Saturday, August 12, 2006

asti & acqui terme

While planning my trip to Italy this summer, I planned to take a daytrip to Asti while staying in Torino. I almost stayed in Asti in 2003 and again almost stayed in Asti this summer until I read about Saluzzo. I also wanted to visit Acqui Terme and try to hook up with Diana, a woman I met through slow travel that runs a B&B. I called Diana earlier in the week and the plan was for me to take the 9 am train, which was a 40 minute direct train from Torino to Asti, spend a little time there, and then continue on by train to Acqui. Diana would meet me at the train station in Acqui.

While having a relaxing breakfast at my hotel, I lost track of time. I realized that I had only 20 minutes to make the train. I also needed to purchase a ticket. I did some speed walking to the train station and arrived with 5 minutes to spare. When I arrived in Torino a few days earlier, I did not see the automatic train ticket machines and so I headed to the ticket line hoping that it would move quickly. On my way there, I noticed a delay of 40 mins on the board for my train. I wasn’t sure though if this was true and so I still wanted to get to the train on time just in case the delay time changed. Since the train originated in Torino, I could not figure out the reason for the delay.

There was one person in front of me in the line and 3 ticket windows open. A woman with a german accent got in line behind us. She started telling us in English that she had 5 minutes to catch her train and expected both of us to let her cut in line. I was amazed that she just assumed we both spoke english. She was quite rude. The woman in front of me ignored her. I told her that my train also left in 5 minutes. She continued to complain and sigh loudly muttering about hating to be late. The people at the ticket windows completed their transactions and we all proceeded to the open windows. I was very lucky to get a very nice man. I asked him if my train was indeed late. He said that he had not heard about any late trains. He checked it out with his collegues and then confirmed that yes, the train was running 40 minutes late. So my speed walking was just for exercise.

I bought my ticket and headed for the train as I didn’t dare leave and come back in case things changed. There were many people waiting outside and a few people boarding. I asked a young couple if they knew why the train was late. They told me there was an “incidente” which later I found out was damage on the track between Torino and Asti. The train finally left 57 mintues later. There was an announcement apologizing for the “57 minute” delay, making sure to mention that it was not an hour delay but only 57 minutes.

About 10 or 15 minutes after the train departed, the train stopped in no mans land for another 15 minutes. I wondered if we left when we did and then stopped later on so that the train announcement would not admit that the delay was actually more than an hour. When the train started up again, a few minutes later it slowed down. Many people on the train got out of their seats to look outside. I joined them to see some men on the side of the road shoveling rocks back under the train track. The train creeped by until we passed that part of the track. I then understood the reason for the delay. The track was partly washed away from the storm the day before.

We finally arrived in Asti almost 2 hours later. I noticed on the boards that all the trains were now delayed at least an hour. I called Diana and made plans to meet her on the train departing about an hour after I arrived.

After wandering the town for a while, I decided that it was not as delightful as I had expected. I read about all these towers and thought they would be all over the town. There were a few, but not as many as I imagined. I did feel after spending a little time there that it was a town that I felt could grow on you. I stopped in a great little shop and bought some delicious pasta for lunch. The people in the shop were very friendly and helpful. I ate my lunch on a little park bench in one of the piazzas. It was a beautiful day outside. A nice elderly man sat on the bench next to me and started a converstation with me. He was very kind. After finishing my lunch, I went into the duomo. As soon as I entered, a man informed me that the church was closing in 5 minutes. I took a couple of pictures including a picture of a few Palios (banners) from the famous Asti Palios and left. I stopped for a coffee and then headed back to the train station.




(Asti - last one I merged)

The train to Acqui was a pretty new regional train. It was very comfortable and the scenery along the was was beautiful. Diana was at the train station when I arrived. I told her about the hour delays and my morning experience and we decided to talk to the woman at the ticket window to see about the trains heading back to Torino. She was probably one of the kindest train ticket workers I have ever met. She actually called the Asti station to find out if the trains were still delayed. She said that everything was normal and I proceeded to purchase my return trip ticket. I always print out the train schedules and so when she was ready to sell me the ticket, I saw that I would have to spend an hour in Asti before transferring trains. I showed her my print out with a 10 minute wait to connect in Asti for the Torino train. In order to get this combination, you needed to type in the 2 train routes separately. She warned me that there was only a 12 minute time to make the second train. I figured the worst that could happen was I would end up taking the original second train she was going to have me take.

After purchasing the tickets, we drove to Diana’s B&B. It is about a 5 minute drive into the country from the main town of Acqui Terme. The B&B was gorgeous. I had originally considered staying there but thought it would be too difficult getting around without a car.


(Baur B&B) 
Diana gave me a tour of her place and then we had a delicous late lunch (2nd lunch for me) of a local cheese, fruit, and bread with her husband by the pool. The time went by so quickly. We talked about many different things and then finally realized that it was getting late. I took a few pictures of her B&B and then we drove back into town and I had a quick tour. Unfortunately there was not much time to see much, but from what I saw, I immediately liked the town.

(Acqui Terme - not enough time to take many pics here)

Diana dropped me off at the train station and I caught the train back to Asti. We ended up leaving about 5 minutes late and so I was not sure if I would catch that 2nd train after all. BUT, you can always depend on the trains to be late. I actually could have caught the train if I ran but because the second train was late, I had about 5 minutes to spare. I defintely want to put Acqui on my itinerary for a future trip.

After arriving back in Torino, I found a second Exki restaurant and stopped for a quick bite. I did not want to eat a big meal that night as I already had 2 lunches. I had some yogurt and a little piece of quiche. There was still some time before dark and so I decided to explore the area down by the River Po. There was a boat ride that I had thought about taking and I wanted to check out the schedule for the following day. I was amazed at the beauty in this new area of the city. Torino continued to surprise me. I think many people have missed out by not putting this on their list of places to visit. But, I guess part of the reason I liked Torino so much was because it was not overcrowded with tourists.



(heading to the Po River & on the river - Torino)

I saw a couple of restaurants that looked good and decided to return the next night for dinner. Down by the river are a few little bars bars. A rainbow appeared over the river. It was fun to watch people realize that it was there one by one.

(another pic I merged - rainbow and Monte dei Cappuccini)

Despite the morning train delay, I had a wonderful day today, especially getting to spend time in Acqui with Diana and Michael.

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