Monday 26 January The next morning we left with Giacomo, the sales manager, as the sun was rising, to drive into Torino. Roadworks made it slow-going, and we were dropped at the OGR at 09.30, while Giacomo searched for parking. The day began with coffee, a brief gathering of some members of the Circle of … Continue reading Piemonte 36 : Grandi Langhe and Alba : 26 – 31 January 2026
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Piemonte 35: Gattinara and Torino: 19 – 26 January 2026
Monday 19 January We had an early start from Andover, catching the 07.35 to reach Stansted (via Waterloo and Bank to Liverpool St for the Stansted Express) arriving at 10.10 in plenty of time for the Ryanair 12.40 to Turin, which boarded promptly and left only 15 minutes late. We arrived in daylight at 16.00 European … Continue reading Piemonte 35: Gattinara and Torino: 19 – 26 January 2026
Piemonte 33: Monferrato Canavese : 14 – 16 November 2025
Friday 14th November Having already tracked down exit 6 of Malpensa airport’s terminal 1, we left the restaurant at 19.20 to position ourselves there and soon found Doris Lau Parry, who describes herself as a global nomad, lives in Chiswick and writes a weekly column for the Hong Kong Times. Melania Battiston arrived soon … Continue reading Piemonte 33: Monferrato Canavese : 14 – 16 November 2025
Piemonte 32 : Gattinara 11 -14 November 2025
Tuesday 11 November We collected the hire car from Budget, half a mile from our hotel, not especially pleased to have been upgraded to a larger car; in our experience, smaller suits our needs better. In this case, the hybrid MG proved very reluctant to start, and we lost half an hour faffing. Eventually the … Continue reading Piemonte 32 : Gattinara 11 -14 November 2025
Radda and Montalcino: 1 – 5 September 2025
On Monday afternoon we rescued our big ugly jeep from the tiny carpark outside the gates of Volterra, and drove to Radda to stay in the Palazzo San Niccolò, one of the four star hotels on the tiny via Roma. I had remembered the parking issues from an earlier trip; like so many medieval settlements … Continue reading Radda and Montalcino: 1 – 5 September 2025
Verona for VinItaly: 3 – 10 April 2025
Thursday 3 April An unusually late flight with BA from Gatwick (17.50) to Verona meant a long morning’s packing and sorting out - including watering Chris’ houseplants and emptying bins while she languished in Basingstoke hospital after her fall early on Tuesday morning, breaking a vertebrae. The UK was enjoying the long spell of high … Continue reading Verona for VinItaly: 3 – 10 April 2025
Piemonte 30: a week in the Langhe: 15 – 22 March 2025
Saturday 15 March We had driven from the Hotel Crabun in Pont St Martin to an appointment at Kalamass at 09.30 near lake Viverone on the Sella d’Ivrea (the huge terminal moraine created over eight different ice ages) and then found a very fine lunch - by accident - in A Cà Mia in Cigliano. … Continue reading Piemonte 30: a week in the Langhe: 15 – 22 March 2025
Piemonte 29: Gattinara and Carema: 10 – 15 March 2025
Monday 10 March After a good night’s sleep, and breakfast (of sorts) at Cafe Fiorenze (again) we drove to Ghemme to meet Alberto and Angela Arlunno of Cantalupo whose large cantina we had visited in May 2022. Alberto greeted us warmly, though his vagueness has accelerated and within minutes he left us to fetch Angela … Continue reading Piemonte 29: Gattinara and Carema: 10 – 15 March 2025
Valtellina and Lake Como: 6 – 9 March 2025
Thursday 6 March An early start to catch the 08.05 to make an uneventful journey by train then Jubilee line to Canning Town and its platform 1 for the DLR to London City Airport, where we arrived in enough time - but of course without tickets - for an earlier flight (11.45) to Milan Linate. … Continue reading Valtellina and Lake Como: 6 – 9 March 2025
South Africa part three: 18 – 24 February 2025
Tuesday 18 February - Derek’s birthday Ronnie and Luan (shadowing Ronnie Messias as additional driver for Foundation Tour Services) came early into Stellenbosch from Jamestown where Ronnie lives, avoiding the heavy traffic to make a 09.00 appointment at Aslina Wines, to meet Ntsiki Biyela, described by WOSA as one of SA’s iconic winemakers. Certainly her … Continue reading South Africa part three: 18 – 24 February 2025
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