Sunday, October 16 (Day Twenty-nine)
Not a lot of words today but plenty of photos, I think. After some busy stuff in the morning, I thought I could manage to get out – my sore throat soothed a little with some good old British cough sweets – as long as I took it easy and could get back quickly.
Krish had discovered that an area north of it, Barriera di Milano, had a lot of street art. We knew, for instance, that the artist Millo had some large commissioned works on various walls and were determined to find as many as we could. We even have a map of where they are but thought today we might just stumble across a few and indeed we did!
First of all though, we went into the Balon district while it was empty – market day changes the whole look and your ability to really explore. There are some nice pieces of art here. We also discovered where the Baloon is anchored and takes off. Sadly, I blinked and missed it being lowered with its occupants.
Then we jumped on the bus and kept our eyes peeled for a likely street. One street had some promise so we headed off down there. There wasn’t much to be seen except tags and scrawls. At the bottom was a bunch of travellers’ caravans so we chatted a bit about that and how we thought their life might be. This area feels out of bounds, all around here. It’s deserted, it’s falling down or apart, there’s not much going on. It’s not exactly slums but it’s bleak.
So up a street and then down another and we hit paydirt. Apart from some interesting wall art down the street on both sides, there’s a little door at the bottom that opens to an area called The Bunker. The Bunker is a cultural centre. There’s a music area, a café, just some hanging out space. And there’s graffiti.
For a start right when you come in, you’re face to face with four pieces by Phlegm. I’m a bit taken aback by this. Phlegm pieces here? Definitely a well-kept secret. When were they done? And why did he come here? Wow.
Inside the park are other pieces. I don’t recognise any of the styles but will investigate. Are they local artists? Are they, like Phlegm, international? Anyway, I don’t like all of it but it’s enough to keep me there for about half an hour. This is like a deserted Nomadic Garden (Shoreditch).
We miss the bus and wander some more. And happen across more Millo! Eventually we get back to the flat for a late, clean out the fridge lunch.
I still have a sore throat and am craving something spicy – a rare find in Torino. So we decide to try a Chinese restaurant just across the river – Imperial. It’s a large space with gold upholstered chairs and the large tables have lazy susans. Have we hit paydirt again?
The menu is crazy. It’s in Chinese and Italian. There are pictures but not as many as there are items, and none of them are labelled so you can figure out what is what. None of the menu items are familiar. The server brings over an Italian guy who can speak English and we start negotiating. We’re assured that any spice is just ‘poco.’ I in turn insist it should be picante picante picante! We order hot and sour soup, eggplant and spicy tofu. Then Krish decides to try the kerala. He’s been telling me about this vegetable for years. Very bitter, he says. No one likes it, he says. But somehow he wants me to try it. I agree. I’m a food adventurer, after all.
The hot and sour soup is strangely lacking flavour but it does have some spice. The tofu has some Sichuan peppercorn but nothing much else. The eggplant is salty and similar tasting to the tofu. We watch the Chinese customers slurping up the bowls and plates of things and think maybe it’s us that have it all wrong. But we’re hungry and I need the spice to kick my germs in the ass.
The kerala arrives as we finish everything else. It’s indeed extremely bitter but I eat one piece. Krish says it’s not good, tastes unripe and is also too plain, so we leave it, finish the eggplant and take the hot and sour soup home.
Seems I had more to say than I thought! Time for bed.