Johanna Braddy: Ciao Italia!

There wasn't much time to recover from Friday night's festivities. At 7.25am our train for Italy was going to depart. I headed with quick steps to the main railway station Nice Ville around 7am. I never wake up this early on a Saturday. I was meeting Helen and her friend Ella from Canada. There was no line so we got me my tickets fast and headed to the train. We made a switch at Ventimiglia, Italy and continued to Genoa. It was a lovely day. The sun was shining and we walked around in the city with no care in the world. We had a long lunch in the center which was quite nice but totally surprised us when we saw the bill and the waiter explained to us we had to pay several euros per person just for sitting in the restaurant! And if we'd sat outside in the sunshine we would've had to pay even more. Unbelievable! Apparently it's a custom when you are in the center of a city. Since we had time we also took a little boat trip around Genoa.

We were tired from walking around all day and fortunately we were able to take an earlier train and and by the end of the day we arrived in Turin. The railway station was bigger than I imagined, there were clothing stores there and a rather big supermarket too. We took a taxi to our Bed and Breakfast Ella had reserved (a nice couple renting a room). It was right in the center you could see Mole, the big tower in Turin, right from the window. The place felt very nice and cosy but since we were tired we just stayed in and went early to bed.

Genoa

On Sunday we slept longer than we had planned but it felt nice after all the lack of sleep. It was a little chilly so I'm glad I brought my Burberry coat cause it kept me warm. We headed out to have brunch and walk in the city. I didn't think there would be anything to see in Turin since it's more of an industrial town. We took the lift up to the Mole Antonelliana to take a look at the view. It was nice. You could still see snow in the city. In the same building there was a museum of cinema, the biggest in Italy. We learned a lot about the history of cinema and since movies are one of my great interests it was just the right place for me to visit.

We also found the Egyptian museum, which has some of the most valuable collection of Egyptian art in the world. You could see mummies several thousand years old and they still had hair on top of their head and skin on top of the bones. I love history and this really seemed like a valuable visit. When walking on the town we also did some shopping, not that we intended to. ;) When it began to become dark we took a taxi back to our house and Ella started cooking delicious and healthy dinner, salad and gnocchi. I was introducing the girls to some Finnish music, we had wine and dined. After some relaxing we decided to go out for a few drinks. In the central area there are mostly just bars, the nightclubs are further away and from what we heard from Carla, our host, their reputation isn't that good right now so we skipped that scene.

On Monday it was time to head back home. Ella continued her trip to Florence, I hope she's enjoyed the city. Me and Helen took the train back to Nice. On the border there even was a passport check on the train, luckily I brought mine. The views were just incredible when the train went on, mountains and snow everywhere. I must say it was a fun trip, but hearing the voice on the train saying Nice Ville, I felt relieved. We had to switch trains quite fast but survived. It was a fun weekend!