A little less than a year ago, I messaged Diana about our dates in Alba and the possibility of a visit. And today was the day it actually, happily happened.

We started out the day with coffee at the same bar as the day before and with a walk around looking for a TIM store which didn’t exist. And guess what…it was raining. We did laundry in our apartment and headed out on the 20 minute scenic drive (the grapevines are still mostly green so no fall colors yet) to Repubblica di Perno where we met Diana and Misha for lunch. The food was delicious, homey and perfect for the weather. We all had the cotechino (fresh sausage) with polenta and a lovely cheese sauce. Diana and I chose the ravioli in chicken broth, total comfort food, and Misha and Ken had tajarin (flat, long, fresh pasta) with a sausage ragu. Ken and I each had a glass of Nebbiolo. But the food had to take a back seat to the company. It was just a joy to see our friends again!

We said goodbye, took some photos and said goodbye again. Ken and I walked down the hill to where we had parked.

Driving back into Alba we stopped to look for another TIM store but it had recently changed to Vodafone. I stopped for a coffee (and to use the bathroom) and we were told the was another TIM store a few blocks away so we walked that way. But, of course, no shop was there. All of this looking for the store to get a new Sim card for my phone didn’t matter. We just loved being able to walk around without the rain! And we got some groceries, too.

After about 10 minutes back in the apartment the rain started again so we never went out. I made a pot of vegetable soup and read. After watching Goliaith and The Politician we went to sleep.

I forgot to post the photo of our last night’s dinner at home: