A few pictures from my Sunday hike. These first three are of a poplar stand near the Monforte cemetery, then the hamlet of Perno (you can make out the tower of Castiglione in the background), then Castiglione Faletto from below. A walk should have its cadences and rhythms just as any other activity. I am determined to see a different side of the region that I usually just buzz around in a car. Along the way, I find an old, untended and unloved row of pear trees alongside a vineyard. The pears look ripe, though they are nothing like supermarket pears – all gnarly, twisted, pecked-at and strangely colored – from greens to reds to yellows and browns. These are prehistoric, cretaceous pears. They are hard, tart and sweet, bird-pecked and partially worm-eaten. And delicious, even if I absent-mindedly eat a few of the worms in the process. It has a taste that makes me think I can survive outside of my usual comfort zone. Ha!
I walk along the ridge from Monforte to Perno, over to Castiglione, down the valley and up the opposite ridge to Serraluga, then back down and up again to Monforte.
THese next two shots are of the tower of Serralunga and some vineyards changing colors on the ridges between Serralunga and Monforte.
Note: From this point on, I’m just making thumbnails of the pics I post. Click on them to expand to their full size.
Also: A pic from the piazza in La Morra. This is the tourist view spot in the region, and it was crawling with them … I heard a half-dozen languages, even French. This is looking down the hillside toward the town of Barolo. Novello is on the hill in the middle distance on the right edge, Monforte in the middle, and Castiglione just off the left edge of the frame. The Maritime Alps are visible in the right far distance. Cross over them, and you come down in Liguria to the Mediterranean Sea.
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