Fête du Citron is a festival held during carnival season in Menton, a border town in the south of…read moreFrance that neighbors Italy. The English name of the festival is Lemon Festival. Similar to the festival in Nice, this festival also has a parade. The unique thing about this festival is that they have an event displaying sculptures made with lemons and oranges based on the year's theme. These sculptures vary in size, but they can be a couple of stories tall. I really enjoyed the inventiveness of the sculptures, particularly how citrus fruits were utilized in the art. If you are in the French Riviera during the carnival season, I would recommend attending this event. It makes for a nice day trip to visit not only the festival but also the town of Menton, which has a beautiful waterfront.

2025: highs and lows…read more Festival itself 10/10: there were free wine samples everywhere, plus charcuterie, panettone etc. well with the 6€. You can also buy a 2-glass wine tasting for another 9.55€, but some vendors hand out free glasses! So forget that: that ticket gets you the ability to get in a huge line for a small pour of 2 selections - not worth it. Just get the general admission ticket and go nuts. Speaking of which, they also have samples of hazelnuts. "Pasta Atelier" 7/10 (pasta making class). This was pretty fun, but at 60€ for a double workstation for 2 people isn't cheap. We paid another 40€ for truffle shavings (it's what we're here for!), and were disappointed with the quantity and quality. "Wine tasting experience" 0/10: this was absolutely worthless, especially given what I wrote above about all the FREE samples in the festival. This sideshow consisted of a guy yapping for an hour while we impatiently awaited the tiny pours of boring wines. Just Sergio and left a bad taste in my mouth, literally. At 37.50€ This was a criminally bad decision. "Lunch at the Castle Roddi" (65€) 7/10: this sounded good because it included a tour of the castle, but the tour was lame and the castle was not much to look at. Also: because it was outside of the city, getting there was inconvenient. The lunch was decent, but the barbera wine they poured was poor (lots of barberas are fantastic, but not the images one we had here). I wouldn't do it again - better to stay in alba and have a nice lunch there, or in literally any nearby town (Bra, Barbaresco, etc). "Cooking class @Castle Roddi (double 150€) 8/10: this was also at the castle, so as noted above, not convenient, but unlike the lunch (passive), this was a more interactive and unique experience. Sadly the dish we created was kinda gross (a bread soup), but it counted as a meal. If choosing between this and the lunch at the castle (don't do both!), I'd go with this one. "Sensory Experience" 25€ 9/10: I didn't do this one, but those that did seemed to enjoy it, and got tips on how to buy and store truffles. Since this ticket includes the general admission, I'd recommend it (especially if you plan to buy truffles in the market!). Attendees also told me that buying truffle salt or oils is a scam. In conclusion: I'd totally go again for the market, maybe a cooking OR pasta making class (not both), and the sensory analysis (and to buy a truffle to consume within a few days, NOT to bring home). But I wish I'd had more lunches in restaurants and seen more of the surrounding towns.

Review of 2019 Alba white truffle festival (Oct-Nov)…read more I planned my first Italy trip during the white truffle season in Alba so I have to experience this festival without a doubt. I bought one of the experiences (Truffle Sensory Analysis) online before the trip so I can educate myself the differences between a good and bad truffle as I intend to buy one from the festival. The Truffle Sensory Analysis ticket included entry to the market/exhibition hall. Upon arrival, there were two lines, one for folks who bought their tickets same day and one for folks who bought the tickets online. I printed out the online tickets at home in advance so it's a breeze to get in without waiting in line. The market/hall was filled with people and the aroma of truffles. I was in awe seeing booth after booth of vendors selling black and white truffles and all kinds of truffle spreads, truffle salt, truffle slices in jars, truffle oil, truffle everything! All the vendors welcome you for a tasting of their product and were very generous in the portion. It's totally truffle heaven! At the back of the hall, there's a bar and cashier where you can order some food and wine. Few stand up tables were available and they were crowded with people but they turned over quickly. Ordered the uova / grattata tartufo bianco d'Alba + 1 bicchiere di Barolo (eggs with Alba white truffle and a glass of Barolo) €38 and carne cruda (steak tartare) €9 and a glass of moscato. I didn't realize the truffles for the steak tartare was extra so if you want some truffles to go with the tartare, make sure you tell the cashier. Food was amazing and pricy but there are times you just have to pay for the experiences. It's not like I live next door to Alba and will revisit anytime soon. In the afternoon we attended the Truffle Sensory Analysis class. It was an introductory class that taught some very basics of what truffle is and how to distinguish the good and the bad. The instructor was funny and the class was pretty full and most importantly I did learn something from it and proved to be valuable came time to pick up our own truffle. We bought a 89g white truffle and enjoyed immensely at the Airbnb. The fragrance of this white truffle was so strong that when we went to get some bread, the lady at the bakery asked if we have a truffle on us! At home, even though the truffle was placed in a locked container in the drawer, the entire refrigerator was filled with the aroma every time it was opened! The truffles in the market were selling between €2.5 (small ones) to €3.5 (larger ones) per gram. The one we got was listed for €3 per gram but we bargained with the seller due to the blemishes it had. We ended up buying at €2.5 per gram which was acceptable to us as with the blemishes, you can't keep the truffle for long and since we were only in Alba for few days, we had to consume it before our next stop anyway. We also didn't care for the aesthetic look of the truffle since it was for home use. This was the biggest and freshest white truffle from the origin I ever bought. It tasted like no others I had ever tasted in the states. You had to try it to believe how amazing it is. Highly highly recommend going!

What a great jazz festival with a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean behind the stage. We were here…read morefor July 14th. We saw the fireworks from our seats. They had two acts that played Jazz beautifully. The first was more classic jazz. The second was jazz with Mongolian folk music, totally different but very good. Then they took a break to change the stage. This is when the fireworks started. You could see them quite well through the opening in the back of the stage. After the fireworks, Electro Luxe began. They are high energy jazz with horns and backup dancer/singers. The lead singer is an old man who was a bit over-the-top with the energy. Ok, your group is all high energy, I get it. But stop pushing the audience to participate. I'm all for a good time just don't force me to have one. My girlfriend said he seemed liked someone who had done too much coke in his life. I hate to say it but it fit. Loved the energy and the style just calm down on the forced fun.