Tortoni

Not Alessandria but Alessandria is the closest place in the database.

Today we rode around 350 Km from Rimini to Tortoni. This was all motorway and from my point of view on pillion, not very interesting. Conditions were good and after Bologna it was not all trucks. We stopped at a motorway stop off for lunch which was very good. Just cheese and ham sandwiches, but excellent cheese and excellent ham - better than any you can get in the UK for love or money (and being motorway food, very cheap).

Tortoni is abut 100 Km from Torino. As far as we know it is not famous for anything, it was just where we were ready to stop. Finding a hotel was not easy. We fund a central hotel but it was shut. We looked around the centre - no hotel. We headed for the hotel area and found this place (not far from where we started and not in the hotel area) - a perfect boutique hotel - not cheap but absolutely amazing with antique furniture and a vast bathroom. We went into town for a wander and a beer and the bar we found served 'bits' - in inverted commas as the bits were so extensive (and delicious) that we are not in need of dinner. A tiny bowl of pasta bows with oil and garlic and cheese and olives and sweetcorn. Two kinds of ham sandwich, several bits of bread with other things on them, a dish of olives, one of crisps and one of peanuts. As it turned out this was the only open bar in town so we went back till it closed then took beers back to the room. Which is where we are now with BBC world service on the TV.

The hotel has a restaurant which does look both expensive and worth it. But neither of us are in the mood for a large gourmet meal in a restaurant we believe will be virtually empty.

I'm finding this town very interesting. Nothing for tourists and everything except the church closed early. Church was very busy - not sure whether it was some special occasion or it's a kind of place where people go to church on late Monday evenings. So, this hotel is amazing but in this town, I am not sure how it survives.

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Part of trip: 2008 Harley trip to Northern Greece

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