The First Rule of Fight Club
Trip Start
Jul 11, 2010
1
20
Trip End
Sep 10, 2010
Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
We spent the next day in Milan, wandering around the streets. I wasn't sure if we would like Milan as we had heard mixed reviews, but we really enjoyed. It was much prettier than i anticipated, with the lovely old buildings we've seen in other cities. The main difference is that most of the shops inside the lovely old buildings are Chanel, Armani, etc! The Armani shop was enormous! And the shopping plazas were so grand, down to the mosaic floors. The Duomo is quite an impressive sight, although we weren't allowed in because my shorts were too short... There were a cpuple of lovely parks that we relaxed in, as well as the mandatory castle.
And at 4:15pm we got to see Da Vinci's Last Supper! We knew it wasn't always necessary to book tickets in advance, but we were worried when they were all sols out the first time we looked into it. So we paid extra and bought "last minute tickets" that are released three days in advance. It was lucky we did because when we arrived there were huge signs everywhere saying BOOKED OUT FOR TWO WEEKS, NO CANCELLATIONS! It was quite an experience to see. They have spent so many years preserving and restoring the painting, after previous bungled attempts to restore it in the past, and they take great care to protect it now. We had to go through a series of air-tight doors, each one closed behind us before the next one opened. Each small group of Round 30 people are allowed in for only 15 minutes each. At precisely 4:15 we entered the room where the painting was located. For some reason I thought it was a framed painting, but it's not, it's painted onto the north wall of the building. It was huge, and it was impressive. The guide told us that Da Vinci was one of the first artists who successfully created depth in his paintings, and when we stood in the middle of the room, it was quite wonderful to see this effect in full. We had been told we would appreciate the painting much more after seeing it in real life, and this was certainly true. We're very glad we had the chance to go to Milan and see it.
We finally headed to Turin Sunday night, for Craig to begin work on Monday morning. Upon arrival at our hotel we were told that the building was "too old" to have wifi and that they only had wired internet connections in the rooms, which the ipad is not compatible with. Once we were out of ear-shot of the reception, Craig quickly informed me that this was, in fact, rubbish, and any building can have wifi. Nonetheless, we needed to find internet so I could do some study while Craig was at work. We found the (one and only, apparently) internet cafe and looked up the address of a couple of 3 phone stores, who sell internet sim cards for the ipad. We also found a restaurant to eat dinner, who charged us the cover charge, but didn't give us any bread, and gave every other table free champagne except us. Turin was not off to a good start, but our dinner was beautiful, as usual.
Tally: Turin 2, Elandcraig 0.
The next day Craig went off to his course, and I had a a big sleep in. I then set off to explore Turin. I walked along the river, which was quite nice, to the first of the 3 stores. The sign on the door informed me they were closed from 12-3pm each day, and it was presently 1:00pm. I walked across town to the other 3 store, but same there. I spent the next few hours trying to find somewhere to sit down and eat a hot lunch (as Turin has decided to be gloomy and cold for our visit). I could not find an open restaurant anywhere in the area I was in, and eventually settled for some luke-warm pasta that I think had been sitting in the window all day. I returned to this first 3 store at 3:15 but it was still shut so I hiked over to the second store again, which, thankfully, was open. Successfully bought the recharge card, and it worked (slowly) for a couple of hours, then just abruptly stopped working altogether. No clue what happened but it didn't work again, not the next day, not at all. Quite frustrated by the time Craig got home, we headed out for dinner. Or so we thought. We're staying right near a large square with numerous restaurants lining it. But apparently some lazy chef decided that they were going to charge seven euro for a drink, which then includes free finger food buffet-style (cold meats etc). Definitely not what we were craving after a long day, we searched in vain for quite a while before settling on a take-away kebab. After dinner we jumped in the car and drove around til we found an internet connection that wasn't secure, and downloaded a few articles so I could try to get some work done the following day.
Tally: Turin 4, Elandcraig 0.
Let me describe Turin. The sky has been gray the whole time we've been here, and it has rained on and off. All the buildings are either gray or brown, they are all dirty, they have bars over their windows and roller doors over their shop fronts. Everyone seems angry, and they seem to take great joy abusing each other out their car windows. There are lots of pedestrian crossings, but it seems to b up to the driver whether they give way or not, so it's pedestrian beware. However, it is not all bad. The view across the river is lovely. And the people I've spoken to in restaurants and shops have all been friendly and accommodating, and cheekily tolerate my bad Italian.
Day two started badly, with my repeated failed attempts to get the internet to work. I managed to do a little studying until around 2pm, when my mid-afternoon chocolate craving kicked in. I waited til 3pm to head out, not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the previous day. And I walked to a different area. And what do you know, everything was still closed! I walked and walked, and absolutely could NOT find a shop selling any form of chocolate! I managed to find some illegal internet again though, so quickly checked my emails. Thoroughly beaten, I returned home and watched movies on the ipad.
Tally: Turin 73, Elandcraig 0.
When Craig finally got home, we headed to yet another area, and finally found a fantastic restuarant with beautiful food! Hooray! What's more, Craig bought some internet access from a different company (TIM) and it WORKED!
Tally: Turin 73, Elandcraig 2.
Day three: oh sweet sweet morning! I headed out around 11:30 and for the first time, shops were OPEN!!! There was a pet shop with adorable puppies playing around, a jewellery shop where I bought some nail polish, and a pasticcerie where I bought a scrumptious chocolate baked thing! I have CONQUERED Turin's mischievous Torture the Tourists game! And because the roller doors were actually open instead of hiding all the shop fronts, I could actually see their opening hours!!!
Tally: Turin -23 (for cheating), Elandcraig 3!!!!
Rules and guidelines for Turin:
The first rule of Turin is that there are no rules.
Therefore, the first guideline for Turin is that most places close for at least 3 hours each day, generally sometime between 12pm and 4pm.
The second guideline is that some cafes etc seem only to be open in the mornings and close for the day around 1pm.
Guideline 3: sometimes shops just don't open at all, for no apparent reason.
I'm now sitting in our hotel's lounge, watching a hilarious Italian program which seems to be the equivalent of Judge Judy. I have managed to find enjoyment in Turin, and Craig is of course kicking butt at his course. His most recent text to me indicated he was now basically teaching the others because he knows more than the trainer! Bless!
Tomorrow before we leave we're going to find an old cafe renowned for its chocolate beverages, and explore the other side of the river. We WILL go in the morning, and things WILL be open.
I do believe we are officially ready to come home! And not to Brisbane, but to our very own beloved Melbourne! We've had an amazing trip; I'm so glad I've written this blog so I can reflect on it all when I get home. It seems like an eternity ago that we were in Rome!
Europe, you've been wonderful. Melbourne, I can't wait to see you.
xo
Comments
The opening and closing hours are definitely frustrating! Closed on Mondays - I've never! ;-)
Can't wait to have you home and have a good catch up! I picked up Sam from the airport last night and i was so happy to see her i think i almost cried.
A welcome home party is a must and will await you.
love, pia xx