fog

Wednesday: Saluzzo

Posted on by Susan

We drove to Saluzzo today, a medieval city that is about an hour from where we are staying. The fog was very thick when we started, but as we drove up in the mountains a bit it became much clearer.

We got to Saluzzo on their big market day and many roads were closed off in the center of the city. We drove around for a while before finding parking on a side street – it seemed that everyone in Saluzzo was at the market.

We checked out what they were selling: meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, and clothing, shoes, household items. The market was similar to the one in Alba on Saturday, but still fun to walk around.

We had wanted to tour La Castiglia, a castle there, but it was not open today. The ancient church was closed for a funeral. No matter – it was still quite a beautiful town to walk around. We bought some tomatoes and a couple kiwis.

We had lunch at a busy restaurant with a fantastic buffet. Again, it seemed as though everyone in town was there. We headed back to Alba after buying a few bakery treats at a forno – a bakery – we walked past as we went back to our car.


photos: the ancient city; at the market; decorated streets for a festival this weekend

Saturday: Cliffs of Moher

Posted on by Susan

It was a wet, wet, wet day to visit the Cliffs, but since we are just in the area today, we went anyway.

The 45-minute drive there was pretty, as all drives around Ireland have tended to be. As we got closer, we saw more than a few large coach tour-buses. I guess rain won’t stop anyone’s plans.

There’s a short walk from the parking lot to the cliffs, and it gets more amazing with every step. We walked up the slick staircase to get the best look we could, but there were no puffins out today. Nor were there any other sea birds or the wild goats I had read about.

The cliffs themselves are fantastic, and I’m sure they could be unbelievable on a sunny day. The rain continued. We watched a short film at the visitors center and eventually left.

We had planned to have lunch at a nearby town, but it was deluged with tour buses so we kept driving and found a pub about a half- hour away. The sun came out at the end of the day and our Saturday was complete.


photos: a rainy, foggy day at the Cliffs.