• Home

Kangaroos & Kimonos

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Stay free like me!
  • Home Exchange
  • Hospitality
  • Travel Tips
  • Destinations
    • United States
    • Europe
    • South America
  • Blog

Red, Red, Wine

June 19, 2015 by Laurie Deppa Leave a Comment


If you read my blog “Travel Tips – Make a Local Friend”, you know that I met a lady from Italy (Cristina).  Her husband was working on the Naval Academy for more than a month and she knew no one.  We met online and spent many great days together, becoming good friends.

Alba trip 1

Laurie & Cristina in Alba

She invited me to come to her town in the Piemonte region and so we did!  My husband and I flew into Torino, Italy (Turin) and Cristina picked us up.  She actually lives in a tiny village called Diano d’Alba. The next 3 weeks were like a movie.  My husband and I stayed in her 300-year old family wine-making house, overlooking the vineyards of Nebbiolo wines.  We met the parents and brothers, went to parties, learned how to make gnocchi and tiramisu.  The dad had a salumeria (meat store) and everyday we had fresh prosciutto.  Oh my!  They offered us the master bedroom – where we threw open the shutters to amazing views of the countryside.

Alba 2

Cristina & a friend teaching us how to make gnocchi in Italy

Cristina is a wine writer so she gave us tours of all the local vineyards – Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo, etc.  She even took us to a private vintage party with a famous chef.  We brought home lots of good wine that trip.  (Another good reason to pack light.)

Alba 4

Laurie & Cristina in Torino

It really is the greatest trip we have ever had (and I have been on many).   It cost us very little because we stayed with friends, we mostly ate at home with them, we borrowed their car, and had priceless experiences we never would have had being in a hotel.

My farewell dinner with the family in Alba

My farewell dinner with the family in Alba

We stay in touch on Facebook and Skype.  I really miss them and hope to go back soon with Ellie.

Grazie 🙂 Cristina y Lorenzo!


Tweet
PinIt

Filed Under: Italy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Blog Entries

  • Fly Cheap to Argentina
  • Free Travel to NYC on Amtrak
  • Planning a Trip is Easy with Tripit
  • Stay Free Around the World with Trusted Housesitters
  • “Travel FREE Like Me” Seminar on March 14th

Join our Mailing List

Submitting this form will add you to our mailing list and entitle you to members-only information from Kangaroos and Kimonos.

There is no charge for this, and we promise to never share your information with other companies.

Copyright © 2023 · Kangaroos and Kimonos · Site layout and theme customizations by Fischer IT Solutions

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in