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A day to tackle what to do, and at our Toret

Tuesday, 11 September, 2018 32C

Getting hotter! Just happy to stay home really. What’s the hurry? But we did know that we were running out of food so a short market visit was in the cards. Talking of running, Krish went for his first run since arriving. I don’t like him running in the heat and, in typical Krish fashion, he didn’t get out of the door until close to noon but get out he did. He came back having run ten minutes less than expected but pronounced it a ‘good run.’

While he was out I booked my cooking day – Market to Table. That will be on 5th October from morning till mid afternoon.

A quick lunch before the market, using up what we had in the fridge.

Hummus with veggies, cheese, a hard boiled egg and some fruit
Hummus with veggies, cheese, a hard boiled egg and some fruit

What a hot walk! I almost regretted going out but once up the hill, a cool break in the Orologio Market. We did a couple of circuits, then braved it across the street to the other covered market – does it have a name? Some agnolotti al plin (Piemontese tradition!), two pork chops, a very small roast chicken… not many stalls were open and we were done.

Half-closed market and one lonely shelf stacker
Half-closed market and one lonely shelf stacker

Porta Palazzo has a whole other feeling when it’s closed. I like the skeletons of the stalls and carts, not so much the piles of empty boxes and rotting fruit.

Hard to imagine this will be empty and gleaming later tonight
Hard to imagine this will be empty and gleaming later tonight

Krish had brought out three or four bottles to fill from the toret. Toret means little bull – and each fountain has the bull head as a spout, over 700 torets throughout the city. You can even get an app to show you the nearest one.  The water is purified from the River Po and these days the water company has taken over their care. At any rate, every day we fill our bottles and drink it. And I keep joking about whether there’s something growing in our bellies as a result!

Down by the farmers market is one of our closest Torets. First, we let a couple of birds have their fill and then it was our turn.

At the Toret
At the Toret

Krish went to  meetup for English speakers in Turin. I stayed home and started a new doll, the first in a long time. A hot, humid evening. I meant to make a To Do list and start checking things off but I didn’t get very far.

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It’s too darn hot! The River Dora and Vanchiglia

Monday, 10 September, 2018 30C

It’s just too hot, but today Krish persuaded me to come out for a walk. We walked along the river for quite a while and checked out the engineering that’s been done on the Dora to divert the water and create a weir.

Coming along the road, looking south (Campanile in the background) to start our walk, which is northwards
Coming along the road, looking south (Campanile in the background) to start our walk, which is northwards to the Fiume Dora

Along the river, there’s some older and newer development. Then there’s this large, not yet tagged, Roa piece.

Art by Roa
Art by Roa
This artist does the same piece over and over in slightly different ways. I can't find out who s/he is. Torino Affonda means Torino is sinking
This artist does the same piece over and over in slightly different ways. I can’t find out who s/he is. This is new since last year. Torino Affonda means Torino is sinking – not sure if it’s done by the artist or afterwards
A fairly modern community, which overlooks the Dora
A fairly modern community, which overlooks the Dora

We headed back to Via Regina Margherita, which is the main street that runs a very long and straight way parallel to the river and directly to the south of the flat. The tram ride along it is quite wonderful, lined as it is with trees on both sides, for  miles.

We headed into Vanchiglia for a little while. Most things were closed but we checked out some supermarkets for vegetables. Seems it’s the wrong time of year. Everywhere had plenty of zucchini and that’s about it.

By now I was too hot and didn’t care about taking photos. It was also hazy so everything around us seemed shadowy. And we had the closest view yet of The Mole Antonelliana. Another, cooler, day for that! Back home before I melted!

Dim sum tonight. I miss my pans and my bamboo steamers!

The Mole, tantalisingly close but not today
The Mole, tantalisingly close, but not for today

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Brunch in Torino and lots of grand buildings

Sunday, 9 September, 2018 30C

It’s Sunday and the church bells were taking turns to let us know about it. I’m pretty sure they ring them by hand. Either that or they’ve recorded some pretty shoddy stuff!  No lovely pealing melodies, like in the movies, but out of tune clanging, normal, sometimes very slowly, and sometimes speeded up like someone is in a hurry. It’s amusing…I think. Not sure how I’d feel if I was here permanently.

Liat rows on Sunday but she called me when she was done and asked to meet for brunch. I thought this might be interesting. Italians don’t really eat breakfast – their version is an espresso, maybe a milky coffee drink instead, and a sweet pastry or six. Liat suggested somewhere in San Salvario – 15 or 20 mins by bus and I thought, why not – it will be an adventure, my first trip by tram so far.

I walked over to the Borgo Dora tram stop and waited for my tram. It arrived quite quickly and was jam-packed. As usual, there’s no offering of seats in here. Even the young men who were seated weren’t giving up to their spots to those less able. It’s a bit puzzling every time. Besides, it’s a dilemma. Do I feel good that they don’t feel I need a seat or do I feel annoyed for the same reason? Liat met me at the tram stop near the restaurant.

We ate at a place called Slurp, recommended by Liat’s friend. They immediately asked me if I was American and we sat at the back where there was air and light. It’s a bit dark in there but the menu looked OK. I completely puzzled the server by asking if I could have sausages with my pancakes. Then she was even more puzzled when, delivering four sausages and six very small pancakes, I asked if there was something to put on the pancakes. She said something about not thinking I wanted syrup (or jam or nutella) with them if I was having sausages. I suddenly felt like an ugly American and asking for something just too bizarre in an Italian’s eyes. But she took away my pancakes and came back with them, now with some syrup on top.

I figured I could eat two of the sausages and donated two pancakes to Liat. Verdict: sausages were as advertised, pancakes were very sweet even without the syrup – oh well. Oh, and a cappuccino was only €1.50 – nice surprise – and not as strong as they like it in London. Liat ordered two fried eggs, bacon and toast. The eggs came in two separate little frying pans, each topped with some bacon – cute.

Haphazard at Slurp
Haphazard at Slurp
My brunch to the left, part of Liat's to the right
My brunch to the left, part of Liat’s to the right

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Saturday markets and Lavazza

Saturday, 8 September, 2018 28C

I’m going to start recording temperatures, for the record.

Saturday was another hot day. And, although we prefer to stay well away from the market on Saturday, there we were. And while we went there for four things, we came back with about ten. No big surprise there.

The market spilled over into Balon., where they were having a flea market. The photo I missed was the woman carrying a rather enormous package on her head. Well, I thought I got it, but it was one of those photos where you can’t see for the sun and your shot is of something entirely different. Missed!

The market spilling into Balon
The market spilling into Balon
The farmers' market much busier than on weekdays, and 50-50% higher prices too!
The farmers’ market much busier than on weekdays, and 50-50% higher prices too!

We got bok choy, damsons, my favourite expensive olives, parsley, sesame grissini, two fresh goat cheeses, sparkling water, milk, tomatoes, russian salad…could that be it?

My favourite grissini, two euros' worth
My favourite grissini, two euros’ worth

On our corner is the very-popular Galina, a seafood shop and restaurant. However, at the outside wall of the covered market is another fish shop that sells fritti misti from a side window. It’s cheaper and I like it better. Five euros for a small, eight for a large. Krish queued for a large one while I tried to stay out of the sun, and checked the haberdashery stalls along the side of the road. I wish I could find a fabric one.

The goat cheese and olives made a lovely salad, and the fritti – well, it’s deep fried and yummy. What more can I say?

Lunch - goat cheese and beet salad, fritti misti!
Lunch – goat cheese and beet salad, fritti misti!

We moved the furniture around the way we had it last year. So much more homey now. Photo to follow. And we napped. Krish suggested a walk and, wow, I didn’t feel like it but I knew I’d be glad of it once we were out there, and I was.

We walked across the river to the Lavazza complex. They’ve done some work on regulating the flow of the river and I seem to recall some elaborate machinery there last year.

The Lavazza grounds (haha) were still underway on our last visit but now they’re all finished. It’s quietly stunning. I stole this next picture from the Lavazza site. Ssshhh. (Of course it’s greener and lusher than this, with summer in full swing and everything bloomed and flourishing.)

Lavazza Headquarters, Torino
Lavazza Headquarters, Torino

The complex on via Bologna, which includes the modern office building, is unusually shaped, the architects describing it as a ‘cloud,’ (Krish thought it might be a coffee bean and I like his idea better) and it’s flanked by some renovated buildings, one of which was a power station and now houses the bistrot and a convention centre. Around the perimeter and through the central courtyard are green spaces. They aren’t as people-friendly as I expected when I was watching construction last year – the central ‘parkette’ (Share) is pin-neat and greenery is contained within plant oases.

At the back of the building you can see the archaeological remains through a semi-basement window, and there’s a huge employee gym.

Looking towards the Lavazza Shop. In the window the Turin Eye is reflected
Looking towards the Lavazza Shop. In the upper window the Turin Eye is reflected so you can see how close we are to the headquarters
One view of the garden
One view of the garden
The garden I hoped would be more people-friendly. The converted power station at the back
The garden I hoped would be more people-friendly. The converted power station at the back
Checking out the archaeological remains through the window at the back
Checking out the archaeological remains through the window at the back

I’m not one for museums but ‘Museo’ is clearly signposted. I hope the remains are part of this, the way it seems to be laid out, labelled and with viewing platforms and stepping stones. I must do this really soon! Even the Shop looked intriguing. And, even though Krish wasn’t keen, I think I’ll head back to the bistrot and join in on this ritual too.

But there’s one thing the literature doesn’t tell you. This place smells amazing! Two areas had a strong spicy smell – reminded me of sea minerals, and another was strongly floral and vanilla-like. Each time, I tried to figure out the source of the aroma and failed. I need a Scent Detective!

Turin Eye from Lavazza
Turin Eye from Lavazza
I've seen very little wall art ar all this year. This was near Lavazza
I’ve seen very little wall art ar all this year. This was near Lavazza
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Quadrilatero and a sort of Chinatown

Thursday, 8 September, 2018

This morning Krish went to fill our BIP cards for the month and brought home some impressive shrimp from Gallina.  No rain today, just a hot sun. We were going to take a bus somewhere but instead we went for a walk.

At the west corners of Piazza Repubblica there’s a sort of Chinatown. It’s not signposted as such but there are several small Chinese grocery stores and last year we even found a Chinese bakery on the north side. We also had a quite awful Chinese lunch in one place too – this time I will avoid anything of the kind without a serious recommendation, and I’ll be skeptical even then. But we do know that they sell all the dim selection we love in London!

Might as well be on Spadina
Might as well be on Spadina

At the southwest corner, in front of a row of Chinese stores, whole gangs of people hang out. They appear to be African, Asian, and South American and I’m not quite sure what they do there. I’ve not noticed any selling, something i’m used to on the corners of Toronto Chinatown. To be honest, it feels a bit menacing and that makes me uneasy about myself but there it is. I’ll try to think of it as  a Meeting Place! I took a photo really quickly, mindful of the times such photos have been followed by threats!

Always a crowd hanging out on this corner, all the way down
Always a crowd hanging out on this corner, all the way down

We wandered through the Quadrilatero. I suppose this is Torino’s version of Old Town. Unlike many European cities, Turin has a lot of straight streets intersecting each other – gridded.  I’d actually say that’s one of the least attractive things about this city for me, since I’m really fond of something more maze-like.

This was a Roman area, which explains the grid. Wikipedia tells me ‘This area is still recognizable by the road structure characterized by the network of orthogonal streets, and by some important remains of the walls preserved until today. ‘ And it has that Latin quarter thing going on – clubs, restaurants, interesting little boutiques and workshops. There are some truly beautiful buildings and inner courtyards too. I’ll see it all in time.

We discovered the graffiti shop but most art around here is just scribbles
We discovered the graffiti shop but most art around here is just scribbles
And more scribbles
And more scribbles
The architecture is mixed but I like the casualness of this building
The architecture is mixed but I like the casualness of this building

There are lots of shop windows to look in. For the most part, as I already said, these Torinese aren’t masters of window display, with a few exceptions. They are pretty good at displaying food – can’t go wrong there really – but otherwise it’s a bit of a mess. The exception is with toys. The really incredible Bazar Bonino comes to mind, as well as the doll store on Via Barbaroux. This year I will buy something expensive and no hesitation.

The usual whimsical and haphazard window display
The usual whimsical and haphazard window display
Fabulous clockwork toys at Bazar Bonino. I could spend a long time looking at the windows of this tiny place
Fabulous clockwork toys at Bazar Bonino. I could spend a long time looking at the windows of this tiny place
Close to the flat, this store sells ribbons and decorations
Close to the flat, this store sells ribbons and decorations
I assume this is part of the original Roman architecture
I assume this is part of the original Roman architecture
Its not all pretty but I like the ambience. Reminds me of Porto
Its not all pretty but I like the ambience. Reminds me of Porto

So much to see in the Quadrilatero. At night it’s a different place, full of music and people milling about. There’s also the Museum of Oriental Art, which I may try to see this year on a free day.

We had no real goals. We kept walking and checking out our surroundings until I saw Via Cernaia – on that street there are a few outlet stores and we are looking for a frying pan and a spatula. I walked out with a small pillow I can pick apart for the filling to make some dolls – it’s been a while – but nothing else. All the pans are the ceramic surface ones that Krish doesn’t like.

From Via Cernaia
From Via Cernaia

We bought four kinds of dim sum and resolved to get some vegetables from the Chinese couple who set up in the farmers’ market only on Saturdays. I hope they are still there. Tonight Krish made the aperitivo and I made a shrimp curry with the massaman curry paste we brought from London. An hour of cooking and three minutes of eating – well, of course!

Aperitivo
Aperitivo at 5pm
Dinner at 9pm!
Dinner at 9pm!