2geonomads

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

No surprise that continental breakfast is beautifully presented and ideal after some fairly heavy breakfasts at some of our previous stays.

Maurizio provides us with maps and brochures of Asti and the area and on reading some of material I have noted how often they refer to buildings and sites being very ‘ suggestive’.

For a while I was looking forward to various houses and ladies of ill repute when it dawned on me that the writer had done a direct translation of the Italian word ‘ suggestivo’ which usually means  ‘evocative’, or ‘enchanting’ or ‘ interesting’. Life is full of disappointments!

We take the short drive into Asti to purchase train tickets for our trip to Turin later in the week and find that the town is far more appealing than we had expected. Whilst it certainly doesn’t have the ‘wow’ factor’ of other cities visited the narrow streets of a ‘ pedestrians -only’ area  have a charm and ambience of their own.

We have decided to take an afternoon drive north-west out of Asti on an historic trail to the small town of Cocconato. This lovely little town is a real surprise and we are able to get some very tasty piadine for lunch. The green rolling hills of the area, whilst less dramatic than those of Umbria and Tuscany ,offer some magnificent vistas both on the journey up to Cocconato and back through the towns of Montiglio, Rinco, Frinco and Castel’Alfero. Rinco, in particular, was fascinating as at first sight it seemed to be a town that the world had forgotten. However, on closer inspection we saw evidence that the town, with a large fortress, is a work in progress with lots of renovation taking place.

We return to Bramaluna to relax and do such things as writing this blog before enjoying what will no doubt be more of Mara’s superb culinary creations for dinner.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret.