Last minute itinerary help- Rapallo/CT/Portofino and Alba/Piedmonte
Sep 25th, 2013, 08:13 PM
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Last minute itinerary help- Rapallo/CT/Portofino and Alba/Piedmonte
Hello! I have posted twice here and Fodorites have been amazingly helpful, so I thought the third time is a charm.
Husband and I are headed to Italy (first time) next Thursday. We have had an incredibly busy few weeks and barely any time to plan our itinerary and won't have much time before we leave. This trip sort of snuck up on us- oops-
We are in our 30s, love to hike/explore, eat (vegetarian), taste and drink wine, and don't need to hit up the touristy stuff- perfectly happy spending our mornings hiking and afternoon relaxing and enjoying beautiful countryside.
We are flying into Milan from Denver, spending the night in Milan and renting a car and driving to Rapallo on Saturday morning. We have rented a house in Rapallo and will spend three days in the area- hope to hike CT one day, and the other days walk/hike Portofino, Camogli and Santa Margherita, as well as hit up Luchin in Chiavari and eat at U Gianci- all per Fodor forum recommendations.
We plan to drive to our villa rental in Alba on the following Wednesday and would like to spend the next three days doing some morning hikes, lazy afternoon lunches and maybe some wineries. Plan would be to eat lunches out and hopefully cook in our villas after going to markets in the evening (both in Alba and Rapallo).
Fly back out of Milan the following Saturday.
Other than the rental car and villa rentals, we have nothing else planned- my husband is not concerned and says we will enjoy and just explore, but I'm pretty type A and freaking out that we don't have "a set plan" for each day.
This site has been a wealth of info and we designed our trip around Forum recommendations, so any other input would be very much appreciated- and if I'm freaking out for no reason and should be fine just hitting up the local tourism boards, let me know that
Husband and I are headed to Italy (first time) next Thursday. We have had an incredibly busy few weeks and barely any time to plan our itinerary and won't have much time before we leave. This trip sort of snuck up on us- oops-
We are in our 30s, love to hike/explore, eat (vegetarian), taste and drink wine, and don't need to hit up the touristy stuff- perfectly happy spending our mornings hiking and afternoon relaxing and enjoying beautiful countryside.
We are flying into Milan from Denver, spending the night in Milan and renting a car and driving to Rapallo on Saturday morning. We have rented a house in Rapallo and will spend three days in the area- hope to hike CT one day, and the other days walk/hike Portofino, Camogli and Santa Margherita, as well as hit up Luchin in Chiavari and eat at U Gianci- all per Fodor forum recommendations.
We plan to drive to our villa rental in Alba on the following Wednesday and would like to spend the next three days doing some morning hikes, lazy afternoon lunches and maybe some wineries. Plan would be to eat lunches out and hopefully cook in our villas after going to markets in the evening (both in Alba and Rapallo).
Fly back out of Milan the following Saturday.
Other than the rental car and villa rentals, we have nothing else planned- my husband is not concerned and says we will enjoy and just explore, but I'm pretty type A and freaking out that we don't have "a set plan" for each day.
This site has been a wealth of info and we designed our trip around Forum recommendations, so any other input would be very much appreciated- and if I'm freaking out for no reason and should be fine just hitting up the local tourism boards, let me know that
Sep 25th, 2013, 08:27 PM
#2
A very good , small winery right outside of Alba in Madonna di Como is Pietro Rinaldi. Wines have recognized by Wine Spectator and is in a lovely setting. Make a reservation to visit. www.pietrorinaldi.com
Sep 26th, 2013, 03:23 AM
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I spent 5 days in Rapallo in July and did all the things you mention. Here is my trip report with details. Had a fabulous time, that area is great and I really like Rapallo.
Scroll half way down to get to the Italy part. The link to the photos is at the begining. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...swiss-alps.cfm
Scroll half way down to get to the Italy part. The link to the photos is at the begining. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...swiss-alps.cfm
Sep 26th, 2013, 05:58 AM
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Alba is a sweet town -- especially atmospheric after dark. Be sure to eat/drink at Vincafe, good food & terrific wine selection.
The Piedmont has so many great little towns -- we just picked a couple each day to explore. They all have fabulous winetasting opportunities and terrific restaurants. Our favorites were Neive (gorgeous village, lunch at L'Aromatario), Barbaresco (winetasting in a deconsecrated church, lunch at Antica Torre), Serralunga d'Alba (some of the best views,and of course, Barolo (look for Angelo Germania's wine shop).
I am a planning freak myself, but you really have no worries in the Piedmont. It's a perfect place to wander -- to take the edge off your planning obsession just put together a list of your "target" villages and you'll be fine.
The Piedmont has so many great little towns -- we just picked a couple each day to explore. They all have fabulous winetasting opportunities and terrific restaurants. Our favorites were Neive (gorgeous village, lunch at L'Aromatario), Barbaresco (winetasting in a deconsecrated church, lunch at Antica Torre), Serralunga d'Alba (some of the best views,and of course, Barolo (look for Angelo Germania's wine shop).
I am a planning freak myself, but you really have no worries in the Piedmont. It's a perfect place to wander -- to take the edge off your planning obsession just put together a list of your "target" villages and you'll be fine.
And good to know that I could just pick some target villages and be OK
Sep 26th, 2013, 09:52 AM
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With only three days in each place and with a car, you will be fine (much better than fine, I'd say--two of my favorite regions!). Try to eat at Nona Nina's restaurant in San Rocco di Camogli (quite veggie-friendly). If somehow you exhaust things to do, I also enjoyed the area around Lerici (south of CT).
In Alba, I (a vegetarian) had a great meal at Osteria dei Sognatori. The tourist office will have info on hikes that is difficult to come by otherwise. We had rain and no car, so we did not get to partake.
In Alba, I (a vegetarian) had a great meal at Osteria dei Sognatori. The tourist office will have info on hikes that is difficult to come by otherwise. We had rain and no car, so we did not get to partake.
Sep 27th, 2013, 12:11 PM
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For an absolutely fabulous lunch, go to Campanaro in Asti. We were on a two week trip in Piemonte, Liguria and Emilia-Romagna last October and although every meal we had was outstanding, this lunch stands out as the best.
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