Yellow is the New Black! (And a Summer Trip)
- Matt Padula
- Dec 19, 2020
- 4 min read
Ciao everyone! All's well here in Italia, and some big news—after 5 weeks of pretty intense lockdown, we have moved from 'Red' and 'Orange' status to a glorious 'Yellow' for the next few weeks. There are still many restrictions, but it's much better than before! Restaurants and bars/cafés are open for seated service again (until 6:00) and we can move around the region...we can even move between regions, with some limitations, for the next few weeks.
The last few weeks were tough—boring as much as anything; everyone doing their best to abide by the rules, staying home, lots of take away meals and paper cup coffee (che orrore!). We've had two days of big snow here; it didn't snow at all last year, but we are 50 or so miles from the base of the Alps, so I guess it was a matter of time!
Thankfully, putting most of the country into Red and Orange status during this time has worked—there are still too many cases/deaths here, but the trend line has gone down significantly. We're very hopeful everyone stays super-careful these next few weeks—cold weather and holiday get-togethers do not make a good combination. Wish us luck!
Snow Falling on Pandas; locally-sourced Negroni ingredients; BB with the Chieri Heart Quilt
Ci piacciono le luci! St. Bernardino's church; Via Vittorio Emanuele II
So what does "yellow" look like here? Our new status just kicked in this weekend, so everyone is super-excited. Barbara and I spent a lovely Sunday in Torino and then back in Chieri, and we were glad to see big crowds in both places, masked and well-dispersed, gratefully and excitedly doing their shopping and, yes, sitting down at restaurants—there's lots of pent-up demand out there no doubt! Stay tuned as we all try to navigate these new freedoms without reverting to the dreaded Orange status.
Outdoor seated dining in Piazza Carlo Alberto, Torino; Fun display in Piazza Carlo Felice
Meanwhile, let's take this opportunity to tell you about another fun travel exeprience we had this past summer—I know it seems like ages ago, but back in the time where you could go anywhere you want (as long as you wore a mask), Barbara and I made a long-overdue trip to Italy's beloved Val d'Aosta area.
Folks here are very proud of THEIR mountains—not the Julian Alps or the Swiss Alps, but this beautiful NW corner of the Alps, where France and Italy come together; it's the home of Mont Blanc and (what I am told is) fantastic skiing/ snowboarding. Yes, when the Piemontese go "alle montagne," they go to the Val d'Aosta! Half of the people we know here either have, or their family has, a second home there—it's only an hour and a half away from Torino so it's an easy weekend ski getaway.
Now we don't ski (I know, what a waste!), so we planned our trip for some summer hiking and all around exploring. We decided to split our time between what proved to be two very different towns—Cogne and Courmayeur.
Cogne is a charming little town near the popular Gran Paradiso National Park, that serves as a hub for hikers, mountain bikers, and all kinds of Alpine explorers. Gran Paradiso is famed for being the tallest peak in the region whose summit is entirely in Italy.
We were so lucky to be invited to spend a few days there by our dear friends Marta and Diego and their two lovely girls, all of whom are avid hikers. We had the best time with them, cooking and doing jigsaw puzzles, until...gulp...it was time for our big hike.
I guess I misunderstood Marta when I asked her how long our hike would take—I thought she said "a couple" of hours, but apparently she said a few hours, and meant a few hours EACH WAY, which turned out to be 10 hours in total!
Little did I know we were staying with a family of mountain goats—Marta's 70-year old mom joined us, and all of these guys were clambering up the mountain like you climb into bed. Barbara and I were proud to make it three quarters of the way (see the picture of the stone behemoth), but we started doing some Everest-aware calculations (like, you know that most of people who die on Everest each year, die on the way down, right?). Anyway, the rest of our party—the ones, ranging from 8 to 70, who apparently function quite well at altitude—went all the way to the top! And we were happy to greet them at the bottom, with what was left of a crisp bottle of Arneis and hot cocoa for Lara and Sandy.
Next it was on to Courmayeur, only 30 minutes from Cogne but a very different vibe.
Situated near the base of Mont. Blanc, Courmayeur is Italian with a French accent—a pretty ritzy town (do people still use that word?) with upscale hotels and shops, and a very see-and-be-seen crowd strutting around. We enjoyed three days there at a great hotel with a pool and a little spa, surrounded by incredible views of Mont Blanc among other impressive peaks. Check out the photos—truly a world away, just two hours from home in Chieri. As soon as we are allowed to leave the our region, we will head back to Val d"Aosta!
Our fingers are crossed that the vaccine will be available for our those who are most vulnerable, and for all of our brave health care workers, as soon as possible. Hopefully soon after that, we can all enjoy more travel opportunities. In the meantime, hang in there and thanks for reading!
Comentários