From Tuesday 12th March until Sunday 17th I went to ski in Sauze d’Oulx. Silvio Scarpanti had arranged it but had to cry off because of his wife's (Ivanna) Mother - who was unwell. Gerard Essink too gave late word that he couldn't come (just been made redundant and moving apartments at the end of the month - poor fella). John Phillpotts had already cancelled due to his operation and Neil Blackburn had declined last year. Markus Hug is still looking for a job. So I joined the other member of our Team - Heinrich Klüwer. We stayed one night in Hotel 'Le Robinie', (near Malpensa airport) and next day headed - in a Fiat Panda 4X4 - for Sauze D'Oulx. It is part of the vast Via Lattea – Milky Way – close to the border with France (about halfway between Briancon and Turin). With around 250 miles of piste and upwards of 70 lifts in total, it’s good for intermediates. There are 7 small villages or towns that share the ski area: all in Italy except for the last - Sauze d’Oulx, Sestriere, Sansicario, Cesana, Claviere, Pragelato and Montgenevre in France. The Val di Susa in which Sauze d'Oulx is present, was once formed the pilgrim way to and from France along the Francigena Road, and later was taken by armies invading Italy. This history has left a legacy of abbeys and castles to which even the most passionate skiers may want to dedicate some time. Today the Valley lies on the key transport link to France via the Frejus tunnel. We got out skis (and Heinrich boots) at Besson Sports in town.
Poor Heinrich - putting up with me for four days skiing ... I thought I was fit but wrong thigh muscles ... did I ache?
We stayed in the Grand Besson in the town and found it OK. The room was fine but the hotel was noisy - thanks to some English girls who made a great deal of disturbance late at night.
We ate in the hotel on the first night ... it wasn't good. We would only have breakfast here in future!
We skied over to Sestriere but made the mistake of skiing all the way - down past the gondola. Then we had a long walk to find a chair to get some height so we could try to get back to the gondola and back up. Next time we will stop at the half way station!
The next night we went into Town and to Bar l'Assietta - which had two restaurants inside it! We enjoyed the food too (I had a wild boar pasta and Heinrich has rack of lamb) - the house red was a Barolo (made from Nebbiolo grape) for five Euros a glass! Heinrich had a really good Sicilian Chardonnay.
Our last meal in Town we didn't find by accident - I found 'La Griglia' on TripAdvisor - however we did find it by chance - walking into Town and looked further then 'Del Falco' - it was a couple of streets off the beaten track. Inside there was lots of locals It was great value for money and good food.
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