Turin / Torino

Thursday

As we were preparing to leave Bellagio Pat realized that she had left her bag at the restaurant the prior evening. Fortunately it was the hotel restaurant and the bag was waiting for us at the front desk. The driver met us at 7:45 for our trip to Milan and the 10:05 train to Turin. The traffic close to Milan was heavy and we were glad we had opted for a slightly early departure from Bellagio. Another enjoyable Frecciarossa train, this time from Milan to Torino.

The 12 minute walk to the rental was via fairly flat via mostly pedestrian streets. We met our charming host, left our bags with him and went off to lunch.

Near the Royal Palace we discovered da Pino & Pino, a local spot and ordered a quite satisfying selection of dishes: 

• Spinach Flan with Toma di Lanzo, a cheese from the Piedmont area
• Aubergine / Eggplant Parmigiano
• Spaccatelle Radiccho (Spaccatelle is pasta with a curved shape and hollowed, split in the centre. It is perfect for traditional, dense sauces).
• Nero d'Avola wine from Sicily 

After lunch we joined our guide for a tour of the Royal Palace. The building is huge and ornate. The decor and exhibits makes for a pleasant two or more hour visit.

It was originally built in the 16C and was modernized in the 17C. We visited the state apartments, the Royal Armory and the Chapel of the Holy Shroud. The “Shroud of Turin” is a 14' x 4' linen cloth that was found to be the burial cloth of Christ. Housed at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, in Turin, the Holy Shroud has rarely (a few times per century) been displayed publicly in order to preserve it. Yet the chapel (top right of the second collage) was impressive even without the shroud. 

CW from top left: The Royal Palace, Chinese Cabinet, one of the ornate state apartments, table with impressive legs. 

CW from topleft: Knight & horse in armor, Chapel of the Holy Shroud, Samurai armor, Royal Armory Hall.

Later we had a guided wander around the area, a nice orientation to the city center. Our guide pointed out palazzos, museum, churches and (for Pat) shopping arcades and streets. From Piazza San Carlo, in front of one of the most famous cafes, she pointed out a ceramic bull, the symbol of Torino (bull is Toro in Italian). The legend is that one should stand on its testicles for good luck. 

The tower of Palazzo Carignano stand out. It houses the Museum of the Risorgimento. The Risorgimento was an ideological movement that led to a series of political events that freed the Italian states from foreign domination and (somewhat united them politically).

CW from top left: Garden of the Royal Palace; Gorilla by Davide Rivalte; Shopping Arcade; Chiesa di San Filippo Neri; Pat stepping on bull's / toto's testicles for good luck; Palazzo Carignano; Royal Church of San Lorenzo.

After the tour we collected our luggage and officially checked into our apartment, Once we were settled in, we stocked up at our neighboring Carrefour Express (great fruit/veggie selection, meats, cheeses, and wine).

Friday

We were off to the Langhe Region for a wine tasting in Barolo. We took the train to Alba where our wine guide was waiting for us.

First stop: Castello Grinzane Cavour for some views, a look at the wine shop, some  coffee and a sample of Barolo Chinato Vino Aromatizzato dessert wine.

Next was the the Pira winery in the Serralunga area. Pat was too busy taking notes to take photos of the wine tasting other than the listing of wines and a map of the wine region. 

After the tasting we were off to one of the best meals of the trip, at Restaurant Iride in Roddino. It was seriously "out of the way" but the food and service were amazing. We think it deserves Michelin stars! Our meal:

• Amuse Bouche and great bread
• Roasted and creamed cauliflower with hazelnut bread crumbs
• Marinated venison fillet with pepper spiced chips and mixed leaves
• Smoked veal sweetbreads, "jerusalem artichokes ice cream and its honey"
• Porcini meringue, potato and vanilla mousse, chestnut ice cream with truffles
• Della Orto Nebbiolo d'Alba for wine

The food, service, the food itself and the presentation were all superb.

We moved on to a wine tasting at the Stroppiana winery in the La Morra area. We tasted seven Nebbiolo based wines with a variety of hazelnut and chocolate based accompaniments.  

We just missed our planned train back to Turin but we found an alternate sloooow train and got into Turin 10 minutes before we would have if we had waited 45 minutes for the next high speed train.

Our apartment is pretty special. The location is amazing. A short walk to most anything in town. The apartment includes a jacuzzi tub, a sauna shower, wash/dryer, dishwasher, 20 champagne glasses and a wine refrigerator!

Saturday

A break between the tasting tours enabled us to do laundry and catch up on a few other things.

We did manage to partake of a Truffle / Tartufo dinner at nearby Tabui (the name of a dog specialized in sniffing out truffles) .

Menu Degustazione / Tasting Menu featuring both black and white truffles.

• Prasule Terre Alfieri Arneis wine and 
• Appetizer plate with 
• Uovo al padellino / Fried Egg Padellino style
• Fonduta con Tartufo Bianco / Fondue with White Truffle
• Crostino di Paté di Fegatini / Liver Paté Crostini
• Robiola d'Alba e Battuta di carne con Tartufo Nero / Robiola d'Alba cheese and chopped meat with Black Truffle
• Tajarin con Tartufo Bianco / Silky thin strands of pasta with White Truffle
• Filetto con Tartufo Nero e spinacino saltato / Filet with Black Truffle and sautéed spinach

For dessert we had

• Quaglia Vecchio Amaro wine with
• Crumble con Crema pasticcera, scaglie di Cavolfiore e Tartufo Nero / Crumble with custard, cauliflower flakes and Black Truffle

Later we tried booking a train to Asti for our next wine tour only to find out there were NO trains at all to be booked out of Porta Nuevo (the main train station of Torino) on Sunday (or that Sunday. Who knows?). We only noticed this at about 8pm. There were some strikes going on but we had understood it wouldn't affect our travells. NOT. The train was to leave from Porta Lingotto, but the schedule was basically the same as when it leaves from Porta Nuevo, so we had overlooked the different departure point until we tried to book it. We hadn't yet mastered buses or the metro and our train was at 8:45am or so leaving us little extra time. Our host came to the rescue and booked us a taxi. 

Sunday

Our visit to Poderi Gallino winery in the Roero region began with one of their  unique offerings, a Vino Spumonte (sparkling) Arneis. A few wines later including a red (Roero is more known for their white wines) we had a photo op with the father and son team from the winery and a Lamborghini tractor. They told us they think John Deere is a better tractor. Pat's brothers seem to have known that for years. Our visit was during the harvest and there were plenty of grapes around.

At the Boh'em Bistrot in San Damiano d'Asti we dined on:

• Raschera Gnocchi With Black Truffle
• Taglatelle With Mountain Butter And Black Truffle
• Barbera Superior

Later we stopped at the Grasso winery in Barbaresco, where two brothers run the show. There were many large barrels that are used for fermentation in this part of the Langhe. We had been joined by a small group and shared the tasting of 13 different wines including one where we split the cost of a bottle not on the tasting menu. We were glad someone else was driving.

Our return trip to Torino was uneventful, including quickly getting a taxi back to our apartment at the train station.

Monday

We met our guide at the entrance of the Egyptian Museum, the second largest Egyptian Museum in the world. It covers a span of history from 4000 BC to 700 AD. Our 3 hour included papyri, ancient plaques, statues, mummies, sarcophagi, and canopic jars as well as jewelery and other tomb offerings.

Canopic jars  were used for mummified organs. The best known versions of these jars have lids in the shape of the heads of protective deities called the four Sons of Horus. The human-headed Imsety was the guardian of the liver; the baboon-headed Hapy looked after the lungs; the jackal-headed Duamutef was responsible for the stomach; and the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef cared for the intestines. 

CW from top: Canopic jars, tomb offerings, sarcophagus covered with hierogyphics inside, mor sarcophagi

We had lunch at the nearby Solferino. 

• Tagliolini di pasta fresca all'uovo serviti con un gustoso ragù di salsiccia / Fresh egg tagliolini pasta served with a tasty sausage ragout
• Risotto ai Porcini and grilled vegetables
• Along with a bottle of Gattinara (Nebbiolo)
• For dessert we had:
• Barolo Chinato Cocchi ...Barolo wine flavored with Quinine bark, rhubarb and genetian flowers. These ingredients are macerated with aromatic spices including caardamon and mace to yield a nectar good as as both aperitif and digestif.
• Arcass late harvest wine

Tuesday

Venaria Reale Palace, our destination for the day is sort of "in town"...but actually about 5 km from the center. We bought our bus tix the night before and were at the bus stop early. The bus wasn't. Time passed. We called our tour guide and asked if we should take a taxi. That is when we learned of the taxi strike. Finally, about 20 minutes late, the bus arrived. It was packed because during our wait 3 scheduled number 11 buses had not arrived. It was impossible to get to the front of the bus to validate our tickets. Finally about 2/3 of the way, there was space. We gambled. We assumed that given the craziness, there would be no checking. We lucked out, because they are stringent in Torino.

Venaria Reale was originally a Hunting Lodge. Then the Duke who owned it became the King of Sicily and later King of Sardinia followed by King of Italy and the facility grew accordingly. But the climate was better at another palace a few miles away and Venaria Reale became lost in time. It served as a barracks under Napoleon and during WWII. Unesco finally funded renovations in 1997. The effort took at least 10 years. It is restored, but all of the furnishings had been sent to the newer palace. And the soldiers barracked there had not treated the precious architecture well. So it is setup with many borrowed artworks and furnishings, along with videos of life of old. It is amazing how many beautiful features remain.

On our way back to the bus stop we paused at Osteria Passami Il Sale for lunch. We had:

• Tajarinai Funghi Porcini e Salsaccia Cruda di Bra (Reminder: Tajarin is a pasta made of light silky strands. Delightful.)
• Spaghetti alla Chittara All'Amatriciana con Spuma di Pecorino / Spicy pasta with Pecorino foam

The bus ride back was uneventful. We returned to the apartment and Pat went out  shopping... purchasing a Pylone shopping bag (compact for carrying in a handbag) and an iPhone case.

Wednesday

We had a relaxing morning doing the laundry and getting our bags together for the move to Genoa.

A neighboring restaurant Fondoo provided a slightly different menu:

• Raclette from cool one-person burners
• Chocolate Fondue from small 2 person size burners

Bill was still dealing with a bit of a cold so Pat went out shopping and discovered a new shop. Falconeri. Great silk, cashmere and other natural matrials in beautiful colors and at good prices. She bought a few pieces.

Nexst up: Genoa