RAIN

Not every day on a bike tour can be sun and warm temps. Today's ride was one of those less-than-perfect days weather-wise. Tim and Camilla toughed it out until Barbaresco while the others climbed into a warm/dry van earlier. No real problems, when the going gets tough, the tough go wine-tasting! We stopped in the regional enoteca in Barbaresco to sample some of Barolo's little sisters, then moved on to --Napoli! Not really -- just down the hill to a place serving authentic Napoli foods, calling itself RossoPomodoro (red tomato) It's a small chain offering Napoli-style pizza and other wonderful things from Campania, including real mozzarella di bufala. After sampling some of the delights of this pizzeria, we continued to our castle/hotel atop Santa Vittoria d'Alba to dry off and relax. Keeping boredom at bay, we then headed off to one of Italy's most well-stocked bike stores, Atlante Ciclismo near Bra before returning to our "castle". Tonight we enjoyed Piemontese specialties in the castello's ristorante, including insalata Russia, vitello tonnato, and a stuffed onion before two first plates-- the traditional ravioli al plin and a corkscrew pasta with vegetables.

We skipped the second plate and went straight to dessert, a choice of panna cotta with fresh berries or a peach/chocolate.amaretto cake. Wines? We started our meal with a rose made from a blend of Roero Arneis and Nebbiolo, then moved on to a tasty red Roero (Nebbiolo) from the hills behind the hotel, along with a fresh Moscato d'Asti to go with our dessert.

Tomorrow's forecast is for some sun and clouds so we're excited about riding the roads of Barolo without getting wet!