I was distressed to discover that an entry we had made in Canelli never seemed to have made it to the website. Tom, Sharry and I collaborated on a witty report of our travels in and around Canelli the first several days of our trip.
Tom drove expertly from Milan to Canelli where we stayed at La luna e i Falo ("The Moon and the Bonfires"), where we had an apartment that slept all of us. It is beautifully situated, but the real selling point were the meals prepared by Ester Canero and served by her charming husband, Franco. All three evenings we chose to dine there. The quality and value were unbeatable and it was good not to be on the road after dark! This is an area where one must have a car.
On Sunday we drove through Alba, Grinzane di Cavour, Barolo and La Morra. Each of these is a picturesque ancient hilltop town surrounded by miles and miles and miles of vineyards. The terrain is of hills and valleys and the hairpin turns were breathtaking! Sadly, the rain virtually never stopped. But of course, rain doesn't detract from the taste of amazing food and vino!
On Monday we drove to Acqui Terme, much of which was "chiuso" (closed) on Monday, but we did visit the spa with its warm water spring in the town center. From there onto Ovada and Gavi. Less rain this day, but cloudy. Found a lovely vineyard, Rovereto, open, where we did a little tasting and saw the inner workings of a vineyard. We purchased several bottles.
It would be great to come back to this region in the autumn.
Today, the sun is shining brightly in Verona and we have spent several hours today touring the sites--the coliseum, the Teatro Romano and one of the most magnificient churches I have ever seen, the Duomo of Verona.
Last night we had a small meal (that is, one or two courses instead of 4!) at a little local trattoria, and about 3/4 of the menu involved HORSE or DONKEY. Ay yi yi! I took a gamble and ordered spaghetti Bolognese (it was delicious) and then endured bad horse-y puns from Tom and Sherry all night.
Tomorrow we catch a train to Rome and Tom goes to Bellagio. Arrivederci!
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