Welcome

Gianluigi Casse’s page.

I was born in a small village (seriously small, about 400 people) in the Italian alps: Salbertrand, 80Km from Turin.

You can have a look to the location with the following links:

http://www.comune.salbertrand.to.it/

It is close (a few Km) to the main skiing resorts where the Winter Olympics 2006 will be hold (is that good or bad?), in the Susa valley (Val di Susa). It’s main attraction is the Natural Park that bares it name, the Parco Naturale del Gran Bosco di Salbertrand.

Here a few links to have an idea of the natural and cultural (ehm) environment:

http://www.cmavs.it/

http://www.cmavs.it/granbosco.htm

http://www.valduira.com/

http://www.piemondo.it/torinoevalli/valsusa.htm

http://www.parks.it/parco.gran.bosco.salbertrand/index.html

http://www.montagnedoc.it/new/index.php

http://www.altavallesusa.it

Restaurants and travel

In this section I write short comments about accomodations and restaurants in some places I have visited. I think that in principle it is worth to mention only venues that I would recommend, but I make a few exception for places I think it is worth to warn people off.

ROME
Renato e Luisa - Via dei Barbieri 25 tel. 06-6869660 (closed on monday) City centre, good and not too expensive: try the various starters.
I Butteri Piazza Regina Margherita n. 28-31 tel. 06-8548130 Good for only one thing: Fiorentina steak (very good)
Ristorante - pizzeria Zi Gaetana - Via Cola di Rienzo 263 tel. 06-3212342 A decent restaurant-pizzeria
Sardinian restaurant (weird name can't remember) Via dei Serpenti 8-9 tel. 06-4884713-4743617 (closed on Sunday) Good tradiational food
Taverna Trilussa , good traditional Rome food, very tipical location (Trastevere): Via Politeama 21 tel. 06-5811064
City centre, very good value for money, trditional Roman rest. Da Gino - Vicolo Rosini 4 - 06-6873434 (no domenica)
Il Podista Via Tiburtina 244 (Piazzale del Verano) tel. 06-44700967, grotty Ristorante-Pizzeria, autentic roman pizza (thin and crispy), non-expensive. Recommended the ''Cicoria and salsiccia (green vegetables and sausage)''
Very good autentic roman pizza in Remo - Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice but I don't have phone number: they don't take booking though.
Pizzeria da Simonetta , cheerless decor and football-maniac, but the fries (baccala', suppli', fiori di zucca) and the pizza are very good.

Where not to go in Rome: Il convivio Troiani Extremely expensive Restaurant, horrible food, deceiving wine list proposed by the thouroughly incompetent owner. Highly disappointing, outrageously expensive. Give it a miss!

Barcelona
El Gran Café Calle Avinyò, 9 . Tel. 933 187 986 It.s elegant but cosy, it wasn.t expensive when last tried, in the old town.
Set portes At the end of Carrer d.Isabel Salvador Espriu, 73 932 247 213
Los Caracoles Calle Escudellers, 14 933 023 185 traditional catalan, bit touristy, it's got chicken skewers on the street.

Valencia
Restaurant Casanovas Pl. Cánovas del Castillo, 10 46003 VALENCIA (VALENCIA), Tel: +34(0)963 331 159 , excellent tapas
Barbacoa del Carmen Pl. Carmen, 6 46003 VALENCIA (VALENCIA) Tel: +34(0)963 922 448

Orkney islands
The Creel - St. Margaret's hope, 01856 832322 It's probably the most known restaurant in the Orkney's, and certainly the price accounts for it. I keep not understanding why, when a restaurant stands in the poshy side, it feels obliged to provide the customers with small portions, though served in enormous dishes. This restaurant goes even further on this route: the food has not only to be little, but possibly tasteless. It certainly failed to impress me (a part from the bill).
The Sands hotel - I found this restaurant better (and cheaper), just a few miles further north, in Burray, KW17 2SS, Tel: 01856 731298