My dad came to visit for a long weekend and we had a great time…well besides the travel debacles! Upon my dad’s arrival at O’hare he was rebooked for his connecting flight as they knew the delay out of Chicago would cause him to miss his connection from Rome to Torino. He arrived about five hours later than expected and I got him in the car and off to see the first sight! We drove to Sacra San Michele which is an abbey built for Benedictine monks built in the tenth century. The drive was very nice even if I didn’t know exactly where I was going!
San Michele on the drive up
San Michele on the walk up
We drove into Torino and had a very nice dinner with some friends from the office. It was great to have Michele, Luigi, Sabino, Natalia, and Enrico meet my dad! We walked home through the city streets and my dad got a taste of all the wonderful things about this city. Friday morning we met people in the office for coffee and some advice on what to see in Rome. Gianluca, Massimo, Elena and Valentina took a break to show my dad how nice morning coffee can be (even if he had tea). When we got back to the car we had a ticket (38 euro!) which I tried to get out of by pleading ignorance but of course that didn’t work. The lady was very nice and told me that I could use that ticket as a “free pass” all day and not pay all day. At least there was an upside! First, we drove to Castle of Moncalieri. According to my book part of the castle is used by the Carabinieri but other rooms could be visited. We parked, “paying” by putting the ticket on the windshield, and walked up to what I thought was the entrance. The Carabinieri thought otherwise. Needless to say this castle was not visited! Next we drove to Stupinigi Palace just south of the city center which is one of the former House of Sovoia hunting grounds. I think my book must be out of date as the castle is closed for renovations!
Stupinigi Palace
We tried our luck with a third palace, La Venaria Reale. Open! We had a bit of a difficult time getting in (we couldn’t find the entrance and tried to enter at the Great Hall) but finally found it. The palace was built in the middle of the 17th century by Duke Carlo Emanuele II of Savoia. I guess a royal family needs more than one place to hunt! You were not allowed to take pictures in the palace but could take them in the Great Hall.
Venaria Reale
Lunch at the Palace, Venaria Reale
The Great Hall, Venaria Reale 
We drove back to Torino and made a quick stop at the Di per Di to see if they had Diet Caffeine Free Coke for my dad…he got everything but the Diet part and was very happy!
It is the little things in life that make you the happiest!
We then walked up to the Consolata which is a church in the Quadrilatero district near the old gates of the city at Porte Palatine. The original church was built in the fifth century. I am so happy that I took Gianluca’s suggestion to visit this church (it really is hard to decide which ones to visit there are so many) as it is now my favorite in Torino!
Consulata, Torino
Consulata, Torino
We had a bicerin outside the church at the café of the same name. The famous Torino drink is made from espresso, chocolate and cream. We walked over to view the old city gates at Porta Palatine before heading for my dad’s first pizza in Italy!
Al Bicerin, Torino
Porte Palatine, Torino
Porte Palatine, Torino
Saturday we visited the Mole which was constructed in the late 19th century. The building was originally designed to be a Jewish temple but after some disagreements between the Jewish community and the architect the city of Torino purchased the building and created what is now the Cinema Museum. The Museum was very interesting as you learned the history of film and animation. The best part is view from the top, although I will admit getting up there is a little concerning. There is no elevator shaft but instead what seemed to just be wires fueled by a counter weight taking you 548 feet to the top. In the giant hall that you can view movies in you see the elevator traveling through the middle...again not sure how it works but it does as I'm here to tell you about it!
View from the top of the Mole
We drove to the airport for flight debacle number two. We were scheduled on a 3:15 flight to Rome but when we arrived we were booked on stand by as they had overbooked the flight and so we were compensated 125 euro each to take the next flight (although we didn’t have a choice). We also received a free panini and a drink from the airport cafè! The weirdest part was that when we went back to the check in desk to get our seat assignments for the new flight (we had checked our bags and gone to the gate to determine if we were able to get on the flight) our bags were just lying on the ground. Somehow they had gotten back in front of the check out desk and for probably the last hour were just sitting there! I am so happy our "unattended luggage" was not confiscated! Especially because the two bags are a lot of my clothes from the past six months! We finally got to Rome and checked into our hotel and took the metro to the Coliseum. It is so cool at night! We had a great dinner right across the street and headed back to the hotel to get ready for our whirlwind day on Sunday.
Coliseum
My dad and I at dinner in Rome
I can’t really describe all the wonderful things that we saw so I will just tell you that it was amazing…even in the 100 degree heat! We planned to visit the Vatican Museum but at 9:15 (it is open the last Sunday of every month from 8:45 until 12:30 for free) the line was already about a ¾ of a mile long…literally. My dad “doesn’t do lines” so we visited St. Peter’s and the tombs instead.
My dad asking for forgiveness for wanting this picture in St. Peter's
Afterwards we walked across the Tiber River on the Sant’Angelo bridge to find a place for lunch. Off the beaten path, we found a great little place with amazing food.
Castel Sant'Angelo
Lunch in Rome
Piazza Navona
Pantheon
Tempio Adriano
My Dad and the water color artist...he was awesome!
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps
Our street...we stayed at Hotel Piave
We took our bags to the shuttle stop and explored the area around there for a bit. We couldn’t put our hand in the “mouth of truth” but still got a picture. Legend has it that the mouth will bite off the hand of a liar! It amazes me that everywhere you look there are such amazingly old and beautiful things!
Columns with the Colisium in background
La Boca della Verita (Mouth of Truth)
Santa Maria in Cosmedin
After dinner, my dad walked me to the airport and I looked up at the monitor and the Torino flight said 9:20. I was positive it was 9:40 and as it was 9:17 I said a quick goodbye to my dad, hurried through security and sprinted to the gate. My ticket said my gate was A9 but the monitor said A8 and it said Torino on the monitor at the gate so I handed my ticket to the man and ‘wrong flight” came up. The man politely told me I was at gate A10…at 9:40. Of course no Alitalia flight I take can leave on time…we took off 30 minutes late but luckily I made it in time to catch the bus back to the city and didn’t have to wait another 30 minutes. For those of you wondering…my dad’s flight home was delayed 45 minutes! I hope my dad had a great trip and forgives me for making him walk around Rome all day in the heat!
1 comment:
FORGIVEN !
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