I'd like to say Ross and I woke up bright and early to explore Italy. But Ross and I aren't morning people so we both slept in, barely catching the end of hotel breakfast, and then proceeded to take our time getting out of the hotel for the day. Being Monday, and the dead time between Christmas and New Year's, we already knew that lots of things were going to be closed. However, determined to make the most of our trip we headed down the block to walk along the lazy river Po.
I had no idea when I picked our hotel for Turin that it would be situated perfectly right off of the gorgeous Piazza Vittoria Veneto, one block away from the river Po, and a ten minute walk from lots of major Turin sights. Random, perfect luck.
We first visited the Gran Madre di Dio, a neoclassic church resembling a rotunda with a slate blue dome and very pretty statues, situated just across the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele I (bridge). Though we couldn't go in, seeing the outside of the building was good enough. We'd already seen her lit up from the taxi the night before. My Italian is nonexistent, but I think our driver told us that the church was very important to the people of Turin and they viewed 'her' as 'watching over them'. From the Madre, Ross and I headed up the hill to a church. He'd seen it from below and suggested it might be cool to check it out though we didn't know what it was. I was up for stretching my legs and working up my appetite for a my first big Italian lunch.
Up the hill we went and arrived at the Santa Maria al Monte church. There wasn't much to see honestly. The building wasn't spectacular and although the inside was charming it didn't hold a candle to others Ross and I had seen...but the view outside! The view was perfect! In my kindest tourist manner I asked an Italian guy to snap a photo of Ross and I against the pretty skyline, making sure that it included the famous Mole. After a couple more minutes admiring the beautiful Turin from above Ross and I headed down the hill.
My boyfriend seriously doubted my choice of footwear, not that I blame him, because I was wearing black, kitten heeled winter boots. In my defense, unlike most females, my shoe repertoire is tiny and it was those boots or cowboy boots that I had paid too much for to be willing to ruin walking around Italy. My boots were super comfortable and I had faith that they'd last each day without killing my feet.
While walking in the area around our hotel, Ross abruptly stopped in front of a restaurant window. I was a bit skeptical since we had no idea, apart from the menu, how the food would be or if the place was reputable, but it looked quaint inside and the prices were reasonable. We were seated in a charming dining room and given menus....
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