Bologna in a Nutshell

The “In a Nutshell” series superficially summarizes an entire city, region, or country in a few bullet points. Ignoring historical and cultural complexities, I give you Bologna … in a nutshell:

• Tortellini, bolognese sauce, mortadella ... You WILL gain weight here. Don't fight it.

• In most of Europe, Americans can be embarrassingly loud. Not so here. Judging by my Italian fellow train travelers, watching movies on a tablet at full volume without the use of headsets is totally acceptable.

Portugal in a Nutshell

The “In a Nutshell” series superficially summarizes an entire city, region, or country in a few bullet points. Ignoring historical and cultural complexities, I give you Portugal … in a nutshell:

• When ordering hot chocolate, be advised that this means melted chocolate in a cup. It’s delicious, but I wouldn’t suggest drinking an entire cup for breakfast unless you’d like to wage war on your stomach.

• There are hills everywhere, and they’re truly alive with the sound of music. Okay, I made the second part up.