Mini trips are great: they’re an escape from everyday life but at the same time they don’t take that much time or money. You don’t have to leave your routine for a long time, but when you return, you’re somehow refreshed and happier. This blog post is a little recap of a trip to Torino my friend and I took last winter. We visited a mutual friend who was on an Erasmus exchange in Torino (Turin in English).

It’s pretty easy to do mini trips if you live where I live: on the coast of Slovenia. We’re basically trapped between Italy and Croatia which makes crossing the border swift and simple. We took a train from Trieste, the first big city you encounter after crossing the border. We had a direct Freccia Rossa to Torino; each paid about a hundred euros for the return ticket (it would’ve been cheaper if we had bought the tickets sooner). I’ve travelled around Italy quite a lot (not as much as I would’ve liked to), but I’ve never been that far to the West. I was pretty excited, wondering what this city, with something less than nine hundred thousand residents and surrounded by mountains, had to offer.

Day 1

My mum took us to the train station in Trieste early in the morning. The train ride was supposed to take five hours, but it had some delay, which is not out of the ordinary with Trenitalia. We got to my friend’s flat at about noon. It was located in a neighbourhood as dodgy as mine in London (do they do that to all Erasmus students?). We spent the rest of the day walking around, and we managed to see quite a bit of the centre.

We wandered around Via Roma, stopped in Piazza San Carlo and looked at Caval ‘d Brons. Then we visited Piazza Castello, where the Palazzo Reale, royal palace, is located. We took a look at the most famous building in Torino as well: the Mole Antonelliana. It’s the National Musem of Cinema and supposedly also the tallest museum in the world. We had coffee in a bar, the name of which I don’t remember, but I was positively surprised because literally every bar I went to had plant-based milk.

Day 2

We spent the second day walking by the river Po and through a park called Parco del Valentino, right next to the river. The views were spectacular because it was very sunny, and we saw different kinds of birds, as well as squirrels. Then we entered the Borgo Medievale, an open-air museum which looks like a medieval castle. It was built in 1884 for an exhibition, which slightly spoiled the whole medieval vibe, but it was the higlight of the day nonetheless. It was free to enter and we even visited a shop where they still make swords. They were incredibly kind, showed us the workshop and explained how everything works. There are lots of shops inside the castle, selling different ornaments and jewellery. More importantly, they offer lots of things that have something to do with either Harry Potter, LOTR or GOT.

We had lunch in the centre, in a somewhat pricey vegan restaurant called Coox. The food was really good but the portions were quite small; probably because we all ordered starters as we were too broke for anything else. So, we naturally looked for dessert, and I ended up regretting not having it in Coox; they had amazing-looking vegan chocolate cheesecake there. I ended up having vegan ice cream because I couldn’t find anything better.

In the evening, my friend’s Indian roommates made us a traditional Indian dish called Aloo Paratha. It was basically fried flatbread that they stuffed with mashed potatoes and spices. Poeple traditionally eat it with butter and yogurt. It’s really strong and greasy, especially because I didn’t have it with yogurt, but it was interesting and it was also just good to feel a bit of the exchange vibe again. A big part of it is trying different things and learning stuff about other cultures; that’s literally the best part of it.

Day 3

On the third day, we only had time until 6, which is when our train was leaving. We decided to climb a hill called Superga. It took a bit more than an hour, and the path wasn’t particularly nice because you’re basically walking on the road (almost no cars, though). A few bus drivers stopped by and kindly asked whether we’d like a ride, but we refused and walked till the top despite the cloudy, cold weather. After all, the point was to hike. There’s an enormous and beautiful church up there, the Basilica di Superga. It was very foggy, though, so I’ll definitely redo this hike if I ever go to Torino again.

Final thoughts

All in all, I liked Torino. It’s a beautiful city, magically surrounded by mountains, and the architecture is amazing. I must admit, though, that it didn’t hit me in the way Rome, Verona or Florence did. I think it’s just because it’s so far up in the north, and the aspect of the city is somehow different to what I’m used to in Italy. It’s also colder and often has foggy days. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think it’s worth visiting. I would probably just have to spend some more time there as this always changes my perspective.

Writing this piece about Torino made me daydream of other mini trips I could take. There are so many places in Italy, Croatia and Austria that I haven’t been to yet. Also, my friends keep going on exchanges, and I really wish I could visit them all! If I only had the time and money. I do have a trip to Valencia planned in March, but at this point, Valencia doesn’t even feel like abroad anymore.