Day 16 - Torino 5/22/14 including photos

all pictures and a couple videos from today HERE

also I forgot to mention in yesterday's pictures, I know you were all missing new additions to my series on Italian parking.  northern Italy had been rather disappointing thus far, but the Torinese are surely making up for it.  They are in yesterday's pictures ;)

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4:00pm - at the B&B for a rest and because it's pissing rain.  Woke up around 7, had breakfast in the common room, which was croissants, bread, coffee, etc.  Set out for the food market at Porta Palazzo.  The B&B Owner told me to watch my wallet.  First, I stopped at historic tiny adorable little caffe Al Bicerin for the traditional coffee drink Bicerin, which is a shot of espresso, hot chocolate, and whipped cream on top. It was interesting, because the cream was cold on top.  It was also expensive, at 5 euros.  But one of those things you just have to try!

While I was drinking my bicerin it started to rain so I approached the food market but went down to the Royal Palace instead.  The ticket window was closed until 9:30 (supposed to open at 8:30) and a bunch of tour operators were super annoyed.  It was a bit of a cluster.  Finally got in and around the tour groups (when are these sights going to have group-only times?).  The palace is gorgeous, with gilded room after gilded room, an armory, etc. 

By the time I was done in the museum, it had stopped raiing, so I went back to the market. I have never seen such a market.  It's so huge it's confusing and dizzying.  There are (I think?) two indoor sections with bakeries, meats, etc., an outdoor flea market that I mostly stayed away from with junk and random crap, and the biggest outdoor produce market I've ever seen.  It's stall after stall, mostly selling the same stuff to be honest, and for pretty cheap (like one euro a kilo for strawberries at a lot of places, and less than one euro for tomatoes at a lot of places).  The vendors are screaming at people who walk by, advertising their goods. The variety is endless - actually everything about it was endless. I could go there every day for months and not see it all! In the end, i bought some cherries, some Ligurian olives, and some olive grissini breadsticks, and spent about 4 euros total. Truly amazing experience!

Walked back down to the main area with museums and had a quick lunch at a focaccia shop - had one with cheese, potatoes, and olives - interesting combination.

Then went into the Egyptian museum, which is apparently one of the oldest and biggest collections of Egyptian stuff outside Cairo. Not sure how it ended up in Torino of all places but it was pretty neat.  In particular there are two rooms with a ton of statues in incredibly good condition.  Very neat.

Stopped by a chocolate shop nearby - Guido Gobino - which is supposed to be the best in the city.  Bought a bag of gianduotto candies to bring home.  Since it was now especially raining, and since I have a museum card that lets me into all kinds of things, I decided to go into another museum, the Palazzo Madama, which has a variety of art inside a palace/castle.  Some neat collections of ceramics, furniture, and the like, inside a beautiful palace.  

Then came back to the B&B because it was really pouring. And now it's thundering

9:35pm - back at the B&B for the evening.  The thunderstorms stopped in the early evening but it has continued to rain.  I went out around 6pm and wandered more around the area down streets I hadn't been, etc.  There are a LOT of bakeries in this city.  A lot of them are ligurian - which is not far away - and make focaccia, etc.  There is also an extremely high number of gelato shops, even compared to other cities in Italy. 

Interestingly, for a city that's not especially touristy, it's very tourist-friendly.  Maybe the changes were implemented around the time of the 2006 Olympics.  On the outside of all important buildings, there are explanations in multiple languages.  The tourist office is extremely helpful.  There is an amazing city card where for 36 euros, you get three days of free admission into a number of sights (many of which are 10 euros each or more), plus extras like boat rides, buses, and 3 days of all public transport.  Cannot think of a city card that's a better deal than that.  The three museums I went into today almost accounted for the cost and I have 2 days left!  In Palazzo Madama, there was free wifi and signs all over about, please take pictures and share them with us! etc.  Again, extremely tourist-friendly!

Anyway, had dinner at Osto del Borgh Vej, which I had read about.  It's quite close to my B&B, so that's nice.  I had made an online reservation earlier this afternoon and it may be good that I did because later, they were turning people away. Then again, no outdoor seating because of the weather and there was a huge party of locals (always a good sign!) taking over their downstairs space.  Anyway, I decided to get the set 25 euros menu, and had "flan" of artichoke in a cheese sauce (so good), the local and traditional meat agnolotti (gonna just put it out there, tasted like Italian kreplach but delicious nonetheless), and Dolce Torino, which was like a custard that tasted like gianduja, the local chocolate/hazelnut mix.  A bit pricey at 30 euros including water and wine but I didn't spend much money today and it was extra-delicious. 

Hopefully the weather improves tomorrow because I want to go out to the Venaria, which is apparently Italy's Versailles! The bus and entry (over 30 euros total) are apparently included on my museum card! 

Total walking today: 26,354 steps, 10.48 miles.