Thursday October 13 was another beautiful day with a high of 22C. We have been very surprised at the warm weather we have been having during the daytime. No need for our leather jackets. Evenings are a bit cooler at around 17C. It gets cooler in the middle of the night, but we're asleep.
We checked out of our Airbnb in Torino and walked to the train station about 12 minutes from the apartment. We caught the 11:35 a.m. train to Alba. It was a very comfortable regional train that was not full at all. While it was a milk run, the stops were very short and quick and we saw some interesting countryside.
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| Passing a pretty countryside town |
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| Passing vineyards in the train |
We arrived at 12:55 in Alba, which is in the heart of the Langhe region, Italy's premier wine region and its most beautiful. It is known as the gourmet capital of Piedmont. Alba is famous for its white truffles and chocolates. The population of Alba is around 31,000.
Our Airbnb was only a six minute walk from the train station and is on a small quiet street near a main square. We are on the top floor (3rd floor in Europe) of a small apartment building that also has some businesses on the lower floors. Our host, Frederica, lives in the apartment next to ours, which is handy if we have any issues. She had a marked up map ready for us and has been very helpful in orienting us to the city.
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| Walking through a porticoed street |
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Large square not too far from the apartment
Our apartment building- we're on the top floor with the balconies
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Large kitchen area with a couch off to the left side. Dishwasher and a gas stove.
We went to Caffè Teatro, which Frederica had recommended. We had good coffees, but they were all out of cornettos or other treats. The time for some pastries is the morning and they run out early.
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Lovely view from the Caffè
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Looking back at the Caffè
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Just around the corner from the Caffè was the Chiesa di San Domenico- a Roman-Gothic church from the 14th century. In 1975, after decades of slow decline, the Famija Albèisa (a non-profit town Association) took care of its complete restoration bringing the church and its internal paintings back to its ancient splendour. Since 1985, it has become a museum centre and a venue for concerts, art exhibitions and conferences. Its frescos make it an important site.
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| Outside of San Domenico |
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| An art exhibition inside |
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| Beautiful columns |
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| Restored frescoes |
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| Martyrdom of St. Sebastian (first quarter of XV century) |
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| Stories of St. Catherine of Alexandria (early XV century) |
We saw lots of signs for the 92nd International White Truffle Fair. We have tickets for Sunday!
It runs on weekends from October 8 to December 4. Alba is the home of White Truffles.
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| Time's Up! |
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| Another pretty square |
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| More Alba flags |
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| Streets of Alba-- very quiet |
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| Bank with tower behind it (part of the medieval town with some buildings from the 13-15th century) |
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| Another medieval building |
We walked by a small space where a man was hanging freshly made pasta. He beckoned to us and I took his picture.
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| Don't often see this! |
It's always nice to see the sign for Alba, City of Gastronomy, Designated UNESCO Creative City in 2017.
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| Alba, City of Gastronomy |
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| Santa Maria Maddalena- Baroque church built at the beginning of the 1700s |
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| Inside- frescoes date from the 18th century |
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| Alba flag |
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Lots of gourmet shops with local pastas and truffle products.
Inaudi- I Piaceri del Gusto has been around since 1929 |
After a brief rest, we headed out for an early dinner at wonderful Osteria dell'Arco, about a five minute walk from our apartment. It is situated in a courtyard off a porticoed street. The cooking is informed by the Slow Food philosophy of "good, clean and fair', and it serves classic Piedmontese recipes. It was recommended by our host and I had an earlier recommendation from an article. When we called for a reservation, they said that they were full, but that we could get a table at 7:00 p.m. outside. It was a bit chilly outside and luckily when we arrived, we were able to sit inside at a table of our own. The place did not fill up until about 8:00 p.m. When we left the restaurant at 8:45 p.m. there were a few brave people eating outside.
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| The Courtyard of Osteria dell'Arco |
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| Alonso awaiting his meal- lovely posters |
We shared an appetizer, a pasta and a main course. They brought each dish already divided into two portions, which were quite large themselves.
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