Torino, Italia
A new adventure begins today. We are off to Legnano to see if the city records department has Italian birth certificates for Harry IV, V, Grace and Oliver. We have an appointment at noon tomorrow.
The first part of the adventure involves figuring out and using the tram system to get to the Porta Nuova Train Station to catch the train to Milano. The plan is to meet Damilia, coming down from visiting family in Switzerland, in Milano. Rome2Rio indicates that the Number 15 Tram goes from in front of the laundry around the corner from our apartment directly to the Porta Nuova train station.
We head out the door, find the tram stop and a few minutes later the tram shows up. We tap our credit cards and find seats. I track the movement of the tram on google maps just so we know when to disembark. Not really necessary as the train station is very big, and the tram stop is right in front.
It takes all of twelve minutes to get to the train station. The cost was less than €4. A taxi would have been €10 or €11. It really isn’t about the cost, is about learning how to take and trust the tram system. And perhaps riding it without getting a ticket!
We get to the train station and the first thing we do is stop and have our morning cappuccino and brioche. Then we head to the train platforms. The train stats from here and runs all the way to Napoli, so it is waiting at the platform for us. We are in business class so e can have a table between us to play cards. The cards come out even before the train get underway.
An hour later we are in Milano. A quick pit stop before Damilia arrives. Then we head to Porta Garibaldi where the train of Legnano leaves from. We have nearly two hours, so there is plenty of time. We get three Metro tickets and head to the Metro. A few minutes later, two stops to be accurate, we are at the Porta Garibaldi train station.
We begin looking for a place to have lunch. Eventually we find one and take seats to have a quick bite to eat. I look at the tickets and find it says – Porta Garibaldi Passante. Porta Garibaldi makes sense, Passante does not. We head to the Trenitalia office to find out where we are supposed to be. They say that is a Trenord Train and not theirs. Go to Trenord.
Trenord office says there is no 13:38 train, we need to take the 13:34 train from Platform 8. The tickets are “equal”. The difference trust out to be the difference between the long distance subway train the S line and Trenord the train line. We go to Platform 8, wait for the train to open, get on board and we are on our way to Legnano.
Twenty-five minutes later we are in Legnano. It is slightly more than a half mile to the hotel from the Legnano train station. So we hoof it. We are staying at the Albergo Al Corso on Corso Magenta #137. Mary and I have, over the years, walked by this hotel a dozen times. It always looked cute. So we thought we would give it a short on this trip. It is located on the far end of the central pedestrian shopping district from the train station. It is also very close to the office we need to be at tomorrow at noon.
We stop along the way to the hotel to gawk at the shop windows. One in particular catches the eye of the ladies – a childrens clothing shop at LOFT.73. Of course, Lulu and Amadea need more clothes. Their parents can’t afford anything. Fortunately the shop is closed for the afternoon and doesn’t open until 19:00. On to the hotel.
The hotel is as cute as we remembered. It is a 1950’ motor coach hotel. One where the cars park right in front of the rooms. It is a three-star hotel so expectations are low. The rooms are nice and clean, if not a bit spartan. We are only here for one night on business, so it is fine. The nice man said the rate we paid didn’t include breakfast but he would throw it in.
We settle in our rooms and get organized, then we got out for a walk. We confirm the location of where we need to be in the morning and then make a bee-line for the clothing store. The ladies shop and I walk around the area checking out various restaurants and shops. Forty-five minutes later the ladies are finally done, or mostly so. Damilia and I have to stop in Calzedonia, to make sure the granddaughters have tights.
Afterwards we walk back towards VIRO the steak restaurant for dinner. On the way Mary asks if there is some place to buy a new charging cord for her phone. Sure, I saw one a couple doors down from the restaurant- Greentech, a cell phone store. We stop and explain what we are looking for, they say sure we have one. But they notice, correctly, that the battery case isn’t actually connected to the iPhone. Could be why it wasn’t charging. Removing the battery case, you could not see that the battery in the iPhone had actually exploded.
So replace the battery. Buy a new charging cord. It will take 45 minutes. Ok, we’ll go next door and get a table and order dinner. Forty-five minutes later I get up from the table and walk back to the store. Pay €72 for the new battery and cord. Return to the restaurant. Try to use Mary’s phone, it was out, to take photos of our meal. It won’t work. Back to the store.
We take apart the phone and discover the battery which broke actually damaged the screen. So, time for a new screen. The shop technically closed at 19:30 It is now 20:15. They say they will stay and fix the phone. I should return in 20 minutes. I go back and get a couple bites of steak. Return to the store. The phone works. Pay another €70 for the new screen, he said normally they charge €119 for a new screen, but because I had just replaced the battery and bought a cord, he gave it to me at a discount.
Back at the restaurant just in time to finish up the steak and order dessert. Dinner was really good, what I got of it anyway. Mary and I had the Degustazione Viro menu. The Viro Tasting menu. Two cuts of meat. One of the Bone-In Strip “Selezione Scottona” (450 g) and one of Bone-In Strip “Selezione Vecchia Viro” (450 g). Selezione Scottona is dry aged six weeks. Selezione Vecchia is dry aged eight weeks. The meal came with two side dishes, roast potatoes and vegetables were chosen, and a gorgonzola sauce. Damilia got a really nice cheeseburger with bacon. We shared a bottle of Prunotto Bansella Nizza 2021. An intense ruby red wine with black reflections. Fruity-rich with a scent of plum and with notes of purple, cocoa and licorice. It had a full, harmonious flavor with a soft finish.
Dessert was brownies, not American style. More like an Italian cake. Chocolate too dark for my taste. And an open cannolo. The filling is mounded on the plate, one said pistachio the other chocolate. But the tube is flare and on top. Interesting presentation and less messy than eating a traditional cannolo.
At 19:30 when we got there, just after they opened, we were the only patrons. BY 21:30 when we left it was packed. Obviously the food is really good. Back at the hotel we realized we have but 22 hours before our appointment. Time to get some rest and prepare for tomorrow.
Buonanotte e Ciao, Enrico e Maria.
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