Everyone’s travel experiences are different; some remember the grandiose and others zero in on the simple things of life in another place. I tend to look fondly upon both as I reflect on my northern Italian experience. Paul and I met up in Milan 10 days before our vacation rental started and immediately took the train to Venice, the city on the water. I was more impressed than I thought I would be; the city was not too crowded and the canal waters were clear with none of the smell you often read about. Our delightful bed and breakfast was on a quiet street with easy access to the water taxis and our knowledgeable tour guide moved us effortlessly thru the city including the islands of Murano (glass) and Burano (pastel painted houses). I didn’t like all the graffiti but I would return in a heartbeat as 3 days provided only a glimpse of the city. We then traveled to the city of Ravenna, where some of the oldest preserved mosaics can be seen. A guided hike in the hills capped off our experience here and then it was back to Milan where Paul dropped me and a traveling companion off for five days while he returned to his student summer program in Switzerland. He got quite the chuckle out of seeing our “deer in the headlights” look as he left us to our own devices in the city. We did quite well navigating the subway system visiting many of the city highlights but most enjoyed our time rifling through discount fabric stores in the fashion capital of Europe. These purchases might have had something to do with my overweight luggage upon our return to the states.
After 10 days of hot tiring city touring it was time to head to our vacation home in Piedmont, the northwestern most province of Italy from which you can view the Alps on a clear day. Paul sent us on the train as airport pick up of our first guests filled up the rental van. As such, he saw the villa before I did and when he texted me that it not only met but exceeded our expectations, I knew we had made a good accommodation choice for the month. The villa was a 200 year old 5 story stone dwelling perched in a hill village above an old church (with very active ringing bells). The layout was very confusing and guests often wandered aimlessly the first few days of their stay. I will talk more about life in the villa in my next article but, suffice it to say, it was lovely!
We enjoyed the history and architecture of the region throughout our stay by visiting many small hill villages all of which included a medieval tower, several gothic churches, a wine store, restaurant, small convenience store and post office. Not so different from the rural towns in the Midwest although the older Italian men sit and chat on benches in the village center instead of settling into Hardees for the afternoon. Most villages have a market day every week where vendors set up in a central location and sell all matter of household items, personal products, clothing, produce and various regional food items. I dare not forget about the local tradition of “reposa” where everything shuts down and everyone goes home to rest between 12:30-3:30 in the afternoon. This took some schedule adjustment but I think once you got used to this lifestyle you could never return to our hectic way of life.
I felt right at home getting to know the multigenerational farmers who continue the family business of growing grapes and making wine. Few are getting rich but all spoke of being grateful for their life work in the family vineyard and winery. Because the wineries are small family businesses including work in the vineyard, it is imperative to schedule visits (often private) ahead. These visits often include a walk in the vineyard and a tour of the winery along with a formal tasting experience including bread, cheese, sausage or even a full five course lunch in larger wineries. Usually several family members or paid staff in larger wineries speak English so communication is not a problem. We orchestrated at least one of these experiences for each set of guests at the villa and good times were had by all. One of my favorite experiences was a hike in the Alta (high) Langhe hills which included lunch at a sheep farm that makes artisanal cheeses. Again, this included a five course lunch capped off by a tasting of the cheeses made on the farm. In general, the local food in northern Italy, especially the homemade pasta, was delicious. There are upward of 1000 wineries in northern Italy so the many varieties of grapes grown in the region produce both white and red wines in the old world style and are quite nice. Although most are quite dry, which is my personal preference, I have a new appreciation for a sweeter wine as an aperitif, hello Moscato di’ Asti.
We found the train system in northern Italy quite navigable and car travel very doable with phone and/or rental car GPS. Also helpful for road travel was the roundabout system where you can continue driving around in a circle until you figure out what spoke you need to take out of the hub. The vacation house was in a very rural area of Piedmont where few people spoke English but, nonetheless, were very hospitable and always willing to attempt communication. We were fortunate to come upon James, the owner of the Wine Story restaurant, who spent many years working in England and spoke English fluently. He became our village translator and problem solver for the month and we returned the favor by bringing each group of guests to his restaurant for dinner at least one night during their visit.
There is so much more to share but I am way over my word limit so must put this article to bed. Stay tuned for next week’s article profiling our time at the villa. 2018