Torino: Day 2

The temperature in Torino was even colder than in Milan, a chilly -10° C. It took about an hour and a half to walk to our hostel (which misinformed us over the internet that it was located near the “stazione”). Upon our arrival we stored our big packs and ventured out to explore the city. Braving the cold we wandered the surprisingly organized and grid-like streets of Torino (I have never seen a more organized city in all of Europe, it felt very American). There were multiple Christmas markets open throughout the city and whole streets were closed off to traffic to facilitate shopping, the unofficial pastime of the Italian nation. During these first two days we were faced with a fairly grave problem…the aforementioned lack of cash. Without cash it was practically impossible to buy any sort of cheap meal so we were forced to eat very little during these first two days. The real highlight of our time in Torino came that night when we were searching for a restaurant that would accept cards. Thinking we had finally found one in “L’Obelix” we set off. The philosophy of this restaurant was to have each customer buy a drink for 9€ and then have unlimited access to a diverse buffet. Patrick and I had ordered our mojitos before we found out that they did not accept cards. I went back out into the cold to try and get some cash but once again was thwarted at every attempt. When I returned empty-handed the bartender decided to give us each a free meal! It was so good and we were so blessed to have full stomachs once again. This meal was definitely one of the highlights of the trip