Italy, part 2

We stopped for one last gelato on our way to the Turino train station.

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Licking our cones, we chatted about the velvet texture and supreme taste of the icy-cream.  We were happy to have one last Italian scoop before we returned to France.  We had no idea what our next thirty minutes were about to entail.

Our train back to Aix-en-Provence via Lyon left Turino at 4:11pm.  Across the street from the train station Matt said, “Babe, did you check the time of the train today?” 

“Sure did.  Our train leaves at 14:11.”

Brewster and Sadie audibly chimed in.  “14:11!  Mom!  That’s 2:11 NOT 4:11.  Are we leaving at 14hr or 16h?”

A four letter word creeped into my head.  Stupid Euro military time.   My ice cream dripped as I my heart pounded.  My iPhone battery has been weak since arriving in Europe and it only works when connected to a charger.  I had no way to instantly verify what time our train left Turino. 

We left our luggage at the train station that morning, so we had to retrieve our bags before we verifying our the departure. 

It was 3:50pm.  We had 21 minutes to figure it out.

In every European rail station, travelers are greeted at the entrance with arrival, departure and platform information.  All four of us scanned the board and did not see a 4:11pm train, nor any trains to France.  We briskly walked to the baggage service desk to pick up our bags and I immediately pulled out our train tickets.  The train left at 16h11.  Phew.

I had the time right but, wait.  Shit.  The train departed from Turino Porta Susa and we were at Turino Porta Nuova.  It was 4:00.

We ran out of the station pulling our roller bags.  “Metro!” Matty barked.  “No wait, Cab!  We need a cab!” Outside, I ran up to a car. “Taxi!  Can you drive us to Porta Susa in 10 minutes? Our train is leaving!”   We tossed our luggage in the trunk and piled in.   

Desperate.  I don’t know if our taxi driver spoke English.  He peeled out of the station making me feel like he understood our urgent situation.  “We’ll make it.” I quietly said to Sadie.  She whimpered. Brewster stared out the window.  I learned later that Matty was anticipating renting a car and wondering how long it’d take to drive to Aix. 

On our way to the station, Matt and Brewster saw a clock on a pharmacy illuminating the incorrect time of 4:09.  Really it was 4:05pm but that clock didn’t help their psyche.  The cab pulled into the station.  I paid the driver and we ran. 

“Platform 3!” one of us belted out.  We sprinted and boarded the train.  We had one minute to spare.

Oh, the feeling of making a train!  It’s almost as wonderful as a day in Florence.

Due to the tempest storm in Corsica, rather than 48 hours in Florence, we were down to 24.  Turns out, 24 hours was an ample amount of time to explore although I could, and hopefully will, go back to Florence for days.  The fashion, art, food and architecture make it one of the greatest cities in the world. 

Matty and I started the day with a coffee and a walk around the Duomo and returned to our apartment to rally the kids.  We first visited the  Accademia Gallery, home of Michelangelo’s David.  I saw The David thirty (!) years ago on my Alternatives trip, my freshman at the American School in London.  I remember the work as breathtaking.  Nothing hs changed.  My family’s reaction as we rounded the corner in the Gallery was the same as mine was all those years ago.  The David took our breath away.  His stance on the  pedestal under a domed ceiling and sky light was holy.  As Matt to me said later that night, “The David is a Stunner.”  Indeed, a stunner.    Brewster was speechless.  Sadie, blown away.  The details of Michelangelo’s sculpture: his hand, his fingers, his eye, his height….My eyes filled with tears.

We nailed it.  It was a fantastic first stop.  From there, we walked down a pedestrian street to the Duomo and then to the San Lorenzo Markets.  Every stall and shop sold leather.  Leather wallets, leather shoes, leather purses, leather jackets, and so on. Of course the vendors also sold cashmere scarves and shawls, Italian linens and tchotchkes, but we were struck by the sameness of the products at each stall.

Brewster had his eye on a belt and we found a sweet Italian woman who was happy to sell us not just one belt, but three.   I asked our Italian friend for her best price on Matt’s belt, instead of responding, she looked at Matt's waist and started cutting the belt.   Locked and loaded before we agreed to buy it. We have a new family saying:  “When you close a deal is you ‘Cut the belt.’" Fortunately, the belts were reasonably priced and I had a chance to barter and the woman who was lovely so we all left smiling. 

From the markets, we crossed the Arno River and lunched at Tamerò Oastabar, a hipster cafe in the  Piazza Santo Spirito.  It used to be an old garage and now Italian women make pasta in the window and cafe tables are tucked away in the back.  In the spirit of Halloween, I ordered a pumpkin soup dotted with ginger and yogurt.  Yum!  The kids both ate fresh pesto pasta and Matt ordered a carbonara.   Each meal came with a beverage and coffee and for only 10 euro.  It must be the best deal in Florence.

We needed lunch to fuel us up to the Piazzale Michelangelo.  The view from the top of the hill gave us ample photo opportunities. 

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It started to drizzle so we hiked down towards The Ponte Vecchio bridge.  The 12th century bridge is the only one in the city to survive World War II.   We couldn’t resist gelato from what we named the city’s largest and most expensive spot (7euro50 each!)  Matt eavesdropped on an English tour and learned that back in the day, the bridge was lined with fish and food vendors.  The King didn’t appreciate the smell as he walked to church everyday so he ordered the food stalls to be replaced with gold vendors.  To this day, all the shops on the bridge sell jewels and gold which makes for a super fancy bridge.

On the other side of the river, we walked past every designer store we could think of on our way back to our Airbnb:  Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Balenciaga, Chanel, Burberry, etc.   We had as much fun gawking at the clientele inside as we did looking at the window displays.

After walking quite a way, I suspected that we were not headed in the right direction.  When we hit the river again after thirty minutes, my hunch was confirmed.  We were lost. We self-corrected and walked back toward the Duomo and back to our apartment. The bright side of that situation was that our walk took us through neighborhoods we would have otherwise skipped.

The kids were exhausted when we arrived home.  They decided that they were happy ordering sushi take-out from next door giving Matt and me an opportunity to dinner-date.  I sought out “romantic” restaurants on-line and was underwhelmed with my search results.  The key words that lead us to our extraordinary meal later that night were “Hidden Gem.”

I read about a little spot tucked behind the Duomo.   Around 6pm, I headed out on a solo mission to see if I could find it, which I did. The front door was locked, but next to it, there was an garage-like door that was partially opened.  I ducked under and saw an employee setting up for the night.  I asked if there was a table for two available at 8pm.  In a very Italian manner, the guy said “You can have this table if you like.” Pointing to a small table by the door. 

“Of course” I said.  “See you at 8.  My name is Sara.  What is yours?” 

“Luca.”

We walked into Coquinarius, right at 8pm and Luca greeted us with the news he had a better table for us.  We deferred to him with our order and did not regret it.  Every bite was a scrumptious Italian delight.  We ate a mix of crustinis topped with fish, cheese, figs, and chicken liver (not my style);  fresh ravioli and tortellini; and porcini mushroom and cheese crumble.  When the order of mixed smoked fish arrived, I told Matt we needed to box that up and bring it home for breakfast.  Smoked fish on fresh bread with cream cheese and onion would be delicious.   I was right!

Luca told us he is from Sardinia.  We talked about Corsica.  He too loves the soul of the island but said the driving is sketchy!  He opened his restaurant in Florence with friends and named it Coquinarius which is the Latin word  for “kitchen.” Luca was passionate, kind and his chef was superb.  If you are ever in Florence, you must treat yourself to a meal at Coquinarius.

The next day we woke up to light rain. Our train to Turino wasn’t until 11:45am.  Once the drizzling slowed, I headed out into the soggy streets. I picked up a coffee and walked by myself to the Piazza della Signoria next to the Uffizi Gallery.  I had preordered tickets for the Uffizi for Monday but they were invalid by the time we arrived in Florence on Tuesday.  Next trip! After seeing the Piazza, I walked back to the Airbnb to pack up. With twenty minutes to go before our departure, I darted out to a local leather shop to buy a slate-grey bag.  Nothing fancy, but I couldn't’ resist by a leather tote. 

We walked to the Florence train station and boarded our train to Turino. (Italians call it Turin.) I chose a layover in Turino only to split up up our train travel from Florence to Aix. The Italian trains are quite nice.  We flew through Tuscany, up through Milan and over to Turino traveling  almost 300 km/hour!   

We arrived to Turino around 3pm.  I must have chosen our three star hotel with cost and location in mind because it was not nice.   Our room had four single beds reminding me of Eastern Europe.  Matt joked: “Which would you rather: a dingy hotel or slow wifi?” He started laughing.  “We have both!”   The first three letters of HOTEL were not lit up on the sign outside, so we called it the EL. 

We spent the late afternoon wandering around a very cool car museum.  Turino is home to Fiat and Alpha-Romeo.  We felt the Italian pride at the museum.

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  We ate Chinese food on our way back to the notel-hotel.  Bed time came early in our four bed chambre.  The streets outside our window were loud but a tasty breakfast was included in the hotel price.  In the end, I guess it was a wash.  We needed an activity eat up some time before our train back to France.  The number one attraction in Turino is the Museo Egizio, an Egyptian Museum with over 2000 authentic Egyptian artifacts. The online descriptions recommended buying tickets in advance.  I didn’t see that tip until the morning and by that time tickets were sold out for the day.  After breakfast, I went for a walk and decided to swing by the museum to “grab” some tickets.   When I arrived, the queue wrapped around the block.  I texted the kids and Matt to pack my bag, check out and and meet me at the museum. I’d be waiting in line.

As the time passed, I thought, how long does it take to fly to Cairo from Turino?  Is it quicker than this line?  When Matt arrived, we took turns waiting and walking around the near by shops and plazas.  We ate focaccia sandwiches in line and finally after three hours of waiting, it was our turn to buy tickets. 

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The good news is that the exhibits were worth the wait!  A fantastic audio tour was included with the ticket price so we learned all about ancient Egyptian culture.  We were amazed by the mummies, tombs and artifacts. 

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We could have spent an entire day in the museum. Bu we only had an hour and a half there which forced us to skip the end of the audio tour and head to the station.

It was time to catch our train…..We made the train!  We made the train! I am still in awe that we made it.  We are all so happy to be on the train headed North.We arrived home to our apartment  in Aix about midnight.  When we wake up, it will be Matty’s birthday.  We are so grateful to spend the day and weekend together before he leaves Monday. 

We had an incredible two weeks of travel.  The dirty laundry and slight exhaustion is the only complaint right now.   Overwhelmingly, I feel grateful.  Forever I will cherish these memories of the year we lived in France and traveled during the two week October break.  It was a fantastic trip!