When canvassing people I knew about things to do in Italy, one librarian friend recommended Turin, specifically its auto museum. I love old cars, Turin was a good stopover en route back to Zurich, and I’d never spent time in northern Italy. That made it seem like a great choice!
I was surprised how much I liked Turin, I think because of the sharp contrasts it has with other cities such as Venice, Florence, Rome, and even ancient Pompeii. There were several factors in its appeal: it was a lot less crowded with tourists; possibly due to being more than half-razed during WWII, it was built on a grid, so was easier to navigate, and lastly it had a lot of space for trees and parks. Compared to the endless sea of cobblestones and pavement in the other cities, Turin felt very intuitive.
When I was on my food tour in Rome, the guide gave me some restaurant recommendations for Turin, so I made a reservation at a relatively fancy place. I got the tasting menu so I could have several courses without really having to decide what I wanted.
Most restaurants I saw had these little lamps on each table, and they’d be switched on as the diners were seated. They made for a cozy glow AND helped make the menu easy to see. Clever!
The meal was really lovely, and also I realize I am exposed to a lot of great food in Portland. Nothing that I had seemed beyond what I can find at home - but it was still a lovely experience.
It was a rainy evening, and walking back to my hotel I was struck by the blocks and blocks of buildings that spanned the length of the block, and included a colonnaded arcade, which protected me from the elements. There were a few others out and about on that rainy November Wednesday, and we all chose the same routes for the shelter.
Groundbreaking at the time - Citroen produced them from 1948-1990.
This car is specific to East Germany - it was produced only there until the Wall came down. It’s called a Trabant, and I’ve had fun looking for it in spy movies.
A drivers license from 1913 - one of the first, if not THE first, held by a woman in Italy.
The next day was the auto museum! It had a terrific app that shared more information about each (of the many!!) cars, and I probably spent 4 hours wandering about. And I skipped the sections on the engineering of cars, and the area talking about rally cars!
I balanced my morning in the museum with an afternoon in the park. I realized I’d been missing grass and trees for the last 2 weeks, and I was ready to head back to see my friends in Switzerland.
I love the arcades along that small stretch of inner East Burnside, and I wish that Portland had made them as much of a city standard as the special house numbers.
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