Torino

You get creative when you are traveling by yourself. I don't know about you, but I am always a little scared to ask people to take pictures of me when I am traveling. Truth be told too is that I am a little scared they might run off with my camera. Anyway, a colleague of my husbands suggested that I go to Torino for the day. I didn't realize that Torino was only an hour away from Milan by fast speed train. Torino is the place where they held the winter Olympics in 2006 also known as Turin. She told me I could find great chocolate in Torino. I kind of remember this to being true from a NBC broadcast that I had seen during the Olympics. I decided why not go since I had pretty much seen everything else in Milan. What a shame it would be to spend the day watching television in my hotel room. I dropped my husband off at work and caught the 10:15 am train to Torino. Buying the ticket was pretty simple by using the automatic ticket machines. Thankfully, they had an English option or I might have had to go to the ticket line which was about a block long. I am not sure why more people were not using these machines given how simple they are to use. Besides chocolate, I was on a mission to see the shroud of Turin. You know the shroud Jesus wore. It is probably a big hoax and not really Jesus shroud, but I wanted to see it. Since I hadn't planned on going to Torino I didn't know the name of the church where it was located, so I stopped at the Tourist office and asked for directions to the shroud. The agent told me with her Italian accent that it was impossible to see and only in April she said. My heart sunk. I asked for the name of the church anyway. I hadn't spent 31 euros to not see anything. She told me where it was located and I hopped on the bus outside the train station after purchasing a ticket in the newspaper shop. Within 10 minutes I was there. The shroud is located in the Royal Chapel of Saint John the Baptist.

Streets of Torino

The Royal Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

It is true that you can't actually see the shroud; however, you can see the inside of the church where it is located. They have a small screen that displays a video about the shroud and at the back of the church you can see where it is contained. The church was worth the trip. Though much smaller than the Duomo of Milan it was beautiful inside and contained some beautiful art pieces. Afterwards, I walked around the city where I discovered the Farmers market just outside the old city gates. The produce looked amazing. I purchased a banana for a snack; actually, the girl gave it to me. Then I slowly made my way back via the art gallery Palazza Madama located across from the Royal Palace Palzzo Reale. This Museum house a beautiful collection of art work that is well worth the visit. I found this collection much more interesting than the Brera. On the second level you will find some lace work that is amazing and so delicate. Eventually, I found my chocolate. Caffarel chocolate is smooth and silky. It is made from a combination of chocolate and hazelnuts. Their signature piece the Gianduia 1865 is boat-like in shape, but it looks more like a mini mountain to me. It is worth shelling out some euro's to bring home. I even had the best gelato made by a company called GROM . OMG! Amazing! Can't make it to Italy. Check out for their location in New York City. Every day has to end and I had to make it back to Milan. I picked up my husband who had finished working and we finished out the day by seeing the Duomo at night. A must. The air cools and the atmosphere completely changes.

The Torino Palatine, Farmers Market, and Caesar

Inside the Royal Chapel and the Art Gallery

Goodnight Milan!

Continue following our journey through Italy.

Next Stop Rome!