Piedmont, April 27-May 5, 2018

[SuzanneF]

SUNDAY - OUR DAY OF REST AND RELAXATION

We had no specific plans, but we decided we would like to experience attending the local church for the 10:00 Mass in Novello. There is also a small market held on Sunday, so it would be the perfect opportunity to pick up something for lunch. Off we went.

We arrived a few minutes late and ended up sitting over to the side rather than in the main pews. We were among some elderly women who kept glancing our way. When it came time for the "pace" greeting, they were all jostling to shake our hands - sometimes reaching across four or five people, not only in our row but in the rows in front of us. I guess they don't get many "travellers" attending mass, at least not at this time of year. It was very welcoming.

After mass, it appears that most of the town adjourns to cafes. We were parked near the Plaza Cafe and the market. As you can see, it was quite the gathering place outside with many more people inside.

We visited the market which was small but lovely. We picked up strawberries, local cheeses and meats. Add some bread and wine - we were set for our lunch.

 

[SuzanneF]

After visiting the large winery yesterday, we wanted to visit something a little smaller today. Rich and Allegra suggested Stra and graciously set us up for a 3:00 visit. We arrived a couple of minutes early and Maresa came running out looking at her watch. She said, "You're early!" Well, yes, we were - by about three minutes. Then she said, "Oh, I thought you were Italian and expected you around 3:30 or 4:00!" We all had a good laugh over that!

Maresa showed us through their sparkling clean winery and then out to the vineyard.

She demonstrated how they prune and train the vine on the wire, as well as how they decide which shoot will be left for next year. Even though we have visited many wineries, this was the first time we have been shown what they do in so much detail. She made it look so easy - of course, she has been doing this since she was a little girl out in the vineyard with her parents.

 

[Ian Sutton]

I have a friend who has a restaurant in Treiso. When she opened apparently she didn't have any of these local staples on the menu as she wanted to do things a little differently. She was harangued by so many locals who wanted to eat carne cruda, vitello tonnato and agnolotti (despite the fact that they could get them pretty much everywhere else) that eventually she added them to the menu!

Hi Rich
I've eaten at 3 of the four places to eat in the centre of the village, the only exception being Ciau del Tornavento (the fanciest one). Impressed with the food / ambience in each of the other 3, and I love the distinctly differing charms of them.
Regards
Ian

 

[SuzanneF]

Next up - the wine tasting room. Even though they are fairly small, Stra produces a lovely selection of wines. We tasted Nas-cetta, Brajas, two Barberas, Nebbiolo, and two Barolos. We had already had their Dolcetto with our lunch earlier, so we didn't try it again. Breadsticks, cheese and hazelnuts were provided to enjoy as we tasted the wines.

Maresa explained the production story behind each wine as she poured the generous tasting. Then we noticed she also had some grappa which Dave had never had. So, of course, out come the grappa glasses and more tasting.

When we questioned Maresa on the availability of her wines in the states, she explained she works with an importer in New York - but they are only available in a few states on the East Coast. However, the Nas-cetta and Brajas are not exported at all. Tom and I opted to have two cases shipped back home - 11 bottles of Nas-cetta, 11 bottles of Brajas (since we know we can't get these in the states at all), and 2 Barolos. We will definitely be checking with our local wine store on the others to see if they can get them. Dave and Cindy opted for only one case - 10 Barolos and 2 Grappas.

Several hours later - we headed back to the villa feeling very relaxed and happy!

 

[SuzanneF]

Tonight's dinner was at L'Angolo di Rosina in Novello.

Tom, Dave and Cindy opted for the Menu of the Day, but I chose the Tasting Menu - not that I needed all that food, but they had carne cruda!

The meal was excellent and every dish was beautifully presented. Here's a few of the dishes:

 

[Ian Sutton]

Great to see a nascetta, a grape variety recently rescued from near extinction, and one of the better white varieties in the area (IMO). The producer a new name to me, but I've had enough good experiences with similarly unknown producers to have reasonable hope for good wines and a hospitable welcome.

 

[Pauline]

Great timing for this trip report because we will be in the Piedmont in just over a week - my first visit.

 

[SuzanneF]

MONDAY - PASTA CLASS

Shira and Mirella, the chefs at Agnulot, would be our instructors. Since they opened their restaurant last November, they have not had as much time to devote to cooking classes, so we were lucky to be able to book them. They showed up promptly at 10:30 with supplies in hand. After getting everything set up, they handed out recipes and we began.

First steps for fresh egg pasta - mixing and kneading.

Rolling the dough in preparation for the pasta machine.

Using the pasta machine - we were going to make two types of cut pasta (fettuccine and tagliolini) and sheets for the agnolotti.

 

[SuzanneF]

Tagliolini

Fettuccine

The finished pasta

 

[SuzanneF]

For the agnolotti, the pasta sheets had to be rolled thinner - you can actually see through them.

Assembling and cutting.

Our agnolotti ready to be cooked!

 

[SuzanneF]

When we first booked our class, we decided to invite Rich and Allegra to join us - after all, our four-night stay was their donation to the fundraiser. It was the least we could do. When I explained this to Shira, she decided to bring additional appetizers as well as dolci to complement the pasta. What a treat!

The table is set!

Our tagliolini with a ragu sauce.

The agnolotti with butter and sage

Panna cotta with the most wonderful chocolate sauce (I must get that recipe!)

Our afternoon lunch/party broke up around 4:30. Tom, Dave and Cindy decided to take a short walk towards Novello.

 

[SuzanneF]

Tonight was our last night at the Villa. We made a meal out of all our leftovers from lunch.

 

[SuzanneF]

TUESDAY - OFF TO THE COAST THEN ON TO TORINO

We bid farewell to Villa Ribota and Novello.

We wouldn't be able to check in to our apartment in Torino until 4:00, so we decided to take a trip down to the Ligurian coast. Based on Rich & Allegra's recommendation, we headed to the town of Noli. Because it was a bank holiday in Italy, the towns were quite busy even though the weather was not the best.

Noli

For lunch, we found a little restaurant right on the water, La Baracchetta. After all the fantastic meals we've been having, we wanted something lighter.

Dave's "Fish and Chips"

Our Sandwiches

This was a great choice! The food was very fresh and flavorful.

 

[SuzanneF]

After a stroll down the beach at Noli, we headed to Torino. We had made arrangements to call Claudio when we were about an hour away from arrival. We saw a sign for the Autogrill ahead and pulled in to make the call; it was also a chance to show Dave and Cindy an Autogrill! This one was not the one to show them!!!! Small, dingy, and crowded.

What did we do in the days before GPS when we relied on maps?? After several wrong turns, we finally found the street for our apartment and Claudio was waiting for us on the street. I had found this apartment on VRBO. There was an elevator and in and out parking available at 9€/day. It was small but very clean. The covered terrace was lovely and we used it frequently. Claudio was showing us around and WAIT, WHAT? Only one bedroom and a sleeper sofa in the living area??? We knew there was only one bathroom that we would be sharing, but how could I have made such a mistake on bedrooms??

While Claudio was showing Dave and Tom how to get to the garage parking, I pulled up the listing on VRBO on the free wi-fi. Yes, right there, it shows 2 bedrooms. I then looked through the photos and discovered how I could be so misled. In the photos, while they appear to show two different bedrooms; in reality it is the same bedroom taken from different angles with a different cover on the bed! On top of that, access to the bathroom was through the bedroom which meant if someone on the sofa bed had to "go" in the middle of the night they would have to walk through the bedroom. We would make this work, but we also happened to be two couples who were family. If this apartment were rented by friends or a family with older children, it could be very awkward.

So, while this apartment has many things going for it (location, cleanliness, covered terrace, elevator, free wi-fi, great parking, price), I probably would not rent it again just on the principle of feeling deceived. Having said that, it would be a very nice apartment for a couple or family with younger children, which is exactly how I wrote up my review.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hmm yes, that really is rather deceptive, especially if listed as 2 bedrooms. If it had been listed as one bedroom, then those photos with different bed linen would have been fine.

 

[SuzanneF]

If it had been listed properly - one bedroom and sleeper sofa in living area - I would not have rented it! We made the best of it, but it was definitely a letdown after our four days at the villa.

 

[joe]

I took a look at the listing : that certainly is deceptive and misleading, no ifs or buts about it. Not only the photos, but also the text description. IMO you should demand that the description and photos be corrected, and subtract another star if they aren't. Plenty of other places to rent if they decide to ignore your complaint.

One thing that I like about AirBnB is that they have apparently realized that the issue of bedrooms/beds/etc. is potentially confusing. The following is a random example of how they address this, which I believe quite solves the issue :

If the owner does not address your complaint, and enough reviewers use the word "deceptive", he will most likely see less traffic. But the owner should be given a chance to make the correction before a reviewer uses the word "deception" in the review. If all-in-all the experience was pleasant, no need to be over-aggressive about this, and your review is indeed fair. But fairness also demands that the owner make the necessary corrections, as soon as possible.

 

[SuzanneF]

Joe, that type of description in the listing would certainly help. I'll wait and see what they do with their listing.

 

[SuzanneF]

It was beginning to get a little rainy, so we decided to go to a nearby restaurant that had been recommended by Claudio. We headed out to Casa Donato, Via S. Donato, 66B. All the waitstaff were very friendly and we immediately felt like old friends. We ordered some pizzas and wine - excellent!

Now we are going to sound very boring; but because of a combination of rain, convenience and our tiredness each evening, we ended up eating here several more times during our stay in Torino. We probably could have explored more, but this restaurant worked for us! Each night, just the thought of walking to the buses and finding a different restaurant in the rain just didn't sound like fun. Casa Donato had great pizza and many other menu options to explore, we knew it was good, and they were just so friendly! The complimentary glass of limoncello after each meal may have also influenced us!

 

[SuzanneF]

WEDNESDAY - Torino Walking Tour, Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile, Eataly

We started out our morning with a short walk to Sicily Torino which was just around the corner for our morning coffee and pastry. Very busy place in the mornings. Their pastries looked so artistic and wonderful.

This ended up being our "go to" coffee place each morning.