Blogs from Piedmont, Italy, Europe - page 3

As the title of this blog indicates there were a few challenges to our travel but more to come on that. The morning, after enjoying breakfast in the hotel’s panoramic breakfast room overlooking the lake and the Alps, started with another walk by the lake to keep the legs stretched out before our 2 hour trip from Lausanne to Stresa. The views across to Evian and Thonon ( both places we have enjoyed) was stunning with the sun glinting off the water. Very relaxing. Later we headed up the steep hills to reach the old town with its impressive gothic cathedral, which is amazing inside with an impressive organ and console - it would be good to try that out! The building was so peaceful and the colours of the stained glass windows created amazing colours ... read more

Admittedly I am writing this blog some time after the actual trip, and so the sun soaked intensity of the entire experience is somewhat muted. Isn’t that always the way with the limitation of words? I still thought it worth documenting what was a vacation, a studious affair, the pursuit of a passion and the exploration of a potential future in food. I spent a week at the L'Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche (the University of Gastronomic Sciences UNISG) in Bra; the home of the Slow Food movement. I chose rather than the university accommodation, a nearby hotel. I was after all an adult student and far beyond the years of scraping by on my university overdraft facility. The entire experience was reminiscent of starting a new programme, of meeting new friends, of learning, creating, ... read more

In late May, the European Conference of Work and Organizational Psychology took me to Turin in Italy. I arrived there in the evening and met a few acquaintances in the airport. They were, of course, going to attend the conference as well. We shared a taxi into the city, I checked into my hotel and then met my former colleagues Richie, Lena, and Mats for a very tasty Italian dinner. The Italian cuisine is one of my favourite cuisines, and I love Italy in general: not only the food, the ice-cream and the coffee (I usually drink way too much coffee when I’m there just because I like it so much, so my heart is racing quite often), but also the people, the language (it is so passionate), the landscapes, the many historic sites one can ... read more

This morning was a beautiful, clear and sparkling day on Lake Maggiore. It was hard to think about leaving. Last night we hung out on the rooftop, drinking a little wine, watching the sunset all around the Lake. It is a stunning place! Before we leave the Lake District I have a quiz for my readers. What do you think this part of the bathroom fixture is for? See photo. The Hotel de Palma was renovated in recent times and it is modern and lovely. We boarded a bus and headed South, driving through wine country with hillsides terraced with vineyards and topped by medieval towns. Our destination was Barolo, a town that is not even on most maps, but is home to a great Italian wine producer of the same name. We had a tour ... read more

Notre deuxième journée fut intense en connaissance de nouveaux lieux… Un circuit touristique inventé par Tino et Angela de façon à ce que nous puissions vraiment bien connaître leur région. De paysages en villages et en surprises, la route fut belle toute la journée… Vous découvrirez tout cela en parcourant les photos… presque toutes ont leur légende. Ceci dit, nous continuerons demain notre chemin vers Bergamo… une autre ville à vous faire découvrir avec plaisir... Malheureusement il faudra nous quitter ici tout en gardant le meilleur des souvenirs de ces trois jours passés en cie de nos amis… Nous leur avons promis de leur rendre la pareille dès qu’ils pourront venir à la maison… Et ce sera fait avec le plus grand des plaisirs. Nuestro segundo dia fue lleno de conocimientos de nuevos lugares…. Un circuito ... read more