Turin in 4 hours

April 18, 2016

Turin in 4 hours

Visiting Turin and only have a few hours? Then keep on reading :)

For my sister's wedding, my family and I flew out to Montafia, Italy. There was a lot of setting up to do but my brother-in-law (Francesco) advised me and Ken to go to Turin for the afternoon before things became extremely manic.

Taking a direct train from Villanova d'Asti station to Torino Porta Susa, we bought two single tickets, which totalled around €11 I think..

The trains are really nice! Modern seating with screens to tell you what the next stop is and it also has air conditioning (just what I needed!).

With detailed information from Francesco and lots of screenshots of google maps on our phones, we headed out to explore.

I'd been to the city centre twice so roughly knew where to go but I had also had Francesco as a tour guide.

First stop, Venchi! For those who aren't familiar with this brand, you can find their products in M&S and Covent Garden, London. I love their dairy free gelato. There's nothing better than indulging in creamy, cold, refreshingly smooth ice cream...

I went for my usual dark chocolate gelato and a new flavour green tea sorbetto! If only I could have this every day..

Also stopped by my favourite make up shop Sephora and picked up a few things. So if you're into makeup make sure you add this to your list :)

Heading away from the shops, I decided to revisit a restaurant with outdoor seating as I remember how delicious the pasta was and the excellent service.

Don't speak or know any Italian?

It might be a bit daunting when it comes to ordering or asking about the food as the waiters speak very little English but if you download a few Italian apps in advance, it's a piece of cake :) I know a few basic questions and food words but I used Learn Italian and IT Lite for extra vocabulary.

Excited and hungry we were given an a la carte menu and a set menu. Tempted by the price of the set, we opted for that. I ordered the spaghetti for starters and Ken went for the penne pasta.

We were so disappointed with the food. Not only was it cold but it lacked seasoning and flavour. The natural sweetness of the tomato sauce was non-existant so was just bland. It put us off ordering anything else so we chose to skip the rest of the courses and leave. It took 15 minutes just to get their attention and they just resumed to chatting. Our bill came to €15 + two nestea drinks. I would have loved to have recommend this restaurant but I guess good food and service only comes to those who are Italian..

With the sun shining brightly, we walked down to the river to enjoy the views before heading back. It's really pretty and you can walk alongside the river or even dip your toes in :p