My time in Turin and Milan. These cities are only a short 30-minute train ride away but are entirely different worlds. Turin offers a slower-paced community feel, whereas Milan gives you the high-fashion trademarked hustle.
Turin, a small town in Northern Italy that holds some of the best tourist attractions in Italy, and unknown to most.
Prior to my trip, I had never heard of this town and the many gems it holds. Not to mention the difference in the taste and quality of the gelato and pasta. The gelato was creamier, the pasta was rich but light, and every bite was somehow more flavorful than the rest.
And then there's Milan. A major fashion capital that also is home to the largest cathedral in Italy.
Day 1
We left Rome Termini train station sometime around 8am and arrived at Turin's station, Torino Porto Nuovo, at noon.
The first thing we did was check into our hotel, unpack, and then we were on our way to find lunch. We ended up at a locally-owned restaurant, Slurp, which was recommended by a Turin local.
We were greeted by the owner's dog, and immediately were stoked about our dining decisions.
To start, we all shared a charcuterie board and wine, and then I got the creamiest Carbonara.
After our usual pasta meal, we went to Museo Egizio, an Egyptian Museum that holds one of the largest collections of Egyptian Artifacts. At first, I was skeptical of how much I would enjoy this museum, but I ended up loving it.
It was so interesting and had so many different artifacts. You really had to look in every nook and cranny of every exhibit room, or you'd miss something. Even their large collection of mummified people... I decided to not include those pictures because they give me heebie-jeebies and I don't want any bad juju.
After we were done we just walked aimlessly in hopes we'd run into a gelato stand. We found some nice quiet areas of the city that really made Turin unique.
We finally found gelato (a common theme for me in Italy) at Gatsby. This place came in third overall during my stay in Italy. The Gelato was outstanding and like all my favorites, was tin-based.
*Friendly hint that's been passed on to me, from many Italians. If the gelato looks over the top, extremely fluffy, and has a big show going on, it will be good bc it's gelato and you're in Italy, but not as good as a place serving gelato from a tin.
After we explored and took some time to relax, we met up with our program and ate dinner at La Conca. We got a variety of different pizzas at each table. I obviously tried every variation available.
When we got back, my two roommates and I, all squeezed into the very small two-person hotel room. Sneaking around our teachers and somehow getting an extra bed into the room. What can I say, the travel buddies didn't like to be separated.
Day 2
After our cozy night. We got up and went straight down to breakfast.
After Breakfast, we took a quick 15-minute walk over to the cooking class at Studio Food 33.
An Italian dream. Making my own pasta from scratch with the help of a local Italian chef. I won't bore you, go check out my other post about cooking in Northern Italy.
Then, after we devoured our beautiful food creations, we were feeling a bit spontaneous.
With nothing on our itinerary and the sense that we have already explored Turin, we went to the train station and picked the closest location, which happened to be 30 min train ride to the neighboring city, Milan.
While I wouldn't suggest hanging around the train station of 'Milan Central' I would highly suggest renting scooters and exploring closer to the city center. We took Milan's own version of the "Bird" or "Lime" all the way to the Duomo Milano, the beautiful Cathedral of Milan.
On our way, we saw some fashion students or designers (I honestly don't know) having live events, and shows. Models strutting up and down the cobblestone.
We circled the cathedral on our scooters a couple of times just in awe of the architecture.
After, we went to the enchanting Galleria del Corso Milano. A luxuriously styled mall just a minute's walk from the Cathedral. The stores inside carried the aesthetic of the building, only offering couture.
Inside we got these beautiful rose-shaped gelatos and sorbet from Amorino that I had been wanting to try since the start of that trip.
I had seen it on Instagram and thought it was a MUST, so we got in the long line awaiting our personalized desserts, to see if the hype was real. They were cute, but not iconic.
We only had a couple of hours in Milan before having to return back to our group in Turin. When we did we ate some dinner and head back to the hotel to go to bed
Day 3
The early birds get the... complimentary breakfast? Once again, my girls and I were the first of the group to get breakfast. You can tell we were thrilled to get some free Italian brekkie.
We walked everywhere while in Turin. The cozy cobblestone streets made every walk worth it, even while it was pouring rain. We had a 20-minute walk from our hotel to Museo del Cinema, the National Museum of Cinema. Another gem in this town.
This museum was so interactive and fun. It had a spiral movie wall from the ground floor to the top that you could walk along and enjoy, with snips of different movies and their advertising posters.
Calling all movie buffs and cinema nerds to this museum.
After our movie museum experience, we did some more exploring on that side of town.
We ended up exploring a local Sunday farmers market.
There was so much fresh pasta, dough, and sauces. The Farmers Market in laguna Beach could never.
We also found ourselves at Mara Del Boschi, where I enjoyed my second favorite Gelato of Italy. Tin-based, of course. ;)
After our ice cream, we grabbed our bags and made our way to the train station to board the 2pm train back to Roma Termini.