In mid-November I hopped on a train with two of my favorite ladies, Ari and Alex, to Torino for a Cirque du Soleil show and a much-needed break from midterms. Pros: we went to an incredible show, went out with some friends, and got to take a trip up into the Alps. Cons: it was rainy and freezing cold, I ate some weird shrimp, and my wallet was stolen.
It was worth it, but having just started the re-application process for my permesso di soggiorno (which takes about 1-3 months) and the hassle of taking my passport with me to go out on New Years, I'm still quite bitter two months later. Anyway, another pro was the view from our 18th floor hotel room! We checked in as soon as we arrived and then bundled up to go explore the city.
It was a rainy afternoon, so my camera didn't come out of my bag very much, but the city is quite beautiful. It is very similar to Milan with the mix of industrialization and fashion that a lot of the more northern cities have. Being all three of us major foodies, our days are basically just waiting until we can eat again. For dinner we went to a great little family joint by our hotel, called Calla Luna, and feasted on different types of seafood pasta- Alex had spaghetti with a sort of caviar sauce, Ari had noodles with zucchini and shrimp, and I had my favorite Spaghetti alle Cozze (mussels). Our waiter was the bossiest and most judgmental old man, who screamed at us for making a plate of balsamic and oil to dip our bread in, but he ended up being a sweetie.
After a nice long nap back in our hotel we headed to the grand Piazza Vittorio, which sits right on the river Po and is the center of Torino nightlife. If you're out in Torino, I recommend La Rhumerie right off the piazza on Via Ormea 2. They only serve rum, and have the most incredible rum-based cocktails (their Bahama Mama changed my life).
The next morning we headed to the famous chocolate festival, CioccolaTò for some incredible hot chocolate. It's so thick you have to use a spoon to eat it, and they heap fresh whipped cream on top. Savoring our treats we walked back through the streets and piazzas we had missed on our chilly first exploration of the day before. There were tons of open-air farmer's and artisanal markets, street performers, and crowds for the festival.
We had a great lunch of focaccia at the famous Focaccieria Tipica Ligure Di Lo Porto on Via Giovanni Giolitti, 4. I got the rosemary and the salami piccante (their version of pepperoni). It's a great option for a cheap and delicious lunch, coming to around €3 for two big slices! After lunch we stumbled upon a vintage Fiat parade. They were so adorable, only as tall as my waist and honking like crazy as the policemen waved them through like tiny ducklings.
We went back to the hotel to get ready for Cirque du Soleil, and as I was checking my purse I discovered that I had been robbed! I'm pretty sure someone had unzipped my purse on the very crowded tram back from the city center. I was devastated and we were late and let me just say to Genevieve from USAA: marry me. I couldn't contact my parents or Bank of America and with a time crunch she calmed me down, gave me advice on what to do next, and cancelled and replaced all my cards.
After a very stressful hour, we got to the show on time and it was fantastic. We saw Dralion, and if you haven't been to a Cirque du Soleil show you should book a ticket right now. Sadly you'll note the no cameras sign in the picture we took outside the theater, but it's hard to do justice to performances like that anyway, so you'll just have to take my word for it!
The next morning I headed to the police station to make a statement. If you ever lose something or are robbed while in Italy, you need to make a "denuncia" as soon as possible. The policemen are very nice and can help you itemize everything you lost and sometimes even recover things for you. My friend had his backpack stolen but the police found his passport for him a week later. The piece of paper with the denuncia will then help you with everything from applying for a new visa or ID to contesting transactions should your cards be used before you cancel them. I'm most upset that they stole my Conad frequent shopper card... I had almost saved enough points for a free bag of pasta.
After the station I headed to a cafe to wait for Ari and Alex and discovered my new favorite drink: the marrocchino. A specialty of Torino, it is a macchiato served in a cup coated with Nutella and then covered in bitter cocoa powder. Oh my god.
After my hasty religious experience with Nutella coffee, we hopped on a train up to Bardonecchia, a gorgeous little town in the Alps. They held some of the events of the 2006 Winter Olympics there, and now the converted Olympic Village is used as a hotel. The view from anywhere in town is breathtaking, and the whole place feels like it was carved from gingerbread.
We had lunch at La Taverna del Dahu on the main street in new Bardonecchia. We had a LOT of red wine, an appetizer of vol au vents filled with hot fondue cheese, and then a cheesy polenta and a pasta with miniature meatballs. After lunch we walked through the town enjoying the sun and the snow, and took quite a few "engagement" photos with the mountain scenery.
We found a famous walk along the river, populated with wooden statues carved by local artists. Ari and Alex also had quite a bit of fun with the fitness challenges along the way. We walked back to the town as the sun set and then nestled onto the train for the ride back to Torino, where we snuggled in our pushed-together hotel beds and watched movies with pizza from the restaurant next door. We took the train back the next morning and got to Bologna in time for our afternoon classes!
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