Turin (Torino): Fri 13th – Sat 14th Sept: Accommodation
Fri 13th September:
After being caught off guard with the unusually high temperatures earlier in this trip, when we were up further north in Europe, we have now been caught off guard by how unusually cool it is down in this south-east region of France. It was 14° as we left Grenoble but we were looking forward to warmer weather in Turin; from now on referred to, as the locals do, as Torino. Neither of us had brought enough clothing to cope with this recent run of cold weather.
The 3 hr drive from Grenoble to Torino was quite spectacular with the most amazing mountain scenery, with many of them being snow capped. We departed France with cool overcast weather, and even a dusting of snow, and emerged into Italy, via the 12.9 km Frejus tunnel and 54 euros later, to clear blue sky. It was amazing what the sunshine, warmth and blue sky was doing for our spirits. We’d had mostly grey skies and cold for the last week, while we’d been in France, and the shift as we emerged from the tunnel was quite remarkable. Here’s hoping it’s a good omen for the Italian leg of this holiday.
The main part of the journey to Torino went smoothly but the last few kilometers took us about 20 minutes. This was because we had to circle the city endlessly caused by road closures due to a car show that was being held in the city over the weekend, Salone Auto Torino. If only we’d known 🙁 We went around and around in circles until I eventually spoke to a police woman at one of the road blocks about our problem and she then very kindly waved us through. Our hotel was right in the epicentre of the city where the car show was located.
Our room wasn’t quite ready on our arrival so we went for a stroll and one of the first things I noticed, apart from the enormous crowd (was it a public holiday here for this car event?) and huge number of cars on display, was just how much higher the standard of dress was in Torino compared to anywhere we’d been this trip. I thought Mark and I looked like country bumpkins and very out of place. Even those sporting casual attire were carrying it off with such style and elegance that you were just left staring!
We headed back to our hotel and gained access to our room but turned around quickly to head back out. With no English-language walking tours available, we decided to take another GPSmyCity audio guided walk through Torino and this proved to be excellent. It took us through the city and past some of the major sights, of which there were many, and was an excellent use of our short time available and is a resource I’d highly recommended if you’re ever in the city. We hadn’t expected to find the city had so many magnificent porticos; they’re everywhere and neither of us had seen this mentioned in literature about the area! Torino is a busy, buzzing, sophisticated and beautiful city and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s definitely one to put on your to-do list if you’re ever in the area.
It was almost 6 pm by the time we finished up what we could of our guided walk and headed back to the hotel but not before doing a spot of shopping for the male of this pair. The fashion here, both on the street and in the shops, was something to be in awe of and I wished we had more time for some shopping. I note there are no Lululemon shops in Italy and wonder if there is any direct correlation to that fact and the general high standard of dress in Torino?
I had found a restaurant that opened before 7.30 pm, courtesy of Google, and Kipling didn’t disappoint as we were able to enjoy a meal with a healthy serve of vegetables that was only a 4 minute walk from our hotel. It was then back to our hotel where Mark had a glass of wine in the largest wine glass I’d ever seen. We were both exhausted after our rather full day of travel and we’d also managed to rack up 8.3 km and 12,000 steps. Not a bad effort!
Sat 14th September (morning):
It was a most glorious morning, although cool, so we set off to have another walk around the city with hope of getting a better view of things before the crowds reemerged. We made it down to the food markets, Mercator Centrale, which was in full swing with people out and about doing their weekly food shopping. The quality of the produce looked superb and the reasonable price for their cheese was sobering. Our check out was not until midday so we planned to explore the shops a bit further after breakfast before checking out and heading to Alba.
We were both so glad we had cut short our time in Annecy and slotted in a visit to Turin so as to enjoy a spot of luxury in a beautiful city. I didn’t realize Torino was such a wonderfully vibrant and sophisticated city and wished we had an extra day here to explore further. I would highly recommend a visit and to stay in our hotel. Torino is a very walkable city being quite flat and with all the main sights within easy walking distance.
