Ipanema and beyond

A view of Ipanema from across the Lagoa. 

During this past two weeks, Camillo and I have been in Rio, Lisbon and Torino.  Here is a sample of each skyline.

Historic center of Lisbon – a view of the castle from the old city.

Rooftop of Torino viewed from the Palazzo Reale.

The last night in Turin,

Tomorrow we leave for Alba and the Tartuffe (truffles) festival; the highlight of this trip.  Camillo’s sister ask us over two years ago to meet her in Italy for this festival, and then backed out once we got into the idea.  We are both sorry she won’t make it.  The idea of trying many recipes of food and pasta with truffles, and the local wines that are made to accompany the food is of real interest for us. 

Our six days in Torino (Turin) have been fun.  Our hotel is inside the historic center, within easy walking to many sites.  In fact, the map of this area has 58 buildings to see listed and 92 sites of artistic and cultural interest.  (there may be overlaps)  Most of these are palaces (Palazzos) from when the Savoy kings and their courts were housed here.  Torino being the first capital of the unified Italy before Florence then Rome.  Over a three hundred year period, the city went from a remote military outpost to one of the most sophisticated cities in Europe.  (1560 – 1860s)

  

We’ve spent many hours walking, browsing, gazing, photographing and, of course, eating.  I have 3 pair of comfortable shoes with me, a pair of tennis, one pair of boots and one pair very comfortable sandals.  Over the six days, I rotated through the shoes, going out in the morning around 10 and walking until two or three in one pair.  Going back to the hotel for a rest and then going out again around 7 wearing a different pair of shoes.  This works pretty well for keeping the feet (arches) from collapsing.   

The café in the Palazzo Reale -

In the first two days we visited the Palazzo Reale, which is huge; didn’t allow photos and took at least 3 hours to walk through: 

the Palazzo Madama which is a wonderful museum containing furniture, plates and decorative items, and is four stories of history of the Royal period, did allow photos and nearly caused me to drop with exhaustion and gave tremendous joy all at the same time.

 

The Palazzo Madama:

     

  

The Madama had a full room of hand made lace on display.  OMG!

We filled each day, but I will tell of only two more places we really enjoyed.  We took a bus then a trolley (train) up to the Basilica di Superga (the tombs of kings and Queens of the Savoys).  First we got to sit for most of the 40 minute trip both ways, the view of the city is superb, and the Basilica beautiful where it sits upon the hill.

 

And FINAALY : the National Museum of Cinema - the Mole

Mole Antonelliana sede del Museo del Cinema:  This is probably the best known landmark, the most photographed  in Torino.  To tell the truth, I wanted to see the building but wasn’t really interested in the Museum of Cinema.  I was wrong.  What fun.  There are many interactive displays  illustrating the technology of early film and the development of cameras.  Then when you think your feet won’t hold up another minute you, enter a huge room with large screens hanging from the ceiling and lounge chairs with sound coming from in the head rest…. and clips from old movies from the 40’s and 50’s and some 60’s (that we saw anyway in the 40 minutes or so we laid with our feet up) playing on all the screens.  There isn’t a child, of any age, that won’t enjoy this museum.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodnight from Torino.

A Meal to write home about

Finally, one week in Europe and I have a meal to write home about.

Restorante Tre Galline (10122 Torino – Via Bellezia, 37)  [the three chicken restaurant] info@3galline.it 

This restaurant was recommended by the (night) Concierge when ask if he knew a ‘local’ restaurant with typical cosine.  

We shared 3 dishes, in order to taste as many tastes as possible,  and we were impressed that the server did as we ask without complaint.

Ricotta fatta in casa con misticanza di erbe & verdure di stagione

Fresh made Ricotta with a mixture of herbs and greens. This included Bulei (Camillo is not sure of the spelling) mushrooms, steamed small green beans, red cabbage, and very thin sliced zucchini, drizzle of olive oil and salt)

Served with local wine: Nebbiolo

Tagliolini ai funghi porcini

pasta with porcini mushrooms (sounds better in Italian)

served with local wine: Barbera

OMG!

Agnello al forno e Torino di patate, fichi e nocciole

Baked lamb with a ‘Potato Patti’  (this is so wrong – this was whipped potato, maybe twice baked – had a slight crust on top - with small pieces of fig and a nuts.  This was super delicious and I will try to make at home as soon as possible.)

Meringata ai frutti di bosco

Meringue with raspberry  (Inside the meringue was a hard shell of meringue with a raspberry jelly on a light crust.)

A perfect meal.

Museums & Memorials – Lisbon (Cont.)

We have been in Turin (Torino, Italy) for two full days….  We have seen so much in Turin already that it is hard to go back to Lisbon and show you more of the things seen there.  I am sorry to say I may have to just get back to it in remembrance later.  That means; maybe in a month, or 6 months or as I have done in the Past Vacations series; a couple years from now.  For now though, I will finish with the Torre de Belém  and the Castelo de S. Jorge and hold off on the city streets and this and that of Lisbon that I had planned in my notebook.  (Yes I am trying to keep a notebook so I can remember later my thought and feelings as we go through this month.)

Remember in my post yesterday?  I talked about the Memorial of the Navigator and the Jeronimos Monastery, and got tired of entering photos, cutting myself short on the Maritime Museum.  The Monastery and the Maritime museums are large, multi-floor buildings.  Actually it is the same building, one end allowing you to walk through long halls, with high ceilings and ornate arches, of the monastery and its soring ceilinged church.  When we entered the observation end of the church there was a service in session, and a choir was singing….. it was lovely – I hope that Camillo got it on tape for the DVD he always makes after our trips. 

The other end of the building is attached to a newer structure, all business hallways, housing many model ships and other ‘sea captain’ tools of navigation.  The is also a large warehouse that has barges of the royals and two or three plane, one that made a Portugal – Rio de Janeiro flight, first to cross the South Atlantic.

  

I can see where taking some mid-sized boys, this museum would be great fun.  I was interested but by the time we’d walked all the floors, etc.  I was in no mood for a large warehouse.  

We stopped in the café and had a coffee and I ate a quiche, then we headed up the street, across a walkway to the Torre (Tower).  It must have been about a kilometer – A long kilometer.

The tower used to be out in the sea, but, like in Rio, a large strip of sea was filled in, from the tower to the monastery.  I am guessing here – I don’t have internet to just search the info for you – but this strip of land is about a half to 3/4 of a kilometer wide; there is a road and trolley tracks in front of the monastery, then a garden and parking lot, bus drop-off area, then a highway with a intercity train tracks running up the center, then a marina, garden and parking lots for the tower.  A fascinating engineering story all on its own.

Finally the Torre de Belem:

The structure is actually a small structure.  Once I got inside I took off my shoes and walked barefoot – ah what a relief -  I walked up into the upper tower, Camillo stayed down on the first level.  I am glad I had my shoes off because the steps got smaller and smaller as you go up – and without shoes my feet fit much better on the space allowed.  There is only one set of steps so from time to time going up and down you had to ‘step aside’ to let someone going the opposite  way pass by – that was fun…..

   

   

    

Okay, no Castelo tonight.  I will start telling you about Torino if I post tomorrow.  I am surprised that except for a dish of gelato on the piazza Costello, I don’t yet have good food to talk about.  Maybe we have been too tired for food to taste good.  Will let you know about that later.

 

5 hours in Zurich –

Over lunch today, Camillo and I were talking about which cities we had had fun with stopovers; Paris for sure, Amsterdam for sure, and Zurich, which Camillo didn’t remember.  Sometimes, when you have lower fare airline tickets, you end up with many hours in airports waiting for a connection - make the most of it, plan to see a bit of local.

Sometimes, you end up stuck in an airport because of missed flights, or strikes or snowstorms, but I‘m not talking about those times. I am talking about stopovers that you can make plans and you can take advantage of, to see just a little bit of a city.  In Europe, there are great trains that run from the airport into the city’s center or passes by a famous church, or even a museum housing one painting you’ve always wanted to see.  If you put your carry-on luggage into a locker (with the increases in security, I hope there are still lockers you can use for a few hours) and then jump on the train you can have a walk-about and maybe have a great meal before making your way back to the airport.   Remember to take your camera.

In 2004, when on our way to Sicily, we had 5 free hours in the Zurich, Switzerland airport.  This probably means that there was seven or even 8 hours, accounting for time to re-check in, and we used five for our walk-about.  We had come from Rio / Sao Paulo on Swiss Air, and probably were switching to Air Italia for a flight to Rome, and then the next morning flying into Palermo, Sicily.  (see my post from last week about Cefalù.)  To tell the truth I probably would have never done this on my own but Camillo, Camillo is never intimidated by language or signs or by asking for help at the information center at the airports (or the train stations).  So when he see an opportunity he puts us out there - on an adventure.

I don’t remember if it was just luck, we do tend to be lucky, or if Camillo ask instructions in Zurich but we took a train into the main train station; walked out the front door, down the main street right in front of us, kept walking, looking, clicking photos, absorbing the look of Zurich.  We walked up (or down?) the Bahnhofstrasse, which when Googled will show to be the street (Strasse) with the most expensive commercial  /  retail real estate in Europe and 3rd in the world.  I didn’t check to see where one and two are. 

We walked, looking I am sure for a place to have brunch, and walked, and walked and ended up at the Ganymed Statue – a small plaza on the river.  As you all know I am bad at taking notes, but if memory serves me correctly this must have been a Sunday morning, the streets were clean, quiet, sunny and mostly devoid of people.  Perfect!

Along the way we did not get far off the main drag, just glanced in a window here and there; cut across a plaza, poked around up a side street and on the way back stopped in a sidewalk café for a lite meal.  Leaving enough time to jump back on the train, get to the airport, check-in and to be on our way to Rome. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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