Boston to Geneva (to San Francisco): All good things must come to an end... in Italy

Tomorrow is my first day back to work in Switzerland after a 3 week quasi vacation, I'm really not looking forward to getting back to the grind. Fortunately, I was able to cap off my vacation with a long weekend trip to Italy with friends. We went to the Piemonte region for the Alba International Truffle Fair. Our friends have been making the pilgrimage to this area of Italy each year to attend the fair and taste the amazing wine and food of the region. The Piemonte region of Italy is known for its strong red wines such as Barbera, Barolo, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Barbaresco, among others. The majority of the vineyards are small, family owned lots with stunning properties and views. With the fall season upon us, the vineyards spread into the horizon in an array of different colors, appearing like a patchwork quilt. This description from Lonely Planet perfectly captures the essence of the area:

Sometimes referred to as ‘Tuscany without the tourists’, Piedmont’s undulating hills striped with vineyards bear more than a passing resemblance to its famous southern counterpart. But, inexplicably, many visitors to Italy bypass this picturesque region. The first trickle of tourism, stemming mostly from Switzerland and Germany, only began in Piedmont (Piemonte) a decade ago. Today it remains a haven of tranquillity where you can meander among the vines and sip wine in castle cellars.

In-the-know foodies seek out Piedmont’s white truffles, hazelnuts, chocolates, and vintages such as Barberesco, Barolo and sparkling Asti. Its abundance of fresh produce and artisan traditions inspired the Slow Food Movement here, which is based around savouring the simple pleasures in life – an art which the Piedmontese have perfected.

Piedmont will leave you wondering when the crowds will finally catch on – and being thankful that they haven’t, yet.

We spent the weekend visiting many vineyards and fantastic restaurants, which all offered the option to add shaved truffle to your meals. An interesting side fact: one amazing 8 course meal cost us 25 Euros a person while the truffle shavings on top cost 45 Euros per person!

I just can't get enough of this scenery! Gorgeous!

Truffle selection at lunch - you choose which truffles you want, the server weighs them and tells you the price, and then the truffles are shaved on everyone's meals as they come out. Because truffles have such a strong flavor, we chose 3 truffles to last us through 9 people and 3 courses and it was more than enough!

Smelling the truffles

Italians love their beef carpaccio, which to us Americans, resembled a raw hamburger patty with truffles on it... it tastes alright, but it is still slightly disturbing to our American-trained mentality of "must never eat raw beef"