Day Seven of my Excellent Italian Adventure

I have some time this afternoon so I thought I could show you the morning adventures. For our excursion we went to Alba to visit the markets.

 Before we left I took a quick stroll a little ways along the road. The vineyard we've been staying at is located in the above "commune" - a section of the town of Treiso.

 Looking back down the road the house in the middle distance is where we've been.

 On the way to Alba we stopped to look at some sights and took a brief look at this section of grapevines. Many of us have been wondering why the vines are planted the way they are. This section above are planted up/down the slope. Now imagine picking the grapes and then carrying them back up this steep slope.

 In recent years they changed the way they plant. It is much more intensive and they can get way more vines planted per acre which in turn increases the production. The vines to the right, about ten years old are planted parallel to the slope and maximize the amount of sunshine each vine gets. On the left is the last row of the older vines (60 years old) which are planted in the older method.

 But our destination was Alba. This car took my eye as well as that of the young girl who wanted to go take a look with her daddy. Lots of small cars are on the roads here and with all the hairpin bends and tight corners they are much better suited than large SUVs would be.

 This portion of the market is where the smaller farmers are. The "honey guy" looked to be quite a character.

 The "salami guy" gave us a taste of one of the products he had for sale. You can see he proudly sells Piemonte food.

 This stand had a huge variety of herbs and  this big pile of garlic. Wonder if he sold it all by the time the market closed at 12.30pm.

Strolling the streets outside the market area we noticed a couple of coffee shops with this innovative seating idea - when all the tables and chairs are taken just sit down on the front step, thoughtfully provided with cushions. (Watch out for the two who are reflected in the cafe window...they do appear again.)

 The guy riding his bicycle holding on to the beautiful bouquet took the eye of several wanting to take his photo. He was not that thrilled about stopping to pose so I had to be quick.

 Delicious watermelons waiting to go home with someone.

 This market stand was the focus of Jill's painting today. Check out the size of the produce.

 Here comes the "honey guy" to check on the progress of the painting.

MaryBeth and Manu making selections for our lunch. The vast amount of brightly colored produce goes into making a lot of healthy meals.

It has been a glorious vacation; MaryBeth and Manu were thoughtful and kind hosts who put a huge amount of effort into giving us a wonderful Piemonte experience. Jill and the always helpful Randy worked hard to create a perfect "Paint With Me In Italy" workshop.

A hundred thousand thank yous as we are about to go into Treiso for our farewell dinner at Profumo di Vino.

I'll do a wrap-up post once I get home.