Alba was a lovely small town with red brick towers everywhere. Last night the locals were all promenading for the evening, so we joined in – before pizza in the piazza.

Today has been hot and sultry, with a storm brewing, and we have spent the day climbing steep hillsides covered with vines (the Barbera grape lives here, apparently). Climbing hills in the heat at this low altitude is much harder without the cool mountain air. But the views were excellent.

The reason for all the toil was that we had decided to visit Acqui Terme – and that meant heading south over some hills. In fact, we are now close to the coast, with Savona and Genoa prominent on the road signs. We are holed up in a beautiful luxury villa, with a pool and its own vineyard, on a hill above the town which we will visit tomorrow on a day off from cycling. This is the life!