Truffles, Tajarin & Turin…Two weeks in the Piemonte Region of Italy
Dec 8th, 2014, 07:13 AM
#41
The owner, who served us was just terrific and very kind to us.>>
IME italian owner/chefs are very appreciative of guests who are serious about food; when i have spent time with italians in Italy, they spend what seems to me an inordinate amount of time discussing what they are going to eat, even if it's "just" soup!
you are really selling Turin to me, so much so that I'm going to find out how easy it would be for us to get there!
IME italian owner/chefs are very appreciative of guests who are serious about food; when i have spent time with italians in Italy, they spend what seems to me an inordinate amount of time discussing what they are going to eat, even if it's "just" soup!
you are really selling Turin to me, so much so that I'm going to find out how easy it would be for us to get there!
Dec 8th, 2014, 08:57 AM
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annhig...we have become those people who spend plenty of time considering the menu and then more time on the wine list to determine which wine will satisfy our likes and still pair well with the food! It drives some of the servers we encounter in U.S. restaurants crazy that we don't immediately order a bottle of wine when we sit down and want to at least glance at the menu before deciding on wine! LOL! ;-)
I hope you do consider Torino, it's a lovely city, well worth a visit!
I hope you do consider Torino, it's a lovely city, well worth a visit!
Dec 8th, 2014, 02:29 PM
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Thursday, September 4, 2014
Today was an easy-going day, we slept in a little and then went to the Fondazione Accorsi-Ometto, Museo di Arti Decorative. Here is the website: http://www.fondazioneaccorsi-ometto.it/en/. In my pre-trip research I knew visitors to this decorative arts museum had to take a guided tour, but could not find times the tours started, so mom and I arrived at the museum just after 10:30am and joined a tour that had just started. Actually the nice lady taking the tickets was very concerned that the tour had already started and she came around her desk and ushered us into an elevator that took us to the floor where the guide had begun the tour. We were maybe 10 minutes late and only missed one room on the tour.
This tour was only in Italian, but the staff gave us an English language translation guide with photos of specific pieces in each room. There was an Italian family of four on the tour with us who knew some English, so if the guide was very animated about a certain piece or there was a new piece in the collection, that wasn’t in the English guide, the father of the family was kind enough to give us a little translation. And, frankly it was good for mom and I to hear Italian being spoken (the guide seemed to be speaking especially clearly and slowly) to us, so we could practice our language comprehension skills!
This is the type of museum mom and I love to see. The palace where this museum is located is owned by the family of the original curator of this phenomenal art collection. The pieces of artwork and furniture are displayed in the rooms as if they are being used for their intended purpose. Mom and I enjoyed seeing it all, but especially the kitchen with all the cooking and serving utensils on display.
Since this museum is just a few steps from the large Piazza Vittorio Veneto, when the tour was over and we said our thank-yous and goodbyes we walked across the street to an outdoor café to get a cold drink and enjoy the warm weather.
Later in the afternoon we stopped at the Egyptian Museum. The website is here: http://www.museoegizio.it/pages/hp_en.jsp . The collection is quite extensive, but we aren’t much into Egyptian art, so after about an hour we called it a day and went back to the hotel to catch up on emails and had a little down time.
For our aperitivo we headed to a wine bar/restaurant called Tre Galli, located just a short walk from our hotel and the “little sister” of the restaurant where we would be having dinner. I had read several reviews of Tre Galli, each one extolling the wine list and they were all true, the wine list is massive. Since we were there for aperitivo we ordered from the wine by the glass list, which of course, had a smaller selection, but still a very good variety. We also had the Piemontese cheese plate, which was excellent. We sat at an outside table and watched the world go by and the tables around us fill up. In hind-sight, we probably should have stayed here for dinner.
Our dinner reservation was at Ristorante Tre Galline. The website is here: http://3galline.it/en/ . As we walked in we felt like we were stepping into an elegant “old school” establishment. We were greeted warmly and seated at a lovely white table-clothed table. The service was attentive. Some of the food was hit-and-miss. Mom and both had the same dishes (two nights in a row!). We started with a red pepper risotto with black olives, which was very good and had lots of flavor. I think our mistake was ordering a local fish dish, but on the menu it was marked as a specialty of the house and we thought since we had been eating rather heavy Piemontese cuisine maybe a fish would lighting things up. It was lighter, but it was also fairly dry and the potatoes served with the dish were very uninspired. They looked like little boiled potato footballs. The highlight was the local Arneis white wine we had with dinner. I tried valiantly for a recovery by ordering “deconstructed” tiramisu for, and it was creamy, but if I’m being honest, I’ve had better elsewhere. But every meal can’t be a winner. The total cost of the meal was €103.
Today was an easy-going day, we slept in a little and then went to the Fondazione Accorsi-Ometto, Museo di Arti Decorative. Here is the website: http://www.fondazioneaccorsi-ometto.it/en/. In my pre-trip research I knew visitors to this decorative arts museum had to take a guided tour, but could not find times the tours started, so mom and I arrived at the museum just after 10:30am and joined a tour that had just started. Actually the nice lady taking the tickets was very concerned that the tour had already started and she came around her desk and ushered us into an elevator that took us to the floor where the guide had begun the tour. We were maybe 10 minutes late and only missed one room on the tour.
This tour was only in Italian, but the staff gave us an English language translation guide with photos of specific pieces in each room. There was an Italian family of four on the tour with us who knew some English, so if the guide was very animated about a certain piece or there was a new piece in the collection, that wasn’t in the English guide, the father of the family was kind enough to give us a little translation. And, frankly it was good for mom and I to hear Italian being spoken (the guide seemed to be speaking especially clearly and slowly) to us, so we could practice our language comprehension skills!
This is the type of museum mom and I love to see. The palace where this museum is located is owned by the family of the original curator of this phenomenal art collection. The pieces of artwork and furniture are displayed in the rooms as if they are being used for their intended purpose. Mom and I enjoyed seeing it all, but especially the kitchen with all the cooking and serving utensils on display.
Since this museum is just a few steps from the large Piazza Vittorio Veneto, when the tour was over and we said our thank-yous and goodbyes we walked across the street to an outdoor café to get a cold drink and enjoy the warm weather.
Later in the afternoon we stopped at the Egyptian Museum. The website is here: http://www.museoegizio.it/pages/hp_en.jsp . The collection is quite extensive, but we aren’t much into Egyptian art, so after about an hour we called it a day and went back to the hotel to catch up on emails and had a little down time.
For our aperitivo we headed to a wine bar/restaurant called Tre Galli, located just a short walk from our hotel and the “little sister” of the restaurant where we would be having dinner. I had read several reviews of Tre Galli, each one extolling the wine list and they were all true, the wine list is massive. Since we were there for aperitivo we ordered from the wine by the glass list, which of course, had a smaller selection, but still a very good variety. We also had the Piemontese cheese plate, which was excellent. We sat at an outside table and watched the world go by and the tables around us fill up. In hind-sight, we probably should have stayed here for dinner.
Our dinner reservation was at Ristorante Tre Galline. The website is here: http://3galline.it/en/ . As we walked in we felt like we were stepping into an elegant “old school” establishment. We were greeted warmly and seated at a lovely white table-clothed table. The service was attentive. Some of the food was hit-and-miss. Mom and both had the same dishes (two nights in a row!). We started with a red pepper risotto with black olives, which was very good and had lots of flavor. I think our mistake was ordering a local fish dish, but on the menu it was marked as a specialty of the house and we thought since we had been eating rather heavy Piemontese cuisine maybe a fish would lighting things up. It was lighter, but it was also fairly dry and the potatoes served with the dish were very uninspired. They looked like little boiled potato footballs. The highlight was the local Arneis white wine we had with dinner. I tried valiantly for a recovery by ordering “deconstructed” tiramisu for, and it was creamy, but if I’m being honest, I’ve had better elsewhere. But every meal can’t be a winner. The total cost of the meal was €103.
Dec 11th, 2014, 06:46 PM
#47
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Friday, September 5, 2014
Today we did a day trip to Milano. For as long as I can remember mom and I wanted to see the Last Supper by Leonardo DiVinci, but we had never made a trip to Milano. We figured this was the perfect opportunity since Torino was only a one hour train ride away on the fast train.
Even with waking up early on the day the tickets for September viewings of the Last Supper became available in June and immediately jumping on the website, I still didn’t get my preferred day for the week I needed. Friday, September 5th was one of the last days available for the week we were there. The tickets can be purchased here: http://www.vivaticket.it/index.php. Sure, we could have booked a tour that would take us there, but those tours didn’t interest us and buying tickets directly from the website were €8 vs. the full price of some packaged tours.
Our train from Torino to Milano departed at 9:50am and it was an easy tram ride from near the hotel to the train station. At that time of day, the train was not crowded and we were in Milano by 10:50am. Our first stop was at a newsstand at Milano Centrale train station to buy metro tickets and then we were off too see the Duomo (cathedral) of Milano.
We enjoyed seeing this beautiful cathedral from both outside and inside and after about an hour we were ready for lunch. We didn’t want to stray too far from the duomo area, so we walked over to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and grabbed an outside table at Il Camparino, a café on the corner of the galleria and the Piazza del Duomo. Was it crowed and full to tourists? Yes, of course, the location was adjacent to one of the biggest tourist sites in Milano, but we had a couple really good sandwiches and a couple cold beverages and we had great seats to watch the throngs of people shuffle by.
Even though I purchased the Last Supper tickets online, we had to pick-up the tickets at the museum prior to our assigned entry time. So we got on the metro and made our way to a stop near the museum. It’s a good thing I allowed for a little extra time for this, because the metro cars were very crowded and by the time I realized we were at our stop, the doors closed and we were off again. Fortunately we got off at the next stop, and were able to get to the platform going back in the other direction and we went back one stop. It was about a 15 minute walk from the metro station to the museum and even with our little misstep, we were about 20 minutes early. No worries though, I was able to get our tickets and then sit and wait on the benches inside for our time to be called.
Mom and I really enjoyed viewing the Last Supper, we feel it really is an extraordinary piece of artwork. An oversight on my part was not purchasing the audio guide. There were interpretive signs describing the painting, which we read, but I think the audio guide probably would have given us much more detail. We enjoyed it anyway and were happy that we made the trip to Milano.
Prior to the trip I had done some research on the public transportation options to and from the museum and knew there should have been a tram stop nearby which would take us back to the duomo area and save us the trek to the metro. As we exited the museum I realized the tram stop was right across the street, so we hopped on and in about 15 minutes were back at the duomo. We did a little more picture taking with the cathedral as our background and then off to the metro to go back to the train station.
We arrived back in Torino around 6pm, which was just in time for aperitivo! Tonight we decided to have our pre-dinner wine at the hotel in the nice lobby area. A couple glasses of Arneis wine and we were happy. Our hotel was able to book a table for us at Consorzio and being a Friday night, I had the feeling this wasn’t an easy task.
We were welcomed warmly back at Consorzio and had the same great service we did earlier in the week. Mom decided she enjoyed the starter she had last time, the egg crocante, that she ordered it again and said it tasted even better than the first time! I had a bacala (cod fish) starter, which was delicious. We both had the same pork main dish, which was tender and moist on the inside with a crispy skin on the outside, the flavor was excellent. We selected a Gavi white wine to have with dinner, which was a recommendation of a sommelier friend of mine and it went perfectly with our meal. To end things we had the Piemonte cheese plate, which was delectable. My notes are a bit splotchy here, but I’m pretty sure we also had espresso and a digestivo, but I don’t have that in my notes. The total cost of this meal was €112. We thought this was a great way to end a lovely day.
Today we did a day trip to Milano. For as long as I can remember mom and I wanted to see the Last Supper by Leonardo DiVinci, but we had never made a trip to Milano. We figured this was the perfect opportunity since Torino was only a one hour train ride away on the fast train.
Even with waking up early on the day the tickets for September viewings of the Last Supper became available in June and immediately jumping on the website, I still didn’t get my preferred day for the week I needed. Friday, September 5th was one of the last days available for the week we were there. The tickets can be purchased here: http://www.vivaticket.it/index.php. Sure, we could have booked a tour that would take us there, but those tours didn’t interest us and buying tickets directly from the website were €8 vs. the full price of some packaged tours.
Our train from Torino to Milano departed at 9:50am and it was an easy tram ride from near the hotel to the train station. At that time of day, the train was not crowded and we were in Milano by 10:50am. Our first stop was at a newsstand at Milano Centrale train station to buy metro tickets and then we were off too see the Duomo (cathedral) of Milano.
We enjoyed seeing this beautiful cathedral from both outside and inside and after about an hour we were ready for lunch. We didn’t want to stray too far from the duomo area, so we walked over to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and grabbed an outside table at Il Camparino, a café on the corner of the galleria and the Piazza del Duomo. Was it crowed and full to tourists? Yes, of course, the location was adjacent to one of the biggest tourist sites in Milano, but we had a couple really good sandwiches and a couple cold beverages and we had great seats to watch the throngs of people shuffle by.
Even though I purchased the Last Supper tickets online, we had to pick-up the tickets at the museum prior to our assigned entry time. So we got on the metro and made our way to a stop near the museum. It’s a good thing I allowed for a little extra time for this, because the metro cars were very crowded and by the time I realized we were at our stop, the doors closed and we were off again. Fortunately we got off at the next stop, and were able to get to the platform going back in the other direction and we went back one stop. It was about a 15 minute walk from the metro station to the museum and even with our little misstep, we were about 20 minutes early. No worries though, I was able to get our tickets and then sit and wait on the benches inside for our time to be called.
Mom and I really enjoyed viewing the Last Supper, we feel it really is an extraordinary piece of artwork. An oversight on my part was not purchasing the audio guide. There were interpretive signs describing the painting, which we read, but I think the audio guide probably would have given us much more detail. We enjoyed it anyway and were happy that we made the trip to Milano.
Prior to the trip I had done some research on the public transportation options to and from the museum and knew there should have been a tram stop nearby which would take us back to the duomo area and save us the trek to the metro. As we exited the museum I realized the tram stop was right across the street, so we hopped on and in about 15 minutes were back at the duomo. We did a little more picture taking with the cathedral as our background and then off to the metro to go back to the train station.
We arrived back in Torino around 6pm, which was just in time for aperitivo! Tonight we decided to have our pre-dinner wine at the hotel in the nice lobby area. A couple glasses of Arneis wine and we were happy. Our hotel was able to book a table for us at Consorzio and being a Friday night, I had the feeling this wasn’t an easy task.
We were welcomed warmly back at Consorzio and had the same great service we did earlier in the week. Mom decided she enjoyed the starter she had last time, the egg crocante, that she ordered it again and said it tasted even better than the first time! I had a bacala (cod fish) starter, which was delicious. We both had the same pork main dish, which was tender and moist on the inside with a crispy skin on the outside, the flavor was excellent. We selected a Gavi white wine to have with dinner, which was a recommendation of a sommelier friend of mine and it went perfectly with our meal. To end things we had the Piemonte cheese plate, which was delectable. My notes are a bit splotchy here, but I’m pretty sure we also had espresso and a digestivo, but I don’t have that in my notes. The total cost of this meal was €112. We thought this was a great way to end a lovely day.
Dec 12th, 2014, 01:13 AM
#48
sounds like a most excellent day, lci. your organisation paid off very well and as someone who has also not seen the Last Supper, your detailed info on how to arrange this and get there is very useful, so thanks.
Dec 12th, 2014, 06:24 AM
#49
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Really enjoying your report! We spent a couple of days in Milan at the beginning of out 2012 trip and really enjoyed it. Like you, we bought our Last Supper tickets online from the web site you mentioned but I was able to get our first choice by doing it when they first went on sale at 2 AM Atlanta time. The tickets go fast. We booked the guided English tour (offered at 9:30 and 3:30 daily)for the same price as the audio guide and liked it a lot. Looking forward to more of your report.
Dec 12th, 2014, 07:03 AM
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annhig...the metro was pretty easy to navigate if one is familiar with how those types of transit systems work.
john...I thought I was being clever by trying to access the tickets at 6pm (eastern time) on the 3 month "out" date, figuring it was midnight in Milano and the tickets would be available. I tried until midnight (my time) with no luck, and then I called it a night. If I had only stayed up another 2 hours! LOL! I did get up at 6am and was able to get the tickets, but not many were remaining! In the big scheme of things, it wasn't a big deal and it just meant I moved things around in our itinerary.
Thanks everyone for reading along. I'm about half way through and in the next part I'll be talking about our time on the wine tour in Piemonte!
john...I thought I was being clever by trying to access the tickets at 6pm (eastern time) on the 3 month "out" date, figuring it was midnight in Milano and the tickets would be available. I tried until midnight (my time) with no luck, and then I called it a night. If I had only stayed up another 2 hours! LOL! I did get up at 6am and was able to get the tickets, but not many were remaining! In the big scheme of things, it wasn't a big deal and it just meant I moved things around in our itinerary.
Thanks everyone for reading along. I'm about half way through and in the next part I'll be talking about our time on the wine tour in Piemonte!
Dec 13th, 2014, 10:35 PM
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LCI - just found your TR (suffering serious jet lag from returning a few days ago from Myanmar), and what an entertaining read! Now I'm adding Torino and Alba to my wish list for a return to Italy. (Loved my Fiat 500 rental in Tuscany a few years back! Originally from Detroit, guess I need to see Italy's Motor City!). However, Sicily comes up next - May 2016 (yep, I'm a big time trip planner!).
I visited the Last Supper museum this past April when passing through Milan enroute to Varenna. After a visit to the roof of the Duomo, I made the long walk to the museum. Wish I had researched better and knew of the tram option! Somehow Google maps made the walk look very doable ... but in the high heat of the day, exhausting.
Looking forward to your next installment!
I visited the Last Supper museum this past April when passing through Milan enroute to Varenna. After a visit to the roof of the Duomo, I made the long walk to the museum. Wish I had researched better and knew of the tram option! Somehow Google maps made the walk look very doable ... but in the high heat of the day, exhausting.
Looking forward to your next installment!
Dec 15th, 2014, 06:57 PM
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Janetd5....thanks for reading along! Mom and I were in Sicily in March this year and loved it!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Today was the day we moved hotels, so we had a leisurely morning, with a nice breakfast at the Town House 70 hotel. It was only a 10 minute taxi ride to the Grand Hotel Sitea and we were checking in there just before noon.
The hotel room was enormous and comfortable but we wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful day. We left our bags in the room and went out to do a little window shopping. Later in the afternoon I had arranged to meet up with a woman who has a food and wine focused blog. It was interesting to speak with a local and hear about her efforts promoting food and wine in Torino. She also tipped us off to a new (to us) beverage, the aqua di menthe. We thought it was incredibly refreshing and so simple, a glass with mint syrup and sparkling water, mix it together and ahhhh….cool and crisp! She told us there is an area in the Piemonte region known for its mint and that is why this drink is popular there.
It was getting to be the time we would need to meet our tour group, so we said our good-byes and walked back to the hotel. As we walked into the lobby we were happy to see our good friend and tour guide Marcello. We sat down and had a nice long chat and caught up with what had been going on with him and his family. Then we were to meet back up with him and the other couple on the tour, at around 7:30pm. That was perfect for us, because we could avail ourselves of the bar at the hotel for aperitivo.
The bar at the Grand Hotel Sitea is small, but has lots of atmosphere and the most elegant aperitivo we’ve experienced. Service was efficient and mom and I each had a glass of Arneis wine and some really lovely little snacks.
We met Marcello and the others in the lobby at 7:30pm and took a short walk to dinner. Our first meal together was at Osteria degli Ottoni and it was another great experience of typical Piemontese foods. Marcello made sure we got a good taste of what the region has to offer.
For starters we had several small tastes of different local specialties, honestly, there were so many plates coming to the table I can hardly remember them all. We tasted another good version of carne crudo, some vitello tonnato, anchioves in a green sauce and a torte of peppers. Mom and I split an order of the tarjarin pasta and this was the best we had on the trip. For my main dish I had a deliciously moist and perfectly cooked guinea hen with more of those delightful local peppers. I wish I could remember what mom’s main dish was and I didn’t write it down, but I do remember she was pleased with it. For dessert mom and I shared warm peaches filled with chocolate, which were not too sweet but had lots of chocolate flavor. It was a perfect way to start our tour!
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Today was the day we moved hotels, so we had a leisurely morning, with a nice breakfast at the Town House 70 hotel. It was only a 10 minute taxi ride to the Grand Hotel Sitea and we were checking in there just before noon.
The hotel room was enormous and comfortable but we wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful day. We left our bags in the room and went out to do a little window shopping. Later in the afternoon I had arranged to meet up with a woman who has a food and wine focused blog. It was interesting to speak with a local and hear about her efforts promoting food and wine in Torino. She also tipped us off to a new (to us) beverage, the aqua di menthe. We thought it was incredibly refreshing and so simple, a glass with mint syrup and sparkling water, mix it together and ahhhh….cool and crisp! She told us there is an area in the Piemonte region known for its mint and that is why this drink is popular there.
It was getting to be the time we would need to meet our tour group, so we said our good-byes and walked back to the hotel. As we walked into the lobby we were happy to see our good friend and tour guide Marcello. We sat down and had a nice long chat and caught up with what had been going on with him and his family. Then we were to meet back up with him and the other couple on the tour, at around 7:30pm. That was perfect for us, because we could avail ourselves of the bar at the hotel for aperitivo.
The bar at the Grand Hotel Sitea is small, but has lots of atmosphere and the most elegant aperitivo we’ve experienced. Service was efficient and mom and I each had a glass of Arneis wine and some really lovely little snacks.
We met Marcello and the others in the lobby at 7:30pm and took a short walk to dinner. Our first meal together was at Osteria degli Ottoni and it was another great experience of typical Piemontese foods. Marcello made sure we got a good taste of what the region has to offer.
For starters we had several small tastes of different local specialties, honestly, there were so many plates coming to the table I can hardly remember them all. We tasted another good version of carne crudo, some vitello tonnato, anchioves in a green sauce and a torte of peppers. Mom and I split an order of the tarjarin pasta and this was the best we had on the trip. For my main dish I had a deliciously moist and perfectly cooked guinea hen with more of those delightful local peppers. I wish I could remember what mom’s main dish was and I didn’t write it down, but I do remember she was pleased with it. For dessert mom and I shared warm peaches filled with chocolate, which were not too sweet but had lots of chocolate flavor. It was a perfect way to start our tour!
Dec 16th, 2014, 04:13 AM
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Sounds like you had a great time in Torino. As usual you gave some great information for someone planning a trip there - which I am. Next summer I'll be doing a mostly Northern Italy trip and was planning on a day trip to Torino from Milan but now after reading this I just rearranged things and I'm going for several days. I am deciding between either four nights which would give me three full days or three nights which would yield me two days plus most of a third day (different arrival times). Sounds like if I asked you if you though I should go for the longer time you'd say yes?
Did you get to the Parco del Valentino and Borgo Medioevale?
Did you get to the Parco del Valentino and Borgo Medioevale?
Dec 16th, 2014, 05:13 AM
#54
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Hi Isabel...
You are correct thinking I would say yes to staying longer in Torino, but any amount of time you can give it would be a good move.
We did not get to the Parco del Valentino or Borgo Medioevale. I read about them in my planning/research, but ultimately they dropped off my list for this trip, when I was working out how to fit the other things that were higher up on our "go to" list.
Enjoy your time there, I hope you like it as much as we did.
You are correct thinking I would say yes to staying longer in Torino, but any amount of time you can give it would be a good move.
We did not get to the Parco del Valentino or Borgo Medioevale. I read about them in my planning/research, but ultimately they dropped off my list for this trip, when I was working out how to fit the other things that were higher up on our "go to" list.
Enjoy your time there, I hope you like it as much as we did.
Dec 18th, 2014, 03:11 PM
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Sunday, September 7, 2014
The breakfast buffet at the Grand Hotel Sitea was extensive, there was so much variety on offer it was hard to choose. In the end, we had a typical breakfast for us, cappuccino, some type of toast/bread with a little cheese and prosciutto. It was all very good. We could have indulged in some Prosecco too, but our body clocks were telling us it wasn’t “time” yet for a bubbly beverage.
Part of the group wine tour itinerary included a city tour of Torino with a local guide and we met Laura in the lobby at around 10am. Having been in Torino for a week, many of the places we visited with Laura we had seen, but it was interesting to hear more about the city’s history from a professional who lives there. She also directed us to a church, just adjacent to the Royal Palace, we did not see earlier in the week. I’m glad she took the time to show us this small church, it was just beautiful inside, and we had been walking by it all week without knowing what a treasure was behind the plain building exterior.
The city walking tour ended around 12:30pm and mom and I stopped at one of the famous Torino cafes (Café Mussalano) for a cool drink. We each had an aqua di menthe and relaxed in our chairs under a portico and watched people walk by, it was a nice way to end our week stay in Torino.
On our way back to the hotel to meet Marcello and head out to our next destination mom and I happened upon an outdoor market and spent some time browsing and picking up a few little mementos for family back at home.
By 4pm we were all in Marcello’s car and driving out of Torino heading for the town of Dogliani in the Piemonte region. Dogliani would be our home away from home for the next five nights. As we approached the town center Marcello remarked that the Sagra del Dogliani was going on and if we wanted to check it out he would drive us back into town after we got settled into our accommodations. We thought that was a great idea.
We stayed at the Relais Poderi Einaudi just a few minutes (by car) outside the center of Dogliani. The website is here: http://www.relaiseinaudi.com/ This was a lovely guesthouse, adjacent to their winery. The view from our room was gorgeous. The accommodations were very comfortable and the staff was very pleasant. There is even a swimming pool shaped as a wine bottle and although the temperatures were warm enough to swim, neither mom nor I ever took a dip, maybe that’s a reason to return!
It didn’t take us long to get settled in and soon we were back in Marcello’s car and on our way to explore the Sagra del Dogliani. This was our first time at such a festival and mom and I were glad that we got to experience it, even if at 6pm things were starting to wind down. We poked around at the stalls set up selling all kinds of local food specialties. Mom even bought some black rice, which we still haven’t prepared, but I’m sure with mom’s great cooking skills and the bit of advice she got from the rice vendor she will be able to whip up a great dish.
As we meandered through the narrow streets of the center of Dogliani, we came upon a wine bar full of happy people and there were some open tables outside. Mom and I now looked at our watches and agreed it was “time” for a bubbly beverage! We sat down for our daily aperitivo and ordered 2 Aperol spritzes. They were perfect. Not long after, Marcello found us, and gathered us together to go to dinner.
Tonight’s dinner was at Il Torchio, which has a lovely, rather larger outdoor patio that was the perfect location for our first dinner in Dogliani. Here is their website: http://www.osteriavineriailtorchio.it/ Marcello and the wait staff conferred over the wine list and selected a couple different reds for us to try. Seeing that we would be drinking reds, mom and choose to go with meat main dishes. But first we enjoyed delicious first courses. Mom had an asparagus and leek flan which was creamy and was full of flavor and I had the local plin pasta. Both were good, but mom’s flan was the “winner” for that round. For main dishes I had the stracotto, which is similar to pot roast, with seasonal vegetables and it was perfectly cooked, I didn’t even need a knife to cut it, it was so tender. Mom had grilled steak with the best carrots she has ever had, or so she said! We ended the meal with our signature, espresso and digestivo. Mom enjoyed her limoncello and had an amaro. We then poured ourselves into Marcello’s car (good thing he was the designated driver) and we were back at the guesthouse in less than 10 minutes.
The breakfast buffet at the Grand Hotel Sitea was extensive, there was so much variety on offer it was hard to choose. In the end, we had a typical breakfast for us, cappuccino, some type of toast/bread with a little cheese and prosciutto. It was all very good. We could have indulged in some Prosecco too, but our body clocks were telling us it wasn’t “time” yet for a bubbly beverage.
Part of the group wine tour itinerary included a city tour of Torino with a local guide and we met Laura in the lobby at around 10am. Having been in Torino for a week, many of the places we visited with Laura we had seen, but it was interesting to hear more about the city’s history from a professional who lives there. She also directed us to a church, just adjacent to the Royal Palace, we did not see earlier in the week. I’m glad she took the time to show us this small church, it was just beautiful inside, and we had been walking by it all week without knowing what a treasure was behind the plain building exterior.
The city walking tour ended around 12:30pm and mom and I stopped at one of the famous Torino cafes (Café Mussalano) for a cool drink. We each had an aqua di menthe and relaxed in our chairs under a portico and watched people walk by, it was a nice way to end our week stay in Torino.
On our way back to the hotel to meet Marcello and head out to our next destination mom and I happened upon an outdoor market and spent some time browsing and picking up a few little mementos for family back at home.
By 4pm we were all in Marcello’s car and driving out of Torino heading for the town of Dogliani in the Piemonte region. Dogliani would be our home away from home for the next five nights. As we approached the town center Marcello remarked that the Sagra del Dogliani was going on and if we wanted to check it out he would drive us back into town after we got settled into our accommodations. We thought that was a great idea.
We stayed at the Relais Poderi Einaudi just a few minutes (by car) outside the center of Dogliani. The website is here: http://www.relaiseinaudi.com/ This was a lovely guesthouse, adjacent to their winery. The view from our room was gorgeous. The accommodations were very comfortable and the staff was very pleasant. There is even a swimming pool shaped as a wine bottle and although the temperatures were warm enough to swim, neither mom nor I ever took a dip, maybe that’s a reason to return!
It didn’t take us long to get settled in and soon we were back in Marcello’s car and on our way to explore the Sagra del Dogliani. This was our first time at such a festival and mom and I were glad that we got to experience it, even if at 6pm things were starting to wind down. We poked around at the stalls set up selling all kinds of local food specialties. Mom even bought some black rice, which we still haven’t prepared, but I’m sure with mom’s great cooking skills and the bit of advice she got from the rice vendor she will be able to whip up a great dish.
As we meandered through the narrow streets of the center of Dogliani, we came upon a wine bar full of happy people and there were some open tables outside. Mom and I now looked at our watches and agreed it was “time” for a bubbly beverage! We sat down for our daily aperitivo and ordered 2 Aperol spritzes. They were perfect. Not long after, Marcello found us, and gathered us together to go to dinner.
Tonight’s dinner was at Il Torchio, which has a lovely, rather larger outdoor patio that was the perfect location for our first dinner in Dogliani. Here is their website: http://www.osteriavineriailtorchio.it/ Marcello and the wait staff conferred over the wine list and selected a couple different reds for us to try. Seeing that we would be drinking reds, mom and choose to go with meat main dishes. But first we enjoyed delicious first courses. Mom had an asparagus and leek flan which was creamy and was full of flavor and I had the local plin pasta. Both were good, but mom’s flan was the “winner” for that round. For main dishes I had the stracotto, which is similar to pot roast, with seasonal vegetables and it was perfectly cooked, I didn’t even need a knife to cut it, it was so tender. Mom had grilled steak with the best carrots she has ever had, or so she said! We ended the meal with our signature, espresso and digestivo. Mom enjoyed her limoncello and had an amaro. We then poured ourselves into Marcello’s car (good thing he was the designated driver) and we were back at the guesthouse in less than 10 minutes.
Dec 19th, 2014, 10:33 AM
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Ozgirl07...welcome aboard, thanks for reading along.
annhig...yes, it was a VERY small group, just 4 of us. Me, my mom and a couple from California. We all fit comfortably in Marcello's car (including our luggage in the rear storage area of the car!) . Typically he would have a mini-bus and driver, but it's never more than 8-10 people on his tours. With such a small group a mini-bus wasn't needed. The other couple was with us during the wine tour portion of the trip, but we had plenty of time to do things/explore on our own in the places we visited on the tour.
annhig...yes, it was a VERY small group, just 4 of us. Me, my mom and a couple from California. We all fit comfortably in Marcello's car (including our luggage in the rear storage area of the car!) . Typically he would have a mini-bus and driver, but it's never more than 8-10 people on his tours. With such a small group a mini-bus wasn't needed. The other couple was with us during the wine tour portion of the trip, but we had plenty of time to do things/explore on our own in the places we visited on the tour.
