It had been quite a trick, orchestrating the family’s arrival. We met Ariel and Daniel at the Avis counter at Malpensa, where we picked up a very nice Renault van. It wasn’t big enough for the whole crew, but both Sarah and Dan and Andrew and Emily would have their own cars. Dan and Sarah arrived at Linate, while Andrew and Emily arrived at Malpensa the next day. All three of us had nightmarish waits for our cars: it took us almost three hours!
But we were soon on the Autostrada heading southwest. Finding a rental house for the week had been quite an adventure. The kids all had votes, but I finally had to come to a decision, and we had rented a large house that was part of a medieval Borgo. The pictures didn’t give us much of an idea of what we were in for, and Sarah and Andrew didn’t hold back on expressing their dubiousness. The address was Trezzo Tinello, which was a more or less nonexistent place south of the village of Neviglie. We followed the gps to a certain point, a bend in the road, and then had to just plunge ahead up a winding vineyard road.
And sure enough, near the crest, were the gates to the Antico Borgo del Riondino. We were greeted by our hosts, Marco and his wife, who showed us the house. And we about fell over, it was so beautiful. The compound had three houses arranged around a lovely interior garden.
Ours was the manor house. Marco, an architect, had designed it himself and did much of the renovation.
There are seven spacious bedrooms, each with a private bath, two kitchens (plus an outdoor grilling kitchen on an elevated terrace), and an absolutely magnificent common room. These pictures give you some idea of the lengths to which Marco had gone to preserve the character of the building.
The common room is so large that it is hard to capture in a photograph. It includes a living area around an enormous fireplace and a huge dining area with a table that seats twelve looking out through a glass curtain wall onto the garden.
We chose a bedroom next to Sarah and Dan and the girls so that we could help out.
Ariel and Daniel picked a room in the wing of the house beyond the kitchen.
Sarah and Dan had been understandably anxious about the location of the pool. The description made it seem as if the pool room was open to the rest of the house. As it turned out, the pool was housed in a separate structure, a converted stable, across the courtyard. It was so beautiful the we had a hard time getting the girls to leave the compound!
Although the days were warm in late June, the hilltop was always cool, and even chilly at night. We spent evenings on the raised terrace, drinking wine and admiring the view over the vineyards.
We all got settled in and made a quick run into Neviglie for some provisions. Then it was off for the earliest table we could get at a restaurant in Treiso, la Ciau del Tornavento. We of course had two little ones with us, didn’t know what to expect, but plunged ahead. The restaurant is a stunning modern room with a panoramic view of the Barbaresco vineyards.
I had told them that we were bringing small children, but when we arrived they had set a long table for us in the exact center of the room–just where you see the floral display here. Yes, Italians love children.
There is a lovely terrace just past the windows, and we took turns playing with the girls outside. It was an incredible start to the week: the food was extraordinary, and the wine steward helped pick two wines: a Barolo and a Barbaresco. The Barbaresco was particularly great. It was a great evening, and we were only sorry that Andrew and Emily had missed it.