The Cloud of Turin

"hurry, hurry, hurry. We'll miss the train"

"I can't hurry, i don't want to...maybe we can just stay in milan today..."

"the train's still there, do you want to get on?"

"ok, ok..what about a ticket though?"

"we'll ask that guard"

(stilted conversation in italian english follows. upshot - we can buy our ticket on board for 5 euros extra. we catch the train)

Arriving in turin, I was still wondering why we'd decided to travel for 1.5 hours another day, when heavy snow was forecast and travellers fatigue had set in.

Then we stepped of the train. And walked into the station and saw one of the coolest shops I have ever seen in a railway station. Wallets and briefcases etc, arranged by colour, in a brightlit, warm looking glass cubicle. So...it might not be so bad after all.

We visited the tourist info spot, where the attendant actually spoke English. Bonus in Italy! We got a free map (another bonus for this country) detailing different walks we could take around the town. It was peppered with things we would "be able to say" after we'd completed a walk.

(walk # 1 history culture and coffee) "Haven't you ever been to turin? It has some marvellous buildings" A fine example of something we might slip into conversation upon our return!

We proceeded to walk around Turin, in the snow, but mercifully undercover for the most part because of the porticoes. (look up on google). The city was charming, sophisticated...despite clouds obscuring the distant views of mountains, despite the cold and slip factor, it worked it's magic.

The biggest Egyptian Museum outside Cairo, standing at a bar to have an espresso and chocolate, eating hot foccacia on a bar stool, gazing at a snow covered Augustus and standing deep in snow in a Roman ampitheatre. Cloudy. Bustling amongst the crowds, staring in shop windows, browsing the outdoor bookshops, stopping for cake, seeing bohemian italians with bongo drums. Still cloudy. Missing the train home but still having things to look at. Buying a pair of (bordeaux vino coloured) boots.

"are you glad we came to turin?"

"yeh it was a good day"

(topped of with waiting dinner - risotto milanese...yum!)