It rained heavily for most of last night and was still drizzling this morning when I headed out.

I was off to the village markets which are held in Novello each Sunday morning from 6am until 10.00am. Mick and I love visiting small town markets when we are in Europe. Often we buy a few small things, but really we just love to observe the daily habits of the locals; their connections with the different stall holders and the variety of products that they purchase.

Mick was not going to come with me this morning as he is still suffering from an infection of some sort and, we only have the one small umbrella. Before I left he pointed out that we were less than 80km from the town of Imperia, a town we spent a week in on our first visit to Italy in 2007. It is not far from Nice on the Ligurian Sea and he said there could be oysters at the markets. He was hoping.

There were very few people around as I headed up to the location I knew was designated for the markets. I had noticed the signs a few days ago, and while the delineated area wasn’t very large, I had thought it might spill over into the neighbouring car park.

But no. The carpark was full of cars and caravans.

The one stall was it. And obviously, that is normal. There was one poor woman who was running the stall; not many customers at all.

I went for a wander around Novello later in the day when the rain had lifted to explore some of its hidden surprises And I did find some.

This village centre is comprised of some very old, mostly renovated, buildings, while on the edge of the village there are newer buildings, including 3 and 4 story apartments.

This building, like many along this street, called Via Roma (of course), sits right on the edge of the road; very important to check before exiting the building.

We’d walked past this building, but had not really noticed its features until I crossed the road to check out the books. The sign translates to the Brotherhood of St John.

Our accommodation host had told us we could re-fill our water bottles with either natural or sparkling water from a machine in the main piazza for a very cheap price. We have found the water to be ok, not the best, and so haven’t bothered. Today I watched a man, from one of several camper vans parked in the piazza, filling two crates of bottles with water. I asked if I could take this photo.

Almost next door to us is Novello’s most well known building – the Castle of Novello. But this is the best view one gets as the gates are firmly locked. And a good thing too. Today being a Sunday, it could have been hosting a wedding over the weekend, and that would have meant there would be no car parking spaces for us – as their guests get priority.

It dominates the hill over the village and was built in the 19th century. It was converted into a restaurant in the late 1960s.

“The rich facade in terracotta, the towers and their merlons, the many windows and arches, the great white marble stairs, create an effect that is half Wagner and half Walt Disney.”

We have been very happy with our stay here in Novello. While the weather has not been great, it is worse for the wine growers than for us.

We are off to Barbaresco in the morning, where we will spend three days.

Update from Michael and Jeanie

“Well that was a crap day. Timed all our trains well, at least to catch them. The fast train AKA ‘snail train’, was abysmal. First class is third class. Cramped and unaccommodating. The highlight was my wine. After one hour, we were put on to a bus, nice bus trip, then back on the train. Train in front hits a wild boar! I kid you not. So back we go to find another way to Paris as the track is shut. Come 1.45am we arrive in Paris, grab a taxi with a maniac who did 100kph in 50 zones!!!”

Mick’s Contribution for Today

There are signs on the roads around here indicating speed humps, and yes they are drawn as two mounds. On one of our trips to Bra, Mick giggled when he saw someone had added a few dots to the top of one of the signs.

Thanks Mick.