Traveling

Getting ready to take a vacation always feels like double-duty. So many things to do to make sure all the bases are covered! Somehow we made it to Friday, I had a last minute meeting about our new program at Appel Farm, Sample the Bounty of Salem County, and then drive to Morristown. Lindsey is taking us to the airport. Dropped my car off at Deb’s in Millburn and then on to Newark. No glitches except Danny’s suitcase was too heavy and we had to pay $50! The flight to Paris was smooth and we managed to sleep for a few hours. Arrived at Charles De Gaulle around 11:30am and took a good walk around the airport finding Air France’s gate for Turin. We didn’t sit together on that flight and I wound up sitting next to a Salesian missionary who was living in Lagos Nigeria. He gave me a full rundown on Nigerian culture and life at the technical school. Turin airport is pretty small and not busy at all. In fact, the Salesian Brother said you could play football on the landing strip after 9am. Wouldn’t you know it? My suitcase never made it on the plane and Air France promised to deliver it to us the next day. We got our car, a Fiat Punto Grande, and we were on our way! Unfortunately, we were totally confused by the signs and wound up in the middle of Turin instead of on A5 on the way to Savona. After a little circling around the same downtown area we finally got the GPS going and got to Alba within an hour or so. The Force was with us and we found Ada Nada right away. We were greeted at the beautiful farmhouse winery by rows and rows of grapevines on the terraced hills, and by GianCarlo, Analisa’s brother. He took us to our suite, a beautiful and modern apartment with fireplace and mini-fridge. (Danny just came up here with a glass of Dolcetto straight from a tank that Elvio, Analisa’s husband, gave him. It’s 11am on Monday morning!) We were so exhilarated by our excitement at finally making it to the winery and starting our vacation that there was no thought of going to sleep. We unpacked and went to take a look at the grapes. Each step we took brought a new discovery, The grapes are bursting with juicy sweetness and we plucked then right from the vine for a snack. We found a huge fig tree, and made friends with the country dogs that roam around here. The fresh and cool air woke us up and we were ready for our first dinner in the glorious Piedmonte.

Saturday dinner
Our Slow Food guide recommended the Casa Dell’Unione in Treiso, a few kilometers up the road. Gian Carlo made a reservation at this very small place for 8PM. Dan’s friend Anthony told us to say “Fa te voi!” (bring me what you have) and have the chef give you whatever he’s making that day. At the Casa Dell Unione we didn’t even havc to do that. We were handed a wine list and, of course, chose one of Ada Nada’s finest Barbaresos and waited for a menu. What started coming was course after course. We started with salami and prosciutto cotto with some small egg fritters, then sliced beef with chunks of salt in olive oil, vitello tonnato (thin slice veal with a creamy sauce flavored with tuna), homemade pasta with a light marinara, and rabbit braised in Barolo wine. Dessert was a sampler of a fruit tort, panna cotta and a thin slice of chocolate salami, Somewhere in one of those many courses we ordered another bottle of wine. Proddutori Barbaresco. Not quite Ada Nada’s’, but great nonetheless. We closed the place down. Lucky we found our way back to Ada Nada after all that luscious wine! I don’t think a bomb could have woken us after that.