Yikes! One week of travel left and I need to catch up – so many things to blog about it’s difficult to decide what to focus on.

After thinking nothing could top my Positano experience I found myself in Alba in the Piedmont district of northern Italy. The verdant awe-inspiring hills are positively gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like it. Not even in Ireland. Nestled among these hills I felt a deep sense of peace and contentment, like someone had flipped a switch instantly putting the world in slow motion.

Add to this the fact that I was staying at Palas Cerequio, a divine B&B smack in the middle of a vineyard and you get the total picture. Palas Cerequio was highly recommended by two of Laurel’s friends and beyond a doubt it almost usurped Plazzo Murat in Positano!

Our room was lovely. Spacious, decorated shabby chic (which suited the surroundings) boasting a claw-foot tub as well as a personal steam room – what’s not to love about that! But there’s more.

**There is an anal part of me that wants to reach into this photo and straighten those lampshades  🙂

The owners, a husband and wife team, obviously put their heart and soul into creating an exceptional space where each guest feels pampered and genuinely cared for. As one of them said, “We have tried to create the experience that we would most want for ourselves”.

After an amazing breakfast (complete with cappuccinos, toasted hazelnuts and a made to order omelette if you so desire) a fellow named Davide helps you plan your day. He has a wealth of information about sight-seeing highlights both gourmand and historical, and possesses an uncanny ability to help guests make decisions. We loved our suggested morning at the whimsical wine museum in Borolo.

Palas Cerequio recently started offering dinner and our first was so delicious we opted to have dinner here both nights! Very classy experience with the perfect amount of attention from the staff – not stuffy or overbearing in the least. With only four tables, floor to ceiling windows that let the landscape in and wait staff who disappeared when not needed it felt delightfully decadent yet low-key. My kind of place!

You have the option of enjoying a wine tasting/pairing with your meal which we found informative and relaxed – not the least bit pretentious and our sommelier was sensitive to our limited understanding of wines.

And should you have any concerns you can take them up with this fluffy member of the complaints department who promises to soothe your angst if given a few belly rubs and a quick cuddle.

I suggest you add this divine place to your Italy bucket list! I could spend the rest of my life here but the opportunities for meeting my rich Italian knight are quickly dwindling.