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Published: October 2nd 2012
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A panoramic shot
Brendon has stitched together a couple of photos for the full perspective. Buongiorno from Turin,
Brendon and I loved being back in France. We managed the language well, the food suited us both and the culture is one which we appreciate a great deal. We loved poking around the old buildings – I am sure you have seen the evidence in our photos – we even love the pace of their life. It was tough to leave France.
The French stop for lunch and make an occasion out of it. There is a ritual that includes going to a restaurant or home and a proper meal is consumed. Wine is included and there is always more than one course. I guess, it is a little like a siesta in Italy, only it does not include sleep, it includes food. Very French!!!. About the only thing that annoyed us a little was the smoking. French law allows people to smoke outside a restaurant even if the windows and doors of the restaurant are open. There is some silly statistic about the tons and tons of dog poo that needs to be cleaned up every day in France. We would love to see the statistic on cigarette butts. Hundreds of men and women
The Park behind the Palace
Autumn has commenced here. that we passed smell of fabulous perfume and then ruin it because they also smell of tobacco smoke.
I think that maybe we were a little naïve about the transition from France to Italy. We left Avignon station at 7 o’clock in the morning and did not get here to Turin until 1.30pm. The train we were on from Lyon, which was the switch over point, had originated in Paris and was heading for Milan, was very full. There was a dining car on the train however it was not up to catering with an entire train load of people. We discovered when we arrived finally at the hotel here in Turin that restaurants do not run all day here; they close at about 2.00pm and do not re-open until 7.30pm at night.
There is a very distinct difference about a café here, it only serves snacks and coffee and often does not serve lunch, and some restaurants do not serve lunch and dinner. So when we arrived, we had not eaten on the train, there was no food to be had at the local café’s and the evening meal was a long time away. The hotel does
The internal courtyard of the Palazzo
Check the patterns in the paving stones. not even serve food outside ‘normal’ hours.
So, our arrival into Turin was not auspicious. Our hotel is good, thanks to Trip Advisor, and the service, other than the food thing, has been terrific. There is a very pleasant outdoor area here which is home to 4 tortoises. Brendon has taken a photo of the turtles.
Turin or Torino as it is called in Italian is the home city of the winter Olympics in 2006. It has the River Po running through it and a rich history as the capital of its province – Piedmont. The weather has been mostly fine except for Saturday when it rained in the afternoon. One last thing about Turin and perhaps Italy, everything is closed on Sunday and Monday, including restaurants and shops. It is a little/ lot tough for tourists if the hotel also does not serve meals in its restaurants on these days.
On Saturday, we visited the National Museum of Film here. Film making as an industry started in Italy and France well before Hollywood. This museum was fabulous and we enjoyed our afternoon there. They have a ‘panoramic lift’ inside the museum that is essentially a glass
The Hotel turtle
Brendon thinks that the turtle was asking if he had anything better to do than take photos at 0830 in the morning. One of the mad Americans staying here thought that these turtles were made of concrete and tastefully rearranged by the hotel staff each day!!!!! box suspended by cables that goes to the top of a tower which is 85 metres up to an observation deck. I confess that, I could not see myself being jammed inside this glass box and travelling up that high, trusting only steel cables… well, I did not go up.
On Sunday, we walked to the gardens and Roman ruins and the main cathedral here in the city. The cathedral of Saint John the Baptist is built on the ruins of a roman amphitheatre and 3 churches, it is the home of the Shroud of Turin. Underneath the cathedral is a museum run by the city which houses the treasures of the churches and protects the ongoing archaeological work on the ruins. We were guided around the museum by wonderful English speaking lady guide.
As we wandered back to the hotel, we walked through the old “royal palace”, which is a museum now. It is a beautiful building. We passed by about 3 churches all of them have plaques outside them explaining about the history of the church, however, all the churches are locked and closed. We have seen this many times here and have been frustrated by
it.
Yesterday, Monday, we headed for the River Po to have a look. The river ferries were not running, it was Monday after all, and the historic church on the other side of the river is locked. We were very disappointed. The river bank is used as the night club district and is not very pleasant and not well kept.
Today we have wandered through the unique covered shopping arcades and historic district, as it is Tuesday, the city has come alive and it is a very pleasant city to visit.
Tomorrow, we leave here for Venice.
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