On the Road with Jack ...Pinerolo, Italy

First of all, I must confess I didn't see much of Pinerolo.  Jack and I arrived in the town as the sun was setting.  We trusted our rental car satellite navigation unit to show us the way, and I'd memorized all the landmarks I saw on Google map and printed the directions leading to Relais Barrage.

View from our hotel room

The hotel is at the edge of Pinerolo.  Thankfully, we made our way there without a hitch.  The hotel is a favorite of the business crowd and from other reviews, has an excellent ristorante.  We however decided on the corner pizzeria as we saw local families heading there.

Corner pizzeria

It was a good decision as the pizzas were great and nicely priced.  Friday night is definitely a busy time at the pizzeria.  While dining, we noticed the tables were all taken by 8:00 but since the place is managed by the hotel, service was fast.

Why did we choose Pinerolo?  First, my better half, an avid Tour de France fan, told me the riders went through the town just this summer.  He wanted to check out the route leading up to Sestriere.  Second, I insisted we break the journey somewhere on the lengthy drive between Malpensa to Provence.  Pinerolo seemed like a good choice to me.  In addition, we really had a full schedule the day we arrived in Italy.  It was a drive to the Fratelli Rossetti outlet in Parabiago first thing Friday morning(Jack and I are crazy for comfy shoes), then Missoni in Sumirago(we're crazy for crazy patterns too).

We headed to Castagneto, Via Vignola 14, Montrigiasco di Arona for a great, leisurely Italian lunch(we're crazy for casarecce dishes).  Truffle is in season late September through early November.  Hence we couldn't resist having it the traditional way: a simple fare of fried eggs with shaven truffle and some polenta.

Castagneto, named after the many chestnut trees around the area

Pasta all'arrabbiata

Being the crazy shoppers we are, we next hit The Place Outlet on Via Trossi, just outside the town of Sandigliano.

Our satnav unit was set to Via Cesare Battisti instead of Via Trossi.

Sign seen from Via Trossi

That did the trick because the outlet's website doesn't give any number and Via Trossi is pretty long!  And finally, off we went to Pinerolo.

Me in front of Relais Barrage the next morning.  We were blessed with an Indian summer while on vacation in France and Italy Sept 30-Oct 9.