Wednesday morning, Lance, Taylor and I take a taxi to Sixt rental car by the Torino train station. In parallel universes, Carolyn Jim and Alexi, Mom, Stacey and Jeff do the same. We all drive out to Grinzane Cavour, situated in the rolling hillsides 15 minutes from Alba and a one-block walk from the Unesco Heritage site castle of the same name as the town:
We are staying in a lovely inn, replete with brick walls, sitting rooms with fireplaces, and low-slung ceilings.
Lance’s daughter Evelyn is supposed to arrive today, so he checks incoming emails and texts while the rest of us have a bite of lunch at a little trattoria upstairs from the coffee shop next door. She arrives safe and sound – after walking from the Alba train station! – and the 3 young adults are ensconced in a cute little 2 bedroom apartment we found in Airbnb barely a block from our place.
That evening we enjoyed an incredible meal at a place we’d reserved, and the truffles were shaved fast and often:
awaiting the shave:
and getting it:
but there was more than mushrooms to be had:
The next couple of days we all enjoy trips into Alba, which was excellent because once the weekend arrived, the place was mad with visitors to the Truffle festival and weekend flea markets. So much to keep us ogling:
Including which shoe store to pillage. Taylor figured it out fast!
One of the bet meals of the trip included pumpkin soup with little tortoloni and black truffles:
We went on excursions in various combinations: first to a winery/vineyard that a friend of Jim’s recommended (La Spinetta) and then to one that mom’s Torino tour guide recommended (Marchesa?). i declined to join either, not being a big wine person, and as the pressure of all the planning of the trip had me emotionally under the weather (like in dark stormy seas: watch out everyone!), I just went for walks and read in the room.
The festival was a blast, and we all sniffed the wild fungi:
ate in the snack bar:
and enjoyed tasting wines with the handy cup necklace:
Stacey, Jeff and mom left directly from the festival for Milan, and the rest of us continued to explore. One day, Evelyn, Taylor, Lance and I went out to Barbaresco (aren’t they famous for their wines?), where we enjoyed walking to the local castle (couldn’t go up because closed),
and back down through the tiny town. Evelyn and Taylor stopped into the back of a packed little restaurant for a coffee and biscotti:
and then we met up with Lance at the car (couldn’t find him until he sat up from resting with the seat back; poor thing had a bad cold) and headed along to Neive, an incredibly beautiful medieval town. Had to pee so bad before we got there, that Lance stopped on the side of the road, ostensibly because I want to get a close-up look at the trees that had me stumped (yes, pun intended) about their variety. As I walked around them, looking for fallen fruit or something to give me a clue, I dropped trou and enjoyed eyeing the long lines of the vineyard, which was one of th few that hadn’t been harvested yet:
I know what you’re thinking and of course I grabbed a few! Very yummy and ready to burst out of their skins.
Stopped into “the” place for lunch, but couldn’t get in. Went down the line of recommended places in person or by phone and basically were laughed at everywhere. We finally found a place that would take us at 2, so we hopped in the car, headed down the hill and had a long, fun meal.
and there are sharks everywhere!
Getting late, but we headed back up to the town and enjoyed a walking tour, complete with a baroque church:
and views of rolling countryside:
in the drizzle:
Such a fun day of wandering through little towns and just being present. There’s one on every hilltop, that’s for sure!