Even before travelling to Italy, contact with Giovanni & Rosanna was great regarding booking arrangements, our stay and local tips. We saw on their advert that they are willing to invite anyone to join then for dinner, which we gladly accepted.
Needless to say, it was sublime; but more on that later...
On our way to the apartment we had a few challenges with our hire car, which Giovanni and his son were quick to help with, which enabled to continue our travel to their apartment with minimal stress.
Once we had arrived, Giovanni and Rosanna were waiting for us to help with our luggage and show us around the apartment, including knowledge of the local area, public transport and more importantly, the best Gelato shop in Bologna (how right she was)!
The apartment was very clean and spacious. We could have easily spent more than two nights in this wonderful place. The bus stop is literally a two minute walk and goes direct to Piazza Maggiore (town centre), running past midnight and only costs €1.50 per person for a single, for any area in Bologna.
We dined with the hosts and family on our first evening. If anyone has any preconceived ideas of what a typical Italian meal is or looks like, this will keep you very happy.
It was an Italian banquet and 7 dishes of local foods accompanied with beautiful wines and coffee.
The evening flew by with us all talking and enjoying the time spent.
It was great to be joined by Alesso, their son, who spoke wonderfully fluent English and kindly doubled as the evening translator for any areas we could not manage ourselves.
To be honest, we were less than pleased to be leaving so soon and have already made a declaration to return next year regardless of where we’re intending to go.
This family cannot do enough to help you and we recommend anyone who wants to jump into the deep end of authentic Italian culture, to book with Giovanni and his family.
Also, their dog Laila (apologies for misspelling if I have) is adorable and I’d gladly take her home with me if it were possible.
Thank you Giovanni, Rosanna and Alesso for making our visit as good as it was.
Alla prossima!