From a Metropolis to Paradise...

Greetings from the 5 Chimneys Bed and Breakfast in Pozzengo (village) in Monferrato (county) of the Piedmont Region of northwestern Italy!! 

5 Chimneys front garden

Another view

We traveled from Rome to Milan today via express train (quite comfy) and had 2 really adorable seat mates.  A mother (in her late 70s) and her daughter (in her 50s) traveling together and so funny.  There was just a touch of English shared, but communication was simple when required and when we were departing the train in Milan, the mother had gotten up a bit earlier to stretch our her knees (they looked like they hurt quite a bit and she used a cane) and when the train stopped she picked up their suitcase ready to walk with it.  Her daughter told her (in Italian, of course) to calm down and put the bag down!!  We all chuckled and her daughter said to us that her mother was the ‘commander!!’  It was too funny. 

Leah...with our trusty guidebook.

We then found our regional train to Vercelli, located in the Piedmont region of Italy.  We got our bags aboard and up onto the racks, as there was no space to have them on the floor.  We were hoping they would announce the stops, but alas, this wasn’t the case, so we knew when we were to arrive in Vercelli, which then helped us to know when to lug our bags down and get ready to depart the train in a quick fashion.  After 1 hour/4 stops, it was our turn to get off the train.  We made it up/down the stairs to the front of the station and after Leah asked 1 gentleman if he was Giorgio and the poor man didn’t know what hit him, then the real Giorgio came into the station and we knew it was him the second we saw him. 

Giorgio and Patrizia own the B&B and have been running it for 4 years.  It is called the 5 Chimneys, as it has 5 guest rooms and 5 hearths.  There is also a guest house, called the Pink House, and this is where Leah and I will be residing for the next 5 nights!!  Giorgio and Patrizia used to live in Chicago for a number of years and then relocated to Omaha (weird, right?) and then when Giorgio got laid off about 4 years ago, Patrizia had inherited her family home here in Pozzengo and so they decided to come back here to live and run the B&B.  They bought the ‘main’ house of the B&B and renovated both houses extensively and then opened their doors.  Their goal is to never grow, so that they can continue to provide great service to their guest and they consider their guests part of their family. 

Well, in meeting Giorgio when we arrived I already feel a part of their family.  He is warm, funny and seems to have a mixed accent ~ heavily Italian, but strangely, part New Yorker.  He told us all about the region ~ how they grow all of the rice (arborio) that is used to make risotto and about the wines that are made here as well.  He and Patrizia are part-owners in a winery here and we should be going there for a tasting on Monday, I believe. 

So, we are driving through this beautiful countryside and all of the crops have been harvested and apparently they will be planting winter wheat very soon.  The rice fields are sporadically afire, as they burn them down each year after harvest.  We see smoke plumes all along the horizon as we are driving.  We then make a right turn and head up the hill toward Pozzengo, a village of 250 people.  He tells us that there is a concert in the village this afternoon and that although we will be a bit late, we are going to go and sit down after intermission.  We drop the car off at the B&B and walk up the hill 2 doors to the Church, which was built in the 1800s with the original church apparently underneath the current church which dates back to the 9th century.  To quote Giorgio, “For Italy standards, we are quite young here in Pozzengo.”

We go to the side of the church after Giorgio asked the 15 or so folks standing outside the front of the church if it’s full ~ they answer yes ~ and he rings the door of the rectory where someone sticks their head out the upper window and he asks to be let in.  The door opens and we go through the rectory and end up behind the altar, as the concert is already in progress.  We are introduced (quietly) to an elderly lady sitting in the back and then there is a quick scurry to find us chairs.  So we are sitting slightly behind the altar, but can see the mass of folks listening to this fantastic string + piano quartet from Milan.  They have these musical events every few weeks here at the Church which the village and Giorgio and Patrizia seem to support.  It was a fantastic concert and this is a little about the group and what they played...

I Solsti d’Europa (quartet)
    Roberto Ranfaldi ~ violino
    Luca Ranieri ~ viola
    Alfredo Persichilli ~ violoncello
    Andrea Dindo ~ pianoforte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
    Quartetto in sol minore K 478
        Allegro
        Andante
        Rondo

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
    Quartetto in la minore

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
    Quartetto n. 1 in sol minore op. 25
        Allegro
        Intermezzo.  Allegro ma non troppo
        Andante con moto
        Rondo alla zingarese
        Presto

At the intermission, we were introduced to several important folks and then taken to our reserved seats at which we finally met Patrizia ~ who is spectacularly lovely and warm ~ and their other B&B guests, Mark and Carol from San Diego.  We also met the Mayor ~ a woman ~ and the Vice Mayor and his wife, who were all very gracious and welcoming. 

The intermission was ending so we sat down for the 2nd part of the concern.  How to describe the pews we were sitting upon???  Well, they were wooden...about 6 inches wide and the kneeler was very close to the front edge of the pew, so let’s just say it was a bit uncomfortable.  I found a ‘comfy’ position by having 1 foot on the kneeler and the other foot on the floor and then switching periodically.  I guess this style of pew really keeps you focused on the mass?  Not sure...but pretty hard and not so comfy. 

The concert was spectacular!!  Several rousing rounds of applause were doled out by the SRO crowd and the quartet took several well-deserved bows.  We were then told there would be a reception at the Community Club/Center, down the hill. 

We continued to be greeted very warmly by the local members of the community, as clearly Giorgio and Patrizia are very well-engaged within it.  One friend of theirs even said, ‘How do you do?’ to us and apparently he speaks no English, so Patrizia was very tickled by this. 

We strolled down the hill with all of the others who attended the concert ~ apparently most of the folks were from other communities nearby and a few from Pozzengo ~ and arrived at the reception where it was packed.  We did not run down the hill, rather strolled, so were not the 1st to arrive at the reception.  Well, when we got there most of the food was gone, so we got a small sample of some local fare ~ bread with yellow pepper + sardines and a small pizza ~ and some Barolo (or non-alcoholic options were available too for the teetotalers of the group).

We walked outside and gazed over what was the most serene and pastoral valley, cut with various pastures and fields as well as groves of poplar trees that stand very erect and are just beautiful.  The sun was still up, but was starting to soften its glow and the light was just amazing.  Of course, I left my camera in the car earlier, but am confident I will get a photo of this vista very soon.

Patrizia was very worried as she had been ‘cooking up a storm this morning!’ and had made 4 platters of some local favorite (with approximately 135 portions).  Apparently, we got there too late to enjoy any of it, and in true church-gathering fashion, the food was gone in a second and it was worrying her that we hadn’t had enough to eat.  :)  We certainly were not upset, but she was. 

We solved the ‘problem’ (not really a problem), by going back to the 5 Chimneys and getting an introduction to our accommodations for the week ~ the Pink House.  It’s truly its own house, with kitchen, refrigerator, sitting room with dining table and then 2 bedrooms + 1 bath upstairs.  Both bedrooms walk out onto a balcony that faces mostly west, I think, and I got the most wonderful photos of the sunset.  Not a bad view, eh???

Breathtaking

Love this view

They left us there to settle-in and we did just that.  It’s a lovely house and we will be very comfortable and well-taken-care-of here!  I have NO doubts.  Around 8p, our phone downstairs rang and it was Giorgio saying we were ready to go for pizza.  We unlocked ourselves and then locked up the house using a medieval-looking key.  We then strolled to the main house and were asked do we want to ride in the ‘Ferrari’ with Patrizia or the Alfa Romeo (yes, Alfa Romeo) with Giorgio?  Leah and I chose the ‘Ferrari,’ of course, and hopped into a really well-used Fiat that is blue.  Patrizia calls it here ‘Ferrari’ in jest, of course, and we had a good laugh.  She was still worried that her food got eaten so quickly and that we didn’t get enough and that she wasn’t cooking for us that evening.  We tried to let her know it was all ok!!  So off to the pizzeria we went. 

It was packed ~ Sunday night is pizza night, right? ~ and we were sitting at the table when Patrizia leans over to me and says, “The pizza is great here, but the wine...not so good, but we will drink it anyway.’  I guess that just summed it up perfectly.  Made me smile. 

So, pizzas for everyone ~ each person gets their own, which is about 12-14” in diameter with extremely thin crust.  I chose the 4 Stagioni (four seasons), which included 1/4 covered in mushrooms, 1/4 covered in ham, 1/4 covered in artichokes and 1/4 covered in black olives.  It was delicious, although I certainly wasn’t able to finish mine, but enjoyed parts and pieces from all of the 4 seasons.  Patrizia and Leah both had the Margherita pizza and Patrizia finished hers grandly and proudly.  The wine was ok ~ not great as Patrizia said, but not terrible either ~ and the company was even better.  It was a great opportunity to get to know all of the folks at the table and for them to get to know us. 

We then returned back to the 5 Chimneys in the ‘Ferrari’ and Patrizia offered us ice cream and/or Limoncello.  Limoncello it was!!  It is kept in the freezer so is icy-cold and was so delicious, as always!!  This 1st Limoncello was a toast to Allison and Dennis who love it so dearly and who are now engaged!!  Salute!!

Much conversation, story telling and laughter ensued and then we discussed our plans for Monday.  We then went off to bed at 1130p and my comment to Leah was I don’t know how Giorgio and Patrizia do it all and so well with so much energy!?!?  Their passion for hosting and hospitality is very evident!!

Well...time to sleep, as the church bells just chimed 12a. 

Sweet dreams...

xoxo
Stacy