Saturday, 15 September, 2018 32 and very humid
I went out!
I decided over breakfast that I wanted to go shopping, something I rarely do while on holiday. There are two stores I’ve heard about that might do the trick. One is OVS, which is a clothing department store, and the other is Rinascente, a national department store. There are several shopping areas in Turin but these stores are on Via Lagrange and Via Roma – both somewhat upscale.
The tram wasn’t as crowded as expected this morning, particularly since a lot of people get off at the first stop, Porta Palazzo market, in full swing for a Saturday. We both score a seat!
When we get to our final stop there’s more to see than we expected – a real mix of buildings. Some quite baroque, and one looked medieval. We wandered along the street looking at the architectural details. This isn’t like Paris, where all the buildings conform in colour and design, and this makes everything seem more interesting so we’re curious.
Ahead of us on the main road, we spotted an impressive building with one of those really tall doors. We headed towards it to start our journey to shop but were a bit delayed by swarms of birds.
There were some great details on that building. First, it must have originally been something to do with electricity ( I can’t find the details so far) since along above some windows there were some engraved names – GRAMME THOMSON EDISON AMPERE FARADAY OHM.
And another great detail – wish I were taller – these rather demonic figures!
Then we turned towards – shopping!
I’m impressed with the shopping situation in Torino really. There’s a fair variety of big shops, fancy shops, some franchises, outlet shops and lots of little independent businesses. Each area of the city does it a little bit differently. There’s even the mall out at Lingotto (and maybe more I don’t know about) although I wasn’t keen on that.
Via Lagrange has some fancy places but also the OVS. I took a look around and decided I needed more time on my own here and maybe I could buy a few things another day. I did, however, find the red studs I’ve been looking for. I carried them downstairs, went back upstairs and went to pay. There was notice at the cash ‘ Closed. Pay downstairs.’ Ugh. I abandoned the studs for the next time.
From there we wandered along Via Roma, a shiny, clean pedestrianised area, with lots of shops and some cafes along it. We headed for Rinascente, the big department store. Krish’s first remark was ‘John Lewis!’ Well, not quite but almost. We looked at kitchenware and then bedding. I really enjoyed the sense of style. I’d call it classy, for lack of a better word. Nicely designed, great sense of colour, and understated. There were a few things I’d love to have bought but they cost quite a bit and weren’t really needed, but I did buy a candle.
And outside on Via Roma, the beautiful and not so beautiful people enjoying the sunshine – too hot for me at 32C.
A quick trip to Lidl and some self-serve ice cream. Then we set back for the flat. Along the way we spotted and walked through a gorgeous piazza or two, keeping well under the porticoes for shade.
Via Garibaldi is the other pedestrianised shopping street in Torino. It’s quite long and is much less classy than Via Roma. Pictures another time. We were lured by Amsterdam fries but they weren’t as delicious as I remember. Just as well – not something I’d want to eat too often. So we headed for the tram back to the market and on to the flat.
Forget about Italian cooking. I’d brought curry paste from London to make a curry. I feel amused by the idea of scaring the neighbours with the aroma. But it smelled good to me and tasted even better.
