A Very Special Tour of Venice and Bologna

Join Palma Hansen of Palmabella’s Italy and Shannon Essa of Grapehops Tours for a 10-day wine and food focused tour of Venice and Bologna. We will spend five days in Venice, where we will explore out of the way places most tourists do not see, spend a day on a boat in the lagoon, visit the fish and vegetable market and other important sights, and enjoy many glasses of wine and amazing meals. Then we will transfer to Bologna on the train – with a picnic, of course – where we will visit the market, participate in a cooking class, visit producers of parmigiano, balsamic vinegar and wine, and again, enjoy a lot of wonderful wine and excellent meals.

Shannon knows Venice and Palma knows Bologna. At the end of this tour, you will know them too. In Venice, we will share apartment accommodations and on one night we will shop at the market and cook a wonderful dinner for the group. We will discover the famous “cicchetti” tradition – bar snacks, served with glasses of wine all over town – as well as some of the regional specialties of the Veneto region. We will stay busy and do a lot of walking – but you’ll also have a bit of time to explore Venice on your own, or check out the shops with shopper extraordinaire Palma.

In Bologna, we will all stay in a charming hotel and enjoy one gourmet picnic in the hotel’s garden. We’ll make and enjoy homemade tortellini and regional specialties and spend a day wandering the city of Ravenna with its mosaic treasures. We’ll have a special lunch in Modena, and of course some of the best gelato in Italy. We’ll see Bologna’s landmark “Due Torre” (two towers), sip wine in lively Piazza Maggiore, and enjoy an appertivo and antipasti in the beautiful Piazza Santo Stefano