Friday, 3 November (Day Forty-seven)
The days are winding down. I’ve decided against Milan since there is still a list of things to do in Torino. I confess that one reason is I have no one to go with. I’m not usually shy about big cities no matter how gritty but for some reason, the combination of gritty city and navigating in Italian have scared me away from this plan. Hopefully there’ll be no regrets.
I read that the Pietro Micca museum is free every day and I have a bit of time to spare today so off we set. We also visit a shop where everything is made by prisoners (some nice stuff!) and a gallery of photographs showing how Torino has grown since 1995 – answer = a lot!
We walk along Via Cernaia and see it with different eyes than in our first week. The shops are quite fancy here. We pop into a store that sells British groceries – just a few – and are astounded by the price tag of 12 Euros on a box of 120 PG Tips. And here’s a jar of Patak’s Balti Paste – at 8 Euros I might have considered it earlier in the trip. Serves me right for forgetting to bring a bit for this journey. Oh well, soon enough… There’s some cool chocolate gifts in here too but we walk out emptyhanded.
The big road closest to the Pietro Micca (via Vinzaglio) is very wide and very long. I can’t see the end of it. On the sidewalk I see a reminder of Italy’s past – I wonder how many others there are. Had I seen this earlier in my adventure I’d have gone looking for them. But perhaps it’s best that I didn’t. My mood turns sombre.
Sadly, Pietro Micca Museum is not free today so we turn away.
Off of Via Cernaia, there’s a market that makes me feel a bit homesick for London. There are also pretty courtyards (as always) and a fantastic fortress-like building that might be a museum. I shall find out what it is. (It’s the Museo Diffuso della Resistenza.) Krish says that we’ve seen it on previous visits but it was always under construction. It’s finished now. So impressive.
We’re on the lookout for something for lunch but things are starting to close or the menus look unimpressive. Instead we pick up another burrata and some bread. At home we have burrata with a rye baguette and the usual tomatoes and basil, and some salume. It’s more than enough.
Later we venture out again to see an opening event at a gallery in San Salvario. It’s an exhibition of prints by the artist M-City, a graffiti artist and professor of street art (yes, there’s such a thing) from Poland. I may as well be in London, except the people aren’t quite as trendy as they would be there. The pieces are black and white. The artist is supposed to be here but, even though I’ve seen his face on a video, there are too many that look just like him.
San Salvario isn’t at its best near the station. It’s smelly, dark and dirty so we head out. Where’s all the nightlife that people promised? Maybe we’re not close to that part of the district.
We cross Via Po with its lights depicting the planets. The Mole has some very understated lights too – although the picture doesn’t show it, there are numbers all the way up the dome. Will have to find out what they mean.
In Vanchiglia we stop at a Czech restaurant and have a rather nice but not special dinner of ‘stinco’ (makes us laugh every time – it’s pork shank) and varenyki (potato pierogies).
And we walk home.
(We’ve since found out that the Pietro Micca is very interesting and includes a guided tour. We’ll book it and go back before we leave.)