Nicci

We rented a car in Munich and drove through Alsace, France for a few nights before reaching the border of Italy. After relishing our last Alsacian meal, we traveled from Colmar across rainy Switzerland to Bellagio in about 4 hours of driving time. We took the risk that Bellagio would have nice weather the next day and it was a smart gamble. After learning that La Torretta B&B was full for the night, we decided to have dinner in their basement restaurant and ordered a couple of delicious pizzas. Our server kindly helped us find accommodation a mile down the road at Hotel Fiorini. This small family run hotel turned out to be a nice respite with the comforts that B&B’s typically lack and I would stay there again. The following morning was a beautiful clear day with a few low clouds over Lake Como. We began with a two hour visit at The Gardens of Villa Melzi where we walked through the grounds that ended in the town center of Bellagio. It reminded me a little of Positano. We strolled along the picturesque waterfront promenade of grand hotels, shops and up the stone stepped alleyways leading towards the hilltop Duomo. Halfway up, we stopped for a tasty al fresco lunch at Ristoro Forma & Gusto. Afterwards, we wandered around town cooling off with a couple gelato and took photos from a couple spectacular viewpoints before we leaving in the direction of Alba.

Three hours later we arrived at our Agritourismo, Cascina Sant’Eufemia, approximately 15 minutes past Alba. We were at the top of the hill with amazing views over their vineyard and hazelnut orchard (owner is the head of the Hazelnut Co-op). On the clearest day we could see snow capped mountains beyond valleys and hilltop villages. I was impressed that our room was so new and modern. We had a kitchen on the bottom level with a two-burner stove, microwave, refrigerator, sink and all the accoutrements necessary for cooking and eating. There was also a pub style table with two chairs and a lounging chair by the door. The second level was a dressing area with an antique dresser next to a spacious bathroom and French doors leading to a large outdoor patio perfect for stargazing. Our queen size bed was on the third lofted level with a skylight. It was obvious that a lot of thought and love went into rebuilding and décor of the property. Each morning we had breakfast in a common kitchen in the main building. Chiara, one of the owners, served a freshly baked homemade sweet daily to enjoy with the cured meats, cheeses, breads, fresh fruit, jams and honey. Everything was local, even some of the cheese came from the farmer across the road. We added farm fresh eggs that we cooked in our room most mornings.

Every day of our Piemonte one week stay was filled with a new food adventure. As we drove from village to village in the Langhe and Roero, the landscape was covered with a carpet of lush green vineyards and the hillsides were speckled with fields of red poppies. Our first night, we ate at a small local spot called Torre Alberetto which has no menu and no English spoken. You tell them the type of wine that you would like and the food starts coming served family style. Two of the regions traditional foods, Carne Crudo and Vitello Tonna were up first. I opted to skip the raw chopped veal which my husband savored and I surprisingly liked the thin slices of medium rare veal with the bizarre addition of mayo/tuna sauce. A bottle of Barolo, large bottle of still water and 10 courses came to a total of 55 Euro, cash only. Our first full day was a Sunday when most shops and many restaurants are closed. After a week of traveling in central Europe’s unexpected warm weather and neglecting half our wardrobe, we needed to do laundry. Our hosts allowed us to use their tiny front loading washing machine and line dry. Later that Sunday afternoon, we strolled through the center of Alba and shared a Gelati while window shopping on the pedestrian street. We discovered free wifi on the square in front of the Tourist Info, so we checked e-mail on our iphones and updated Facebook. Thanks to this and other recommendations from ekscrunchy, a fellow Fodorite, dinner was at Perfumo di Vino in Treiso just a few miles outside of Alba. The restaurant has a busy wine bar on one side and the restaurant on the other side. This was when we started taking photos of our meals. We started with a bottle of still water, two glasses of Barbera, amuse bouche of tuna salad and peas, followed by an order of two large ravioli each encased a velvety deep orange colored egg yolk with asparagus on the side and veal meatballs with foie gras/mustard dipping sauce. Our main dishes were risotto carbonara with another luscious orange yolk in the center and rabbit plin (small pinched ravioli). Dessert was a heavenly panacotta soup and hazelnut sampler. Much to our surprise and full bellies, we were served a complementary dessert sampler. We returned to the wine bar later in the trip order the panacotta again with an afternoon coffee break.

Nicci

Day 3 started with a short visit to Sinio and then to La Morra for an outstanding lunch at Osteria del Vignaiolo. We were able to dine on their lovely patio overlooking vineyards and the valley. We ordered a half bottle of Barbera, scrumptious quail legs on a bed of mashed potatoes in a frico cup, vinegared eel, regional fettuccine style of pasta called tajarin with ragu, plin filled with a local ricotta and asparagus and a complementary dessert sampler for around 40 Euro. While driving up to town we came to a fork in the road, a sign pointed to the left that said La Morra (our destination) and our GPS told us to go to the right taking us past a gate on half of the road with a sign in Italian. Against my suggestion, my husband decided to listen to the GPS passing 3 more of the same gates partially covering the road and no other cars passing us. We were almost to the top when we backed up our VW station wagon rental to make the final hairpin turn and one of our rear tires caused the road under it to collapse, leaving us stuck in a sharp incline. A man ran out of his house yelling, “STOP! STOP!” He asked how we got up since there were warning signs on the gates due to the road crumbling....and the weak wall behind our car was to be demolished the following week. Luckily he spoke English and took us to the City Hall where he met with an official who called a tractor that arrived in less than 5 minutes with 4 men. This was by far the fastest I’ve seen anything happen in Italy. At this point, I was a bit worried what this dilemma would cost us. Before involving the tractor, the men all got behind the car and pushed while my husband gunned the car out of the hole and thankfully made it to the top of La Morra without a scratch. They all smiled at us waving and said enjoy your holiday. Moral of the story, follow the signs and listen to your wife. Once at the top, we went to the touristy Cantina for a much needed wine tasting. We purchased a couple of Borolo, a Barbera and a Nebbiolo. Our next stop was down the hillside to the winery of Silvio Grasso where we left with 7 bottles of wine including 3 Borolos (we paid for 6 total, the uber generous and limited English speaker, Silvio, gave us a 2000 Borolo as a gift). They had an almond orchard in the front of the winery with roosters and chickens pecking around making it a very charming setting. After a coffee break in Barolo, a quick trip through Monforte d’Alba and few roadside stops for photos, we decided to go low key with pizza and gelato in Alba. The pizza restaurant next to the movie theater was recommended to us by Memo, the owner of Perfumo di Vino. Sadly, it was not good because the cheese was rubbery and crust was too thick.

Day 4 took us about an hour away to the fairly large city of Cuneo located close to the mountains for market day. On the way, we stopped at a small village of Dogliano when we spotted an open produce and cheese market next to the river. Twenty minutes later we were off again with a wedge of local Tuma in tow. Once in Cuneo, the large market turned out to be mostly clothes and home goods. The produce market was not impressive; however, I was mesmerized by the cheese stands where gorgeous stacks of enormous half wheels of cheese on the verge of busting out of their tight cellophane packaging and small little bundles behind the glass were all calling my name. We bought more cheese, slices of cured meat and stopped at a bakery for bread to complete our picnic lunch. We ended our Cuneo visit with wonderful frappe coffee at a cafe on the main square and purchased local specialty chocolates. On the way back, we stopped to check out the view from the top of the village of Mondovi, although there was a funicular, we opted to drive up due to time. There was a lot of renovation going on and most buildings on the square were covered with scaffolding. Actually a lot of renovation going on everywhere in Piemonte as the most noticeable part of each village skyline included a crane or two towering over. On route, we made a short stop in Cherasco to purchase some local dark chocolates with hazelnuts and hot chocolate mix. It was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so none of the notorious snail restaurants were open for sampling. After the first day in the area, we learned that if you are not seated for lunch by 1:30pm, you will not have lunch that day. Moving on, we had to stop in Bra to pay homage to the home of the Slow Food movement. The Slow Food Association and Osteria Del Boccondivino are on a street next to one another. Bra was much bigger than I expected with crawling rush hour traffic. Our last stop of the day was back to Alba for dinner at Lalibera. We arrived at 7:30pm without reservations and were told to come back at 8pm, when they open. It was slightly annoying when we returned at 8pm and 4-5 tables were already eating. We were seated right away and, without request, the head chef came out to explain the full menu in English to us. We skipped the appetizers and ordered two pastas and two meats- tarajin with ragu sauce, gnocchi in a cream sauce, braised chicken, grilled Lamb, two glasses of wine and two large bottles of still water. The ethereal Gnocchi was my favorite dish of the entire visit in the Piemonte. The only way to describe it was like soft little pillows floating on a cloud. The chef explained that they mix Tuma cheese into the Gnocchi to make it light and the sauce was delectably creamy. We were so full that we shared the sampler dessert (not my favorite) and ended with espressos.

Ian

The Piedmonte is an area that has always interested me. I guess 'cause I love the wines. I have 2 bottles of Silvio Grasso's '01 Barolo biding time in my cellar.

Please go on. I'm reading . . .

Ian

Nicci

Thanks Ian! Silvio Grasso winery is named after the son who hosted our wine tasting. Luckily all of our wine made it back to Atlanta in one piece. We love Italy and wanted to see a different region. We have been to Tuscany multiple times to enjoy the wineries(love Brunello) and we were married outside Florence in Fiesole mid October of 2001. As foodies, the Piemonte was an outstanding area to visit for the cuisine, wine and culture. Please let me know if you have any specific questions. I'll try to finsh up this evening.

Nicci

Day 5 started as a lazy day with a wine tasting at our agritourismo after a late breakfast. Another hot sunny clear day called for more hilltop photos which led us to Grinzane Cavour Castle and its breathtaking views. We had lunch at the small restaurant just below the castle across from the main parking lot. It was one of my least favorite meals due to overcooked pasta and overly firm textured panacotta. It was one of our least expensive meals at 24 Euro, so I guess you pay for what you get in this case. After soaking in the views from the castle grounds and a wine tasting in their cantina, we made our stop at Purfumo di Vino wine bar for an iced coffee and panacotta. We saw the chef leaving with his yellow lab on the way in and he said not to worry, there’s always someone in the kitchen. Memo was there, so all was great. Next stop was Barbaresco, only a few miles away. We wanted to stop by the Produttori del Barbareso to purchase a Barbera that we previously ordered with dinner and see the village. It was a quiet late afternoon and it seemed like we were the only souls in this charming town high above the Tanaro River. We made it Produttori right before they closed at 6pm and purchased our wine. While wandering by all the closed winery doors, we saw a woman and her mother who warmly smiled and waved at us from their balcony. We noticed it was a winery and ventured in for a tasting. It was a small family run winery called GiGi Bianco where we purchased a bold full bodied Barberesco needing a good 7-10 years to mature. With two bottles of wine in hand, we walked back towards our car when we noticed a long white clothed table with two platters of whole roasted suckling pigs and an enormous steel covered pot. A woman overheard us talking and stuck her head out of the city hall building window to tell us it was an open dinner for only 15 Euro pp including wine. It occurs weekly and we should stay. We were very excited as we were there at the early hour of 7:00 and first to grab a table right next to the food on the patio deck. We learned that Vineria dell'Enoteca hosting the dinner was also owned by Michelin starred Antine Ristorante which is closed on Wednesdays. The 1 Michelin starred chef and owner, Andrea Marino, uses his day off to throw a weekly casual outdoor dinner for the village. All the locals started trickling in about half an hour later and filled up all the free tables. Everyone was very friendly and made us feel like guests of honor. We were served about five chunks of pork with its crispy skin and bread, followed by a plate of rich brown stew from the mysterious covered pot. When the ladle hit my plate, it was obvious these were the cubed innards of the pigs and I was a little worried since I’m not a big fan of “awful”. As the smiling chef watched on, I ate as much as I could trying not to insult him. I’m just not an organ meat kind of gal, although my husband ate it all and really enjoyed it. The chef joined us at our table, filled our wine glasses almost to the brim, enough to make a few toasts, and chatted for about 30 minutes before he made his rounds with the others. When we got up to leave, he came back over to graciously thank us and much to our surprise, gave us each a big American style hug. This was not the most elaborate dinner of our trip, however, hosted by a 1 Michelin starred chef and the company of only locals, it will remain the most memorable one as it did not involve reservations, reviews, menus or a lot of money. Plus it was simply discovered by chance.

Nicci

Day 6- Driving to Turin took 1.5 hours and the return only took 1 hour…for some reason the GPS gave us off the beaten track route to the highway from our Agri. We arrived just before noon with enough time to meander through the lively open air farmers market that consumed about 4 large blocks in the center of town. It was so crowded with shoppers of every ethnicity and vibrant vendors shouting at the top of their lungs hocking their goods to all passersby. As we squeezed through the aisles, I took photo after photo of the gorgeous produce and smiling merchant faces. We made a few small purchases for our picnic lunch. As we looked into the horizon, we could see a beautiful domed church and decided to walk towards it. It led us to a park next to the ruins of Porta Palatina, probably the best preserved example of a Roman city gate and a perfect stop for our picnic lunch. Behind us was the vast square of Piazza Castello, flanked by Palazzo Reale, Church of San Lorenzo and Palazzo Madama...mostly in renovations. We strolled down the pedestrian walk to El Bicerin for their famous coffee/chocolate drink and another larger café for a quick espresso as an excuse to use their bathroom. It was late afternoon and time to visit Eataly which was across town next to the Fiat Corporation. After navigating through 15 minutes of traffic, our GPS said we were there, but we didn’t see Eataly and pulled into Le Meridian Hotel for directions. The front desk told us it was across the street and we could leave our car safely parked at the hotel for free. Eataly is definitely a mecca for foodies. It was a little too staged for my taste, but offered a mesmerizing amount of edible Italian products in one place. The Italian version of Williams-Sonoma meets Whole Foods spread out in an IKEA sized space. We left with enough goodies to fill our new Eataly eco-friendly cloth shopping bag. Our final destination for the day was back across town, across the river and up to a hillside viewpoint for a hopeful glimpse of the city skyline with mountains in the backdrop at sunset. Much to our dismay, it was too hazy to see the mountains and not a great photo op. We still took in the views and said goodbye to Torino as we headed back to the Langhe for dinner. I must admit that one day in Turin is not enough and I look forward to returning in the future. We liked Osteria del Vignaiolo so much that we agreed it was a perfect final meal of our stay in the Piemonte. We were disappointed when we pulled into the driveway and noticed it was closed on a Thursday night. How odd, who closes on a Thursday? We headed back towards Sinio to try Osteria del Maiale Pezzato suggested to us by Italian tourist staying at our agriturismo, but they were full. This was definitely not like our special experience the night before! Exhausted of options and tired from a long day, we stopped at a pizzeria on the way back to our agriturismo. Nothing special, but filled our empty bellies.

ekscrunchy

Nicci I am enjoying this so much! It brings back wonderful memories, and also provides so much new information. What luck to find the dinner in Barbaresco! Do you think that this occurs every Wednesday night? Or perhaps just in the warmer months (?) It sounds like such a great experience that it would be worth planning a visit around!

That large market in Turin, the Porta Palazzo (reportedly the largest open-air food market in Europe!) was closed when we were there, due to the holiday. I am glad you were able to visit..

Looking forward to reading more..

Nicci

Day 7- We left at 10am towards Verona and halfway there made a short stop at a gas station off the Autostrada for a snack and bathroom break. The toilets were hit and miss the entire time in Italy and this one was definitely a miss. During our visit most were coed, some were the squat kind with hole in the ground, some had half a porcelain bowl with no seats and some with the full bowl w/ toilet seats. The rest of the gas station was set up like a high end cafeteria, fast food, deli, bakery, wine shop and convenient store all in one. We arrived in Verona a little after 1p and found free parking in the shade near the center. I was very worried about all the wine bottles in the trunk of the car. We had a quick and simple lunch at Caffe' Monte Baldo Di Vesentini Gianni. I was surprised to see smoked horsemeat on the menu as it was the first time that I noticed it since the previous week in France. Not for me. We walked towards Piazza Erbe and took the elevator to the top of Lamberti Tower to see the wonderful view over the city. Verona reminded us of a small version of Florence with its medieval and renaissance architecture along a river. Afterwards, we followed the throngs of tourists down the pedestrian street towards Juliette’s balcony for a brief glance before purchasing the best gelato of the trip at Gelateria Ravelli. We decided to stay the night and since we did not have a reservation, we visited the Tourist Info located along the wall entrance to the city. There was a new B&B called La Boheme just outside the walls that had a room for 75 Euro. We walked over to take a look and make sure it was acceptable. It was on the 5th floor with an elevator and very nice room with king canopy bed, balcony, small tv and spotlessly clean shared large modern bathroom in the hall. The young woman who owned it did not speak English at all so it was a little challenging. We walked along the river to retrieve the car that we later learned was illegally parked…luckily we were not ticketed. After dropping the car off, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset while crossing Castel Vecchio and on the way to dinner at one the many restaurants next to the arena, Nastro Azzurro. I had splendid mixed shellfish pasta in a tomato broth and my husband had porcini tagliatelle which we were told was fresh porcini. This did not make sense because it was May and porcini is not in season until autumn. The server explained that they freeze the porcini and it tastes the same…he was right and it was very good.

Jespere

Nicci - We are enjoying your descriptions, especially of Turin/Piedmont, salivating over the food reports, and saving for our September trip (Bellagio-Verona-Dolomites-Venice-Turin). Can't wait for more! JAN

Nicci

Day 8 – Our complimentary breakfast of croissants, jams, yogurt and cappuccino was held at the family owned café below the B&B where we paid for the room in cash. We loaded everything in the car and went up the hill to Castel San Pietro to take in one last glorious city view before we left in the direction of Austria. I regretted not coming here at sunset the night before as this was the perfect spot for a skyline photo over the winding river and terracotta rooftops. After getting a little lost on the way out, it turned into a two hour drive before we stopped in the Italian border town of Bolzano for lunch and a peak at the city center. There is a strong Austrian/Bavarian influence here and most locals speak German. We were told that many Austrians drive over the border to do their shopping because it is less expensive. The morning farmers market was bustling with shoppers and where we bought a small basket of ripe juicy strawberries. We explored the market stands and window fronts walking along the stone alleyways for an hour or so before breaking for our al fresco lunch at Osteria La Civetia-Eule. Our table was wedged between two produce stalls and across from the cured meat stalls making an ideal spot for people watching. We had a creamy gorgonzola pasta dish called Gnocchetti Verdi and tried the local Tyrolean style cuisine of Canederli, called Knodel in German, consisting of two large round bread dumplings and an orange spritzer style drink called Veneziano Aperol served in a large wine glass with a slice of orange. The pretty drink was just alright, the pasta was very good and the dumplings were simply too heavy for my taste….as usual, my husband gobbled them up. After lunch, we briskly strolled through the colorful town snapping as many pictures as possible. We crossed a bridge over a river where you could easily see the snow capped mountains surrounding the entire town and closer to us was a lovely vast green park peppered with locals basking in the flawless weather. We did not have enough time to visit the Museo Archeologico dell’Alto Adige which houses the iceman mummy, but we used their very clean bathroom before returning to our car. This was a sure sign that we were close to Austria and Germany. As we approached Austria, we were embraced by the magnificent mountain range and at the base, green meadows flowing with fields of white, yellow and purple wildflowers….only 2.5 hours left until we arrived in Salzburg.

Nicci

Please let me know if you have any questions at all. Food is a big part of the Italian culture making it a large part of our trip. September will be a wonderful time to visit since it will be harvest and almost time for truffles and porcini. Hopefully it will be a bit cooler for you.

Nicci

Eks- Thanks for all your tips. I'm not sure if the Wednesday dinners in Barbaresco are seasonal. Since it is held outside, my guess is yes. I'm sure if you e-mail Antine Ristorante they'll let you know. I really wanted to try the restaurant too, but they were booked for the next few weeks. The chef said that there are only 6 tables total and lunch is easier to reserve.

ekscrunchy

That is interesting. I did think about eating at Antine, but we did not have time. (I did peek in, though!)

Another couple staying at our B&B did eat there and thought is was fabulous. Interestingly enough, they walked in with no reservation and said that the place was not close to being full. But this was back in mid-April. I guess that the passing of a month or two brings many more tourists to the area.

Ian

Thanks for the report, Nicci. But now I have to go eat something . . . and that bottle of Gattinara is looking awful tempting . . .

Ian

Passerine

Nice report--but could you please add some more paragraph breaks in future posts? That LARGE chunk of type with no white space or breaks is hard to read.

Nicci

Eks- It was right before a holiday at the end of May, so I'm sure there were more tourist from bordering countries. Ascension Day on May 21 was a public holiday in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden etc....from what I've read.

Ian- I hope you enjoyed your Gattinara and start planning for a future trip the Piemonte.

Passerine- Thanks for the advice and I will add more white space in the future.

LaurenKahn1

Thanks for your trip report. This is my kind of travel (not the poster who wants to do 4 European big cities in 2 weeks).

JulieVikmanis

Nicci, don't know why I only now found this report via a search on Piemonte, but still want to thank you for such a good report, even if those thanks are a bit belated. We leave in less than a week for Piemonte. Can't wait.

taconictraveler

Micci: I too just found your report today, and I must thank you for all the wonderful tips and the fun way you reported it all.

I'm in the planning stages for a trip to Italy, which started out as a week next June in the val d'Orcia, southern Tuscany, with friends, where I've been three times but DH has never been.

Now that we are flying to Zurich from JFK and home from Milan, we're going to concentrate on some of the northern parts of Italy which we hardly know or don't know at all.

So, I may think of questions, despite the incredible thoroughness of your report. So keep watching

Nicci

JulieVikmanis: look forward to reading your trip report when you return. This is my favorite time of year to visit Italy.

taconictraveler: Not on here every day, but I will check back for any questions