2011 June - Langhe Trip - l'Antico Asilo

This might sound like a bit of an advertisement but we realy liked the B&B we stayed at in Serralunga d'Alba.  It is called l'Antico Asilo and it is located on the perimiter of the town.  The B&B is run by Elena, a young lady that lives near by.  The street is quiet and lined with trees and flowers.  The view just outside the B&B lookes over the Langhe hillside while the rooms look into a nice garden/courtyard.  The guest rooms are a nice size and have a sitting area in loft above that looks down into the room.  So it is much more spacious then most B&Bs.   The decorations in rooms are nicely done with matching bedding and chair covers.  The reception is large for a B&B and very ornate.  The the breakfast room is cozzy with has about four tables.  Breakfast includes fresh baked goods that Elena makes herself along with a great selection of local cheeses.  Of course there were the usual choices of cereal, breads, yogurt, etc...

It was a very nice place to base our short tour from.

There are a few restaurants within easy walking distance.  One,  Cascina Schiavenza, is very good and is associated with a very good winery.  It features traditional Piemontese dishes.  As is typical here, there is a menu of the day that provides a multi-course meal that includes a sampling of appetizers,  a pasta dish, a main course, and dessert for a fixed price.

2011 June Langhe Trip - Barolo

The first stop on our tour of Langhe was the town of Barolo.  I mentioned this town in my post "Sideways" so I won't describe it again here.  But we did spend some time seeing the sights there.  First stop was the wine museum.  It gives a nice overview of the history and development of wine from 10,000 BC to now.  There are a lot of references to wine and its relation to historical events, historical figures, and mythology.  Later in the museum, it narrates the history of the family that owned the castle that houses the museum and their involvement in the promotion of the local wine industry and their relation to the people the led the unification of Italy in the mid 19th century.

The rooms that represent the family living quarters have a number of interesting decorative elements that provides some ideas to emulate.  It is amazing what effects can be accomplished with paint.  In particular there is on room that seems to be covered with very expensive satin wallpaper but in reality it is simply a very effective execution in paint.  Very impressive.

A second stop was the cork screw museum.  I bit of a tourist trap, but it is a good place to buy a unique T-shirt.  And there is a moderately interesting display of hundreds of cork screws for Europe and North America.

Final stop in town was for lunch.  Since we arrived a little late, the place was already packed both inside and the outside seating areas.  When we stepped in, the staff was fully occupied and the proprietor was away from the counter located near the door.  But there seemed to be a couple tables remaining open so we decided to wait for someone to seat us as we stood a couple feet from the counter.  A few minutes later the proprietor arrived at the counter just as a couple of twentysomethings stepped in...  A rather aggressive Miss High Maintenance scooted between Queen Bee and the counter and got the attention of the proprietor first.  Of course they were instantly seated while we were left standing.  QB buzzed angrily.  Luckily there was the second table (directly next to the Miss HM and her perspective mate).  It was a little difficult to calm the angry bee and avoid a stinging encounter but as the food arrived QB moved on and we enjoy a simple lunch (gnocchi for QB and risotto for me) and nice dessert.

2011 June Langhe Trip - La Morra

The second stop on Day 2 of our Langhe trip was La Morra.  Rather than being nestled in a valley like Barolo, La Morra is one of the hilltop towns of Langhe.  We were just passing through to see the sights so we didn't do much there other than taking photo's.  But we did see an elderly (70's) gentleman dress as a western sherif.  You don't see that everyday in Italy.  But no one in town seemed to take notice, so perhaps it is more normal than we would guess...

Beyond that we ended our walk at the town cantina (community wine shop that features the local vineyards).  Unfortunately we had left our wine guides back at the car.  There seemed to be a zillion types and makes to chose from but we were pretty clueless so we grabbed two bottles from a maker that looked familiar (from our tasting in Barolo earlier in the day).  At 5 euro a bottle they seemed like low risk.

The cantina included a small lecture hall the was evocative of a wine cellar.  Very nicely styled with a mix of old structure and modern lighting elements.



















Here are a few shots from the city streets....

2011 Langhe Trip - Monteforte d'Alba

Monteforte d'Alba was the third of three cities we visited on day 2 of our Langhe trip (June 2).  It is one of the many hilltop towns in the Langhe area of Piemonte.  QB and I were only there an hour or so, walking around and taking photo's so there is not much to tell.  We did see a number of interesting approaches to exterior ornamentation that we took note of.  Some are shown in the photo's below.  The streets are very steep and it is a bit of exercise just exploring the town.  There was one wine bar and an osteria that looked interesting for future reference.  Otherwise it was just an opportunity to take photo's.

As nearly always we found some interesting combinations of unrelated items that make a scene interesting (for example the scooter and rose bush above).

Seen along the streets...

The town viewed from the outdoor theatre at the top of the hill...


























More street scenes...

2011 June Langhe Trip - Cortemilia

Friday, the last day of our tour of the Langhe.  We decided to drive through the hills to the town of Cortemilia.  When I was here a month ago, it seemed the roads in this direction were particularly scenic and pleasant.  Following check-out at the B&B at 11:00 am.,  the hour or so drive would get us into Cortemilia a little before lunch.  This would let us walk about a little then grab quick lunch before taking leisurely drive back to Torino where we had reserved for the evening's dinner.

The day was cloudy and a little hazy as well, continuing the trend for the holiday weekend.  But the green of the Langhe hills looks splendid in any case.  Perhaps the way the green hills Ireland always seems attractive in photo's with fog and mist. The roads were curvy, narrow, and hilly but there was minimal traffic so the drive was nice.

Once arriving in Cortemilia, we decided to call a coworker that lives there with his parents on weekends to see if he would like to meet us for a coffee.  After a few moments of comparing schedules, we concurred on a  on a coffee at 2:00 at his parents house, hoping they would not go to a lot of trouble.  (Keeping in mind the last time I stopped by their house for lunch, I was treated to a wonderful 10 course Piemontese dinner!)

So we went about our mid day knowing we would have a nice chat and coffee in a couple hours.  QB lost no time finding the open air market and noticed a number of clothing items she needed for the summer.  For my part, it was a welcome discovery as the last time we shopped in Torino was pretty much a disaster.  I.e. little selection, long lines at the check out, and nothing looked right.  So about 5 itmes, 15 minutes, and  50 Euro's later, the need for summer clothing update was satiated.  Not a bad outcome just as the market was winding down for the day.

This gave us about an hour to kill, which we used to check out the town, take some photo's, and take a light lunch.  Wikipedia says Cortemilia has a population of about 2500 but it seems significantly larger than that.   In terms of structures it looks two or three times the size of Chelsea, but in Chelsea, or other rural American towns, you only see the commercial core,  and a lot of the population is disbursed in the surrounding neighborhoods and countryside.  In Italy, even the small towns are dense with multistory dwellings so it probably seems more populous then it really is.  Like many small Italian towns, Cortemilia has seen many businesses leave the city, and as a result the population has diminished since its peak a hundred years ago.  The town is a mix of nicely maintained or restructured building along with some more weathered  structures.  In either case the town has a lot of character and seems like a nice place to live.   There are many more covered porticos along the shopping streets then you generally see in a town this size.  This would seem to indicate a vibrant economy in the past.  Nestled in the Langhe hills and less than an hour from the sea, it is easy to see why the young people are disappointed that most work is elsewhere in Italy now.

How many towns you know have a thousand year old Saracen tower overlooking the town.  Along with the tower shown above.  I am posting a small selection that captures some of the town.

Catching Up

It has been a busy spring and I have been a bit negligent in keeping up with regular posts.  Thursday June 2 was a holiday here and the office chose to shut down Wednesday and Friday as well, so we ended up with a 5 day weekend.

It seemed a waste to sit around for five days while we are here in Italy, so we decided to do a little adventure for three days then use the remaining two to catch up on things and rest a little.  As I said, spring has been busy and two days to recover before summer comes along seems like a good idea.  So now I have a couple days to go back through the notes and photo's and update my journal.

I'll post these as a series which will probably be, more or less, in reverse order of the spring agenda to date. First will be the short trip to Langhe with Queen Bee, revisiting the area I described in my "Sideways" post early in spring.