Torino with Alex

So my 24 hours in Torino is over and I've had a wonderful time!

I've eaten my last pizza, gelato and pasta. I've been served a coffee, drank in a bar and saw hail. Alex has a beautiful home (only for a few more hours), which is located in the heart of town. But let's start at the start....

I arrived at 2:30pm to be greeted by Alex a 4 of her aui Paire friends. Two of them have the crowd a show with one playing the piano in the station and the other singing the songs. It was just awesome!

We walked through the streets to Alex's house, where I gawked at all the beautiful rooftops from her balcony. Then it started to hail haha. I've never seen hail before.

The storm passed in time for us to collect the kids from school and take them to their afternoon sport classes. Olivia is 6 and went to gymnastics and Paublo is 11 and went to volleyball. Al showed me some of the big piazzas and churches whole we waited for the kids. We even enjoyed a sneaky G&T in a square.

For dinner we had basil pesto pasta for dinner, followed by beans and carrots in vinegar and a dried meat with parmesan cheese. I can't remember what it was called, but it tasted a bit like corned beef but really thin.

There was a big match on the TV last night. One of the local Torino teams vs a Rome team for the Italy football cup. We settled down to cheer their team to victory.

Two of Alex's friends have offered to let me stay the night, so after the match they picked me up. On the way to their house we stopped in at a food and drink shop, which Molly described as a bit like McDonald's except with booze and cheap food. And it literally was. Beers were in taps in place of soft drink and little sandwiches and olive bowls filled the back kitchen. Almost everything, including pints of beer, for €1.

Today, Alex picked me up at 11 and we head into the city for a coffee and croissant. She tells me that in Torino, Nutella is the poor man's version of ..... Also the Ferroche office is near here. So for breakfast we have a .... Croissant and tea for me. I love sitting and eating in cafes. This has not happened enough in London.

We meet Alex's friends at 1pm at her favourite pizza restaurant in Torino. They have a €9.50 lunch euro where you get a pizza, salad or dessert and 1/4 craft wine or beer. They are all nannies and swap stories of how their weeks have been so far.

After lunch we go to their favourite gelato place, two deserts is a bit much, but when in Italy! We wave off Al's friends before heading back to her apartment to collect some items to take to a Vinnie's bin. We walk through the streets of Torino one last time and pass the church where the holy shroud is currently on display.

I wave goodbye to Alex as she heads to the kid's schools one last time and her American friend drives me to the train station.

Bye Torino, bye Italy, it's been fun!!Read more