Úna and I flew with Ryanair via London-Stansted to Bergamo in northern Italy, where we rented a car and drove the approx. 3 hours to Barolo. Tomás and Gine were a bit late as there was an accident in one of the Swiss tunnels, which caused it to be blocked for a couple of hours. We eventually met up in Barolo after 9pm and went straight to an Azienda Agrituristica for dinner. Eating so late meant of course indigestion and we did not sleep so well.
It was worth it, though, since the antipasti and the wine were the original reasons for the trip! The usual meal consists of 4-6 antipasti, followed by 1-2 primi (pasta or gnocchi), 1-2 secundi (meat dishes) and – if you're still up to it – dolce, caffè and a grappa. Phew!!!
People eat well in the Piedmont!
That evening we ate La Cantinetta in Barolo, an upmarket restaurant. Gine had to leave us a bit early, her stomach was playing up. Úna, Tomás and I fought on until the bitter end...
Sunday we met Sylvano and bought wine from him (after 5 hours!); we met him again in Dogliani, where a wine harvest festival was in full swing. That evening we happily struggled our way through 14 courses in Il Monarca, another Agrituristica. Our host, Laura, had her birthdayand invited us. So we also got to meet her family.
Back home we dieted on bread and water...
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