and buy a colourful jar of Dolmio Bolognese Sauce. These sauces come in a variety of flavours including Tomato,Mushroom, Spicy Peppers, Basil, Mushroom and Basil, Tomato and Oregano,Tomato Reduced Salt and Tomato with Extra Garlic. If you want to prepare a zesty Spaghetti Bolognese for a family of four then you should brwn 500 gr of minced beef in...

ashford 26.06.2002 (01.07.2002) · Read review
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Review of Dolmio Original Sauce for Bolognese