Welcome to Turin

Still backblipping …

A red Italian high speed train took us to Turin this morning. I’d had trouble booking a reasonably priced hotel, and it wasn’t very conveniently located, but the receptionist was very nice and the room spacious and pleasant, with a balcony overlooking a jasmine-filled courtyard. It was 2 pm by now, so we decided to just have a snack for lunch. We consulted the receptionist and walked down to the lovely park and botanical garden by the river, where we sat outside a kiosk with a cold drink and sandwiches, before strolling along the river, picking up good gelato on the way.

There was some kind of festival in the park, involving a brass band leader urging a crowd of young people to sing the same note at the same time. The bar was low, but they were very enthusiastic. We ambled a different way back to the hotel and may have had a brief snoozle before heading for the National Cinema Museum, recommended by a friend. It’s huge, a Tardis-like building, and was very busy. We were already quite tired, and didn’t manage to visit all of it — it would have taken all day to do it properly. It’s very impressive.

It was quite close to the restaurant where we were meeting the rest of the party later, so we decided to stroll over there and have an aperitivo if we were early. We had once again been insouciant with our clothing choices. It was hot and steamy, and the huge square was busy with people sitting at outdoor tables. Not finding one free, we tucked ourselves into the only spare one under the colonnade surrounding the square. Wise choice! Within minutes the heavens opened for a brief and brutal downpour. No-one else was any better clad than we were. Everyone not sitting under a parasol grabbed their drinks and rushed for shelter, followed by waiters dragging tables and chairs. The downpour only lasted ten minutes — after the rain in extras.

Luckily lapsed blipper Bundle had booked an indoor table … she and our other three companions had had to pause under a balcony for shelter en route. We finished our drinks and joined them for an enjoyable evening of catching up. It had long stopped raining by the time we left the restaurant to walk back to the hotel along quiet streets. Start of the adventure tomorrow!