Left San Cristina Valgardena and headed towards our home exchange in
Piedmonte, which is a famed wine region in Italy but is still largely off the tourist hot spot lists.
Took the toll roads and
whizzed away from the steep vineyards of the Val Gardena region and to the northern Italian foothills
which had fruit trees (on an industrial scale): apples, probably cherries and
apricot, some kiwifruit and market gardening. Then onto the proper Italian
plains of cereals being harvested, along with some sunflower crops.
Arrived at the city of Asti, near our destination at around
1 pm, and at 38 C it was mainly deserted on a Sunday afternoon. Italian shops
close on Sunday’s or if not they definitely close for siesta during the middle
of the day. Had lunch at a café on the square then drove the 30 minutes to
Julie and Peter’s place… our base for the next 6 nights. This is the first of our 6 home exchange properties for this trip, Julie and Peter had stayed at Isabella's Cottage in Arrowtown in March 2018 meaning this is our reciprocal visit.
Wow.... pretty much sums up our accommodation, Casa Fonda is a 2 apartment B&B set among the rolling hills
of grapes, and hazelnut trees, and is complete with an infinity pool
overlooking the surrounding countryside… heaven!
Our apartment, the largest of the 2, is a lovely converted hayloft above what would have originally been the livestock stalls back in the day but which are now Julie and Peter's residence. Julie cooked us a beautiful meal that evening and along with Peter provided lots of advice on what to do if we can tear ourselves away from the pool.
Our apartment, the largest of the 2, is a lovely converted hayloft above what would have originally been the livestock stalls back in the day but which are now Julie and Peter's residence. Julie cooked us a beautiful meal that evening and along with Peter provided lots of advice on what to do if we can tear ourselves away from the pool.
Monday was a very relaxed day, catch up on some blog and generally
blob! We walked 10 minutes up the country road that night for dinner at a
family run, and very authentic, farm house restaurant. Lovely meal with wine, bread,
marinated meat, lasagna and desert of panna cotta and melted chocolate log. This
was accompanied by a complimentary desert wine and grappa (liqueur) to finish
off, really nice: welcome to Italy cuisine proper. A little bit worried during the meal as a huge thunderstorm struck, and like naughty children we hadn't remembered (or even thought of) our jackets... but it cleared before our homeward walk.
Tuesday we did a bit of local exploring, the area is rolling
hills with the top of most hills being home to an historic village dating from
12-1600’s with the bottom of the hills being the ‘modern parts’, from the
18-1900’s. All have vineyards and wine tasting, but with the driving and the
heat the wine did not appeal so we just wandered and enjoyed. Did we mention
the whole region is a UNESCO World Heritage area?
We visited Neive (5 minutes away) a lovely quiet cobblestone
town dating back to 1000 BC with well preserved buildings many of which date from the 17-18th century. Then onto the village of Barbaresco, dating from the 11th century. Barbaresco wine is ‘the’ wine of the area, hence this is ‘the’ village although in our
opinion not as pretty as some of the others we visit in the region.
The next morning we took the first ferry to the island San Giulio, 5 minutes from the township. The island was originally a religious
retreat and St Giulio is buried here. It is dominated by the Romanesque Basilica and
the Benedictine abbey. There is one narrow path winding its way around some of the
island which is called the Way of silence and meditation. There is also some
private villas on the waters edge which were once priest residences. It still
has a convent of cloistered nuns living permanently on the island. Still
promoted as an island of silence and meditation it is very peaceful (particularly as we were ahead of the crowds for the day!).
After driving around to the other side of Lake Orta to briefly visit villages such as Pella Piedmont we drove back to our home exchange, 1.5 hours, for a swim
Onto Alba for lunch, quite a big town and home to Ferrero
Rocher chocolates. Unfortunately it is all top secret so no chocolate factory
tours here! In fact we couldn’t even find it. Ferrero Rocher make Nutella spread and
Kinder surprise choc’s as well.
Continuing our small village visits, we moved right along to Castiglione Falletto.
A lovely town with a castle built in the 1st century AD, and owned
by the Falletto family from 12-1900. The last village to visit for the day was Monforte d’Alba, our
favourite we think, beautiful old buildings with magic views over the area
beyond.
Finding some lakes...
Wednesday we hit the motorway again and drove 1.5 hours north to Lake Maggiore, the second largest lake in Italy. The lake crosses the border so it is located in both Italy and Switzerland. The Simplon railway tunnel which was opened in 1906 meant easier access and more people to increase the area as a tourist destination and connected Switzerland and Italy under the high pass. The lake is surrounded by hills and terracotta roofed towns and villages, we parked up in the town of Stresa which is a resort town with history dating back to at least the 1200’s. It had some very grand late 1800/early 1900 hotels.
Wednesday we hit the motorway again and drove 1.5 hours north to Lake Maggiore, the second largest lake in Italy. The lake crosses the border so it is located in both Italy and Switzerland. The Simplon railway tunnel which was opened in 1906 meant easier access and more people to increase the area as a tourist destination and connected Switzerland and Italy under the high pass. The lake is surrounded by hills and terracotta roofed towns and villages, we parked up in the town of Stresa which is a resort town with history dating back to at least the 1200’s. It had some very grand late 1800/early 1900 hotels.
Is it, yes.... Switzerland over there....
Boats run from the shore to the Borromean
Island’s. During the 16/17th centuries island palaces were
constructed on 2 of the islands. Isola Bella had a palace finished in the 1690’s
and a huge structured garden, whilst Isola Madre had a palace built in 1580,
and the third island Isola Dei Pescatori is an old fishing village left as is
(but presumably with ice cream shops!!). We didn’t think we had the time to
boat across and explore properly, so instead opted for a Gelato on the shore
and drove the short distance to Lake Orta, a smaller less tourist-ed lake over the hill from
Lake Maggiore.
We checked into our hotel located high on the hill
overlooking the Lake, stunning views. Drove down to the town of Orta San Giulio,
a beautiful medieval town located on an eastern peninsula. Many narrow,
winding, cobblestone streets with a 15th century church of Maria
Assunta and the Palazzo Della. Lots of arty shops and restaurants, a great
place to wander around. Certainly would not be easy to drive as we watched a local fold back their side mirrors and gingerly negotiate a street.
After dinner of pizza we walked the hill overlooking the town… the Sacro Monte of Orta, a complex of 20 chapels (out of original plans to erect 36) built over a 200 year period from the late 1500's with quite a few undergoing restoration.
After dinner of pizza we walked the hill overlooking the town… the Sacro Monte of Orta, a complex of 20 chapels (out of original plans to erect 36) built over a 200 year period from the late 1500's with quite a few undergoing restoration.
One of the chapels on Sacro Monte
After driving around to the other side of Lake Orta to briefly visit villages such as Pella Piedmont we drove back to our home exchange, 1.5 hours, for a swim
Our last day at Julie and Peter’s we did laundry and headed
off to visit another hilltop village, but discovered it was closed off for the day due to a summer concert series (the previous night had been Liam Gallagher, Macklemore another night and Sting on the list along with Italian artists over a 2 week period) so headed
back to Alba for lunch.
In the evening we took our hosts out to dinner at a local,
and very close, popular craft beer brewery (located in the middle of a wine
region!!) for beer and pizza… a great way to finish the week.
We left by 9 am, heading to Cinque Terre on the Italian
coast, about 3.5 hours drive. Leaving Julie and Peter's we wound our way through vineyards on
ever decreasing road widths (and they were narrow for a start); what
the GPS was doing was questionable but it was in the right direction. Stopped at Acqua Terme, a
thermal spa town in the Piedmont region dating from Roman times. Not sure how
much spa activity there is now but there are still ancient baths from Roman Times. In 1870 a pavilion was built in the centre of town where hot spring water pours
out…. Very hot!, with temps varying but up to 75 C. No hot water signs, fences
etc?. People were filling containers, presumably to take home to soak with.
Definitely too hot to soak straight out of the source.
Back on the road and negotiated our way through Genoa, due to a
major (and tragic) highway bridge collapse in 2018 the traffic is still diverted and slow... as well our GPS was very confused and had a bit of a moment, along with Noel!. We didn’t stop in the city but opted for a
roadside stop down the coast a little which was very busy and very hot at 36 C.
Wound
our way down twisty narrow roads to the Cinque Terre town of Monterosso al Mare where we are
staying for the next 3 nights. Cinque Terre is the Five Towns dating from the 11th century set along the Italian Riviera coastline. The coastal villages are clinging to the rocks and surrounded by terraced vineyards and olive trees. Tourism has been growing since the 1970's bringing revived prosperity.... and an awful lot of people!
Our hotel was very easy to find and in the perfect location, and once the car was carefully stowed in the provided park (beneath a railway bridge) we could soak up the atmosphere. Our hotel is right on the waterfront with a balcony in the room overlooking the beach…. Well done Noel! (more good luck than good management). The town was very, very busy with sunbathers and tourists, a lot of American accents as well as Italian holiday makers.
Our hotel was very easy to find and in the perfect location, and once the car was carefully stowed in the provided park (beneath a railway bridge) we could soak up the atmosphere. Our hotel is right on the waterfront with a balcony in the room overlooking the beach…. Well done Noel! (more good luck than good management). The town was very, very busy with sunbathers and tourists, a lot of American accents as well as Italian holiday makers.
