"The Road to Memphis and Thebes Passes Through Turin"-Jean-Francois Champollion

I had a very busy day today. I woke up at about 8:30 and took my time getting ready and caught the bus right outside my hostel at about 9:30 to go to the downtown area. Because it is Sunday, many places were closed so at the first cafe I came upon I decided to have a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant. Yum!

After my breakfast I had planned to go to the Egyptian Museum which is supposed to be the largest collection of Egyptian items outside of Cairo. On my way there, this building that I discovered the day before (and fell in love with) had its doors open so of course I went inside. It was Palazzo Carignano which was once a private residence for the Princes of Carignano. The outside of the building though looks like something out of a Harry Potter movie. The inside though was so elegant and regal I could have seen myself moving in. The tour was free and only an hour so that postponed my trip to see the Egyptian museum. And a free short tour of a building that I fell in love with...not going to pass it up. The staircases (one on each side of course) were so elaborately decorated with the different Caesars and carvings leading up to this like parliamentary room of just beauty and class. There were living spaces for the Princes too but I didn't feel the beauty as much as I did with the parliamentary space of that first room we saw. Everything else was beautiful yes, but over the top with ornate gold and trimmings. Too much if you ask me. And it didn't help that the tour was only either in Italian or French so I struggled along listening and kept getting confused by the years and the princes they kept mentioning. But I still enjoyed it and thought it was very beautiful.

After the Palazzo Carignano I went to the Egyptian Museum which was literally maybe less than 100 feet away. Can I just say wow! I would highly recommend this museum if you like history in any way. The sarcophagi that they had in this museum is enough to make me want to go back. I have pictures but the pictures do not do it justice. I couldn't decide what was more impressive to me, the sarcophagi or the parchments of linen/paper from like 1800 B.C. Yeah, you read that right, B.C. First of all, to have written language from that time period, to have a way to decipher it (the Rosetta Stone) and to be able to pretty much understand that lifestyle and traditions just amazes me. And how well some of the things are preserved like some of those mummies and the artifacts. Damn! That museum is pretty cool. That is also where I got the quote for my blog from.

After the Egyptian Museum I sat near a statue listening to a trumpeter play music in the piazza as I ate and texted my friend Janet since everyone else I knew was sleeping. After lunch, I went to the Cinema Museum. Yes, I know I'm from LA and I kind of know people in the business and been around enough to know the point. But that museum also was pretty cool. It opens up with the history and the development of movies such as Edison, the moving picture, the optical illusions, how the eyes work while watching movies etc. Not the most exciting thing but interesting. Oh and some of those first movies....uh don't take your kids because they are a little x-rated. Pre-Playboy status folks. Anyway, after the history part of it, you go upstairs to this giant room of couches to watch clips of unique dance scenes and something else (I fell asleep, ooops). But off to the side of this giant room are themed doorways of Westerns, Fantasy, Animation, Horror, etc. and inside its like you are walking into a set of one of those themed type of movies. The whole layout is well done and pretty cool to walk through. On the third floor you kind of get shown step by step on how movies are made like story boarding, editing, sound, CGI, etc. and they show you using famous movies like Psycho, Citizen Kane, etc. The 4th floor has movie posters from back in the day but in Italian so it was kind of cool to see an Italian movie poster for "Singing in the Rain" or "Casablanca". After all of that, and if you paid in advance, you can go up the building into a tower where there is an observation deck. Oh apparently the Cinema museum is the tallest museum in the world. Don't quote, I'm just telling you what I read. Anyway, I got some cool shots from the deck of the heart of Torino.

I had dinner on the street and then came back to my empty hostel room. I am paying for a 4 person room but luckily, no one is here and I get to enjoy it all to myself! With that said, I have a busy day tomorrow too as I catch a train to Florence so I am off to bed!

Torino

I am currently in Torino (Turin for you non-Italiners) having a beer next to the Po river. The plan was to not spend any unnecessary money today since my host family packed me sandwiches and water but...I'm on vacation now! And to not slow down and enjoy the sights would be a shame right? Right! Especially since I already saw some sights.

Earlier today I went to the Duomo di San Giovanni or the Turin Cathedral that houses The Shroud of Turin. Ok so who knows what that actually is? I mean I heard it growing up but never knew...until today. The Shroud of Turin is a piece of fabric, linen to be exact that is said to have been the burial cloth in which Jesus was wrapped in after he was taken down from the cross. Apparently in the Shroud there is a face of a man that they believe is Jesus. Ok maybe you knew that...but I did not at all. Anyway, did you know that you cannot see the Shroud? The last time it was out for display was in 2008 (little late for that) and the next scheduled time will be 2025. 2025! Are you joking? How will I even remember that?...Worry about that one later. Anyway, the Shroud is in a box, and the box is covered with a religious ornamental fabric and that box, covered with the fabric is for display. Basically, you are looking at a storage facility for a piece of fabric. The rest of the Cathedral is beautiful but...kind of not what I wanted to see you know? Also, I don't know if I mentioned this before but in a lot of the big churches or cathedrals, women cannot show their bare shoulders. Many couches will have a shawl you can get at the front door. I mention it because if people read this and plan to go, they are well informed because I did not know that until I got here. I also saw the House of the Royals and...I was not that impressed. It was kind of ugly. I didn't pay to go inside so maybe the inside makes up for it but...not that cute. However, next to the House of the Royals there was a monument for the soldiers of Italy which was kind of cool. They are these giant statues of men, carved so realistically as if they just came back from war, just a beautiful monument.

Ok and something else that they don't tell you about Torino is the bus system. You cannot buy your bus ticket on the bus. You have to buy it at the Tobacco store, pharmacy, or somewhere else that you randomly see. Then you stamp it on the bus meaning its good for the next 90 minutes. So because I did not know this I got on the bus and the bus driver was like I don't sell tickets. Uh....ok...guess I'll just risk it. This woman heard us and gave me her ticket when she left. Thank goodness she did because about 20 minutes later the police came on board to check your tickets and the stamps. Thank you lady, thank you! Also, I forgot to mention that before I got on the bus I felt like I was in the scene of a movie where police cars pulled up to the station from all angles, hopped out and arrested some guy. Totally out of a movie.