We arrived in Turin (yes, that is Torino in Italian) at dusk on a Friday evening. We came by train, taking elevators up from our platform into a shiny, seemingly new station. We later learned that our point of entry, Porta Susa, is a train station built in 2013, new indeed! Taking a short and aggressive cab ride, felt a bit like NYC, we caught our first glimpses of the heart of the city. It is truly beautiful. The architecture is baroque, reminiscent of a French city, very different from the red-roofed cities of Italy we all know from visits or postcards. The main thoroughfares are treelined and stately, framed by arched colonnades with miles of polished marble floors.
As we adjusted to the lyrical sounds of the Italian language surrounding us, we have been struck by a few things. There are more museums, gorgeous piazzas and copper statues than you could imagine. The reputation of an industrial city is clearly rooted in the commerce here, not in the architecture. The Po river hugs the east side of the city and there are more public parks here than any other Italian city. In short, we picked a really, really great place to live.
This is an odd time to come to any non-resort European city, as the August holiday is in full swing. Many stores and restaurants have paper signs posted to their doors- simply saying–gone for the holidays. Some are closed for nearly the entire month. We have marveled at that and thought how nice it would be if the US could be as sacred about a holiday. As a result, we feel like we’ve had more breathing room in the city. Bike share racks are full, restaurants are busy but not overflowing, the outdoor markets have elbow room.
What a pleasure it has been to be able to walk (the kids have been troopers, we are averaging 5 or 6 miles a day) and wander around. Gelato has been a part of our every day. I finally tried bicerin, the resident-famous chocolate drink, which is basically a mocha on steroids. We eat a lot of Italian food, but are very happy to see that Japanese restaurants dot the city.
For our first two weeks, we have rented an 18th century apartment closer to the city center. When we arrived, we were surprised that “second floor” in Italian means two floors from the ground. So, we have four flights of stairs to climb every day! Fun for the kids, less fun when Josh is carrying two 40lb suitcases. We are rewarded with a beautiful view, though. We love to stand out on our patio and watch the piazza below. Between the construction and the restaurants there, we have lots to see. We also have air conditioning and the olympics, so we are quite comfortable here.
The people have been friendly and the Italian spoken here is clearer than anticipated. A language of dialects, I wasn’t sure what we would be up against here. We are muddling through communication, but every day the words form more easily as does our understanding of what is being said.
I’ve been so proud of the kids for remaining flexible, relaxed and up for just about anything. They haven’t had their own “home” for over a month, and have contended with a lot of unknowns. They have taken it all in stride. Our first day here, we went to their uniform store to order their full kits for their international school. As they danced to Taylor Swift and gamely tried on various cardigans and PE shorts, I felt reassured that these kids are going to do great at their new school. After all, they are truly living the sweet life.