I’ve been wanting to go to the little cafe I enjoy. It’s called Cianci Piola and is in the prettiest square (in my opinion) in Torino. It feels like you’re in Paris but without the high prices and the attitude!
On the way over, I walked past some remains of the Roman wall.
At Cianci Piola, there’s always a choice of appetiser, first course, second course and dessert. I stayed with an appetiser and a pasta.
On the patio at Cianci PiolaA traditional Piemontese appetiser – tomini (a soft cheese) al verde ( a sauce made with parsley and anchovy (each round maybe 5cm)The primo – a small bowl of tajarin (the local pasta) with sausage and eggplantLeaving Cianci to go window shopping – the Duomo and the CampanileAffordable fashion at OVS. This Fall it’s all about see-through skirts
On the way back I finally climbed to the top of the NH Santo Stefano. I heard that it has the history of Torino on the walls as you climb. The pleasant surprise is that there aren’t stairs but little ledges along a spiraling ramp.
The gallery was made up of several posters, tracing the history of the city and saying where remnants of the past could still be found. I made note of several. What was interesting was that sometimes that old piece of history would be deliberately incorporated into something new – such as an old granite pillar that formed the cornerstone of a newer building. It’s like a treasure map.
The galleries along each floor of the NH HotelThe ledged ramp all the way up to each level. Very easy to manage
On the fourth floor there’s a lift to take you up to the very top, where there’s a panoramic view.
To the right the Campanile and the Palazzo Reale with its Roman wall, to the left the Porta PalatinaLovely view towards the Market square, with the Alps in the backgroundAnd almost home – a visit to see how Mr Fijodor’s whale is coming along
The last day of summer. The thermometer doesn’t know about that, though. I feel lazy, like the sun is siphoning off my energy instead of energising me. So I’ll make this a pictorial … for now. Will have to say more about Terra Madre etc.
Waking up to another hazy sunriseKrish was craving meat pie and so I made a Cornish pasty – first one in a long whileMr Fijodor’s whale art – about a week inDetailAt the base of the wall, his signature pieceSuch a quiet day in the Cortile del Maglio. Packed on the weekendA workshop on the periphery of the Cortile del Maglio. A lazy lunch on a bright day. One of Krish’s masterpiecesOn my list – climbing the stairs of the NH Hotel to see the historic photosIt’s Terramadre – huge food festival in Turin. Everywhere is packedAnd Via Po is so quietWalking through the Quadrilatero at night
Today we went to the Balon flea market but it wasn’t there! I’m puzzled since I thought it was every Sunday! Never mind. So we headed back up to the main road, Regina Margherita.
On the side of the mosque near our flatHaven’t noticed this flat before – nicely done!
At the top of the street, we saw a roughly painted whale shape on the wall and, looking a bit more, there was a guy sitting on a wooden crate – the artist? Yes! So I went to chat with him. He said his name was Fijodor. He was from somewhere else but now in Turin. Where he comes from, it’s on the French border and in that part of the Mediterranean there are whales. His theme for the wall art will be plastics and the plight of the earth. The other interesting thing was he was from the place where plastic was invented.
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.
Dhal for breakfast
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.
Some of the architectural detail is stunning
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.
A couple of times birds came swooping down the roadThe birds perched everywhere and we noticed there’s no deterring spikes hereLooking towards our targeted building, the contrast with the medieval building on the rightSomeone opened the front door of the magnificent building we were heading towards
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.
Electricity!
And another great detail – wish I were taller – these rather demonic figures!
I say I’m happy to stay home but it would be nice to go out too, so that’s becoming a big issue for me right now. The heat continues and it’s humid, with no end in sight. Earlier forecasts had shown this coming week to be in the mid twenties but instead 29 is more the figure. Nothing I can do about the weather but I’m gathering ideas for hot weather and shut-in ideas.
Ideas? Here’s what I’ve done so far.
First hot weather idea. I made a doll! She’s called Ciao so farSecond idea – eat leftovers! Agnoletti and burataThird idea – watch really cheesy (and un-PC) Italian television
There’s also watching Amazon Prime and Netflix. I am following the new Better Call Saul series. I finished watching series 3 of Poldark and very ready for series 4 – that might have to wait till London since BBC probably won’t play for me here – we shall see. I’m also working my way through the quirky Halt and Catch Fire series 2. Very annoyed that I can’t see This is Us series 2 without purchasing a TV subscription – that is not going to happen!
We also spent time watching a rather spectacular lightning storm, which started in the clouds over the Alps and eventually reached us with some high winds and drenching rain. It sadly did nothing to abate the heat more than just for that evening.
Friday I planned to get out but again the heat stopped me. But I thought maybe we could go out later, for dinner. We were out of food. I booked a place that sells plates of local meats and cheeses but eventually Krish opted out and so we thought about what to do instead.
Krish suggested walking around Borgo Dora and see where we could eat, with a fallback for pizza nearby. Done!
I made a deal to look at restaurants and pick one for each week and actually go! Also I still plan to go alone when I can – for lunch.
First we did a big loop around the Galleria Umberto. Nothing to interest His Fussiness there. Then we headed into Borgo Dora ro see what we could see.
From Via Milano looking across Piazza della Repubblica to Borgo DoraBorgo Dora was quiet at first and then it got livelierBut we ended up with local pizza anyway. It was as hot as the pizza oven in here so we took it homeOur pizzas – 4 Staggione an a gorgonzola and pear
A diversion. Pizza in Italy. So I always imagined I would come to Italy and think, well, this is what a pizza is supposed to taste like! But that has never happened. A good pizza anywhere is as good as a pizza in Italy. Yes! Disappointed? However, it’s hard to find a bad pizza in Italy. This pizza, from a local place called Saraceno, has a chewy and salty crust. It’s not bad.
Last year when we came here, we arrived on the night the neighbourhood was having a street party. Everyone was sitting at a long table on the street eating together. This year it’s happening again but seems to be somewhere else. I will investigate. Krish has suggested we could go and I’d make my pesto potato salad. We had some fun talking about how a curry might not go over so well. I wonder how the potato salad would be received?
