Our friendly host, Stefano of ortaflats.com, helped us with our luggage on the uphill walk to the garage where we found our car. It seems a little less humongous and formidable to me now. It’s a Jeep Compass. We drove south to Vercelli and, with the help of Google maps, found a free public parking lot just outside the ZTL.

It was market day in Vercelli and there were blocks and blocks and piazzas full of stalls. I popped into the restaurant I had chosen and reserved for lunch, and we walked all over town after that. We spent some time in the TIM store only to discover that my new phone is not unlocked. Lots of angst with T-Mobile, but we are all set now.

Vercelli is totally off the tourist track. The main piazza is nice, but a bit run down. They have porticos and some pretty buildings like this:

I have a Slow Food app from 2020 and found the restaurant, Paulino, on it. We had a really great Piemontese lunch there. Finally I got my favorite very small agnolotti, simple with butter and sage:

Ken got a pasta with sausage and vegetables which was really homey and delicious. Then we shared roast chicken and sauteed cabbage and a hazelnut torta for dessert. We were lucky we reserved because Paulino was turning away walk-ins. The ambiance of the place is homey, like the food. He even scolded me for not finishing my pasta. Look at this old stove set in front of the open kitchen:

After lunch we drove to Novello. We’ve been super unlucky with the toll machines on the freeways. Crazy!

We drove through the narrow streets to find the parking lot for ANT, apartments and restaurants. Tiziano helped us settle in with 2 generous pours of a local white wine. This place is all about design with interesting touches everywhere. For instance, the bathroom sink is set on a big barrel and the beautiful headboard is a huge carved grey stone., set into the wall The mountain views are nice and we have a little balcony.

We walked, through Novello, to the little grocery store. Still full from lunch, we bought some focaccia and a nice goat cheese and enjoyed that for dinner.

Here’s a quick shot of the one of the views of the Langhe from town: