San Remo, The Italian Riviera

The highway drive from Priocca in Northern Italy to San Remo on the Italian Riviera took almost 4 hours, but is was beautiful as part of the way we were surrounded by 360 degrees view of the Alps and small villages perched on hill tops.

Andy has had some challenges with directions, so the 'Direction Fairy' finally decided to help him out! Note from Andy: This is flawed navigator humour, and the driver (Andy) who relies on the navigator for useful instructions, and not exits that are unexpectedly  closed 5 minutes before we arrive, or freeway signs that through some unexplained miracle have decided to walk across to the other side of a divided highway, can not be blamed for not listening to her anymore, and rationally electing to follow a truck with an arrow on it!!!!

The Tourist Information in San Remo found us a room at Hotel Centro, which is appropriately named.  Most Tourist Informations in Europe daily receives a list of availabilities from hostels, B&Bs and hotels, and thus can assist with finding accommodation on the spur of the moment. Great service.

San Remo is a city with 57,000 inhabitants on the Italian Riviera from the early Middle Ages. We enjoyed yet another swim in the ocean.

We spent some time researching and talking about where to go next, since we are not going to Egypt. We need some grounding, to stay put, cook our own meals and relax. August is the main holiday month in Italy, everything is very expensive, and there are loads of tourists everywhere.  We seriously considered renting an apartment in the province Puglia - the heel of Italy - for 2 weeks as there is less people, and then spend the first two weeks of September in Amalfi as the prices fall drastically after September 1st. No decision was made.

Sunset dinner on the beach,

and then a walk around the Old Town.

Next stop Florence!

Turin - A Magic City

Just in case you didn't know: the Italians drive like crazy and fast, so driving in a 1 million people town like Turin  is stressful:  the cars cut in without indication, scoters are weaving in and out between the cars, and pedestrians are coming from everywhere. But it all is a form of organized chaos. Everyone seems to anticipate what their crazy cousin is going to do! Very few accidents here!

The outskirts of Turin were dusty, slightly shabby, and somehowbold-fashioned. We followed the signs to Centro, and parked at the end of Corso Re Umberto. The city center, however, is beautiful; lots of piazzas, tree lined boulevards, river Po, arch walkways and historic buildings. Piazza Vittorio Veneto is especially beautiful.

Italy was born here, as the treaty unifying Italy under the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 was signed here at the Palazzo Carignano/Museo Nationale del Risorgimento Italiano.  We were told that when the palazzo was designed the  Prince told his son he could choose one feature on the building. And if you take a look at the 'framing' of each window you can see that the framing resembles the head piece of an American indian chief: the feathers on top of the window and the long row of feathers along his back (each side of the window) - the son had spent time in the US and was fascinated by the indians.

The place where Turin rises and its orientation is not chosen by chance; the first settling was influenced by magic-religious factors. Turin has a Roman plan, with the route that opened the four access doors on the four cardinal points, while the main street following the ascending line of the sun. The esoteric tradition considers Turin as one of the three vertices of the triangle of the white magic, together with Prague and Lione, but also as the top of another triangle, that is the black magic, that includes London and San Francisco. We can't forget that Turin is built on the 45° parallel, indicated by the obelisk that at the top has the astrolabe, situated in piazza Statuto (there is one identical at 11 kilometres away at the end of corso Francia). Turin rises at the confluence of two rivers, the Po and the Dora, that create a link of water around the town. The Po symbolizes the Sun, and therefore the masculine side, the Dora is the Moon and the feminine side. Source: aboutturin.com

Turin is also said to hold the entrance to the Underworld, so the devil is lurking! The San Lorenzo church, located on Piazza Reale, has some interesting windows in the dome.

Can't see the Devil?

We strolled around town takeing it all in, and went up the Mole Antonelliana tower to see the city from above.

We had a beer on a samll piazza on Via Di Stamapiori, which had this amazing piece of art on the facade - only visibile when the sun is shining on ii from a certain angle.

Turin was definitely a very pleasant surprise, as in Europe the city has always has a bad reputation being the home of FIAT, the car manufacturer, but the city center is absolutely beautiful. All of the Italians we spoke with prefer Turin to Milan. Absolutely recommendable for a long weekend.