Turin

One of the beautiful things about "traveling" is coming into contact with many people from various parts of the world that it would never have been possible to meet if we had stayed at home on the sofa. The even nicer thing is to stay in touch (today it's much simpler than it used to be), and maybe organize a reunion to see each other again. During a holiday in Zanzibar we met a couple from Turin with whom we formed a beautiful friendship. Luckily Piedmont is just a snap of the fingers from Como and therefore there was no lack of opportunity to visit them. Obviously I often combine business with pleasure... in fact we met in Alba in November, on the occasion of the Truffle Fair which I love! In fact, I've been wanting to visit the very green Langhe for a long time and go for a feast and a sniff of truffles which drive me crazy!! I recommend this fair to those who like it... it takes place every year between October and November. The town of Alba is also nice to walk around and for those who don't want to spend money to enter the actual fair, they can also shop among the stalls and shops in the city centre. 

On that occasion our friends joined us (Turin is in fact an hour away) and we went for an excellent dinner at the beautiful Osteria dell'Asilo restaurant... obviously based on... TRUFFLE !! :) I recommend it, but above all for lunch, in order to enjoy the view which is a little lost in the evening. Luckily we were still able to see the panorama of the Langhe from the hotel. In fact we stayed at the Belvedere Hotel in Alice Bel Colle which, from its name alone, makes it clear that it is truly... a great sight!! Also in this case, as has often happened, I managed to find a place by booking through Wonderbox. I also highly recommend this hotel... both for the kindness of the staff and for the structure itself. Unfortunately, due to timing issues, I wasn't able to try the restaurant... but from the menu it didn't look bad at all. 

The second time we ended up in those parts was in spring... on the occasion of the Messer Tulipano at the Pralormo Castle, an exhibition of tulips which takes place every year during the flowering period of this colorful flower (usually in the month of April). I must admit that perhaps, having already had various experiences with other fields of this flower (one even in Holland in the enormous Keukenhof field), this one seemed a bit poor to me and I was quite disappointed. However it was another good opportunity to meet up with our friends. This time, however, we were the ones who went to visit them, directly in Turin. I have to admit that I changed my mind! In fact, I had already seen her, many years ago on a school trip. We had gone to the Egyptian Museum. I remember that I was very impressed by the museum but not by the city, in fact I found it sad and monotonous. Who would have thought that, a few years later, perhaps with an adult mind, I would have changed my opinion? 

In this case, luckily we had them who acted as guides... so I didn't have to worry much! ahaha usually it's a big commitment to plan "what to see", "when" and "why".. it's perhaps also for this reason that I decided to create this blog... precisely to help other people in organizing a tour rather than a short trip, so that it is as easy as possible! Returning to Turin, what can I say... very elegant and full of art, with its period buildings and its historic cafés. Full of squares and porticoes, the symbol of the city is the Mole Antonelliana from which, by taking the lift up, you can enjoy the panorama of the city from above. Unfortunately, even in this case, a single weekend is very short to see it well... especially in bad weather! Having caught the cold and the rain, we postponed the in-depth visit to another time and went around carefree, chatting about this and that with our friends. In any case, there will certainly be an opportunity to visit them again! ;)