Postponed Papa's Day in Pieomonte!

For Father's Day this year I wanted to take James on a trip to Piemonte to this beautiful villa I found - Villa Pattono!  Because of the timing of things, we were in Greece for the actual day and of course had our big Canada trip right after that, so we planned it for August after we got back.  To make it even more fun we decided to invite the Doves to come with us and enjoy a long weekend there.  We left Friday at lunch and were there by mid afternoon, and then had 2 nights to have a good time.  The villa itself has been so beautifully restored.  It's exactly the type of place I like.  It also happens to have a wonderful spa and an amazing heated outdoor pool.  The weather was decent especially in comparison to Lugano, so we truthfully spent more time at the pool than anywhere else, because that was what the kids enjoyed doing most!

Liam 

Having a snack post swim!

Liam and Stirling Monkeying around at the villa pre-dinner

 We had a really wonderful dinner the first evening at an Agriturismo farm called Costa dei Tigli, in the town of Castigliole d'asti.  It was a little family run place and we were the only ones there.  The kids were playing outside on a little play set and we had a chance to sit and enjoy the many many courses of delicious food that came out.  The kids managed so well despite being up till 10pm.

Dinner at Costa Dei Tigli - the kids playing just in front of us

Breadstick buddies 

We had probably 8 different appetizers to try and were practically full before the primi and secondi!

As the night grew long, the kids became a bit wonkier!

 On Saturday we went into the little town where we had hoped to go into the castle that is there.  Unfortunately it was closed, so after trying to walk around a bit we realized the kids would just be happier to go back to the villa and swim.  James, Gavin and Gavin's dad went wine tasting during nap time, and then we spent more time by the pool.  Our dinner the second night was a bit further away and truthfully not quite as impressive as the first meal, but still lovely as we got to sit outside and enjoyed company and good food.

The Castle in Castigliole d'Asti

Peaking into the local butcher

Walking around the castle trying to find a way in!

Checking out the almost ripe grapes at Villa Pattono

Amazingly enough none of them picked the grapes

Some pool time - the pool was heated to 30 degrees and it was warm out, so it was easy to stay in for hours

The loft bedroom in our suite (we were upgraded because they were out of space)

Another guest brought his kitten with him and the kids were loving it! 

Enjoying some sibling time in front of the villa

Sunday morning after the lovely breakfast the villa provides we had one more swim before checking out and heading into town.  There was supposed to be an interesting market but it turned out to be a bit jankety.  So we stopped in at a local restaurant for a quick lunch and then got on the road to head home.  I love that the trip is just over 2 hours.  It makes it the perfect distance for a weekend getaway!