We awoke to rain again. Here is our side view, of the restaurant, from the little balcony outside our room.

Anyway, after a very nice breakfast in the agriturismo we drove, about 3 minutes, into Orta San Giulio.The original plan was to walk to Lago d’Orta but the rain was really coming down and we just didn’t want to get soaked. We literally “saw” the lake through the weather and decided to press on. For a moment I felt like one of those tourists who have to check off sites on a list but, we are not them.

The drive to Alba was about 2 hours and uneventful. Our airbnb host gave us really good directions “park next to the green house and the garden” and we got our stuff up to the first floor. There are no keys for this place, just key pads on the doors. The little apartment is very nice and IKEA-modern. I am so happy to be staying here a full week to really feel at home.

Views from our rainy balcony:

I could see a bunch of market tents as we drove in and so we quickly unpacked and went down. It turns out that most of the sellers had cheeses and meats as well as some crafty stuff and some household goods. We stopped for a coffee and a little sandwhich. We bought some cheese, some fresh ravioli (agnolotti in Piemonte) and the only vegetable I saw anywhere, a big bunch of green onions. Dinner!

We came back upstairs for a break, figured out how to work the heat and had a rest before we went back out to a small grocery store nearby called “Presto Fresco.” Got some wine and a few other things and bought some more cheese from a different street vendor. The town is quite crowded with a festive feel, even in the rain. We did not go near where the truffle festival is and really only ventured in about a 3 block radius.

Dinner came out great and we watched some online shows before bed.