Vines, Vines, Everywhere Some Vines

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September 28



Last night we did not eat in the only restaurant in Vinchio, as planned, because it was closed again due to the grape harvest. We drove to a nearby spot recommended by our hosts (turns out their names are Marisa and Mario, not Maria - ). We arrived at 8:00 and were the first people of the night, but soon there were several other tables including one family group celebrating a man's 35th birthday, and at another table an older man with a much younger, and very over-dressed for the setting, woman. It is white truffle season and on a table in the center of the room, on a cake platter, were displayed several small gnarly white truffles. The cover was lifted when we arrived so that diners could go and smell the truffles. That was enough for me. I imagine it is an acquired taste, but they smelled too earthy, or something like that, for me. Besides, they charge by the gram as they shave the truffle onto your food and it gets very expensive, very quickly. It was a nice dinner and I won't go into the details of what we ate because I realized that I appear overly focused on food, and my waistline is starting to reflect that fact.



Today we had breakfast served by Marisa/Maria (Later I was asking Mario where Maria was and he kept looking at me like I was an idiot so I went back to my notes and discovered that I am, in fact, an idiot.) By 10:30 we were on our way to Acqui Terme, a nearby town with an ancient history, which included Roman occupation in 172 BC. The town is known for many things including its hot springs and spas.



We decided to take the tiniest roads possible in order to visit several other villages along the way. We stopped many times for photos of the views, which are of vineyards in every direction, as far as we can see, with towns, each with its own cathedral at the very top, perched on the hills in the midst of the vineyards. It would be incredible to see this in a couple weeks when the leaves on the vines change to golden and red.



We stopped in a village called Fontanile which has an impressive cathedral with a dome that can be seen from miles away, but the doors were locked so we were not able to see inside the cathedral. We also walked around Alice Bel Colle, a village that appears to be the highest in the area. As we walked across the piazza the church bells were ringing noon and they played a special tune that I recorded on my phone. There was a market set up in the piazza, across from the bar. I went to the door of the church at the far end of the piazza and was happy to find it open. The inside was beautiful and along the ceiling there were several frescoes depicting the life of John the Baptist. I commented to Sam that this church must have something to do with John the Baptist and when we went back out we saw that the name was San Giovanni de Baptiste (or close to that).



We climbed up some stairs and along a path and came upon a very thin snake that had swallowed a very large snail. The snake was flipping around and looked like it was tied in a knot, but finally it got itself straightened out enough to slither away, but it looked really uncomfortable with the shape of a huge snail shell about an inch below its head. Bleh! Anyhow, the path led to a knoll that was the highest point in this highest village and the 360 degree view was stunning. I took several panoramic shots. Every piece of land that is not covered by a village or villa, is planted in grape vines. It was so impressive. While we enjoyed the view we heard bells and cheering and horns and in the distance, at a smaller church we could see a bride and groom leaving the church while a crown cheered for them. Afterwards we stopped at the bar for espresso and cappuccino.



One of the things we are noticing here in Italy is how friendly people are. People wave and smile and greet us, and everyone who has helped us in any way has been very warm and kind. We didn't notice this as much in Spain and France, and the people in Southern Italy are known to be more open and friendly than those in the north, but at least here in the wine country of Piemonte, everyone has been friendly.



We arrived in Acqui Terme just as the shutters on the stores were being pulled down for the afternoon. We had three hours before things would open up again. We parked in a lot and as we stared at the ticket machine wondering what to do a man came over, showed us a euro coin, put the coin in the machine, pushed a button and out came the ticket. He made sure that we understood all this before leaving us. We are clearly, and obviously, clueless.



We strolled around the beautiful town center and were able to go into the impressive cathedral. Outside the cathedral there were nuns with a shop vac cleaning up rice from an earlier wedding. Since things were quiet we decided to eat some lunch. We stopped at a small trattoria called "Farinata Mazzini." It was on a side street and when we went in the waitress told us it was all full. I must have shown my disappointment because she immediately said, "maybe we can do something." The next couple to arrive were turned away. While we waited for our table we watched the farinata baker as he prepared a giant farinata in his wood-fired oven. I have made farinata at home - it is a thin bread made with garbanzo bean flour. It seems to be a specialty in this area.



Finally we were seated in a small room with two other tables where about 10 BMW motorcycle club members were having a fun lunch together. It was a lively group and we enjoyed listening to them. One of the men had ordered a plate of grilled sardines and he offered some to me and Sam - we each had one but could have eaten more. We then had farinata, and were instructed to grind pepper all over it, then Sam had pasta with funghi and I had pasta with black truffle (not as strong as the white truffle). When the motorcycle group left they all called "Ciao!" to us and wished us good days. Later one of the men drove his bike by us as we walked around town and waved enthusiastically, and even later we passed our waitress and her young daughter and the waitress seemed excited to see us again. It was fun to run into two people we recognized in this busy town. Again, people are being so friendly to us.



The shops all re-opened at 4:00 so we did some shopping, mostly looking, and we were able to purchase a new SIM card from Vodafone, so this should take care of our phone problems for the rest of the trip. We don't need it for much, but we do have some places we have to contact within an hour of arriving and this will make it much more manageable. Before returning to Vinchio we stopped for gelato. The thing I love about getting gelato is that everyone does it. There are old and young people, and families and couples - Everyone just enjoying this simple delight. It is a good habit.



Tonight we are in early - we can't handle another late-night dinner, it is hard to sleep on a full stomach. Tomorrow we leave Vinchio and go on to Reggio Emilia.



Ciao

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