We were in Turin for two days.

• Eataly: This is definitely not a tourist attraction – unless you’re my sister, perhaps. It’s an indoor market with a big cafe in it, not unlike the Berkeley Bowl, or a very fancy Whole Foods. It is now a chain, with two stores in the US, but this one in Turin is the original. My obsession with markets aside, our primary reason for going was the hope that they would remain open after the normal Italian lunchtime. We were rewarded with a fresh selection of pastas and pizzas, kindly translated for us live, from Italian to French. Overall, their selections of wines, beers, chocolates, lotions, and pastas were huge. Their selections of fruit and vegetables, not as big.
• Via Garibaldi: We walked along this pedestrian-only shopping street without much enthusiasm. For one, there was a Claire’s store: yes, the cheap plastic jewelry place of our childhood. For two, shopping is not the most fun activity for us.
• Gianduja: Turin is famous for its gianduja, which is chocolate made with hazelnut paste; kind of like nutella and chocolate mixed into little candies. They have ChocoPasses, which provide pre-arranged tastings at shops throughout the city. Despite my love of all things chocolate and hazelnut, I was not impressed. We went to one of the recommended shops (Guido Gobino; the first word is not considered a slur here, and I’m not even sure that it has anything to do with being Italian). They had free samples, so you could pick your preferred hand-crafted chocolate, so I tried two little ones. To me, they were overly sweet and flat: the same taste of strong sugar all the way through. It’s probably worth it to try, but maybe start with lower expectations.
• Superga: This was the church and tomb of the local royal family, who eventually unified all of Italy, thereby becoming the national royal family. It’s up on a hillside outside the city because one of these royal ancestors went up there to study the opposition from on high; in the very small chapel up there, he vowed to bring honor to the spot if he won the subsequent battle. It has an excellent view of the city, a barbaric Viking-like statue on the green, and a local dog who no longer even reacts to the regular tolling of the bells. Did I mention that we took a tram to get up there? At some point in the 80s, a plane carrying the Turin soccer team crashed here, sadly, but I didn’t see any memorials to this effect. Tours are in Italian only, so we passed on seeing the apartments – and the tombs, because: morbid. We did go into the church, which was most unique in its use of colorful marble for its twisted interior decorative columns. Then, we climbed the very narrow steps to the top of the cupola. (Anyone over 400 pounds – in either height or weight, be warned that this staircase was built for skinny midgets.) The view up there was much the same, but the breeze was better, and there were even fewer tourists. The sloped roof offered places to sit and watch nature. Just don’t sit on the side next to the bell tower, unless you are very ready for the bells to startle you.
• Piazza Castello: This is the center of town, with four streets radiating from there – and several castles and chocolate shops. Maybe we’ve been in Italy for too long, because the most excitement we could muster was for a sign warning cyclists not to knock pedestrians helter skelter.
• Piazza Vittorio: This is where we stayed, and it was like the perfect square for 20-somethings (which we’re not). There were loud restaurants, bars offering frilly drinks, no grocery stores to speak of, and lots of space to mill about.
• Valentino Park: This was a nice park, with lots of benches and fields for lazing about. They also had little stands selling ice cream bars and rentals of bike carriages. We stumbled on the botanical garden, which included cute statues and pretty flowers. The park is on the (somewhat dirty) river, so kayaking is possible; however, we weren’t sure if the kayaking clubs were private. They kind of reminded me of American golf courses, but that may just be me. Overall, a nice refuge, and not too busy – even in mid August.

What We Skipped:

• Palazzo Reale: There may be frescoes inside, but we were pretty tired of castles.
• Palazzo Madama: We passed by this castle with a mix of medieval and baroque rooms, but we were seeking chocolate at the time, so how could it compete?
• Hit Ball: This is a sport born in Turin in 1986, which we didn’t see anyone playing. We probably should have tried it out, though how can something younger than us be all that cool?
• #7 tourist tram: This is a restored tram that does a circuit around the city, likely similar to the trolleys that run along Fisherman’s Wharf. It was only running on weekends, though we weren’t too sad to miss it. We likely walked the area it covered anyway.
• Football match – Juventus or Torino: There wasn’t one on the schedule while we were there, I don’t think.
• Borgo Medievale: This is a 15th century village tucked away in the Valentino Park, protected only by the garden surrounding it. The online photos made it look like one of those fake villages they took us to as kids, showing how the blacksmith and weaver worked. Plus, when we were walking there, I started to burn up (in 90 degree weather, not just for fun), so we went home instead.
• Museo Egizio (The Egyptian Museum): Reputed to be the largest collection outside of Egypt, this museum was on all the tourist lists. We just didn’t get to it.
• Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist/Duomo: This church houses the Shroud of Turin, which everyone insists is crucial to see. But we’ve found every single tomb in this country fairly identical and fairly morbid. Many of them look mummified, but so creepily that it looks like a more realistic version of Tales from the Cryptkeeper.
• Armeria Reale (Royal Armoury): I suppose B didn’t want me anywhere near one of the best exhibits of arms in Europe. Too dangerous.