Hanging at the Wine Bar at Lago d'Orta 

We found a cozy wine bar just off the Piazza in Orta San Giulio

Steve 

We took a trip up to the Italian lake region up in the north to attend a friend's wedding and to get a taste of northern Italy.  We stayed in the beautiful little village of San Giulio, on the shore of Lago d'Orta.  While exploring the town, we discovered a cozy little wine bar that boasted a huge inventory of Italian wines, many from local producers.  We paid our first visit to this quaint little establishment after a long afternoon of hiking through the hills surrounding the village.  Our server laid out a generous portion of salami, cheeses, olives, and other snacks on a large wooden board, along with some red wine that was among the best we've had during our stay in Italy.  While we were enjoying this perfect ending to our long day, a couple came into the bar and sat down across from us.  There was nothing that really stood out about this couple, but I did notice that the woman's hair had been clipped very short - to the point where it was only slightly longer than the butch hair style you see so many young boys don in the summer months.  I was well into enjoying the wine and food at the time, and I remember little else about the pair.  

The next day, I heard Samantha make some remark to Ella regarding how funny she thought this woman looked.  Ella chastised her for laughing, and told her that the woman had "hair disease", that she had a friend in school who suffered from this ailment and that it was not nice to laugh at people with hair disease.  I chuckled to myself, because I remembered the woman from the bar and clearly her appearance was not the result of a medical condition but rather a hair style she had opted for.  Later that day, after a rainy tour of the island of San Giulio, we found ourselves at the same wine bar.  A small fire was going in the fireplace, and before long we were set up with a feast similar to the day before.  As our wine glasses neared empty, another couple ducked into the bar to grab a drink and take shelter from the weather.  They were an older couple, and the woman wore her gray hair in a short, well kept style.  Samantha spotted her, and before the woman had even taken her seat Samantha pointed and yelled, "Mommy, she has hair disease!"  We reigned her in a fast as we could, and the woman barely reacted other than to glance our way.  Once the situation was under control, Jo Anne and I could barely control our snickering - which would only make matters worse if Samantha caught us.  In the end, our laughter went largely undetected, and we ended up chatting with the couple before we departed.  (They spoke English quite well.)  Fortunately for us, it appears that hair disease doesn't affect one's sense of humor.  (I should know - I'm pretty sure I have it.)

   

Attempting to cure a case of "hair disease" at the wine bar in Orta San Giulio

A sample of the bar's selection.  We didn't try all of these, but wanted to.  

(Hey, they don't call us Gustavino for nothing.)