Wednesday 16th September 2026

Bologna to Alba via Torino

Again no alarm required and we were soon packed up and heading for the Quadrilateral for breakfast and a last wander around town before leaving the apartment and joining the locals on a trip to the station to for our trip to Alba to start our walk.

Bologna station was a mini version of Rome Termini and its multi storey design had us playing Lift Lotto to get to our departure platform.

It seems our taxi experience was to be replicated with the trains. Our 1006 train departure time changed 4 times and a platform reassignment before we eventually boarded a packed train, initially visiting Milan where most exited and then Torino.

It was a very pleasant trip through the rural north of Italy before the hills kicked in around Torino. Travelling at 250 kms an hour certainly helps conquer the distance.

So entranced reading good news stories about the house renovation I nearly missed getting off at our station, scrambling off with bags and armful of other accessories rather than making a graceful exit. A quick sprint to the ticket office to secure tickets to Alba and 9 minutes later it was onto a packed local train for 2 hours. The scenery changed a little as we head east with town sizes growing, industry appearing and then the hills draped in grape vines.

No scrambling this time as it was the terminus for train so it was a more elegant exit followed by avstroll to our hotel just out of the old town.

Accommodation was pretty salubrious, but it’s hard to imagine this standard in towns of 200-300 where we will be staying over the next week or so.

Unpacked and headed to town dropping into a cafe for a late lunch. We were brought to heel by the owner who quickly explained we were not in a cafe it was a ‘gastronomica’ which really translated into flash pre made food of which some was warmed in a microwave. That said it was tummy

We spent the next few hours wandering through a very pretty town full of cafes, restaurants and specialty shops selling wine, truffles, cheeses , plus cakes and sweets to die for. Of course there was a Gelateria too hard to bypass.

The town was adorned with flags,of we think local villages, for an Autumn festival and was reminiscent of Sienna without the Il Palio horse race. The portico theme continued up here with many of the older buildings featuring them.

Unlike the unfinished Basillica in Bologna the Dourmo here was finished in all its glory. The steepling beams inside were an amazing piece of architecture and construction which you can only look at in wonderment.

We visited all four local squares which were just starting to get into the swing of passeggiata and warming our hearts.

Despite our intent to have a light dinner we failed miserably , putting the head on pilllow for a pre dinner nap and waking at 355 to start writing this blog. Today we start the walk on a trail that has an elevation map that looks like a seismograph printout.