Torino con Serena!

All week I was a little anxious to finally be leaving for Torino on thursday to go visit Serena who I hadn't seen since 9th grade, and I was nervous to be completely surround by all all Italians for the weekend. I don't know why I was nervous, because it ended up being an amazing weekend!

Thursday I went to Photography class with all of my things ready to bring to Torino. I had a little difficulty escaping from class a few minutes early in order to make it to SMN in time to catch my train. It wasn't a problem though, I was there in plenty of time and as I checked the board the train was going to be 5 minutes late anyways, so I strolled around the station waiting for the train to arrive. They were pretty precise about the 5 minute delay, because the train ended up leaving the station exactly 5 minutes after it was scheduled to leave, not too bad I thought.

On the train ride I read and slept, only getting a little nervous about spending the weekend with Serena. As the train approached Porta Nuova in Torino, I gathered my things and waited for the train to stop at the platform where I would hop out and scan the crowd for Serena who was supposedly waiting. She wasn't on the platform where the train had arrived, but I walked toward the main doors of the train station and surely enough there she was standing, and scanning the crowd for me with her boyfriend. I approached them from the side so they didn't really notice me, but as I tapped her on the shoulder and said her name she turned around and gave me two big kisses and introduced me to her boyfriend Alessandro. We walked toward the underground tram that would take us to her house outside of the city, and she explained everything she had planned for the weekend, how we would be going to the disco that night, and how she was so thrilled for me to finally be there with her. She made me feel so honored and I was so happy to make her really happy as well!


So we took the tram and then got in Alessandro's car and arrived at her apartment 40 minutes later. Gaetano and 4 pizzas were waiting there to greet me. We greeted each other then sat down to dinner, each to his own pizza. I had a regular margherita, and it was delicious! After dinner Alessandro waited for Serena and I to get dressed and made up and by 9:45 we were off to the disco.

We arrived way too early and had to wait until 11 to be let in because Italians are never out before then, but we had to go early because Serena had class at 8:30 the next day. The first half our in the disco it was empty, and I could already tell that I would be the only american in the building even if it did fill up. By 12, the place was PACKED! And as I presumed, only with Italians... Soon every third person in the discoteca was smoking a cigarette, and people started dancing. The dance floor was packed, they played a few english songs, but then the rest were italian and the DJ was entertaining in Italian. It was a true Italian experience. We danced for a while, left by 2 and were home by 3, excited to wake up at 7 to go to the University! As I took my clothes off I was shocked when I realized that my dress REEKED of smoke and there was nothing I could do about it but tie it up in a plastic bag and shove it in the bottom of my back pack. It was gross!



So Friday we woke up at 7, took an hour long bus ride to get to her univeristy that was right across from the Olympic stadium, COOL! I attended law class with her, only dozing off a few times. I got to meet a few of her friends who were really excited to speak english. One bought me a coffee, very nice people. And one had studied in Utah for ten months so his English was very very good!



After class we went back home to make lunch and take a nap before going out to see some museums. For lunch Serena heated up the left over pizza and made a pasta with vegetables and I cut up strawberries that we ate with whip cream for dessert. I slept until 3 by accident, then we rushed in centro to make sure we had time to see the museums she wanted us to see. The center of Torino was gorgeous (even in the rain) and very different than Florence. We went to the church where the Shroud of Turin was on display, and gazed at it for a few minutes then left to go meet up with Erika, one of Serena's friends. We chatted with Erika for a little while in a Piazza, she spoke English beautiful and was really excited she could speak with me, then we all headed toward the famed Museo di Egizio of Torino. The largest Egyptian museum in the world, next to the one that is in Cairo. It was a cool museum, i really only enjoyed the mummies and the large statues, but it was definitely worth the 3 euro.





After the Egizio we rushed out so we could get to the Museo del Cinema before it closed at 8. On our way we walked past Grom Gelatera and Serena and I got gelatos for our Merenda! Grom is truly a great gelateria, and I learned that it was apparently started in Torino, so I got to eat it in its original location!

Licking our gelatos, we slowly walked toward the Mole Antonelliana which houses the Museo del Cinema. This museum was more expensive than the Egizio, but was by far 100x cooler. It was interactive and had a lot of interesting content on movies I had seen and actors I knew of, and everything is always more interesting when you have a little background, so I really enjoyed myself in that museum. If only we had more time because we only got to see two of the four floors before getting kicked out because it closed at 8, and 8 o'clock came very quickly!



When we exited the Mole Antonelliana we went to a Piadineria across the road so that Erika could grab a bite to eat because she wasn't able to have gelato before because of stomach issues. We chatted a while then walked back toward Via Roma where we were to meet up with another of Serena's friends Adina who was supposedly beautiful. And that she was! Beautiful and so nice, we all went to a bar down the road that was very well known and we were able to have an aperativo buffet and drink for only 8 euros. So I got myself a plate full of cheeses, crostini, olives etc, and had a delicious margherita, then had a fun time telling the girls what American Universities were like! They were sooo nice, I had a great time!


After we had our drinks and finished eating, we met up with Erika's boyfriend and his group of friends. They wanted to find a hookah bar, so we went off in search of one they thought they remembered. On the way we ran into a clothing store that was till open at 11:00! So we HAD to go in! All the girls rushed in, I was freezing cause I didn't bring the right clothes for the much more northern city of Torino, so I bought a nice grey scarf for 5 euros, I got the same on as Adina and Serena bought the same one but in white. That store was smart to be the only one open at that hour, I'm sure they got a lot of business!

We asked directions from the cashier for where the nearest hookah bar was, and soon enough we had our purchases and we were off in pursuit of the bar. We found the bar probably 5 minutes later and were very happy to go into the crowded room and stay away from the cold outside. We got tea and hookah for 5 euro a piece, it was a fun time. Adina, Serena and Erika constantly keeping me in the conversation, it was very nice! By 12:30 we were DEAD TIRED, so we walked to the bust stop with Adina and waited for number 101 to come. It finally came around 1:10, we were so tired I kept nodding off on the bus, and we finally arrived back at her home a little before 2:00. I brushed my teeth and immediately climbed into bed, a bed has never felt so good, I swear. I was beyond tired it was ridiculous.

Saturday we woke up around 10, I ate a little breakfast then we headed for the center and stopped near Porta Nuova to get lunch before heading to the Venaria Reale (a palace on the outskirts of Torino). Serena was craving chinese food, so we walked around a found a precious little chinese restaurant where I ordered chicken with almonds and white rice, for under 6 euro, it was a nice change from the constant Italian food I'd been eating, and it was an inexpensive choice too, so I was content with satisfying her chinese food craving with her.


After lunch we went to find the bus that would take us to the gorgeous Venaria Real. Once again it was a 40 minute bus ride where I was dozing in and out. Luckily when we arrived the sun was peaking through the clouds and it was turning out to be a relatively nice day. We bought tickets for the Garden and the Palace. We went to the Gardens first, in fear that if we went into the Palace it would be raining by the time we exited. The gardens were beautiful, but Serena was disappointed because she had hoped to see more flowers in bloom. It was mainly a garden filled with green bushes, it was beautiful, but a little color here and there would have made it even more magnificent!



We walked through the grounds and then into the Palace. I won't lie, I found the building itself much more beautiful than any of the art work that was housed inside, but it was a beautiful place and I was glad she took me to see it.

Nearing 4 o'clock we were so tired, and needed to get back because Alessandro was picking us up at 7:30 to take us to his friends birthday party dinner at a restaurant in the center. As we exited the palace and walked back toward the bus stop, we stopped at this place called Yo Yogurt, which I had seen before in Lucca, but it had been closed, and I told her I had to go in and try it. It was a frozen yogurt place that you could choose to put almost any toppings on, so for two euro I got a cone first filled with warm nutella, then yogurt was added, then strawberries and then more nutella. It was pretty darn delicious, and the perfect afternoon pick me up!



On the bus ride home I obviously was dozing off, the guy sitting across from me made fun of me and told me to watch my bag. He was nice, I was a little embarrassed cause I was trying so hard to keep my eyes open but I literally did not have the energy to. It was not a good state to be in!

We arrived home around 7, because I made us stop at Porta Nuova so I could buy my return ticket home and there was a long line to get tickets. So there was no way Serena would be ready by 7:30, but we got ready as quickly as we could. Ale came a little before 8. Serena was still getting ready. I got to spend a little time with Gaetano as he showed me some of his pictures from an island he had recently been to. We were finally in the car by 8:30 and arrived and parked and showed up at the restaurant "Pizze e Cozze" around 9:30(late). Serena was glad I was with her because she didn't know any of his friends, so we both were awkwardly thrown into the situation. It ended up being quite alright though! Serena ordered my food for me, she got me an oyster and Pizze e Cozze (a pizza piled high with mussels and had a few calamari beneath). I was shocked when it arrived in front of me because I was a little unsure of what she had ordered for me, but it was all part of the experience! It was a little weird to eat fish on pizza, but it really wasn't terrible, and the oyster was quite delicious too!

We were really tired after singing tanti auguri and eating pastries, too tired to go out dancing with the birthday crew, so we said our good nights, kissed everyone then headed back to the car. I got to ride shot gun because they wanted to drive me through a beautiful piazza. The piazza they showed me which I forget the name was so beautiful and there were massive amounts of people roaming around through out it. After we passed it, I immediately fell asleep in the front seat, who knows why I was so tired, but I was so grateful to arrive back at the apartment and be able to sleep in the next morning before heading back to Firenze.

We slept till 10, be woken up by a call from her grandma who was on her way over to bring us breakfast. Breakfast being a vat of gelato! I had never eaten gelato for breakfast, so I really tried a lot of new things in Torino. It was kinda nice waking up to gelato, I certainly didn't have any complaints! After her grandma fed us gelato, she headed out, Serena started making lunch so we could eat before she brought me to the train station and I started packing up my things and getting ready to leave.


I was actually really sad to leave Serena, she was always alone in her house cause her dad is always working or running a marathon, so she enjoyed having me there and I was kind of like her sister for the weekend. I was glad I got to spend time with her and I hope that I will have the opportunity to go back to Torino when the weather will be a little nicer, or that Serena can come hang out with me at Union College!

Overall a great weekend filled with new things:

Discoteca
Hookah Bar
Oysters
Pizze e Cozze
Gelato per Colazione.

SUCCESS!

a dopo!