Another day to rest up a little bit as we’ll be staying around town.

It felt good to sleep in a little bit again. When the alarm went off, it was the snooze button instead of the off button that was pushed. When we did manage to climb out of bed, we were feeling a little lazy. I’m guessing all the walking and standing and drinking might be catching up a little bit.

Today there was a wine festival taking place in Alba. For €14, you get a glass and glass holder that allows you to sample wines from all of the participating wineries – and there were many! We saw many serving red, white, rosé and sparkling wines.

That was the plus side. They were serving those wines to throngs of people. For my personal liking, there were too many people. The narrow streets of Alba were overflowing with people. That was the minus side.

For the four of us, we decided to head underground. We were booked to take a tour of the old Roman ruins that have been unearthed below Alba. It was an interesting historical tour led by members of the archeological society.

There were three sites that we were taken to see: a section of walls and towers, plus masonry pieces including caps from old columns, a section of sewer system and rooms from a house that were found beneath a private home, including some mosaic tile work and then lastly an archaeological site located beneath a school that included an intact vaulted storeroom.

The tour then finished up at the Archaeological Museum, where they had fossilized remains of a whale and a mastodon that had been discovered by the river.

It was an interesting tour and the tour leader was very knowledgeable.

After the tour, we all headed back home to relax for a while before dinner. All the walking on the stone walkways and uneven surfaces is causing a little discomfort in my back, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Tonight’s dinner is at a restaurant called ‘Enoclub’. It’s located in the Piazza Michele Ferraro where we’ve been meeting our guide, Luca, each morning. More specifically, it is a vaulted wine cellar beneath it’s sister restaurant and is considered one of the most romantic in Alba.

Besides being romantic, the food and wines were a delight. We all enjoyed our meals, and the wait staff were also a delight- which made for a very nice evening.

Though our evening came to an end, tomorrow we’re off to Barolo.