July 4-6
After a quick few hours in Milano, we headed southwest via car. We used Waze to navigate our way around and were happy to find my Waze still set to avoid highways from our California trip. We only hit the Autostrada a couple of times, otherwise, we were taken through sun-baked pink and yellow Italian towns the whole way. This is a very touristy post.
We’re staying in an AirBnB in Grinzane Cavour, just a tiny village outside of Alba. The days have been sunny and hot, and it’s taken some time to cool off in the evenings. That, with our jet lag, has our schedules all messed. We’re next door to the local castle, which is beautiful and romantic, and the bells rang throughout the day. The feel reminded me of the movie The American, as he works on his clandestine project and hides his hammering by the toll of the bells. For us, being next door, they might as well be half hourly alarm clocks. I can remember the 5 AM bell thinking, why didn’t I just take an Ambien?
Up early to beat some of the heat, we have plans for winery and Osteria visits today. One is a large estate that was originally hunting grounds for King Vittoro Emanuele II. While another was opened by a trio of twenty-something siblings, one runs the B&B, the other the restaurant, and the other the winery. There is also a hiking loop that goes through three villages including Barolo. With a high of 95, and not a cloud in the sky, we’ll see how far we go.
Milano images below, Piedmont/Alba/Barolo to follow.
