Cool clouds. Geneva

  

Happy days again. Geneva

  

Clouds over Lac Léman. Geneva

  

Raindrops. My place, Geneva

  

Brown Grouper. Clovelly, Sydney (October 2005)

  

Waxy Flower. Paddo, Sydney (October 2005)

  

A concerned me. Paddo, Sydney (October 2005)

  

Vinum in Alba

The Master Plan was to head from Torino to Alba on the train and then take the bus to Barolo to catch a wine festival. The pace of life in Italy, and Trenitalia, conspired against me. Not to worry, I stumbled upon Vinum that is a massive two day wine festival in Alba. For €12 you get access to 6 pavillions with 2-3 tickets per pavillion. Each pavillion represented a region: Roero, Barolo, Piemonte, Italia, Langa and il Mondo. Each ticket gave you a taste but it was easy to smooze the wine guys into giving you a couple of tastes for a ticket. Best of all was the spirits guy who gave me 6 tastes for 1 ticket - what a guy! Then there were the smaller or newer wineries who were happy to give you unlimited drinks.

At first I thought these pouches looked a little daft but I quickly came around to seeing how practical it was to have a nice holder for your tasting glass, especially after a long day. You hang them around your kneck so your tasting glass is always handy.

Alba is best know for their white truffles. They have a huge festival in October to celebrate this. I picked up some for my brother who has an unhealthy obsession with those smelly little fellas.

I wanted to buy a nice Barolo ("the wine of kings and the king of wines") while in Alba and I ended up picking up a 1967 Barolo Riserva Speciale made by Luigi Calissano & Figli. They've closed down now. If you are looking for wine in Alba, head to Grandi Vini Enoteca (Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 1/A). Enrico was really friendly and helpful. Tell him "Geraldo" sent you and I'm sure you'll get a discount. :) 

Passionate about spirits. Alba

  

Holding up well, Vinum Day 2. Alba

  

Vinum guy (might be on his 3rd day). Via Vittorio Emanuele, Alba

  

"Foccacia". Alba

  

Vinum by night. Piazza Duomo, Alba

  

Torino Tour

I've been wanting to visit Torino for a while. The Gambero Rosso café guide for Italy lists an astounding 4 places with highest marks (3 cup, 3 bean) where most cities would be lucky to have even a single café with such a high rating. The force in the GR cafés are strong and so I made my pilgrimage to this coffee haven.

Torino has huge stretches of arcaded walkways. Every city should take note as they are invaluable in the rain. I only had great weather during my stay so these arcades served purly aesthetic purposes. The main draw in Torino, apart from the coffee, turned out to be wandering the little streets off the main roads. With the city being extremely symmetrical, it was really easy to get around.

The main shopping street in Torina is Via Roma. It was there that I saw this helmet that rivalled the Vespa in beauty. Would it be that bad to have a helmet but no scooter???

Another reason to visit Torino is the gelato at Café Fiori (Via Po, 8). This is the best gelato I've EVER tasted. Try the giandui (chocolate hazelnut) and the nocciola. Mmmmmmm.

The last reason to visit Torino is that it's the gateway to the wine regions of Alba, Barolo and Asti. More about this another time.

Fancy doors, Torino

 

Another covered arcade, Torino

 

Covered arcade, Torino

 

Self portrait. Piazza San Carlo, Torino

to 

Piazza San Carlo, Torino

 

Chiese di Santa Cristina, Torino

 

Statue of Po, Torino

 

Tomas Le Petit, AKA "Sleepy Drunk"

 

My mate Christian, Café in Karlsruhe. He claims his surname is spelt "Szczensny"!