#607. Torino and towns of the Langhe

As promised in a previous post (#601, "Hi from 'Stra'") here are some more pics from our trip to NW Italy last month - first the villages around "Stra" like Novello, Barolo and La Morra, then further afield in the Langhe district (Grinzane Cavour, Cherasco, Alba), and beyond (Saluzzo, Torino). Apologies for the poor quality of some of the pictures [a certain young member of the touring party spilt olive oil over our phone] Capo d'anno, and Tanti Auguri for 2016!!! BAROLO (TOWN, AND WINE)

NOVELLO

LA MORRA

ON THE ROAD

GRINZANE CAVOUR (yes, that Cavour)

CHERASCO

ALBA - SATURDAY MORNING MARKETS

SALUZZO

TORINO (a.k.a. TURIN)

MUSEO DI RISORGIMENTO (ITALIAN REVOLUTION, 1860'S). That's Garibaldi in the painting, in the red shirt (he hailed from these parts). Looks like landing in Napoli.

BELOW: CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, TURIN. The shroud is kept here, but inside a large steel box. The video shown on screens in the side aisles is pretty convincing.

#606. Merry Christmas 2015

Record highs of 20C and 15C on Christmas Eve and Christmas day respectively did not stop us getting into the Christmas spirit. Xave admitted he was relieved to see that Santa came as he knew that he had sometimes been naughty during the year.

#605. Seasons Greetings from NYC 2015

Unseasonably mild here thanks to El Nino, with warmest Nov. & Dec. on record, getting down to freezing only one night (11/24) so far. With no sign of snow on the horizon, it's shaping up as a repeat of the winters in 2011-2 and 2012-3, though there's plenty of snow out West with fear of avalanches. There's a thick fog tonight in NYC and LaGuardia is shut down - ugh! Even forecast 20 deg C and wet on Friday in NYC. But we are still getting into the holiday spirit!

#604. Five removes from President Roosevelt

On the weekend we rented this Chevrolet Cruze and drove up to the historic town of New Paltz, on the edge of the Catskills and about an hour NW of the city (kind of like going to Katoomba). We stayed in this 200-year old stone house. The property has been in the owner's wife's family since Colonial times and President Roosevelt who lived at "Hyde Park" just across the Hudson near Poughkeepsie (the movie Hyde Park on Hudson with Bill Murray as FDR is quite entertaining) paid her grandfather a visit during WWII - hence cryptic title of this post.

It was chilly on the weekend (-1 to 3 C both days). Still no snow around this winter but frequent flurries on Saturday afternoon. So it was cozy inside the old house and Xavi also enjoyed exploring (and falling in) the creek running down the back. It is a 15 minute walk into town along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail which runs more then 20 miles all the way to Kingston NY, and these bucolic views toward the Shawangunk Mountains along the way

#603 Look who's 4 and a half!

105 cm and 16.5 kg of fun. J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!

#602 amazing touchdown

Look at this! Another amazing feat by Odell Beckham Jnr. for the Giants in Monday night's game vs. the Dolphins in Miami. For a touchdown to count off a pass, you have to catch the ball with both feet on the ground with in the field of play (inside the white line)

#601. Hi from "Stra"

We just returned from a week in Italy and on the recommendation of www.milantransfer.com we decided to visit the Piedmont region in the North West of the country, over by the French Alps and an area we had not been to before. After flying into Milan, we spent the first 4 nights at the "Stra" farm stay on a vineyard near a village called Novello, about 50 miles south of Turin.

This wine district is called Langhe and while it might be the Italian version of the Hunter Valley or Barossa Valley, it is certified by UNESCO for the cultural significance of the vineyard landscapes.

The first 2 days were sunny but crisp with a frost at night. The other 2 days were foggy, only clearing just before sunset at 4:50 pm. Apparently typical weather for this time of year in that part of the world.

Xavi enjoyed the farm, especially playing with the little dog Dino.

We enjoyed walking "tra le vigne" (between the vines) although the clay soil was nightmare, and it was interesting seeing the farmer bottling the Barolo wine which is about the same price as Grange in NYC but 20 euros at the cellar door.

See next post (#602) for towns around the Langhe.