You say Torino, I Say Turin

After Geneva, we headed down to Torino (Turin) in a bid to move to warmer weather. The drive down was pleasant, we took a break somewhere (don't ask me where) and there were a few truck drivers who were also just hanging out, listening to music and eating their lunch. CS took quite a few pictures while I just hopped around in a bid to stay warm.

Turin was a place that CS had been to before in his previous company and for those who know me, the little doll that hangs on my laptop bag was a present he bought me from Turin. I was really looking forward to Turin but when we finally arrived, I was a little disappointed actually cos it didn't look anything like what I had imagined. In any case, we arrived and checked in to our little hotel which was indeed a 'hidden gem' since it took us a while to locate it.

We spent a total of 3 nights in Turin and some of the more interesting ones were

1. A random church which we stumbled onto while looking for the Duomo di Torino. There was a service going on when we went in so no pictures. It was this really old church with frescos all over and it was exactly how I imagined a church will be like.

2. The Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) which is 'the second most important collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world, after the museum in Cairo'. As expected, there were many and I mean many artifacts on display and there was also a huge crowd in the museum. We rented an audio guide but I think they shifted some of the exhibits so it got a little jumbled up. The ground floor was the most impressive and it was quite amazing to see the various sculptures of the various kings and gods.

Some hieroglyphics (we can't remember, haha)

Cat sculptures which reminded us of kit cat

3. The Museo Nazionale del Cinema. I liked the museum, CS liked the ride up the panoramic lift, haha...

The building in which the museum is housed in, was originally intended to be a synagogue. However the costs got too high and the Jewish community decided to donate it to the city instead. When the structure was finally completed, it 'rose to a towering 167.5m, a record for the times'.

The museum was really quite comprehensive and also really nicely done up, it starts out by retracing the 'history of cinema from its origins, starting with a collection of pre-cinema devices and magic lanterns, with hands-on exhibits'. Some of the exhibits were quite cool others not so, but all in all it was a pretty interesting way to spend a few hours. The panoramic lift freaked me out a little cos it was totally made out of glass and there was no lift shaft so it seems as if the lift is just hanging on cables. The queue for the lift was pretty long too but we managed to get in after a while. The view wasn't that great though as it was a cloudy day but the ride was interesting. The museum also lifted its blinds at certain intervals to let light in, which was also quite cool.

Photos of movie stars

View from outside the Museum

4. Palazzo Reale or Royal Palace of Turin. This was the residence of the Savoy dynasty from the 17th century til the mid-1800s. We actually didn't plan to go there but we were having lunch just outside the place and decided to go check it out. The place was lavish as expected of a palace. There were 2 floors opened to visitors but the 2nd floor can only be entered as part of a guided tour and the tour was only available in Italian, nevertheless we decided to follow the tour anyway just to check out the 2nd floor. The people in the tour must have been wondering if we actually knew Italian, but in any case it was worth it. The rooms were a lot more interesting and it was weird how much they were into Chinese stuff, there was a whole room of Chinese lacquer and also Buddha figurines. No photos were allowed so we only have the ones CS took before we entered the 1st floor.

Other than museum hopping, we also walked around their main shopping area, ate some gelato and drank coffee. We also had one of our best dinners so far with a seriously good waiter at Villa Donato which was very near our hotel. CS had already posted pictures of our dinner so I won't be doing that again. Our waiter was this young Italian guy who took very good care of us, he was recommending dishes to us and kept checking on us to make sure everything was alright. The dishes he recommended were also fabulous and he also offered CS a complimentary drink at the end of the dinner.

All in all, Turin was rather enjoyable and I did enjoy it a lot. It may not be on the radar for most people visiting Italy but I do think it's worth a visit for a day or two.

Pastries at one of the famous cafes, Baratti & Milano