Day Seventeen: Spa Day

Today Carole and I went up the road to Senterio di Vita, a small spa at the end of a dirt road. The property has sweeping views of the Langhe and the Alps further in the distance. Marissa does massage and her partner Fulvia does nails. The spa is an old converted house with a lovely pool, jacuzzi, relaxation room, and massages upstairs. Carole spent two hours there in the morning having a French manicure, chatting, drinking espresso, being offered an aperitif, local cheese, and a bouquet of lavender. While she was there, a local family showed up to spend the day swimming and hanging out. I went up at 2:00 for a Shiatsu massage which is a lot like a Thai massage in the States. Marissa is terrific. Actually, they are both the embodiment of grace and hospitality. After my massage I lingered had espresso and then a little later after delightful, if challenging lingually, conversation, a little Spumante to toast the birthday of the women of the family there swimming. I could have happily hung out for hours, but the American self-consciousness in me kicked in and I felt compelled to take my leave.






This is their cuuuuuute puppy Priscilla, named after the film, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."



That night we went to Canale, a small town north of Alba where my dad treated us to dinner at All'Enoteca where we enjoyed an amazing, four hour meal of local foods. We arrived back to the villa close to 1 a.m. satisfied and exhausted!

Slow Food: Wild Cherries

Brad, being the professional gleaner that he is, immediately discovered that there are many fruit trees in the woods surrounding the villa including two huge wild cherry trees. The fruit are small and taste a little like Queen Annes. All the cherries at arm's length were gone, but oh, the tops of the trees! What to do, what to do...



If you are Brad Gallien, what you do is you find some boards laying around, lean them into the tree, the tree that is on a hillside and therefore hanging over a ten foot drop, and you climb up after the fruit.




One wasp sting later, victory!



The spoils:



The next step, pitting enough cherries for a tart:



Dessert is ready!



Ciliege Selvatiche:

Day Sixteen: Farmers' Market in Monforte d'Alba

In the Langhe area of Piedmont where we are staying, there is a farmers' market in the area everyday. This morning we went to Monforte d'Alba where we bought a lot of luscious fruit (peaches, apricots, and pluots) and garlic and potatoes to fill tonight's raviolis. Brad got to talking about wine with the proprietor of a small bodega and ended up buying one bottle of each kind they make. Here is the village and some views of the surrounding vineyards:

Day Fifteen: Sundays in Italy

We slept in today and hung out at the pool, thinking that we'd go buy groceries in the afternoon. Oops. Italy shuts down on Sunday afternoons. Brad and I decided to venture out and find something open, even maybe a 7-11 equivalent. Surely people have emergency grocery needs on Sundays here! We drove all the way to Bra, home of Carlo Petrini and Slow Food and found the only open place, a Wal-Mart equivalent called Big Store. Oh, the irony.

Here are some photos of the Villa, San Lorenzo di Bonvicino:

The Street Where You Live

Day Fourteen: Driving to Italy

We sadly said good-bye to St. Remy de Provence, our lovely villa, and its charming proprietors, Mme. Mauron and M. Dietrich. It was truly hard to leave it behind. Here are some final photos of Provence:






The drive to Italy was gorgeous and long! We stopped for lunch in Antibes near Cannes where I took a special photo for Susan. Right before entering Italy, we stopped at a gas station/rest stop. Here are the views:

Looking in one direction:



And the other:



Yes, that is Monaco. Get some gas, a water, maybe some Nutella and cookies for the kids. Tra-la.

Here is a view from the window in Italy:



Much of the drive was along the rocky coast, through at least 30 tunnels. Most of the rugged hillsides are terraced and growing olives and flowers. We then cut up into the mountains and headed into Piemonte. We had some trouble finding our little town of Bonvicino which doesn't even appear on a map. We called the agent who after an animated conversation in Italian with what sounded like a dozen highly opinionated people, she told us what to do: turn by the sign by the church in Dogliani and follow the signs to Bonvicino. A problem: there are at least five churches in Dogliani. Argh. Finally, at 9 p.m., exhausted and starving, we arrived. What an amazing place. I will take pictures today. We dragged in our bags then drove back down the mountain to Dogliani where we had pizza at a little family run place where a table outside just happened to be set for seven people.

Friday Night in Avignon

Friday night, our last in Provence, we drove into Avignon to have dinner at Hiely-Luculus, Alice Waters' favorite restaurant in Avignon according to her biography. Our meal was delicious, seasonal, and huge. The boys were especially impressed with the "chariot of cheese," some 15-20 varieties from which to choose three. Alex declared "this is impossible. Impossible!" We walked it off, taking in the Palais des Papes, which looks just like Cinderella's castle and Pont d'Avignon, made famous in the children's song.