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Enchanté

Douro River Valley

Obidos

We’re back after an epic tour of Portugal. Thanks to everyone that helped make it a success! I’m always flattered by the amount of interest we receive for our tours. The food, wine and scenery are always world class and one of a kind. However, I think the best part is the people we meet and the friends we make.

Leaving Lisbon this year, I checked out of the Hotel da Baixa one final time and said goodbye to our butler, Pedro. We all grabbed Ubers to Hildalgo International and most folks headed back home. I had planned an additional excursion to Paris to do “research” for our upcoming tour of France, 2025.

It’s Mother's Day weekend, my sister and my Mom were due into Paris the next day and we had planned an exciting week together. Our hotel was on the west side of the city, south of the river in a neighborhoody nook of the 7th arrondissement. Just a couple blocks from Mars Park and the magnificent Eiffel tower!

After a quick nap, I decided to wander around the cozy neighborhood and look for a casual dinner. Earlier a little bistro caught my attention. I walked over and they were busy.

“Bonsoir,” I greeted the man behind the counter.

He was friendly and pointed to a small table in the corner. He brought bread, butter and water. The menu was entirely in french. Though I can't speak the language, I’m perfectly comfortable ordering food and wine. I quickly scanned the chalkboard and made my selection. “To start, asperges blanches à l'aneth et oeufs de saumon en français et Premier Cru Chablis.” I said with my best french accent.

“Oui messieurs, et..”

“The main, magret de canard à la purée de pommes de terre, un verre de Morgon.” My friend approved of the pairing and left me to enjoy the ambiance. Everyone around me spoke french. Just as I tore off a piece of the sliced baguette, the wine arrived. A family in front of me is HOUSING a table full of beef tartare with raw egg yolk, huge bones with marrow and a ton of pommes frites with aioli. It’s so frecking French!

The next day, my family arrived. After a few pastries and several espressos, the three of us took a tour of the city with our own private driver, stopping for macaroons, crepes and other important historical context along the way. Later, we wandered the streets and came upon the pedestrian only Rue Cler filled with flower shops, cheese shops, wine shops and tons of outdoor eateries and cafes. We walked there and back quite easily. I loved how flat and accessible the city seemed, especially after spending so much time climbing hills in Lisbon and Porto. I can’t wait to get back to Paris!

Rue Cler, Paris

Honeymoon in Northern Italy

by Suzanne O'Regan

Sipping wine always gives me wanderlust.

Because as I sip, the wine speaks its journey to me–the terroir, the climate, the vines, the people who harvested and bottled it.  

That is what happened when Bobby and I first tasted Barolo and Barbaresco wines at Rioja wine bar in 2018. We knew we had to visit Alba and its surrounding wine regions on our honeymoon to view the scenery and experience the culture for ourselves.

But we wanted to see more of northwestern Italy and to have three contrasting experiences of Italy on our honeymoon: Liguria adjacent to the Mediterranean, the Aosta valley nestled in the Alps, and the glorious wine country of Piemonte. Here, I share some memories of eating and drinking in the towns we visited in the summer of 2022.

Sestri Levante

The idyllic view of the old town from our hotel

Sestri Levante isn’t rich or posh, unlike its fancy neighbor down the road, Portofino. But it is just as beautiful, and it’s the town where Italians go on holiday. Its narrow winding streets of the old town are captivating and lively at night.

After a day spent hiking from one end of the Cinque Terre to the other, through the five villages, along cliffs, and through terraced vineyards, we located the restaurant “Ristorante La Mainolla” recommended in our guidebook. On arriving, it appears that all the locals eat there and many order pizza to take away.

Hiking in the vineyards overlooking the villages in the Cinque Terre

The outside seating is full but we’re hungry so we take a table in the non-air-conditioned interior. It’s charming and rustic, with pictures of the Old Sestri from 100 years ago adorning the walls. We order a carafe of white wine and the Ligurian specialty of anchovies in lemon to share as a starter.

For entree, I order a primi of pasta di mare while Bobby gets a primi and a secondi (we had done over 40,000 steps that day—we were starving!) The waitress asked “Are you sure?” and chuckled when Bobby said yes.

My primi is delicious with tomatoes and mussels. We share the secondi of seabass in a buttery basil sauce but unfortunately, we can only eat half of it!

We finish the night in a cute little wine bar called “Bibendum La Bottega del Vino”, manned by the first “Italian Jake” we meet. He recommends an amazing gelato place around the corner, which we also visit. We enjoy a glass of wine there each night in Sestri and he gives us a gift of a wine opener on our final night.

The little wine bar in Sestri Levante

Portofino

The yachts and colorful buildings come into view as we pull into Portafino’s harbor on the ferry boat from Santa Margherita Ligure. The cobblestone square is enclosed by winding narrow streets hanging onto high cliffs. Pretty flowers and bright splashes of color are everywhere.

We wander the narrow streets looking for lunch. Eventually, we settle on a pizza place on the square, which turns out, rather delightfully and unexpectedly, not to be a tourist trap. I order a salad with anchovies and a refreshing glass of the local white wine.

We enjoy our meal on the cobblestone square, people watching. There is a rather unique mix of people - young, glam Instagram influencer types, to swanky yacht-owners. All of the women are well-dressed but the men just look like tourists.

Lunch in Portofino

After lunch, we walk up to the castle overlooking the harbor and admire the views up there. We see a yacht come in. Curious about its occupants, we decide to venture down the narrow stone steps to watch a couple disembark. We go back to the square for a well-earned gelato. Then we spy the same couple with an entire restaurant to themselves and they don’t even look that happy.

We follow our guidebook’s advice to find the secluded cove of Paraggi, halfway between Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure. The walk is a pleasant amble over the hills overlooking Portofino, getting some nice views of the town from another angle in the process. It’s a long hike back to Santa Margarita, but we don’t mind.

Alba

The quiet paved streets of Alba’s downtown

We arrive in Alba on a warm, sunny evening after a rain-soaked journey from Liguria. The town is buzzing as we stroll the streets, getting our bearings. We ate a delicious meal al fresco in a quiet piazza at a restaurant called “Osteria Ristorante La Libera”, recommended to us by Jake and Lauren. Downtown Alba is entirely pedestrianized, and only the residents are allowed to drive their cars on the narrow cobbled streets. One car passes by during our dinner.

Top tip in Alba: It’s obvious, but only drink Barolo and Barbaresco here. In most of the bars and restaurants, it's only 8 euro a glass.

Eating al fresco at “Osteria Ristorante La Libera”

Barolo

We got up bright and early for our 10am appointment at Vajra, arranged on our behalf by Jake. We devoured a continental breakfast on a sun-filled patio of local cheese, meats, and dainty little cakes.

We set off in our rental car for the hills of Barolo. We find the village Barolo itself first, before winding up the hill to the next hamlet, where after a bit of searching, we find the tasting rooms of Vajra. We get a tour of the facilities before settling down in the tasting room, a light-filled room overlooking fields of vines. Maps of the wine regions surrounding Alba (Barolo, Barbaresco, and Roero) are on one wall, and a glass container of the region’s soils is in one corner. We sit down, admiring the array of bottles before us.

We start with a Langhe Bianco, then we sample the always lovely Dolcetto d’Alba. Next, we try the more unusual Freisa, before ending our tasting on not one, but three Barolos (we are on honeymoon, after all)! Our hosts are friendly, welcoming, and excited that this is our honeymoon.

At the end of the tasting, our host recommends a restaurant called “Pettit Bistro” for lunch in Barolo. We have our lunch on a terrace and I have the local specialty of agnolotti with sage (a stuffed pasta similar to ravioli) while Bobby has gnocchi with a sprinkling of truffles. We wash down our meal with an espresso before venturing into the frankly surreal Museo del Vino a Barolo in the castle next door to while away an hour learning about the history of Barolo, before meandering through the town, stopping for a pick-me-up gelato.

The view on the terrace at “Pettit Bistro” in Barolo

Barbaresco and Neive

The next day, we decided to explore the wine region of Barbaresco. We stop in the village of Barbaresco itself, and it isn’t long before we are enjoying a cheese and charcuterie board, with a glass of Barbaresco, of course. Our table is on a roofed terrace overlooking the valley at a winery called “Casa Boffa”. We spend a most pleasant hour enjoying our Barbaresco and the equally delicious snacks accompanying it.

Barbaresco in Barbaresco!

We drove to the next Barbaresco village, the hilltop hamlet of Neive. This is a charming little town, with the Sunday street market winding down as we arrive. There are not one, but two beautiful churches seated on top of the old town, which we step into and breathe in the heady scent of incense. It’s not long before we spot a little wine shop, “Vinoland”, with a sign: wine tasting, 15 euro. We can’t resist.

Next thing, we are sampling a most delicious array of wines with narration from our amiable host, who is—I’m not kidding you—the second Italian Jake. He knows everything about the local wines, and he is so happy to teach it to us. He’s naturally a little bit of a wine snob and prefers the smaller Barolo and Barbaresco producers. We even get chatting about American wine, and it turns out that a Californian wine he loves is one that we’ve sampled at Rioja, but it costs 80 euro in Italy…

Aosta

We ended our honeymoon in the Italian Alps, in the wonderful city of Aosta, located in the Val d’Aosta, where French is mostly spoken. It’s near Mont Blanc, and the St Bernard pass on the Italian border with Switzerland.

On our first evening there, we experienced the hip and multicultural scene of Aosta in full glory.

Rather than going for dinner, we end up going on an “Italian bar crawl”—stopping for tasty aperitivo at several bars. Aperitivo in Italy means free bites accompanying your drink. But it is a single drink—you are not meant to overstay your welcome! We learned this the hard way early on in our honeymoon in Sestri, when we decided we wanted a second drink after aperitivo but our server never came back to check on us!

We start our Aosta bar tour with a beer for Bobby and an Aperol spritz for me (the most refreshing drink in Italy) on the Piazza Emile Chanoux, with a delicious array of snacks—a dainty open sandwich, chips, nuts, and little pastries. Then we amble away from the main thoroughfare along a side street, where we find the city’s one Michelin Star restaurant, and not far from it, a little indie-rock bar next to a watermill with tables and chairs on the street. This was a lively spot full of twentysomethings enjoying the rock music playing outside in the speakers. We enjoy more drinks at a table next to the watermill along with a plate of meats, bread, and cheeses.

Aperitivo at Piazza Emile Chanoux, Aosta

On to the next bar, where I had a Hugo spritz and Bobby enjoyed a Negroni, along with more little sandwiches and chips. The atmosphere in the street was raucous—on a Wednesday evening no less—now that the whole town had had its fill of aperitivo…even a flash mob weaved around us and the other tables!

Hiking the spectacular Val Ferret

The final day of our honeymoon was the most memorable one. We hiked the outstandingly beautiful Val Ferret trail on a sunny day, which had the most spectacular view of Mont Blanc. We started our day in the town of Courmayeur, which was full of hikers like ourselves, hiked the 24km, and then finished the day by glamming up for a fabulous meal at the “Ristorante Vecchio Ristoro”, the Michelin Star restaurant we had spotted a few days before. Our meal consists of many small delicious courses, two glasses of wonderful wine (Roero and Burgundy Pinot Noir), and it wraps up the most amazing vacation.

My entree at the Ristorante Vecchio Ristoro

Thanks to Jake and Lauren of Rioja for switching us on to the wines of Alba and beyond!

Wisdom Table

We’re always on the hunt for great local restaurants serving inspired cuisine and this past weekend we struck gold!

The Yadkin Valley (AVA) has become known for producing quality wines in western North Carolina. Until recently, there wasn’t a great restaurant in the area to drink and enjoy wine. In 2021 Jeremy and Crystal opened Wisdom Table in Elkin, NC. We were in town for an Italian wine dinner that featured 6 handmade courses, all expertly paired with regionally appropriate Italian wine. The canederli in brodo was soothing and complex. The orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe reminded me of a meal at Tenuta Santa Antonio, in Valpolecella. The final course was perfectly braised beef served with a comparative tasting of Super Tuscan & Barolo. We were to choose our favorite combo. While both wines were excellent, I had a clear favorite. Which would you choose?

Hand made orecchiette

Terroir Tours

Future Adventures

Tuscan Wine & Welness Retreat

• September 2024 - Sold Out

Pride of Portugal

• April 2025 - Sold Out

Delicacies of France

• May 2025 - Sold Out

• June 2025 - Now Accepting Reservations (Only 4 seats remaining)

NEW 2026 Schedule Coming Soon

• Argentina

• Sicily

More info

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