Piedmont

Fall in Italy means Piedmont. The grapes are ready to harvest, the elusive truffle mushrooms are in season and the leaves are just starting to turn...we couldn't resist!

We stayed in agriturismos (read: agricultural tourism), which meant two things. Eating fresh, incredible food that was literally grown/produced out our window and sleeping closer to cows than I ever had. A great way to travel, and adds a little more of a sense of adventure, like we didn't have enough going for us already.

We travelled all over the Barolo and Barbaresco regions, tasting as many delicacies along the way as we could stand. We bought truffle mushrooms, truffle oil, and truffle filled pasta. We drove through countless vineyards and stopped along the road to taste wine and pick grapes.

We also attended Slow Food's Cheese 2009 in Bra, the largest cheese festival in the World. It was a ridiculous amount of cheese, seriously. It went on forever, and we were cheesed out well before we made it to all of the booths. There was an incredible variety, some of the most beautiful cheese, and we bought a nice, pungent sampling.

One of the many cheese makers...or is it farmer?

Cheese from Kenya - strange color, but tasted good!

Yes, those are gourmet...wait for it...beans! Beans in a jar.

Cheese wrapped in herbs...who knew cheese could be so beautiful

We visited as many regional enotecas (wine cellars) as we could fit into our agenda, and again returned with a car full of wine.

Montferrato Enoteca - we were the only ones there!

Decisions, decisions

The joys of buying wine with a toddler

One of the agriturismos...obviously, they do not have the same fire codes here

Breakfast in the garden

Hot Springs at Aqui Therme...see the steam?

Modern gelato shop, because everything here is designed and not just built

A flower-shaped bush...why not?