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A Week in Piedmont
A Tour of My Old Home Region

DAY 1 – ARRIVAL IN TURIN

Welcome to Italy! Upon your arrival at Milan airport, you will be met by your English-speaking driver and transferred to the Grand Hotel Sitea in Turin's city center. Get comfortable in your hotel and enjoy free time to explore for the rest of the day

Piazza Vittorio Veneto

DAY 2 – PRIVATE FOOD AND ART TOUR IN TURIN - THE HOMELAND OF ITALIAN CUISINE

After breakfast you will meet your private guide to start your walking tour of Turin.

You will see the Cathedral dedicated to St. John the Baptist where the Holy Shroud is preserved in an urn (not on show), the Royal Palace and its beautiful gardens, the Roman Porte Palatine and the Roman district.

Also visited is elegant Piazza Carignano (the venue of the first Parliament) and the absolutely beautiful Piazza San Carlo with its historic cafés. Taste a delicious bicerin (a decadent mixture of chocolate, espresso and hot milk) in one of the elegant historic cafés on Piazza San Carlo.

If you feel like walking a little further, take Via Po and admire the Mole Antonelliana, the symbol of the city, which hosts the National Museum of Cinema. A little further down via Po you'll reach Piazza Vittorio Veneto, one of the largest squares in Europe and across the river, you'll see the Church of the Great Mother of God built on the model of the Pantheon in Rome.

At the end of your walking tour leisure time at your disposal. Overnight stay in Turin.

DAY 3- ARRIVAL IN THE LANGHE REGION : a Land of Castles and Towers

After breakfast check out and meet with your private driver and head to the Arborina Relais (http://www.arborinarelais.it/) in the Langhe region.

Overnight accommodation in your hotel and free time to start getting the feel, (and taste…) of this amazing area, inscribed in UNESCO’s World heritage list.

DAY 4 – THE GREAT BAROLO WINE TOUR: WELCOME TO THE MOST INTERESTING ITALIAN WINE DISTRICT

Once breakfast and your morning cappuccino are finished, you'll meet up with your private guide to enjoy the first day of your "Barolo Experience".

Three different vineyards have been chosen. They are those selected by the Italian Gambero Rosso guidebook ("Three Cups" award) and by important wine journalists, like Robert Parker (in his book "The World’s Greatest Wine Estates").

The wineries are located in some of the most popular Barolo villages, e.g., Barolo, La Morra, Castiglione Falletto, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga, etc.

Each visit will be followed by a wine-tasting session so that you may compare the different flavors and choose your favorite one. (Usually, you will visit one winery in the morning and another in the afternoon.)

You will also visit some interesting local historical highlights and explore the picturesque villages mentioned.

In the afternoon, after you return to your hotel in the Langhe area, you'll have some free time to enjoy the beautiful setting.

DAY 5 - BARBARESCO WINE AND HAZELNUT DISCOVERY TOUR:THE SECRETS OF MAKING THE BEST CHOCOLATE IN THE WORLD!

After your breakfast meet up with your private guide this time to enjoy the secrets of “Barbaresco Wine Production” and take part in the “Hazelnut Discovery Tour.

The hazelnuts (“Nocciola Piemonte IGP”) here are, according to experts, the best in the world and go into the making of top Piedmont and Swiss chocolate as well as Nutella. The insight you'll get into the production, history and secrets – from tree to sweets - is truly fascinating.

You'll start in the hazelnut groves of a small farm in the Alta Langa, right through to overseeing the production of a range of sweet specialties, while learning some of the secrets of this intense and lingering flavor.

The visit would not be complete without a very tempting tasting session to round off the tour. Definitely the “sweetest” souvenir of your trip.

Day 6 - Cooking the Piedmont Way

Breakfast at the hotel and private transfer to the cooking course where you will learn more about Piedmontese cuisine, by joining a cooking class with a Piedmontese Chef.

You will learn to prepare a whole authentic menu, including an “antipasto” (starter), a “primo” (first course, usually our typical home-made tajarin), a “secondo” (second course) with accompaniment and dessert.

Following the cooking class, a tour to the cellar, and then enjoy the food prepared and relax with excellent wines including Barolo DOCG.

Afternoon at your disposal to take a walk or just savor the picturesque countryside while enjoying more of the excellent wines.

Transfer back to the hotel and overnight in Langhe.

Day 7 - Farm Visit and Cheese Tasting

Early morning breakfast and we head out on the drive up into the Alta Langa. This is a wild area of chestnut and oak woods, sheep farms and wheat fields and it is here where you’ll find some Italy’s finest regional produce.

In this region alone, they have 9 DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) cheeses including strong cheeses like Castelmagno and Gorgonzola to soft and delicate cheeses like Toma Piemontese or Robiola di Roccaverano.

Meet a passionate cheesemaker who will personally take you through the process by showing you his home and laboratory... and then he'll introduce you to his sheep.

You can do just a simple cheese tasting or have a light lunch meaning bread, tomatoes and salami in addition to the cheese. Go with the lunch in my view - the tomatoes, bread and salami are out of this world.

In the afternoon transfer back to the hotel and overnight in Langhe.

Transfer to the Airport

The sad moment has come when we need to say goodbye... or arrivederci. After breakfast your English speaking driver will take you to the airport for your flight home. I hope it won't belong before you and Italy meet again.

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