Off the Tourist Trail 3: Where pesto and truffles meet full bodied wines!

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Episode summary

In this episode of the Bella Italy podcast, the hosts discuss various travel itineraries across Italy, focusing on maximizing travel efficiency, exploring alternative coastal destinations, and enjoying authentic culinary experiences.

They emphasize the importance of planning to avoid backtracking and wasting time, while also highlighting the beauty and crowds of popular spots like Cinque Terre. The conversation also touches on the significance of relaxation during travel and the unique culinary traditions of different regions, particularly Liguria.

In this conversation, the speakers delve into the rich culinary landscape of Piemonte, Italy, highlighting its renowned wines, truffles, and the unique experiences offered in the region. They discuss the ease of exploring smaller towns, the significance of truffles in local cuisine, and the vibrant culture of Torino, emphasizing its blend of influences and the quality of its food and coffee culture.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00.246)
Hey folks, welcome back around. You’re listening to the Bella Italy podcast.

Speaker 1 (00:18.168)
We’re back around again, ladies and gentlemen, once again from our live studio recording in the flesh, in presence. How do you say that in English? In presente. Prima persona. Here we are again. Welcome back around, everybody. Anthony, how are you doing today, my friend?

lively weekend we had our customer appreciation it was a busy weekend a very fruitful weekend a little under the weather a little tired think I’m run down running and gunning but we had 200 and some customers clients some partners from Italy coming in York you’re in our team some team members from Italy so it’s been a very busy weekend as you recall but yeah it’s kind of run me down but I’m up for this podcast because I want to you know get through with you Bri

Yeah, yeah. Well, the subject matter brings you back to the table. Italy. What are we gonna talk about Italy? Okay, I’m in.

Speaker 1 (01:29.528)
So today we’re gonna pick up where our little explorers left off. We’ve been doing this. I don’t even know that we intended to create this kind of lengthy itinerary, but we are following the trek across from Venice. Venice is a popular gateway into or out of Italy. And so looking at a Venice, Rome, Milan.

Nowadays also Naples is on the map international. flight. This coming this summer we’ve got Palermo and Catania connected with direct flight. They’re getting to the deep south. We gotta shout out to them. But as far as gateways and especially because it matches up with a lot of people’s first

plug fellas ladies and gents

Speaker 2 (02:13.674)
It wasn’t a direct flight.

Speaker 1 (02:23.95)
time, you know, inkling where they want to go. It’s the experience that they’re after anyway. It makes sense on the ingress egress to have that connected. I don’t know that Katanya one day is going to be one of those. I doubt that.

I mean you think about it Chiquitere 20 years ago nothing on the map. Yeah, right

And it’ll never be an in and out. Pisa might be, because it is an international airport, but you’re right. I’m sorry to interject, I’m just saying, but you mentioned in Venice, and years ago people would think Venice in, Venice out. Rome in, Rome out. What we’re doing on this little excursion, Dory the explorer type of excursion for the younger folks, we’re going, coming through Venice and possibly going out of Milan. I love educating or talking about that. Starting here, coming across if you want, and going out of

airport.

And again, I don’t know that we really intended sat down with that in mind, but it is working that itself out in that way. A lot of times if there is an, you know, they’re coming into a Venice to keep it, you know, linear, going in a certain direction without having to backtrack. Yes. We like coming into a Venice and out of a Rome or vice versa, or connecting that with Milan if you’re going to stay in the North or.

Speaker 1 (03:46.476)
coming from the south up to the north or vice versa. It makes sense if one of those ports of entry or exit are of interest to you or maybe even both are great. You make those the bookends and the in between is all just candy.

will be surprised, very common, either a friend, client, someone will call and just have a conversation. We’ve already booked our flights and they have all these cities in mind. And all of a sudden they’re in Como and they gotta get back to Rome because that’s where they flew in, right? And I’m like, you don’t have to do that anymore. So that’s why I mentioned that. You don’t have to go in and out of Rome. So that’s the point.

And we actually like, so what we’re talking about is kind of behind the scenes here in Italy with Bella. You can go to italywithbella.com, check us out, sign up for a free consultation. Anthony, his wife Denise, no strings attached, just a conversation, free conversation about Italy. And maybe one day you want to come to Italy with Bella, great. This is what’s in our thinking, having done so many of these trips is…

If people come to the table, I’ve already booked my flights. I just want you to X. It ties our hands a bit where logistically, and maybe they weren’t thinking in this way, it would make sense to do a more linear track in here, out there, instead of having to backtrack and you lose time, you waste time. so learning how to maximize the number of days, like even coming back, I was trying to explain to my wife,

I’ve got seven days that I’m gone. Three of those I lose. Three are travel. One day in Jornetero, whole day to get over here. And then two days you lose going back. Cause those are just marked up to travel days, complete travel days. And so it’s only four days that I really get over, five nights, four days that I really get here to…

Speaker 1 (05:47.714)
to benefit. And so I want to maximize that and not have any gaps, any wasted time. Anthony’s like, well, can I get you to go? Can I get, can you do this? Like I’m A to B to C the whole time because I’m trying, I’ve got so little time.

It’s A to B to C, but it’s also you’re looking at every single step of the day, right? Who am going to meet? What are you going to do? And that’s no different than you’re on vacation in Italy. Why am going to go from take this trip two hours?

And I don’t want to backtrack. Exactly. mean, I’m spending so much time on the road here. I’m like, wow, I could be going from Catania to Taormina and then around to Messina and see, and I’m just here in Nashville Metro going back so much time on the road. And so you want to be mindful of how am I maximizing where I am, where I’m going to next so that I have some downtime and I’m not just fatigued and worn out.

along the way and how to be a smart traveler. That’s really what this whole season is about, traveling well when you’re over in Italy. so picking back up where we left you off, we started in…

Am I hiking? Is that where am? Am I hiking right now?

Speaker 1 (06:59.906)
We came all the way through the upper heartland, following really along the Po River Valley. Coming down to the coast then is where we ended up talking about the famed Cinque Terre. We won’t go back and rehearse all that, go back and listen to the last episode if this is your first time around. So we could take a hard left and come down the Ligurian Code to Lazio and all that.

I’ll just save you the time to go up. Let’s go north. Been there, done that.

They did it last spring for us.

Got the t-shirt and burned it. No, no, wasn’t bad. It wasn’t. I’m just teasing, but do stay away from pizza. That’s all we’ll say. have plenty of podcasts on that. But as we’re, as we’re coming up around, so La Spezia, we ended up in then Cinque Terre. Now that said Cinque Terre for all its natural beauty and wonder.

doing a little hiking trip around there or the trains, you mentioned, lots to do little boat tours, excursions, you know, that kind of thing. Fabulous. All eye candy can be crowded. Yeah. Can be difficult to have a really good authentic meal. You’re in a high tourist area and this is, you know, part of the conversation as well about getting off that beaten path, where to go, what to do next. And so.

Speaker 2 (08:17.698)
very crowded.

Speaker 1 (08:33.874)
If somebody’s like, I don’t know that I’m good with all the crowds. I want really a little slowed down, a little bit better, maybe cuisine, food, whatever. Where am I going to go? So, so coming up around the coast, is there another option?

So there is, so if you look at it, it comes up, Chiquatere here, you come up the coast, it kind of curves around, right? And on that curve, little, you know, hook, there’s a little town called Portofino. Almost like a Positano, very wealthy, small little town, very expensive, absolutely beautiful. And then if you wrap even around there, there’s a little town called Camogli. And then, so it goes Camogli,

So a little horn there or little pendency.

Speaker 2 (09:21.486)
Portofino and then a little town that I love Santa Margarita, which is getting a little more popular, but it’s a little bigger not as touristy It’s got a great

I kind of even cringe talking about it. Yeah. Because as soon as you mentioned something and then it, you know, not that we’re ever going to get viral, I’m just saying. As soon as the word gets out. So yeah, keep this on your down low, keep the cards. But it is in its like incubation stage where you’re getting kind of the best of

Anthony and Brian have spoken, we must go there.

Speaker 2 (09:49.198)
to the chest.

Speaker 1 (09:58.69)
both worlds. It’s the natural beauty, the incredible, you’re just in a prime spot.

Slower. More local. And I love it. The other thing is we talked about hiking and just walking. The walkability, mean Santa Margarita has basically a lungomare or basically a walkway from all the way from Santa Margarita all the way to Portofino. It’s about 50 minutes. I love it. I can get out, walk 10 minutes in, get gelato, get down back on the walkway and walk along the water. What I really love is the train station, the ability to not have a car.

walk five minutes from my hotel. Just hop on and go up north.

options.

You got the train even around the little, I don’t know if it’s a little, how do you call that, little peninsula? Or whatever. You can get from side to side pretty easy, 15, 20 minute train, or you take in the traghetto, the little ferry around to the ports, the walkability between the places. It’s really fascinating that.

Speaker 2 (10:45.326)
Yeah

Speaker 1 (11:03.886)
If part, you know plan a doesn’t work out you have plan B if plan B doesn’t work out You’ve got but you can always take a taxi to you know, 15 minutes You’re in the in another place and that’s what’s so cool about this little microcosm. It’s not chink with that it but if you want the same kind of an experience in

No.

Speaker 1 (11:25.204)
something more I’d say palatable as far as price, as far as crowds, as far as you’re still getting a lot of eye candy, but a more authentic experience. This is off the beaten path.

So I equate this to almost, think about Cinque Terre, right? That’s the, everyone wants to go to. Same thing as I equate Venice. So when you go to Venice, we try to put you in, whether it’s in Canareggio or in San Croce, out of the way a little bit, right? Exactly. And then you’re go into the crowds, the eye candy, get your t-shirt, you know, the expensive food, you know, the tourist stuff, and then go back, because you have to go see Doge’s Palace.

A neighborhood that’s a way…

Speaker 1 (12:06.478)
equate it to doing battle. Yeah, you don’t want to do battle every day. Good to base yourself in a place of peace and harmony. And then when you have to go, okay, we’re gonna lot five hours to walk over to this area, take our pictures, say that we’ve been there, fight the crowds, because it’s battle, you’re fighting the crowds, you’re not gonna want to eat there. I just tell you, you’re gonna want to, you know, do what you got to do your tour.

No, it’s good.

Speaker 1 (12:34.434)
do the museum that you can’t do anywhere else. Get the heck out of there, go eat better food with less crowds and confusion and more peace and harmony and you’ve done your deal.

guys.

Speaker 2 (12:43.47)
Thank

So if you look at it, we talked about Venice, the island. Oh, think about the Ligurian Sea or the Italian Riviera, whatever you want to call it, right? You look at it, I’m gonna base Santa Margherita, then, hey, I want to go to Cinque Terre, just like I want to go to the Rialto Bridge. I’m gonna take the train, go get the t-shirt, come back. And it’s easy, really, really easy. And you get frustrated, you get done with all the crowds, hop on like you talked about. That’s why we do what we do.

And, and the, can have that kind of, you’re like, okay, I really like the idea of hiking, trekking, whatever you want to call it, uh, in Cinque Terre. You can still do that over here. Uh, as you just mentioned, Corniglia, uh, you have Vernazza. You can do the hiking trails between these villages. It’s obviously it’s not Cinque Terre, repeat, not Cinque Terre, but it’s the same kind of an experience and a lot, maybe more enjoyable.

in the sense of, know, it again depends on what you’re looking for. Some people just get it stuck in their heads. I’ve got to go to and then I don’t know. Maybe this is my little rant, but this is just an ego thing. It’s I have to tell Aunt Susie that I actually went to Cinque Terre that she did 40 years ago on her, you know, anniversary. Why didn’t you do it? Why didn’t you do it? I’m to feel better about myself, but I had a terrible experience. That’s the bottom line.

You

Speaker 2 (14:12.014)
And it’s funny because I went third week of October, two years ago, to Cinque Terre. I was in Santa Margherita. day before I went to Portofino, I had a beautiful time. Just loved sitting out at the port, in a restaurant, look at the boats coming in. And I was like, alright, let’s go. And one of my colleagues set up a cooking class. I didn’t know anything about it. I’m like, well, show it. Because that’s what we do. We vet and we look at cooking class. I show up. Spectacular views, right? Just looking over the Mediterranean. And…

There’s 120 people that’s cooking class making pesto. it was like, was nothing like I’ve ever seen, right?

I can’t tell you how much I would have hated that.

And my wife is looking at it, everyone’s just like, all right, now grind it as fast, get the model and pesto, grind it as fast as you can, and everyone’s laughing. And my wife looks over at me and she’s like, I can’t believe you’re in Italy doing this and you’re not smiling. Because in my heart of hearts, this is just, you know, this is what I don’t want our friends and clients to do. And I’m like, we gotta get out of here. can’t. I’m dead now I go on Instagram and it’s everywhere. They got the pesto hanging. They make it look like the most great thing. But.

can’t do this.

Speaker 2 (15:23.662)
That’s what happens every friend you’re talking about a relative. Why didn’t you go there? Why didn’t you go to Cinque Terre? but yeah, I digress.

And we’re getting there because as we come up that coast, you’ve got a couple things that this area is really, really well known for. The Focaccia.

Genovese, the, okay, pesto, we’ll get to in a second, anchovies. All of this goes into this area. The bread is its own thing. Just like in Sicily, the bread is very different, even coast to coast. The Palermitano pizza is different from the Catanese pizza. In Liguria and Genoa, you have this, the particular things for that zone. One of the things,

is the the basil, the basilico. You have these plants, they are phenomenal.

Can we admit that the pesto is better in that area than Sicily?

Speaker 1 (16:21.214)
I’m not saying better or worse. I’m saying if I have a choice, I would prefer my pesto from Liguria. Absolutely. Why not? Come on. My wife makes the best pesto and it’s in Sicily and I’ll just say that.

Go.

Speaker 2 (16:32.309)
Mark that on the recording.

Speaker 2 (16:41.838)
So she’s getting it shipped from LaGuardia, right?

Her dad grows this pesto in his garden in Belpaso. No, that’s not a fight you can even get into. your wife. No, that’s obligatory. No, but this area, obviously, even in our supermarkets in Sicily, this is pesto Genovese. You can have it with the garlic or without the garlic. Those are your two options. Everything else is standard.

I’m not gonna win this fight,

Speaker 1 (17:11.68)
and it’s from that area. Again, you could have your lasagna in Sicily, you’d rather have it in Bologna. You just would. I would. And so I think that’s part of the reason we’re gonna send people to this area. As you’re coming up that coast, Genoa is a port city. It’s big and gaudy and I don’t know, a little, it’s not eye candy.

Yeah.

Speaker 2 (17:37.659)
for lunch for me.

It’s not eye candy. If that’s what you’re looking for, you won’t find it there. There are some interesting things. One of the things that I found really particular about this whole coast, even coming not quite as far as Lazio, but coming around from, you know, this this northwest side and coming down as you’re coming towards Rome, let’s say you’re going south. A lot of these towns have a canal system as well, which

makes them kind of the other side, the Venetian of the left coast, know, the western side, the Venice of the west. Livorno, you’ve got these little intricate canal systems. It’s pretty. mean, Livorno, like Genova, is not eye candy. But it’s interesting. And there are some particularities about it. Even though it’s a big port town, you’re going to see a lot of the big cruise ships sitting out there.

Most people don’t know that, Labono, right?

Speaker 1 (18:33.442)
you know, maybe you don’t want to see a bunch of big cruise ships. You’d rather see these little canals, take a little boat ride, do some excursions up and down along the coast, which is fabulous, absolutely worth doing. That said, coming into Genova, there’s some other reasons why you would make your way towards here. One, you’re going through, as you said, and maybe it’s a stopover for lunch or something like that, a cooking class is a great idea in this area. Whether for the

bread, the pesto making, the pasta making. You’re gonna get a feel here different than anywhere else you could go.

the past.

Speaker 2 (19:13.336)
And also you get into seafood. A lot of times what happens is a lot of customers I would say, or friends, even my friends, they don’t do the coast, right? They’ll do, like we said, the spine of Italy. yeah, and they do mostly spine. It’s like. Tuscany, Venice, Rome, you know, all of that. And I like this because of the seafood too. You know, get great seafood also.

Italy is

Speaker 1 (19:35.906)
think it’s literally a sin not to do the coast on your trip.

Exactly, I know I totally agree and you got to kind of convince people because we’re doing it right now We’re going from Bologna. Yeah, you know the food into into the into the water and actually we’ll talk a little bit about the wine going up

And that width that we’ve just traversed from Venice to La Spezia and then up the coast to Genova, that is the longest width across, the longest traverse across where you don’t have coastline. As Italy, as you go down farther south, it’s narrow and more narrow and more narrow to where you’re an hour or so from any coast, one side or the other.

especially when you’re in Sicily, it’s 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there. But after having done that and you’re on the coastline, great things to do, the seafood, absolutely, the pesto, the pasta, the bread, really, really particular, something you can’t get, or at least you wouldn’t want to. mean, this is what drives everybody to come up to this area. You’re gonna stop over for a day or two.

Check out these, the little alleyways, the little canals that they have, the Karooji. They’re interesting. They’re not elaborate, there’s not tons, but it’s interesting. It’s a particular facet of this area.

Speaker 2 (21:03.34)
And it’s beautiful even being on the sea, you’re taking a boat ride on, you you’re not doing 12 hours, 10 hours on the sea there if you don’t want to, but just to take a nice boat ride around that peninsula, going to Komoli, eat a little fishermen town where the locals live, maybe stop in Portofino. You can even go down to Cinque Terre if you want. I would take the train to Cinque Terre and enjoy it from that view, but it’s nice to be on the water. The water is, every time I’ve done it, it’s nice and calm and peaceful, but you have to. I think when you’re on the water, get in the water, right? And enjoy.

the water while you’re in it. And actually, right around the, as you come around Portofino, if you’ve ever heard of Christ of the Abyss, customers love that. It’s a statue that they put into the water. You can look at it from the boat if it’s clear, or you can take a dive in and take some pictures. It’s a lovely, lovely day in the water.

Speaking of which, do we have a lot of folks interested in getting in the water, doing some diving, scuba or whatnot?

think if they go on the boat, they’re bringing their suits and they want to get it.

It gets in the head then and you’re like, wow, it’s so clear. It’s so hot out. I would really like to get in. I wonder what’s down there. But it’s probably not something that you think about coming over.

Speaker 2 (22:17.12)
No, what they think is if I’m going to be on a boat in Italy, I’m jumping in the water. I don’t care. And we have a lot of people that jump in, yay, take a picture and they get back on the boat, right? Because it’s cold. I’ve been in the Mediterranean in October. Florida. Yeah, it’s still like, chill. You get used to it, You’re going May. You’re going May. You’re getting out quick.

for

You get it. If you get in the water in the Gulf of America, as I understand that it’s cold now, I’m just getting back here, guys, forgive me. I’m trying to wrap my head around all the changes. I want to be correct. But I understand it. You get in the Gulf, especially on the Florida Panhandle area. It feels like you’re bathwater at home. You know, the eastern coast of Florida, St. Petersburg on up to Jackson. Yeah, it’s all it’s a little bit cooler. You know, you

get up to- thing, I would say the same.

Carolina is all of that it gets colder in the Mediterranean. It’s a pretty consistent refreshingly Chris as you get in I mean it’s hot out in Sicily, you know We’re up over 40 degrees Celsius in the summer and you can’t wait to get in the water and you wish it was colder Yeah, you know, but so it just depends you’re finding that that good balance there

Speaker 2 (23:11.691)
risk.

Speaker 2 (23:26.338)
What we notice is that when they go, they are on the water but they don’t necessarily want to go into the beach and lay on a blanket. But the idea of, we’re in the Mediterranean, you know, because the beaches there are rocky. You know, it’s a little different than the beaches we’re used to here in the sand, you know, the difference on that side. So they love the idea. I didn’t get in. I got in the pool in hotel, if I had a pool at the hotel, and I might have walked along on my feet on the beach, but I didn’t get in the water. So when they get on that boat,

and they have the opportunity just to dive in, get refreshed and jump out. They like that. It’s just another experience that adds to their time there.

I wonder if, and we’ll come back around after this to our little trek, our itinerary, but I wonder if part of the reason that some people can’t actually go sit on the beach is thinking I’m wasting my time. I could be doing something.

I can’t f***ing

or I could do this at home. But I have to say having spent some time on the beaches, is time well spent in my mind. It is a different experience. again, and I don’t know how many times we’ve said this, we’ll continue to say this would be our mantra, taking time to rest while on a vacation.

Speaker 1 (24:44.724)
new concept. Wow. Yeah, who thought of that? But taking time to rest will actually help you enjoy the experiences that you are in the middle of doing.

I do I do want to give advice I mean if I was to do a beach I would do a beach club because when I relax I Want to really relax. I don’t want to look around where the bathroom is. Yeah, I don’t want to where am I getting a drink? Well, I got a fill up a cooler, right? That’s the American way of doing the beach. Yeah, find the beach club sit down Raise your hand raise the flag whatever have someone come over give you some you know snacks and a glass of wine Whatever you want a beer, right? That’s the way I would enjoy it Yeah So I just want to walk out of my hotel and get down to the rocky beach and throw your towel down

Right because then you’re like, all right, I get how long am I gonna do this? I think a beach club is a definite way to go. Yeah

There’s something to be said for that. That’s food for another episode maybe. I want to come back to that because we could spend some time.

Speaker 1 (25:50.414)
We’re on the coast. Maybe we’ve had that excursion. I want to, you know, some of the pasta that you can get in this area, the Trofea, like Trophy. It’s this little cornicle-shaped pasta. It holds that pesto spectacularly.

Amazing how they can do that. How they just know what pasta goes with what sauce. People don’t realize.

to ride a mount of sauce. It’s incredible. Yeah, incredible. So as we’re continuing up the coast, you got some little seaside villages that are quite, quite lovely, quite nice, but I’m kind of itching to get into the Piedmont and now as we’re as we’re coming up.

don’t even like talking about Piedmonti because I love it so much that it’s a gem to me.

As soon as you start talking, you start salivating.

Speaker 2 (26:40.33)
No, it’s just that it’s still not known. And it’s like one of those, geez. I love this. One of my favorite regions. I think yours too, because of Food in One. Right. So, go ahead. I’m sorry.

Do I want to talk about

Speaker 1 (26:54.956)
Yeah, I mean, coming into Torino, if you’re flying in and that’s your introduction, it’s flat. There’s not a, it’s, you know, unremarkable terrain or whatever. Really, really flat and boring a little bit. It’s kind of like that stretch on I-40 between Memphis and Nashville. It’s just like, it just gets old.

quick.

For hours it’s old. But you do have the mountains that you can see to the north, which is a really great backdrop. I love, I don’t feel like I’m in the north unless I’m in a town like Torino, Milano, Bergamo, Brescia, and you can see the skyline, you know, on the horizon of the Dolomiti. But all that to say, if you’re in Torino, it could be kind of a

a less than dramatic introduction to Piemonte. I actually like coming up from the South. You know, here we are, Genova coming across the border into Piemonte. You’ve got to go through this gateway, you know, because either the transit system, trains or the highways are going to come through Alexandria, right, to get into the rest, Asti, Alba, all of this. Okay, we’re in Piemonte. We’re in the South of Piemonte.

It’s a little more interesting terrain-wise, more interesting culinary and the viticulture. For those that are interested in wine, what do they have to look forward to here? How much time do you have?

Speaker 2 (28:35.616)
I love when you go to a town and it’s named Barolo, right?

Speaker 2 (28:43.182)
don’t know they have any good wine there. And it is, know, that’s where the king of, you know, the king of wines, Barolo, the queen, Baboresco, know, Josti, you know, for Spumanti. The wine, I love the wine, right? But the wine, because of the high caliber of the wine, also the high caliber of the food you get, right? The restaurants that’s in it. Yeah, it’s the quality of

One does elevate the other. Yes, it does. And when the wines, and this is happening right now on Etna and around this, you know, the eastern side of Sicily, as the wines are becoming more well-known, but also better curated, the food experience on that side of the island is coming out, up and out of the fishing, the seaside, the seafood, and the street food. It’s coming up.

and elevating in, it’s interesting, it’s having an effect. I think you’re spot on with that. And you do see that in Piemonte, some of the best rated restaurants in Italy. And not just because of how many stars they have, but.

The cuisine itself as a culinary experience is on par with, as you were saying, the noble families, reigning noble wine families that are there. They actually push each other up.

Yeah, get into a little bit of… The other thing I like about it, it has the same kind of Tuscan hills, right? The towns are little smaller. You’re not getting the larger Arezzo or hilltop towns like you would be in Tuscany. But you still can have that under the Tuscan sun vibe in Piemonte. like driving. The driving is easy there. Getting from town to town to do wine tasting is easy.

Speaker 1 (30:45.76)
It’s easier to get in and out of those little towns as well. You can park your car in Asti or Alba, walk around, have a good experience, get back in and continue. It’s not a Florence or a Bologna where once you’re in, you’re in and it’s better to be on public. They’re tiny. it makes them easier to do the little stops. And if you’re on the wine trail, you know, it’s easier to do those.

Yes.

Speaker 2 (31:01.71)
Alba’s like the biggest city I believe,

Speaker 1 (31:13.742)
That kind of experiences it whereas these other towns that we’re talking about, know, like the Florence or the Bologna It’s gonna take time Find the parking if you’re on the train system great you you’re right in city center But it’s a big town take you a lot of time to walk around the this is a smaller faster experience over here It’s almost like being in a Napa or Sonoma and you can walk around in in these smaller towns

Bopping around winery town I Love it because it’s not marketed to be honest with you. It seems like we’re fine. Leave us alone. Yeah, we’re Pia Malte Let us Exactly that’s what I feel right where Tuscany has this yeah, you know if you had a choice I would do Pia Malte over Tuscany for certain reasons because I like the wine or I like the food But doesn’t mean it’s any better or less than the other but it is less marketed and is less crowded. Well

they’re doing their thing, pushing out some of the best wines in the world.

Speaker 1 (32:06.83)
And again, and this kind of ties back to earlier conversations about off the beaten path. You’re usually not hitting the Piemonte on your way somewhere else. It’s a destination. You have to make a concerted effort like a Sicily to get there because it’s into the road. As far as Italy is concerned, you’re smack up against the border on the French side, the Swiss. And then, you you come across

to the other side towards Venice, you’ve got the other borders of Austria, Slovenia, and then Croatia on the far side. You’ve got these border areas, and so as soon as you’re getting closer to that border area, you’ve got to make a decision. Either you’re going to backtrack or you’re intending to go to a different country. For those that are sitting, they want to stay their whole time in Italy, it’s a destiny. You’ve got to make an effort to get…

Intentional thing built when you when you build a trip or you look to build a trip or I’m going into Milan I might do Como Turin right in Piedmont a right and if I want to get to the water of course we can head down to the coast but It is intentional. I agree

Before we, because we’re kind of in the south here in Piemonte, before we come up towards Torino, and I do want to talk about Torino. It’s one of my favorite places in Italy. Before we get there, there is something else. There is another product that we cannot miss talking about. We’re going to get hate mail.

Well, I love if you don’t say because you think about it the richness right and the higher the level high truffle right not the black truffle as much but the white truffle and the hazelnuts right that’s the other thing we haven’t talked about the the the great the great hazelnuts they have there and but the truffle yeah white truffles truffles overall

Speaker 1 (33:56.33)
Truffle in general is a fungus. Fungi. Fungi. A mushroom. Particular because of its taste. It found the smacker olfactory senses, invasion of your nasal privacy. These truffles for those that do not have a palate.

S

Speaker 2 (34:08.812)
had truffle oil you know

Speaker 1 (34:25.226)
It could take you some time to…

That’s why I like the white truffle of Piemonte. It’s a little smoother. The black truffle can hit you in the face. It’s a little milder, but there’s a beauty to the white.

So we have truffles in Sicily. Let me say it. You have truffles in Umbria. You’re going to say that they’re not any good? No, they’re good. They’re not the same. Yes, they’re good. And in Sicily, they exist. They’re very, very mild. They don’t have near the punch that they do in the north. there are indigenous, you know, up in the Nebrodi.

Here we go.

Speaker 2 (34:56.545)
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:02.862)
with all the, the wild, Jingali, the wild pigs and all this wild boar. It’s a great experience. do the truffle hunting up in the hills like that, but it’s very, very different. however, so Rosie, my wife, had never had, she’s Sicilian. She’s a master of Sicilian cuisine and never had. So we took a hour and a half drive, into the center.

That’s

Thanks.

Speaker 1 (35:32.17)
of the island up on, I don’t know if you remember Enna as a hilltop town in the center of the island, Enna. And we took her to a little bistro there and one of the plates, one of the dishes on a Sunday lunch was a skillet egg with truffle. my goodness, it smacked her so hard.

That’s the best way to have a man.

Speaker 2 (36:00.494)
Any

Every time I travel, she’s like, don’t forget the truffle.

That’s right, we were together. Do remember? Where were we just recently together?

They’re heading over from Rome to other side Piscata.

That’s where we had to get some truffles right? That’s I gotta go

Speaker 1 (36:14.798)
But once once you’ve had it and there’s a bit of a palette for it it becomes kind of I mean I need I need my fix

You can eat it three or four times a day if I can you know some people don’t like it because it’s very strong it is But if you like it, you’re just you’re searching for it It is it goes on steak it goes in pasta. I mean, it’s just eggs. It’s everything. I love it Yeah, but Piedmont a with the wine and the food and the truffle the other thing of Piedmont the and tell me from wrong More on the butter side than the olive oil side when they cook am I correct or in end? Well

It’s dangerous.

Speaker 1 (36:53.902)
And we’re closer to the French border, so there’s a reason for that. It’s a little heavier, a little richer, but it stands up to the wines. And again, you see this correspondence between the culinary experience and the wine experience, and they are absolutely on par. You don’t always find that. mean, even in the South, we’re a little imbalanced, where we’ve been waiting on the wine culture to catch up, and it’ll actually surpass…

what’s happening on the culinary scene, the culinary and pass and then the wines, one pushes the other, but I’d say Piemonte has found their equilibrium.

catch up.

Speaker 2 (37:32.002)
But perfect way. Yeah, and it’s funny because you know No bragging but when you travel so much to Italy and we’ve been to almost probably every region and I went to Piedmont and I’m like, alright I know the wines and I’m like it’s not gonna be Sicilian food or it’s not gonna be maybe the wild boar of Tuscan Ami or in the steaks in florence and I was like

Wow, yeah, I was hit me in the face, you know, it’s it’s it that’s Italy in general but be a monthly is I like the food is just speaks home to me the deal and it’s so

And we’re gonna be in Bergamo in just a couple of months here. What I had just last month in Bergamo, it’s the heartier, heavier mountain food and there’s just some it’s comfort food.

That’s what I like. Yeah, I’m all about the company. Yeah, I want to be comforted. Yeah

It’s gonna rock your cradle, Mr. Comfort. But okay, so before we leave the south of Piedmont and then wrap up in Torino, I do want to say, okay, so that’s the culinary, there are a couple of different kinds of experiences. There’s no coastline, but if you’re in the mountains and you’re looking for truffles, going truffle hunting.

Speaker 1 (38:51.342)
is a bonafide experience. You what comes to mind immediately is Anthony Bourdain in the South and he caught on camera how they were putting dead fish into the water and then the fishermen’s coming up immediately. look at what.

No, he saw he was in the water he saw the the guy in the boat was throwing down he saw the octopus Yeah, that octopus floating by down Then he got drunk. I don’t remember the rest of the episode just soap The great

How does that work?

Speaker 1 (39:19.264)
It was a great episode, but and it does kind of pull that curtain back of you know, hey guys look there is you’re in Italy it is not America the FDA does not come in and check everything and you’ve got your you know

True, had someone on the call the other day, I forgot what state they were calling from, and they offered truffles. And they said the Anthony Bourdain and something else where they went on a truffle hunt and the guy was placing truffles. I there’s one over here. Like he was actually saying, I think there’s one over here.

or the pigs were really smart and found them immediately because they planted.

So I did a truffle hunt in Piedmont last year with Derek who works for a colleague on Italy with Bella. And I went out, it was pouring out in Piedmont. And they had the dogs and we’re going, and it was so, I had the umbrella, it didn’t matter. And we were out there for an hour and a half. How I knew it was real experience, we didn’t find a gosh on the truffle. So I knew, all right, this is a good partner of ours because we’re not gonna get those.

All time.

Speaker 1 (40:27.27)
Every time exactly and we we prepare people for that. This is a real experience They don’t already, you know, you’re not walking around with a what is this? Yeah metal detector truffle detector You’re using animals. Yep to help you Find the smell because of the the pungent nature of these mushrooms you can they can sense that

sniff out.

Speaker 2 (40:50.638)
great experience when you find it and you’re not getting poured on.

And it’s, it’s a, yeah, exhilarating. You feel like a champion.

and you come back and you eat it and it’s nothing better than that.

And you enjoy it. And you know, for those that don’t want the the finding experience, but want to maybe even buy it and take it home, there is a truffle fair. been a couple of times can be really crowded. Still kind of expensive, but you take it home encapsulated in a little box or something to keep it fresh. Keep it in the dirt even. There’s all kinds of ways because you’re paying them.

bucket load of change for this. But then you’ve got to eat it fairly quickly. So it’s really more for in my mind and you know, feel free to do what you want. It’s good to find it already packaged and you know, sotto vuoto in vacuum, vacuum sealed so that you can use it as you would like going on.

Speaker 2 (41:52.558)
So it was a good part. is something we… It’s good.

Little lesson I learned when I was there and I was all excited because truffles truffle season and the festival so I’m at the festival walking around Alba then I do the truffle hunt the next day a couple days later and I’m talking to the guy we’re having wine tasting with truffles that his friend had that because we couldn’t find any and I go so what is the best time he goes Anthony here’s the problem the best time to get truffles because it is rainy season because the festivals now you want to eat truffles in December in January because that’s all that moisture the best time to go to peel multi for truffles is actually

Season

Speaker 2 (42:25.686)
end of November, December, because all the truffles, the white truffles are coming out from that moisture. most people come for that October festival. So I was like, I didn’t know that.

Right, it’s really the beginning of that. Exactly. Yeah, truffle season. It doesn’t mean that they’re actually ready and you’re to have the best truffle experience there. So that’s, that’s great to know. all right. So we’ve got, we’ve got a lot of experiences that you could do, including a lot of great hiking and, you know, get into the Hills, wine tastings, all kinds of things.

Fall weather to hit that

Speaker 2 (43:00.27)
It’s such a nice area to drive around in. remember being at, we got Vespas and I’m one of those guys. I have my own Vespa here. I get nervous driving a Vespa here. I’d rather drive it in Naples sometimes than drive it here. My own Vespa here. So when I drive a Vespa there in Piedmont, it’s one of those, and you remember the road, there’s no, there’s very little, you know, go to a winery. So we did a Vespa tour, winery, we drank and then drove Vespas, which is, you know.

high.

Speaker 2 (43:29.932)
can do what you want. We had three wine tours that day on Vespis. It worked out. We didn’t drink much. But that’s something else you can do. I feel like it’s so laid back that you can really do e-bikes and Vespis and stuff like that.

You

Speaker 1 (43:42.488)
Yeah, for people that maybe would feel nervous in Naples. know most Italians would never do that.

I’m just being fascist, you’re not being Latin. hot air balloons too, that’s the other thing our customers love in that area. Hot air balloons are really, really nice. And the hazelnuts, I’m going back to the hazelnuts, the hazelnuts are, you know, you think about hazelnutella, they’re lot different than buying a hazelnut in the United States, The taste is different, they’re just beautiful. Same thing with pistachio, which is where you’re from, we’re gonna talk about that.

Right. That’s another episode. But as we’re, as we’re thinking about this area, because there’s no large cities, you don’t have a lot of hotels and a lot of the experiences are going to be tied together. We have some great partners up there that tie together their vineyard with an agriturismo. So you’re getting this cottage little plantation experience with the wine tasting, the culinary.

That’s true.

Speaker 1 (44:43.022)
Also a good place to stay and camp out in base if you’re doing exactly wine tastings because again These are you know, you’re going through them You’re gonna do two or three in a day just like you would be in an apocynoma And it’s great to base out of a place that is like this and gives you a couple of day experiences around

I like that you mentioned the Napasinoma, you’re right, because these people over the years, they have these vineyards and they realize, well, why don’t we just have an eight room hotel with a pool that overlooks the vineyard and you see the Alps in the back, right? And it’s a beautiful experience. You get a car, you park there, they know you because there’s only eight rooms. You’re not in a hotel with 100 rooms and you’re walking in and out. The guy who’s checking you in is actually bringing you breakfast in the morning. So this is a great experience. Once again, the slowness of Piemonte is what it comes out to be.

So then let’s wrap up here in the north. We’re heading up towards Torino. We might connect this later on with a Milan and a Como. Let’s see where we go from here. at least to put a pin in this episode for today, ending that experience in Torino I think is a wonderful way to wrap up your time in the south of Piemont with this Torino. I love Torino for a couple different

reasons the coffee culture yes the the food culture

Just the scenery, the panoramic of the mountains, the backdrop on this lovely, lovely and quite large city. Easy to get around and a fusion of cultures. You’re getting a lot of French influence and some Swiss influence here. You’re gonna feel that in the wine and the culinary experience in the city. Great places to stay.

Speaker 1 (46:38.358)
I don’t know. It’s hard to describe it, but it has a different vibe than a lot of the other more southern. These other

It does. Even the buildings, the architectures of the streets and the way they’re built.

towns towards the south, the Florence and Bologna, because we’ve mentioned those a couple times, very different experience than Torino. And then a hidden gem, not so hidden, is the Egyptian Museum. Bar Nun, one of the best experiences in Europe, if you’re interested, outside of Egypt.

You just let it out of the bag.

Yeah, it’s everybody knows about it, but I’ve been a couple of times actually went back and took my daughter because it was, it was such an incredible experience. The art culture, and the university culture there in Torino.

Speaker 2 (47:28.718)
It is a younger crowd too when you go there. You feel that. Yeah, you feel that.

And I love it because of that. It keeps it fresh. It keeps it vibrant. Doesn’t get too stodgy, even though they have a lot of French influence. doesn’t get too stodgy. Sorry. What French fans. Anyway, all of that to say, it’s probably unique among the lineup of other towns that we might…

to all our French fans.

Speaker 1 (47:59.286)
Recommend send people to because of the proximity to these two borders in particular you get a lot of that infusion Which makes it a unique experience and again, you know, one of the things I love so much about Italy is the diversity Yeah going town to town whether you’re five kilometers away or 500 kilometers away from the next town that you’re you’re contrasting There’s so much diversity the the dialect

It would unharmonize at all in Italy. No, I mean, I’m not picking on the United States, but yeah.

And it pulls from the previous conquering countries, nations over the eons of time, or the borders that are close by.

capital right for like six months it was people don’t even know that yeah like six months and that was it

And then that’s a whole other discourse, the Piedmontese, how they tried to conquer Italy. And a lot of Sicilians are still a little miffed about that. But all that to say, it’s a wonderful way to wrap up your time in kind of that crowning moment where it brings all of those things together in one place and in an atmosphere that’s super unique. You could get up.

Speaker 2 (49:02.542)
It has an international airport too. it’s… But the Olympics were held, that’s why.

Well, and as far as an egress, you could get up to Munich, Frankfurt, you could go over to Amsterdam, whatever, and actually, or London, and get out and head over to the States from there if you wanted another stop. You could do that, absolutely.

We should look at that more. It’s something we need to discuss, I think. Because it’s so different. I think it’s good.

Well, folks, thanks for listening this time around. Hopefully some of this was helpful. If you’re thinking about coming over to Italy, come to Italy with Bellio. Do yourself a favor, check us out online anytime for your free consultation. No strings attached, just a chat about Italy and what you could expect if you come over with us. Thanks for being here again.

Also, if you could please give us a review. Drop a line if you could give us a review on Spotify or Apple. would be great.

Speaker 1 (50:02.37)
Well, let’s say if you found this helpful, give us a review. If you thought this was a bunch of BS, then please don’t give a review. Yeah, feel free to give us your feedback. super helpful. But yeah, that’s great point. Five Star Review helps others find us and yeah, hopefully is helpful to them as well.

Yeah, don’t review it, see you find it helpful.

Speaker 2 (50:13.72)
Give us at least feedback without a review.

Speaker 2 (50:27.31)
It was great seeing you. All right, you have safe journey back to Italy. Yeah, and we’ll be seeing you in a couple of weeks. I’ll be in Rome. We’ll be together. It’s Valentine’s, knew.

can’t get away from you.

Whole month in Rome with you and Brian. Alright guys, we’ll see you

See you guys, ciao!