slightly weird, always sweet, and definitely imperfect. my life as an urban explorer
Monday 23 October (Day Thirty-six)
Yesterday’s walking took its toll. Today I spent the whole day resting on the couch with a hot water bottle hoping I could walk again soon. It was difficult to walk even to the bathroom or the sink. Some anxious moments but by mid afternoon, it was feeling a lot better.
The good thing about today was how clear it was. Today we could see the alps from the balcony closest to the kitchen.
Sunday, 22 October (Day Thirty-five)
The fog is still on the hills so it’s a perfect day for my planned lunch. Liat arrives at noon and we tuck in. It’s been a struggle to make things that I’m very used to having. Things taste different but we eat – matzo ball soup again, then some veg and hummus, mango salad, and burrata with some fresh bread. It’s a success. Phew!
Oops. Esmeralda gets a text that her card has just been used. Suddenly she no longer has any hope that it’s been found. The bad news is that she has to call the bank and sort this out during our lunch. The good news is that now the rest of the day is cleared. No more hunting.
Liat, Esmeralda and I head out for the Mole. Sadly, when we get there there’s a really long queue and we decide not to join it but carry on walking.
Continue reading “Lunch at home, the Mole and another bunch of oops”
Saturday, 21 October (Day Thirty-four)
This morning we’re up and ready to go when Esmeralda has a nasty surprise. Her wallet is missing. We keep faith and look and look but no, it’s gone. Possibly left on the train, the last place she saw it.
It’s unbelievably hard to figure out what to do next. The sites don’t have much in the way of information. We aren’t sure what to do first but logic tells me you go first to the train company. That would work well if there was a contact point. There just isn’t. And after some phone calls that end in no information, and a vain attempt at an online chat, it’s pretty clear the only option is to go back to the station.
Once there, the queue doesn’t seem long but it takes a while to get to the front. The customer service rep isn’t there at first. Once he is, each customer takes a long time – we can only hope he’s as patient with us. Our turn next but first the rep takes five minutes or so to tidy his desk. The day is marching on.
Our turn consists of Esmeralda explaining that she’s lost her wallet on the train, the rep asking if it contains her ID card, her answering yes, and the rep telling her curtly to go the police office on platform One.
She fills in an elaborate form. The police are polite and friendly and tell us it’s 50/50 if the wallet will be found and returned. No idea, then? We think we’ve done all we can and head off to the market
Continue reading “BIG OOPS FOR ESMERALDA! Porta Nuova, Al Bicerin, the Markets, L’Acino, and a walkabout”
Friday, 20 October (Day Thirty-three)
This morning when I looked out of the window I was shocked to see how foggy it was. I hoped this meant we were in for a warm day.
Since Esmeralda was visiting for the weekend, top of my mind was shopping for food. My plan was to consider going from the station to a café (perhaps Cianci Piola), spend Saturday looking around the markets and a bit in the centre, then out for dinner and a bit of evening walking, then Sunday to invite Liat for lunch and go to the Mole. I’d see how it all works out.
Krish wanted to go back to Lingotto and Eataly so off we went. The metro gets you there pretty quickly and once off the train you’re at the side of the Lingotto shopping mall, where the hotel is. We found a funicular to go up to the shopping mall but didn’t stay very long. We were looking for the Hotel since we’d heard that the lobby was very interesting.
Thursday, 19 October (Day Thirty-two)
Today I dedicated some time to looking for more stuffing so I can make at least one more doll. There’s a nice store along the main road so I headed there. Two women stopped me looking for a street and it felt good to be able to direct them. I may just know my way around a bit!
The store was lovely, the fabrics were gorgeous but even with my little bit of Italian the storekeeper’s little bit of Italian, stuffing was nowhere to be found. However, I did find a mango and some coriander! I’m going to make a mango salad for company. Wish me luck.
On the way home I was struck as always by how different the market looks when it’s cleaned up and used as a parking lot.
And…I finally started to paint! I didn’t do too badly but I won’t share my efforts yet. I really need to work on scale! So instead of the painting, here’s my (hopefully not) last Italian doll.
