La Mi Prima Città di Italia: My first week in Torino

The most odd thing happened, I met a guy from Santa Rosa the first hour in the hostel. Andrew from Santa Rosa was the first person I adventured into Torino with. Andrew had been traveling in Europe for a few months now, from a farm in Ireland to the ruins in Greece, he had adventured his way around, meeting loads of people and cutting his way into the culture. I envied him a little for being so brave and doing so many things but I knew that my adventure was just beginning and with him I spent my first day in Torino.

Within half an hour we had located a mob of angry students and joined their rally. My first day in Italia turned me into an activist (only for an hour). The board of education (Gemini) is trying to privatize all schools, starting with the University. This would make it harder for students to get an education and limit those who finished primary, secondary and high school. As I write this, students from around Italia are rallying and protesting towards this woman who wants to limit education.

Later in the day , we met up with the young man from the bus. Paraskevas from Greece, had been living in Torino trying to look for a job without much luck (even with a master’s degree!). He was familiar with the city because he had lived in Torino previously for some time, so we made him our tour guide.

Third Lesson: when sightseeing by foot, wear comfortable shoes with arch support and good socks. Blisters and cuts at the beginning of the trip can make your feet miserable.

I got my taste of Italian culture, food and piazzas and we took pictures of architectures, statues and art. I spent most of my time with Paraskevas. We walked, talked, sight saw and ate all day every day. One of the most exciting days was when we stopped by the Slow Food Movement Italia’s Eataly store. I was in pure heaven, with all the local, organic produce surrounding me. We also visited a Roman Polanski exhibit, walked over the Torino Olympic Bridge (only to discover an Olympic village that was deserted and run down) and stopped to observe a parade.



April’s Best of Torino:

Eataly, V. Nizza 224: there is a grocery store, gift shop, wine and beer tasting room, Slow Food exhibit, culinary classes, and restaurant counters for meat, fish, poultry, pizza, pasta and beer lovers.

For you chocoholics, try the Caffe Cioccolateria al Bicerin, P. della Consolata 5 (http://www.bicerin.it/): seat out on the patio and try the hot chocolate with panna (whip cream) or go into the gift shop to buy some chocolate treats for you and your friends. For almost 400 years Piedmont has been a center for chocolate, in Italia and beyond.

Take a stroll along the Po River and experience some of the natural (and free) sights that downtown Torino has to offer. Most parks contain beautiful buildings, statues and fountains.