Torino: Winter Wonderland

As you may have gathered, Rome didn't end up working out this weekend.  Ciera, Thea, and I were supposed to join three other exchange students who had gone down on Thursday. The Italian train workers went on strike, which meant that we wouldn't have been able to leave for Rome until Saturday morning, and spend all day Saturday on the train.

When this turn of events became official, we copped a squat in the waiting room of the Menton train station, across the room from a sketchy homeless guy and his dog.  We were pretty dejected, but we broke out the chocolate, bread, and wine, and tried to make contingency plans.  Ibiza, Corsica, Barcelona, and Paris were all scratched off the list.  We ended up with Torino, Italy, home of the 2006 Winter Olympics, Ferrero Rocher, and the Shroud of Turin.

We left Menton early on Saturday morning, and it took us about four hours to get to Torino.  Part of the train ride was lovely, with lots of ravines and homes built into cliffs.  But as we got closer to the city we saw more and more crumbling factories and industrial wasteland.  And the weather turned colder.  I was terrified that Torino would be like that too and we would have a miserable time.  I felt particularly bad because I was the one who convinced the other girls to go there.

It was raining when we made it out of the train station after a fiasco with Trenitalia.  But the city was actually still beautiful!  This was one of the many piazzas.  If you look closely on the right, you can see the porticos that are all over the place (and were very welcome in the rain).  The style of architecture fits so well with the clean grid layout of the city.

We had a blast despite the drizzle (more to come about Italian coffee, markets, churches, and protests).  But we still much preferred to wake up the next morning and see that the rain had turned to snow, and started to stick!  This is the view from our hotel window.  The distance, price, and amenities made Hotel Napoleon a much better choice than one of the two hostels in the city.

We walked through several of the beautiful Torino parks.  The snow, the thick winter coats, and the heavy square architecture made me think of Russia... not that I've been there.  Can anyone tell me if this is an accurate impression?

The snow got heavier as the day went on, and by the time we made it to the part of the city on the other side of the river, it was probably about eight inches deep.  The deeper snow also meant less slush.

I love snow, and I love how it made the whole city white and crisp.  It might have wrecked the panoramic views, but seeing such a wintery city covered in snow just made sense.  I could imagine the Olympics going on there, and I could imagine coming back for après-ski after a day on the slopes.  In fact, I might head back up there to go skiing at some point.

I put my new wool socks to good use!  And I'm very glad I brought my winter jacket to France for in case I go to Vancouver.  Unfortunately my boots weren't meant for slushy snow, and my feet weren't quite as dry as I would have liked.  By that I mean that I had about as much water in my boots as I do when I'm sailing, particularly in this picture, while the slush still predominated.  Oh well, it was a great excuse to stop into cafes and warm up!

One of the highest points in the city is Monte dei Cappuccini, which houses a church and the Museum of the Mountain (post coming later). Usually, you can see all the way from here to the mountains that surround Torino.  Visibility during out visit was not quite that good...

But again, I think I prefer the solid white snow.

Umbrellas were popular for this wet snow.  Even I gave in on occasion.  But umbrellas have a negative connotation for me; I associate them with rain, not snow.  So it was strange to see people using them for this kind of weather...

Especially when I was considering sledding down the hill on my butt.  I did end up running down one of the hills like a little girl, and I still don't understand how I didn't end up falling.  I think I was sliding more than running.

This was my first time in Italy! And although it wasn't Rome, it showed me a different side of Italy, namely the side that reveres nature and the mountains, and respects their power.  Just like in the photo below, harsh snowy weather is an essential aspect of Alpine or Piemontaise life.  I find it kind of exhilarating.