We have sadly put Jude on the plane to return to Aus! We miss you Jude! And tomorrow we leave Italy for France, but we have lots to recap on our last week.

We had a very , hot , tiring but fun 2 days in Torino. Torino is a city of palaces , piazzas, and great food. We wandered through the city’s covered archways and huge piazzas, stopping frequently to refresh ourselves! With what you can probably guess!

The Duomo was built in 1491 to 1498, next to the Bell tower that was constructed in 1470. The Palatine Gate is considered to be one of the best preserved 1st century BC Roman Gateways in the world.

We found our “Brunettis” at Cafe Mulassano, a lovely old world, old style Italian cafe. Inside is a plaque that says “In 1926 a Ms Angela Nebiolo invented the sandwich” ! Believe it or not.

Around every corner of the city there is a different piazza or palazzo but sadly a lot of them were under scafolding. How typical for us! Palazzo Carignano, now a museum, was built in 1678and was the residence of the Princes of Carignano, not a bad olace to live! Piazza San Carlo, one of the main squares was completed in 1640. The portico surrounding the Piazza are full of cafes , bars and restaurants , which of course we frequented!

We had a recommendation from our host for dinner and she didn’t disappoint us. Our first night was at a “very local Trattoria called Piola da Cianci. We were unable to reserve a table , so we rolled up at 8pm and we were told…”stand over there and wait for 30 minutes , or come back at 10pm”. We waited for 20 minutes and then we taken to our table in the garden piazza. It was a very small menu and also very cheap but importantly very good. Our pasta dishes were excellent and we were too hungry to stop and take photos….sorry!

Rhonda dragged Greg and Jude to the Cafe Bicherin so she could have her traditional Torino drink. A combination of coffee and chocolate with cream on the top. Rather decadent but when in Torino….The first bicherin was made in the cafe and the place dates back to 1763.

On our last night we went to a restaurant called Porta di Savona in Piazza Vittorio Veneto, and had a great meal. The pork cutlet with tomatoes and rocket and the veal with mustard sauce were delicious, along with our sides of baked spuds and grilled veges and a bottle of our favourite white wine, Arneis.

There was only one pannacotta shared by 3 , it was delicious and yes Gregory did share…..well sort of!

We wandered home the long way to take some photos of the floodlit buildings at night.

For 2 days we walked our legs off, nearly 15 kilometres each day in the heat 35 degrees plus, but a good time was had by all. It was great for us to show Jude around Torino….sorry about the shoes Jude!!!!!

We then arrived at our favourite little village of Monforte d”Alba in Piedmonte, where we have stayed twice before. We were very excited to show Jude the village. We were warmly welcomed by Elena. We knew Covid had hit the village hard and Elena had told us that a few places had closed but we were pleasantly surprised to see that there were some new restaurants, some older buildings renovated and the vibe was still there.

We took a stroll around the village so Jude could check it out. She was fine until we started to go up and up and up to the top of the village. yep, it’s a hike!

We drove Jude around all the small villages that we liked so she could see the extent of the vineyards in the area. It is a stunning sight to see hills and hills of vineyards stretching for miles and miles!

We had a great dinner at Osteria dei Catari in the village. The raviolini del plin with butter and sage sauce was delicious and Greg’s rather strange “Roasted beetroot tartare with peas and fake egg yolk” was, according to Greg wonderful!

Jude insisted that she wanted a walk/stroll/hike through the vineyards so we walked her to the village of Barolo. We were going to walk and have lunch but we decided it would not be nice to sit in a restaurant, hot and smelly after walking in 35 degree heat, so we walked first thing in the morning.

The vista was stunning, hills and hills full of perfectly trimmed vines. It was bloody hot but well worth it.

The Castello at Barolo is now the wine Museum and there is also a Corkswcrew Museuym which we found rather amusing!

We took Jude for an aperitif to the top of the village to Le Case della Saracca, which we had frequently visited on our last 2 visits. It is our favourite watering hole of the village. I think Jude thought the walk up was ok once we got there.

On Jude’s last night we went for pizza in the village and took a few night snaps before going home to bed as we needed to get Jude to the airport on time the following morning!

We sadly took Jude to the airport. We think we have worn you out Jude, with all the touring, visiting, viewing, dinners, a few drinks (ha hah ha) but more so the heat! We loved showing you everything!

Having said that, we thought we needed to carry on, so went out for another dinner at La Poste for another round of agnolotti del plin. Entrees were veal tartare and baked onion with sausage and goats cheese! Lyndsay…..the pannacotta still not up to Andres standard!

Our last drinks were held back up the top and the owner recognised Greg from 6 years ago! Once seen never forgotten! He gave us a tour of his cellar , including secret passageways, which he said was his escape route when his wife and grandchildren arrived! We purchased some wine to take to our French family!

So it’s now time to move onto France for our final weeks. We have had a great time in Italy, as usual.

It’s that time again, time to pack!

Ciao ciao

Love Greg and Rhonda