Viva Italia (Part 2)

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Turin

I ended up having 3 different couchsurfers for my 3 nights in Turin, so it was a bit manic and I ended up spending quite a bit on baggage storage at the train station! My first host was Amor, a Spanish lady with two sweet little girls called Alice and Gaia. I thought I would be staying with her the whole time but when I arrived she told me it could only be for one night! How annoying! But she was lovely, made me dinner and breakfast and gave me a pair of earrings that she had made. In the morning I walked with her towards where she works and she told me lots of things about Turin, recommended restaurants and things, and gave me a map.

So off I went to explore Turin, and I completely fell in love with it! I love it for the same reason as I love Rome, that you are walking around and every time you turn a corner or walk down a street there is something pretty or interesting or makes you think ‘’wow!’’ Only of course it was ancient things like in Rome, more pretty squares, churches, statues, small parks and gardens. The main area was a huge square with two churches framing the main road, both of which I went in to escape the heat for a bit, even at 10 in the morning it was baking!

I walked around for hours, had a stupidly expensive Panini on the main shopping street, and found a nice little garden to lie down in and have a sleep! I managed to find a host for the second night who had already agreed to host me but she was going to Ibiza the next day so I could only stay 1 night with her. She is called Anna and I met her at her friends’ photography studio around 7pm. She is a stylist and very fashionable, but so interesting to talk to, especially about when she lived in Rome, Florence, Australia, South Africa and Copenhagen! She wants to move to Berlin soon. We went to a bar and a few of her friends came. We sat outside on some comfy chairs in the street, drank beer and had ‘’apperitivo’’ - basically if you but a drink you get free buffet food, bargain!

Anna lives far up in the hills near in Turin, quite a long drive. Before we headed home we went to visit one of her friends who she met on couchsurfing when she was new to the city and asked Anna to show her around a bit. A lovely girl, and her flatmate who couldn’t speak much English, we communicated in a strange mixture of English, Italian and French, great fun! Back at Anna’s house I discovered her house is just as fashionable as herself, it was beautiful! And she has a very cute black cat as well! I wished I could have stayed with her longer, she was great fun!

Next day Anna drove me to the bus stop and I went back into town. When I was in Cinque Terre my host Alessandro recommended me a museum in Turin - the Cinema Museum - so that is where I went first. And I’m glad he did because it was amazing! The exhibitions were: the archaeology of cinema, from the very beginnings; the cinema machine, all about production; a huge corridor full of poster advertisements; and in the centre was a huge hall full of chairs with two films showing on big screens. All around the room were little doorways which you go through and it’s like walking into film sets; cartoon rooms, a living room from the 50s, a room that looks like it was from Cleopatra film or something, full of Egyptian things. They also had the original costume of Predator from the film. Much of it was interactive and one funny thing was a showing of a scene in the Matrix and if you walk in front of it it records you, so it looks like you are on the Matrix!

The building that the cinema museum is in is amazing in itself, beautiful from the outside, and the big hall in the centre is a huge spire going up into a fabulous roof. You can get a lift up into the roof and see for miles around Turin. I went for a lovely lunch of pasta and roasted veg in a place recommended by Anna, and then headed for the Egyptian museum. The second biggest Egyptian museum in the world after Cairo, it was great! I didn’t have too much time in the end, I had to rush through a bit before they closed, but enjoyed it anyway!

That evening I went to stay with a Mexican guy called Urbano, who was studying in Turin with the Erasmus project. He lived with another Mexican guy called Raul and had another couchsurfer staying with him from Germany called Tom. He cooked us some pasta and we watched Spain-Portugal game. Then we went to a party at the house of some of his Eramus friends, there were people from Poland, Hungary, Brazil, Mexico and Albania, and they were all very fun people, we had a great night and didn’t leave until around 4am!

Como

Next day I got the train to Como, a town just North of Milan, on a huge lake called Lake Como. I met the housemate of my hosts, Margarita who was from Latvia, and she took me to the house. There are 5 people living in the house, my hosts Fatma and Sores are a couple from Turkey, Margarita, Umberto from Italy, Otto from Finland, and one other person I never met. It was a very fun house and they were all great characters! Margarita cooked for us in the evening then we went out for ice cream and a walk around Como. It is a small town, a pretty centre with a Duomo, but the lake is the main draw, so we went to sit by it for a while!

Next day I went to explore. The people in the house are students and were busy revising, except Sores who was doing a sort of apprenticeship so had to work. I walked around the town and visited the market that was on that day, then headed for the lake. It is beautiful and is surrounded by hills and huge villas. There is a funicular that goes up one of the hills, so I took it up, very fun! At the top there is a walk that goes to a panorama so I went there, walking past all these huge rich houses and tranquil streets. Then I walked up to the lighthouse on top of the hill, quite a difficult half hour walk, especially as it was boiling hot! From the top of the lighthouse you get a great view of the lake and surrounding hills, you can see into Switzerland!

Below the lighthouse is a park so I got a slice of pizza from the cafe and sat down to have a read. Margarita gave me a book ‘’Long Way Down’’ by Nick Hornby, very good book about some people who were all going to commit suicide on New Year’s Eve but met each other at that moment and ended up not doing it. Sounds a bit weird but it was really good! After a bit of a chill I headed back down into Como.

All along the edge of the lake are these amazing huge villas, so I went for a walk to see them. The grandest one has now been turned into a museum. It was a lovely walk but still really hot so I headed back to the park in Como and chilled there for a bit. Fatma cooked that night, very tasty food, and Umbi, Otto and I went to a party near the harbour. There were so many people there, all just milling around outside the building where they keep those planes that go on the water. We met some of Umbi’s friends, had a cocktail and sat on the comfy seats. It was a very chilled party!

In the morning I wanted to explore the lake a bit more, so got the bus to Lenno, town on the left hand side of the lake (the lake looks like an upside down Y, with Como on the tip of the left branch of it). Lenno is famous for one thing- the Villa del Balbianello, which has been in many films including Casino Royale, it’s where Bond gets rehabilitated after being tortured. I wanted to see it but when I got there the path was closed and they were charging an extortionate price to get the boat there and back, very annoying! So may have to do that another time. Tip for anyone who wants to go there though - National Trust members get in free!

The next town I visited is called Menaggio, a very beautiful little place, gorgeous views of the lake. I had some lunch in a cafe and walked along the lake front, where there were market stalls being set up. The thing that struck me about Como and all the towns I visited around the lake, they are so clean, there are plants planted everywhere and are so well looked after, the places are pristine. The next town I wanted to go to (on the right of the lake) was a town called Varenna. Rick Steves (American writer) said it was the most beautiful town on Como and I agree (of the ones I saw of course) it was absolutely stunning. So quaint, the colourful oldy-worldy buildings so peaceful, the boats in the harbour so restful, I could have stayed all day!

But it was getting late so I headed for my final stop on the tour, Bellagio. Much more touristy and busy, the houses bigger and grander, I didn’t like it so much as the other places. I had some time to kill so headed up a steep hill to find somewhere a bit less touristy in the town. I found a quiet park with some steps down to the lake. Luckily I had by bikini so I went for a swim in the lake then lay in the park for a while. I got the boat back to Como, it was great seeing all the cute little towns perching on the hills from the boat. The sun was going down and the light was beautiful. Such a perfect day!

In the evening Umbi cooked Foccocia (kind of pizza bread) for me and Otto, and then I went to a party with Fatma and Sores. They are also Erasmus students and had student friends from all over the world. I was mostly speaking to Polish and Iranian people, and I danced some salsa with a Columbian! In the morning I got up really late, had a chat to Sores and shared some music with him, and got on the train to Milan.

Milan

I stayed in a hostel this night for the first time, because the next day I was getting a flight to Lisbon so decided it would be easier than couchsurfing. So I found my hostel and headed into Milan for a wander. It was very hot and humid in Milan, and I was feeling very uncomfortable walking around! So I was glad to come into the square and see the huge Duomo in the centre, it was stunning inside absolutely beautiful! Underneath is an archaeology exhibition showing things they found during excavations of the Duomo. There was a massive TV screen on the square showing a football match, which I thought slightly spoiled the atmosphere of the place but loads of people were sat around watching. Just off the square is a very posh, expensive shopping mall with shops like Prada and stuff, all in a lovely building.

I walked down the main street towards the castle and park, stopping for a pizza on the way. The fountain outside the castle had a group of people nearby playing drums and dancing. There was some kind of festival in the park but nothing much seemed to be going on when I was there. I walked through the castle grounds, some nice gardens and features, and walked around the park for a bit. I wanted to sit down and read for a bit in the park but got disturbed by an annoying Egyptian/Italian guy who started talking to me and then started trying to kiss me so I had run away. I saw him 2 more times later on, it was really annoying, and I felt a bit strange after that because I didn’t know a single person in Milan as I wasn’t couchsurfing.

I stayed in the park for a while and went back to the hostel. On the way I went back past the fountain and loads of people were sat with their feet in it so I decided to join them, it was very refreshing! Lonely Planet describes Milan as fashionable, sophisticated and expensive, none of which is really me so I have to admit I didn’t like Milan that much. Although I guess the annoying Egyptian and the fact that it was the first night I had spent alone during my trip really didn’t help! I ended up feeling a bit lonely and spending half an hour talking to my brother on the phone, which made me feel much better!

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