After a swift drive across France, we entered Italy through the impressive 13-kilometre Fréjus Tunnel. Emerging on the Italian side, we found ourselves about 120 km northwest of Turin and set our sights on the Langhe Valley, famous for its rolling hills, vineyards, and world-renowned Barolo wine.

We stopped for lunch at a delightful trattoria along the way before continuing to the small town of **Barolo** itself. The historic centre was charming, but the summer heat was intense and finding accommodation proved surprisingly difficult. After trying several nearby villages without success, we made the spontaneous decision to head to the larger town of Alessandria instead.

This turned out to be a wonderful choice. We found a comfortable hotel and enjoyed one of the best dinners of our trip in the town centre — a superb meal paired with a carafe of excellent local wine. Sometimes the unplanned detours bring the nicest surprises.

After our brief but very pleasant stay in Alessandria, we continued our journey south into Tuscany, heading for the enchanting medieval hill town of **San Gimignano**, where we would spend the next few days exploring its famous towers and surrounding vineyards.