I was in the middle of February for three days in Piedmont, to be exact in Carru, a village near Cuneo, capital of the province of the same name. Carru is also called Porta delle Langhe, so it is the gateway to the famous hilly wine region, the Langhe, where such famous wines as Barolo, Barbaresco or Barbera are produced. In autumn and winter, the area is also known for the expensive white truffles of Alba, which is why whole armies of Germans and Swiss make pilgrimages to this area to get their money out of overpriced and overcrowded restaurants. Carru is my mother’s hometown and we went there to celebrate my grandmother’s 92nd birthday.
It started Friday morning. I was allowed to drive my father’s car until after the Gotthard tunnel, even though I had only got my driving license one day before. But first we had to pick up my sister in Thalwil, because she doesn’t live with us anymore. The trip was quiet. I enjoyed it to the full to have the confidence of my parents and finally to be able to drive a car. Unfortunately my mother replaced me at the service area in Airolo and I had to sit in the back again. I would have loved to drive to the Swiss border, but you can’t always have everything in life. The ride afterwards was still very quiet. I listened to music to pass time. After infinitely many hours (it was three, but felt like eight) we finally arrived in Carru at my grandmother’s apartment. Since we were tired from the drive, we decided to rest for an hour.
Later we drove to Dogliani to the Azienda Agricola Marziano Abbona, a vineyard in the Langhe. You must know that we have known Marziano for ages and he really makes good wine because he knows everything about his work. You can also buy his wines at the Globus if you want to taste them. But it’s quite expensive there, starting at 18 francs per bottle for the cheapest Dolcetto. Marziano greeted us personally and shortly afterwards we went to the wine cellar to taste some wines.
As soon as we were in the wine cellar, we saw hundreds of wine barrels in which the delicious wine was stored until be bottled. The whole cellar smelled of fermenting grapes. This cellar makes every wine connoisseur’s heart beat faster. We tasted several wines. First a very special red wine, which had no sulfites. Taste-wise it was simply top but also expensive because of the special production. Then we tasted another red wine. Later two white wines and finally a rosé. I personally liked all the wines, but I think the best one is the one without sulfites. My father bought several bottles and after we said goodbye to drive towards Cuneo, the closest town.
Arrived in Cuneo we separated. Me and my sister went to explore the city independently, while my mother with my father still had to settle some things. However, we agreed that we would meet in the Sillano bar in an hour to have an aperitif together. So my sister and I strolled through Cuneo. Cuneo is indeed a small city, like St. Gallen, but it delights me every time with its charm. I love to walk through the narrow streets, only to reach an immensely wide street later. The main street is decorated with hundreds of archways, which in my eyes are typical for Cuneo. Under these archways there are countless shops, among them also an H&M, in which we still went very briefly because my sister needed something. When the hour was over, we went to Sillano, a bar in the center of Cuneo. I love this bar because you can get an aperitif for five euros there and then you can go to the buffet all-you-can-eat without paying any more. The only disadvantage: You over-eat yourself and after the aperitif we had to go for dinner in a restaurant in Carru, where we had reserved a table.
So completely full (at least I) we went afterwards to Carru to eat dinner. The restaurant was called Pintun and was just great! Everyone in my family took a pizza, except me. I was so full that I thought I wouldn’t eat a whole pizza anymore. So I took a Milanesina (schnitzel) with vegetables. But it was way too much. Fortunately my sister helped me eat the vegetables, because I hate to leave good food in the plate. For drinking there was a special beer called AnimA from the area of Cuneo. I was completely satisfied with the food and the location and would highly recommend it to you if you are ever in Carru.
The next morning we drove to Venaria, a suburb of Turin, to visit a photo exhibition of the famous photographer Erwin Elliot. The exhibition was called Personae and is really worth seeing it, although I prefer landscape photography to portrait photography. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun and thank my father for taking us with him. Something special about Venaria. Actually the place is called Venaria reale and was a big hunting lodge of the house Savoyen and is the second biggest castle of Italy.
After the exhibition we walked along the Via Andrea Mensa, the “main street” of Venaria realale. In the afternoon we drove back to rest, because we went to a noble restaurant in the evening to celebrate the 92nd birthday of my grandmother. In the evening we went to the restaurant “I 5 sensi” to celebrate the 92nd birthday of my grandmother. The food was indescribably good. Only when I think back, the water runs into my mouth. First there was an Amuse Bouche consisting of a soup with meat in it. For the starter there was a kind of roast beef with vegetables, salmon carpaccio with fennel salad and pears with leek in filo pastry with a gorgonzola sauce. The first main course was ravioli al plin stuffed with chicken in a broth and the second main course was caramelized tuna steak. As a dessert there was of course a cake and then another apple pie and two different kinds of pudding. As befits a noble restaurant, the portions were tiny. I was afraid I wouldn’t get enough, but all in all my hunger was satisfied.
The evening was really great, after a long time I saw most of my cousins again. Of course I told them about my blog. There’s not much more to tell about the last day. We drove back to Zurich and this time I was allowed to drive from the Swiss border to my home.
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(Ps: You can find all photos of the weekend trip at the picture gallery)
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