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 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 RoaThis 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 afterwardsA 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!
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 SlurpMy brunch to the left, part of Liat’s to the right
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 BalonThe 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
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!
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
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 upper window the Turin Eye is reflected so you can see how close we are to the headquartersOne view of the gardenThe garden I hoped would be more people-friendly. The converted power station at the backChecking 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 LavazzaI’ve seen very little wall art ar all this year. This was near Lavazza
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
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
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 scribblesAnd more scribblesThe 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 displayFabulous clockwork toys at Bazar Bonino. I could spend a long time looking at the windows of this tiny placeClose to the flat, this store sells ribbons and decorationsI assume this is part of the original Roman architectureIts 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
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!
I am sleeping well. It’s a bloody miracle. Why, then, am I so tired all day? I’ve resolved to ignore it, go with the flow, and see where the day takes me.
We said we’d get to the Tabaccheria by 1, when all of Torino – well, Italy really – closes down for two or three hours, to top up our BIP cards – those are the monthly travel cards. It’s closer to 2 when we leave. And it’s raining.
My new raincoat is actually waterproof as promised but in 28 degree heat it’s also hot! We walked down the road, with overheated me taking photos but mostly in my imagination – too rainy! Past the Porta Palatina, past and through the Palazzo Reale and into the Piazza Castello to the tourist office.
Walking through the Palazza Reale
Since July I’ve been trying to book a tour of the Guido Gobino chocolate factory but you need five people to do this. Emails have gone back and forth and I went from being ‘madam’ to ‘dear.’ I thought I might be able to hook up with others but so far I’ve had no luck. Then Cristina told us about the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2018 – it’s Torino’s food festival week starting the 20th September! Loads of food events around and during that time. And included is a Gobino tour. Finally!
But no, the tourist office tells us that there are no tours – until we explain that it’s part of the Gusto week. The light dawns! But no again! It’s fully booked. Disappointment doesn’t even describe it. Petulance is more like it. How could my now-buddy. Loredana, at Gobino not have mentioned this to me? We left.
Why do my legs hurt so much???
The rain hasn’t let up but we wander through the deserted porticoes and through the little streets checking out the shop windows. The system here seems to be throw a lot of stuff into the window, pretend this is artful, and stand back to admire. One butcher shop had a shop window full of a haphazard wooden buildings and some toys – I wasn’t quite sure what they were getting at but whatever… And the toy shop – they can arrange their windows however they like – those dolls are wonderful.
The porticoes give shelter in the sun OR RAINVia Giuseppe Barbaroux. Little artisan and independent stores hereMy favourite dolls on Barbaroux
We stopped briefly in the market. The lazy mood hasn’t let up so tonight we’re trying readymade cotellette – one chicken, one veal.
At home and wrote to Loredana about the tour. I poured on the pleading – well, just a bit. What have I got to lose?
Aperitivo – homemade, followed by a bit of a failed cotelleta and salad. I LOVE the sesame grissini hereAnd there was a RAINBOW
