Torino Eataly, May 1-5 2014

Porta Susa, Turin. Our Labor Day weekend trip gets a panic start. We wake up and leave from home early in order to take a tram to the railway station. The only glitch is that it is a holiday and the tram does not run. So, we have a swift walk ahead of us to the station, but we make it. We even have a couple of minutes to buy sandwiches and coffee for the train trip.

We are early in Turin and have no difficulty in finding our airbnb accommodation at Piazza Arbarello. However, we don't have a proper adaptor for the computer (Italy has a different plug from rest of the Europe), and the TV antenna provided in the apartment does not work either. Little annoyances we can live with but can also easily fix, if it weren't a public holiday and stores closed.

We head out --- it is a gorgeous sunny day in Turin, anyway,

We stop at Crudo Osteria Contemporane for lunch: salad and lamb ravioli with some very nice Piemonte Chardonnay.

After lunch we continue to Piazza Castello, where the first performer of the last day of Torino Jazz Festival has just kicked off.

We spend quite a while enjoying Taranta Nera, a group of musicians combining rhythms form Mali and Salento.

This is a free event lasting for a week. On Thursday, its last day, it attracts a good crowd in the early afternoon. It is a perfect weather for an outdoor festival anyway.

And is enjoyed by people of all ages.

Piazza Castello.

Galleria Subalpina, a historic shopping arcade opened in December 1874.

Most of the sidewalks downtown Turin are covered by these massive pillared arches.

Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino.

Piazza Carlo Alberto.

We continue on small streets towards the River Po.

But then we find a small supermarket that is open, and do some necessary grocery shopping for breakfast. Instead of continuing our city tour, we get back home with the food and the wine.

After taking a little nap and shower we are out again.

Thunder and rain is around the corner.

For the evening we have a plan to visit a local micro brewery, Birrificio la Piazza.

We have small (25cl) tasters of all their tap beers: Pils, Weizen, Kolsch, Apa, and Doppelbock. Later we taste Bitter and Chocolate Stout (La Dadaista). These are offered only in bottles.

We have burgers, Tuscan and Smoked, for dinner. Very good.

The evening is getting chilly, and a bit rainy too. On our way back to the apartment we make a brief stop at a neighborhood bar where people are watching the local team Juventus to lose to Benfica, and not make to the final on their home stadium.

Just like in our last trip to Marseille, after a gorgeous and a sunny first day, the second day starts grey and rainy.

We sleep late and spend the rainy morning learning to use the Nespresso machine (with the online help). Then we visit FNAC to get the adapter and the cable for the TV. Well done.

Universita degli Studi di Torino.

Since it is a rainy day, we think of the same thing as everyone else: visiting the Museo Nazionale del Cinema. Only that we don't stay in the line in the rain but continue our aimless walk in the town.

We end up in Mercato di Porta Palazzo, which is already closing.

The rain does not give up and we are getting hungry, so we find ourselves for lunch at Pippo Paranza, a little charming seafood cafe. The rain still does not give up so we return to out apartment to do some laundry.

Later we head out to for dinner at Birrificio Torino.

Galleria Sabauda.

Dora Riparia, a tributary of river Po.

[To]BIKE Torino bikes are available everywhere. This is the first urban bike sharing service in Italy.

We reach the Birrificio Torino brewery a bit early so we just loiter around for a while.

We order 25cl tasters of all their beers and a burger and a pasta for dinner. The beers are not bad but not particularly good either. The food is not good at all.

We wish we had had our dinner here: Ristorante Sushizumi: pizzeria and sushi.

We stop at Oro Birra for a couple of more beers: Brew Dog's "Hello, my name is Vladimir", and "Perle ai Porci" stout.

Our third day in Turin opens with clear blue skies and nice warm temperatures. This is a cigarette butt in front of Porta Nuova railway station.

We continue to River Po.

Then to Parco del Valentino.

Like all other tourists we visit Borgo e Rocca Medievale, a medieval mock town built in 1884 for an International Exhibition.

Baseball was a favorite pass time already in "medieval" times.

We cross the river at Pont Principessa Isabella, and head north on the other bank of river Po.

We climb to Monte del Cappuccini,

to visit Museo Nazionale della Montagna Duca deglie Abruzzi --- unfortunately half of the exhibits are closed.

After the museum visit we have lunch at the Ristorante Monte dei Cappuccini. The food is expensive and not too interesting. Still there are several parties that have come here to celebrate a special occasion, like an old lady's 80th birthday.

Piazza della Gran Madre di Dio.

We check Museo Nazionale del Cinema once more just hoping it wouldn't be that popular on this gorgeous afternoon, but it is.

Mole Antonelliana that houses the cinema museum. It is the tallest museum building in the world, says Wikipedia.

We return to our accommodation and on our way see the guys taking down the stage of the Jazz festival.

On our last evening in Turin, we decide to taste la Piazza beers once more. We walk over in the drizzle to enjoy this rainbow with our beers.

We make a huge mistake of ordering their "Di Tutto un Po" (A Little bit of everything) --- it turns out to be a super greasy and salty, but flavorless platter of fried chicken and potatoes, cheese, and some biscuits and else.

Our last day Sunday opens sunny and warm. We walk up to Parco della Rimembranza.

It is a narrow but quiet road up.

With a great view over Turin.

Eventually we find a trail that diverts us from the road, but it gets a bit muddy and quite steep in the end.

Colle della Maddalena.

We take even a steeper and muddier trail down. (not pictured, instead you get the pictures of the flower garden that we pass first)

Once back in town, we have no luck in finding a pizza place that's open. So we return to our accommodation to shower and pack and leave for the railway station with empty stomachs.