Avigliana Lake and Sacra di San Michele

The summer is flying by and we have been in the thick of it with lots of visitors, a wedding and so many activities that I can barely keep up. So I think I will share some photos of one of our recent outings with friends. I always say that you will run out of time before you run out of things to do in our area. I hope I don't run out of summer before I get to my favorites again. There are plenty of summer festivals in every little town and we start the count down in the valley until the 15th of August when everyone celebrates it being summer. According to my husband and other family members, summer is all over after that. So I think I'll share some of the things to do when you are in our part of Piedmont and the alps.

Laghi Avigliana e la Sacra di San Michele

View of Lake Avigliana from Chalet del Lago Restaurant

Off we traipsed to lake Avigliana the other day in search of lunch and a wander around the imposing Sacra San Michele over in our sister valey of Susa that runs more or less parallel to us over the mountains behind our house and is another part of our great Torino province. Sacra San Michele is one of Torino's Provincial symbols along with our own Chisone valley's Fenestrelle Fortress.  This will be part of my series of what to see and do with in an hour to hour and one half away from our door step. This day trip takes a little over an hour to get to from the shortcut that skirts around the base of our mountains landing us by the two natural lakes that lie next to Avigliana and at the foot of Sacra San Michele. It's a pleasant enough drive with a lovely destination for a sunny summers day. We didn't actually go into the town of Avigliana on this day, as we had a long breakfast and slow start to the day, but that just meant that were there just in time to have lunch at the oh so atmospheric Chalet del Lago.
The restaurant is on the way up towards the monastery and has an idyllic location to enjoy the lake view.     W have been here before for a drink and a look round, but never for lunch before. I must say, we had no idea what we were missing. The food was delicious and well presented. They serve pizza at night from their wood fired oven as well and it looks like a great place to dance the night away in their nightclub under the stars by the waters edge.  I can only imagine that it sees a fair amount of business after dinner on these warm summer nights.

Avigliana

Oh yes, back to our lunch. They had a seafood heavy menu, which always gives me a little pause as we are about 3 hours from the seaside and mountain fare tends to be a bit different, but my fears were soon allayed when the dishes started appearing. The fish and seafood was exceptionally fresh and so tasty, as was the quality proscuitto crudo that was classically paired with melon, one of our perennial favorites. Here are a few shots of some of our luncheon plates that were shared around the table.

Melone e proscuitto crudo

Mixed vegetable platter

Giant scallops

Mussels in a rich red sauce

Grilled swordfish with mixed seafood and veggie topping

Grilled seas bass

Potatoes and octopus

Grilled steak with rucola and tomatoes

Pink grapefruit slushy for the finish

Well, I do think we were fortified enough to make it through our afternoon visit to Sacra San Michele. Everything was light and satisfying enough that no nap was necessary. We carried on to the imposing monastery that hangs way up on the hill. You can find other photos of this building from some of my other posts about this site, here and here, as well as having a look at their web site here. It is something that is impressive and not to be missed, but then I might say the same thing about the Chalet del Lago as well. A great day out with friends indeed.

Sacra di San Michele

Carved columns

There are a lot of steps

Lots of great views

Impressive and not to be missed

Pasquetta outing... Sacra San Michele and Rombo

Pasqua or Easter, as it is known for us native English speakers, and the day after, quaintly called Pasquetta has come and gone, but the fond memories linger on. Fabrizio's parents were the hosts the traditional family marathon of a lunch and they made sure no one went away hungry, hardly.
We had made it through course after course, finishing up with the walk around the neighborhood, aiding the digestion as a bonus . Fortunately for our digestive systems, the rain of the morning had finally given way, leaving a lovely afternoon for a stroll.
The day after Easter we followed the Italian tradition of going on an outing. Normally, its a day for picnics or a bar b ques with friends after having spent the day with the family on Sunday. We had family in town from the states, so we did our usual rounds of the sights to see in the neighborhood, along with a good portion of the rest of Piemonte.

It was a gorgeous sunny day. Heavy sigh, it's been a bit drippy ever since. Anyway, we made our way over to Avigliana with it's place of honor, as the gateway to the Susa valley, strategically skirting around the edge of two large natural lakes, one so deep with undercurrents that make it off limits for water sports, but the other a fine water sporting dream with the imposing Sacra San Michele hovering above on it's impressive perch on the mountain side. Photo opportunities abound. So we made our way just over and around the hill from here to make the pilgrimage to this medieval monastery that I have mentioned here and here before.

We stopped in town for a bite to eat finding naturally that everyone that wasn't picnicking or bar-b-cuing, were out for lunch. Finding all the lake side restaurants full to capacity we made our way through town and found a delightful trattoria, aptly called "Aldente".

Interestingly, it is a small chain of restaurants originally conceived by Italians in Prague and then has come to several other locations here in Torino and several other nearby outlying towns, all individually and independently run by local families. They have created a delightful dining experience and one that I look forward to experiencing again. It was busy holiday and we turned up in the thick of the lunch rush to a welcoming and charming old converted house in the center of town. It had lots of small details in the decor, ancient family photos, hanging clusters of grapes and wine bottles, tastefully done reminiscent of the Italian restaurants of my youth, which weren't quite so tastefully done in Southern Illinois. The brown recycled paper cone with it's treasure trove of various grissini waiting on the table, a tasty way to stave off the hunger pangs while waiting. I loved the cloth napkins tied up with a wisp of raffia twine and finished off with farfalle/ bow tie pasta. It set the right tone for the fabulous meal to come. The 18th century refurbished house struck a fine balance between casual familiarity and attention to details that offered a delightful repast. We all ordered the Rombo fish platter, as it made sense to keep it simple on a busy holiday and we were not disappointed. The skin searing, hot platters were delightfully decorated ceramic ovals that this Mediterranean turbot was served on added to the overall quaint charm of Aldente. The fish was moist, flavorful and well presented. The oven roasted rosemary potatoes, cherry tomatoes and carrot and fennel melange were cooked to perfection. A delightful discovery and a trattoria we will be recommending to our guests when they find themselves on an outing to Avigliana.
We made our way up to the monastery after our lunch along with the masses. It was truly amazing to see that many people turn up to take the tour. The photo below was taken a little ways from where we parked. You get the idea of how many cars there were. We had a bit of a walk to arrive for the 4 euro guided tour. Normally they don't always have guides but they tried to anticipate the crowds and deliver a better experience for everyone. Our guide asked where everyone was from and the replies, overall, were from various towns dotted around Piemonte. We later found out that they had sold 1,600 tickets that day. That a lot of us gawkers, making the guided tours a wise call, to monitor the flow of people. It also seemed to give credence to the idea that people are still going out during this crisis, to do things, but choosing inexpensive options, closer to home whilst enjoying a gorgeous day out. Not a bad choice indeed.