Wow what a long report, I notice a new trend on Fodors for these super-long travel blogs including excruciating details of rent-cars, flights and every kilometre of the route.

I remember you were the person who cancelled with my friends Tim and Rena at Villa Sampaguita because they didn’t have air-con (why is it that Americans seem to consider air-con as an essential whereas Europeans accept warm weather as part of Italy), I can tell you I was in Piedmont in early July and there was absolutely no need for air-con if you were in the right place, Villa Sampaguita where I stayed has ceiling fans and is on a hill-top catching a breeze, and in early July they had some long awaited rain, it wasn’t bad at all even by English standards and we melt in the heat! Now late July they tell me has been unusually warm, but that’s another story.

I know Levanto, and commend you for your choice of a base, its an excellent base for Liguria Levante including Cinque Terre and Northern Toscana, again I don’t know in early July that air-con is that essential, I prefer to stay a little out of town where I can catch a breeze, but if you were there now I would want air-con, its hot!

Too bad you couldn’t have experienced Piedmont with someone like Tim and Rena at Villa Sampaguita or Diana at Baur B&B, who go out of their way to make sure their guests have a good time. I am a vegetarian and Rena is always able to make me the most delicious meals fresh from their garden (it helps that Tim doesn’t eat meat either) and locate me the most fabulous restaurants and arrange super-friendly wineries to visit. I also know Napa and you can’t compare Piedmont to that kind of “Sideways” country. They have been making wine in Piedmont for 1000’s of years for themselves, not for tourists, and if you know where to go, they are so friendly and passionate. That’s why I keep going back. And Piedmont is stacked with inexpensive trattoria and osteria, maybe not around the Alba area, besides as yourself admitted you are so cheap you pinch food from the breakfast table.

But so glad you liked Turin at least darling, you do sound more like a city gal. BTW I have always found easy parking in the centre of Turin as my hosts know the city and where to park. I suppose what goes around comes around. And it goes to show that you liked Milan, which I think of as a mini version of LA.

By the way did you really enjoy the holiday you spend so long agonizing over the detailed planning? Miaow miaow, whinge whinge.

Nice report, alison. I like the details, personally.

I remember chiming in on your pre-trip Ligurian coast dilemma; as one of the Levanto "fans" I am glad it worked well for you! I also enjoyed my one trip to Milan way more than I expected. If anyone is interested, the Navigli canal (designed by Leonardo da Vinci) area has a great antique/etc market on one Sunday a month, which makes for excellent people watching and browsing...

Thanks for the great post! Got lots of ideas for my Northern Italy 2008 trip. How did you do all this in 2 weeks?

I love the long trip reports. Challicewell is in a snit beacuse his other post deriding long trip reports shows that he is decisively in the minority. Seems that he is too lazy to read.

I must say that it's pretty disheartening to be the recipient of such catty comments. I spent a lot of time and effort on the trip report -- including details -- so that others could benefit. My trip would not have been nearly as successful without the advance planning and the help of many people from this board. We all have different needs and desires from a vacation and isn't it nice that such a forum exists for us all to share our opinions openly and learn from each other? If someone isn't interested in the details, then don't read it.

Piedmont is indeed a beautiful part of the world and I was very reflective about how one's hosts can make all the difference in this region. However, the wine regions outside Cape Town and the Napa Valley do also have their merits and great natural beauty.

Alison, that was a nice report. You did good!!! I've picked up some new tips for my trip next year. Thank you. ((b))

Hi alison,

Ignore the comments from ChaliceWell... your trip report was enjoyable to read and I am sure many posters will benefit from the info you took the time to post

Great report alison. Put in all the details you want. That's why most people read these reports.

As for the comment regarding AC by one pretty negative poster, I guess many Americans want air conditioning because (in the immortal words of Billy Crystal in City Slickers), "I'm on vacation."

((H))

Thank you for your repor Alison. You've been a great help in my planning of our upcoming trip to Northern Italy.

Great trip report, alison. I appreciate details. I'll be in CT in the fall, so I enjoyed your comments about it. Thank you.

Alison...keep up the excellent descriptive report...pay no mind to those who get caught up in length style, content, etc...

I was happy to see that you liked Orta and the venerable Hotel therein..I was one of those who suggested it way back then. We, too, asked for and got a terraced first floor room with lovely flowers in pots.

..by the way, I was remiss in not mentioning that along one of the narrow lanes leading out from the town piazza, next to a very nice restaurant, there is a plaque honoring a Doctor Mario Levi and his son Roberto, who lived in "hiding" in that particular house, until the Gestapo found them in '43. The town still places fresh flowers in the vase attached to the plaque. There never was a Jewish community of any size in Orta, only these two escaped refugees from Milano.

Keep up this report...most of us do not agree with those who attempt to stifle a posters desire to write a report, short or long, detailed or not. Can you say "censorship"?

Stu T.

Alison, I am saving this for the future. Thanks for taking the time to write.

alison, our family is planning a stay in Varenna as part of a trip next spring. The information about your hike to the castle is extremely valuable to us. Without this level of detail in your report, we would never have found this information on our own and it sounds like exactly what we'd like to do.

Thank you....and don't let anyone discourage you.

Alison - thanks for posting such a "wordy" description of your Varenna stay ;-) It really took me back to my own travails on the walking paths above the town before I finally figured out that there are a series of painted markers to help you negotiate not only these trails, but the CT trails, etc. I tried to hike up to the Castello from the cemetary at the southern end of town, and wound up way too far up. We stayed at Albergo Milano and enjoyed the first outdoor dining of the season. I think that 2-hour (first of many!) meal, and the restful setting in Varenna, really set the tone for the rest of our Italian adventure. For what it's worth, I didn't post a travelogue of our trip because I wasn't sure I could condense it and still convey the spirit of the events. You're doing just fine at it!

Hello again,

I'm glad to see so many other posters are appreciating your trip too :-)

Did you happen to take any pictures of the Piedmont region? I have been trying to get DH interested for a while.

This is a great trip report. I've never been to Italy, but really enjoy the reports that give me a feel for the region and people.

As another "long-winded" poster, I'm truly grateful to you for spending the time on this one. (Pay no attention to rude people. Eventually they go away.)

Gayle

Great report! Thanks for the effort and care you took to make it comprehensive for Fodor's readers, Alison.

(Don't mind poor Chalicewell. It hasn't been quite right since <i>the accident.</i>)

StuT, it was you who told me to request the first floor terrace. Of course I remember! Many thanks. And I wish I had known about the Levi plaque -- would have loved to have seen it. Thank you for sharing that. That just means we have to go back to Orta and put our own flowers in the vase.
TexasAggie, I do have some photos of the beautiful vineyards in the countryside of piedmont -- not much else. if you give me your email i will send to you, but not sure they are much more convincing than a guidebook.
And thanks to everyone for your encouragement!

alison....so sorry i didn't mention the Levi plaque before you left...good excuse to go back..
Stu T.

Loved your detailed report Alison. It will sure help us with our planning!

What an interesting thread this is! Wanted to add my thoughts about Piedmont for any future readers who are considering a visit. My husband and I stayed at Baur B&amp;B (www.baurbb.com) in Acqui Terme in May and it was one of our most memorable travel experiences ever. This was mainly due to the incredible hospitality of the owners Diana and Micheal, so I agree with the comments about hotel/hosts making all the difference in this area. They prepared outstanding food (fresh from neighbors farms), made reservations for us at perfect little restaurants and went out of their way to help make our stay enjoyable. Check the reviews written by other guests on the Trip Advisor site (including me) and you can see we all had the same experience.

Acqui Terme is a lovely small city that I initially didn't think I'd find interesting, but it deserves at least a 1/2 day of wandering its charming pedestrian shopping area. While staying at Baur we spent a couple of days driving around the countryside, and having spent a 10 day vacation in Napa/Sonoma last year, it was a totally different experience both from a scenery and wine tasting perspective. I wish we would have asked Diana in advance to arrange some tasting appointments for us, because there are very few spots where you can just pop in unannounced. As for the scenery --WOW. Rolling hills and Vines, Vines, Vines everywhere, all growing on hills at impossibly steep angles. We were there in early May, and it was VERY quiet in each of the medieval wine villages we visited. We figured it was too early in the season, but Alison seemed to experience the same thing in July. Maybe Sept and Oct are the best months? That's when we'd like to go back. Oh, and we also got hopelessly lost in the Alba roundabouts!!

During this trip we also visited Siena, many Tuscan countryside villages, Cinque Terre, and Milan. If you ask us what our favorite memory is of the trip we would say it was spending time at Baur B&amp;B and meeting Diana and Michael.

Oh, and I will also second Alison's recommendation about going up to the roof of the Milan cathedral! It was one of the sightseeing highlights of the entire trip!