There is life outside Rome.

This post is quite image heavy, but I feel that my pictures can tell you so much more about this trip than my words could, so if you can, bear with me. The pictures are worth it; I promise.

Last weekend's trip to Bologna reminded me that as much as I adore living in central Rome, there is much to be said about other cities and the countryside.

A & I arrived in BO at 10 at night, absolutely famished and so decided to go to one of our favourite standby restaurants, Trattoria della Santa. It has never failed us. After a meal filled with Tagliatelle (him - ai funghi, me - al ragù), Vitello Tonnato, Tagliata di Fiorentina and a bottle of Lambrusco. I quickly realised that I had subconsciously been craving the taste of non-Roman cuisine for quite some time. Don't get me wrong, I love la Cucina Romana, but I also like variety. I never thought I would say this but - I think I need a break from guanciale.

The next day we had plans to go to the Santerno River with some friends in order to escape the stifling heat wave currently sweeping Italy. Before that though, we passed a Vespa party in Piazza San Domenico. I'm a little bit obsessed with Vespas and vintage fiats (maybe its because I'm foreign ands some of the stereotypical symbols of Italy still remain fascinating to me), so needless to say, I got a bit snap-happy in the 2 minutes Andrea allowed me to stop and take pictures. There was also an adorable vintage Fiat500 and MG in the piazza.

Our drive to Moraduccio was lovely despite a few (or more)  wrong turns, which may or may not have been my fault (I personally blame Google maps).  I love the Italian countryside, and although my favourite may be that of Umbria, I love Emilia-Romagna's too. Driving past rolling hills, lush green orchards and a different name for the Frazione (units smaller than a town) every 2 minutes; my eyes never tire of the views. Half-way through our drive we stopped at a little bar for lunch. The piadina we both got was great, but what really impressed me were the owners of the bar. Before leaving we asked the owners if we could buy a bottle of white wine to take away with us to the river. Not only did we get a bottle of a beautiful chilled white wine, but they put masses of ice in a plastic bag ("you don't want the wine to get warm do you?!"), gave us 4 plastic cups, and one of their spare corkscrews - all without us asking, and all inclusive for the price of the wine, €8. We tried to at least protest about the corkscrew, but all we got was "Ne abbiamo tanti! Quando tornate nella zona nel futuro, potete pensarci e passare con il cavatappi!" Which is basically, we have loads of them, when you return to the area in the future, you can think of us and pass by with the corkscrew! Needless to say, with my other obsession being cute pensioners,  I almost adopted them on the spot.

As if that wasn't enough, about 5 minutes after leaving the bar, we stumped upon this little treasure of a procession. In 40c heat, I literally bow down to these guys. Let it not be said that Italian traditions are all fun and games! Also, for those who haven't traveled much through Italy, stumbling upon something like this happens more than you would think.

By the way, if I had taken pictures of these guys in Rome, or their equivalents outside the Colosseo or Pantheon, I would have had to pay €10 per picture. If you've been to Rome, you know what I'm talking about.

The real star of the day though came when we finally arrived at the river. I must confess, I've never swam in a river. Growing up near the Thames, kind of puts you off from any contact with river water. After my experience yesterday though, my eyes have been opened up to a whole new venue for swimming. It's not only the sea, pools and nasoni of Rome which bring respite from the stifling heat; rivers are actually a great alternative. The equation went like this: Less people + waterfalls + rushing cool water which naturally creat the Jacuzzi effect = Bliss. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but honestly; if you're in Emilia-Romagna this Summer, I highly recommend a trip to Moraduccio.

Until next time...