"Thank you Officer / Grazie Officer"

Hubby has two weeks off work but back on shift on the home front and we are all determined to make the most of this opportunity to travel, (especially before the cold weather freezes my travel bug). A day trip to Torino (Turin for those not desperately trying to fit into Italian culture), which is 90 minute drive west of Milano, takes us to the 4th largest city in Italy; beaten by Roma, Milano and Napoli. Said to be one of the prettiest cities in Italy, the streets in the centre are mainly cobblestone, (great for pushing the pram, son's cheeks wobbled like a skydiver), balcony's spilled red and white flowers and buildings were rustic, filled with history and incredibly unique. Unfortunately we had a double fault; not only were the majority of shops and restaurants closed for summer break, but it was also Monday morning. Italians enjoy extended weekends and trading generally does not start until after lunch on Mondays.

So with no real intent we wandered the streets until we stumbled upon Duomo Di San Giovanni. This is where we would be able to see the famous Sindone, the Holy Shroud, Shroud of Turin (it has many names) said to be the burial cloth which Jesus body was wrapped . We collected a shawl on entry for daughter as she was wearing only a singlet, and a skirt too of course, and covered her shoulders. According to the pictures with big red crosses through them on entry, bare shoulders, short skirts and men wearing hot pants were not permitted. So princess flew off with her new cape feeling like a superhero and hubby followed closely behind whispering loudly "stop" worried she was going to blow out the prayer candles, (which on closer inspection were really mini lightbulbs), "I wasn't worried she was going to blow them out, I was worried her hair would catch alight" soul mate defended himself when I commented, (did I mention they were mini light bulbs?) Prince decides now shall be the perfect time to sing for his super and my mantra to the family "Shhh, let's pretend we are in a library" does not seem to help the Gonzalez volume.

The church was beautiful and stomping like quiet elephants we head towards the Shroud of Turin on display, a bell rings, the curtain closes across the display, of course it is time for the holy shroud to take a 3 hour lunch break. We were disappointed momentarily until we realised that the display was only a copy and we agreed that it would be magical to visit again when the original one is on display, scheduled in 2025, if we are not too busy that year.

A lovely lunch of Bruschetta foccacia and tomato and buffalo pizza at Piazza Carignano (listening to a man that played the trumpet with loud enthusiasm) before heading back to the car for our drive home. Torino was lovely and definitely worth a look, especially if trading is open, and we plan to return as it is a day trip for us. After all, Fiat cars, solid chocolate, Lavazza coffee, Nutella, the Martini and Tic Tacs all originated in this region; how could you disregard a place like that?

Not wanting our day trip to end we decided to head home via Asti, home of the famous Asti Spumante - sweet gold pale wine. But, we did not quite make it there. Hubby spotted police with a radar gun, after police with a radar gun spotted hubby. So the officer stepped onto the road with his red and green table tennis paddle and waved us down. We were asked to produce our papers, consisting of international license, national license and the cars papers. Unsure what this all meant, soul mate handed over every piece of paper from the glove box and his licenses. On heavy inspection of licenses, the officer walked away confused, stood at the back of his car confused, returned looking confused. We were told the international license was no good in Italy, he wished us a nice day and sent us on our way. "Grazie officer", we drove away in silence. "Do you think he forgot to give us a speeding ticket" was asked, "I think the paper work was too confusing" was the reply. In panic and relief we missed the Asti turn off but did not want to pass the officers again and tempt fate.

We headed further on to Alessandria, a lovely little town, beautiful buildings, old, neat, tidy, with markets (I am a sucker for the markets). Our only stop was to buy more batteries for the camera. This was a place worthy of photos, but not perhaps worthy of waking the sleeping children.