My Second Weekend Abroad

Hey Everyone,

So I spent my second weekend abroad in Torino to do some more exploring and it turned out to be a pretty eventful weekend. I had my first experience with the nightlife on Friday night when my roommate, Mike, and I went downtown. We went to a few bars and a couple pubs which was cool, but unfortunately we had some trouble finding the disco. It was nice to get out and see some of the nightlife though, and we had a couple conversations with some Italians which was cool. It turns out that most of them do speak a decent amount of English and it seems like they all know Arnold Schwarzenegger haha. They always mention him whenever I tell them I'm from California.

The front of my apartment

After Friday night, I did some exploring on my own on Saturday, and I visited the Palazzo Reale, where the first King of Italy used to live. I was able to walk around the first floor of the Palazzo, which was a pretty incredible place. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures inside, but I took a couple pictures of the outside and the main entrance to the first floor. This place was really incredible and it was really cool to see how luxurious the interior of the palace was.

The Palazzo Reale

Shortly after seeing the Palazzo I took a walk around the area and saw a cool park with some really cool Roman ruins and a couple of statues on each side.
 This was a really cool part of the town and right next to that area I stumbled into the church that contained the Holy Shroud. This was a really cool place as well. I was able to see a replica of the Shroud displaying the face of Jesus on it, as it was hanging above the casket that contained the real Shroud. This was a very holy place and it was really neat to be there. After seeing the Shroud, I then went to a Medieval Armory Museum, which was located in another wing of the Palazzo. This was one of my favorite museums so far because it contains a lot of old, medieval weapons and armor.

The ruins right near the church that contains the Holy Shroud

Unfortunately, I don't think I was allowed to take pictures in here either but it was a really neat place to see. I was pretty tired by the end of the day and kept the nightlife to a minimum. On Sunday, I went to a nearby town called Venaria, which also has a Palazzo. Unfortunately, almost everthing closes on Sundays here so the interior of this Palazzo was also closed. It was really cool to see it from the outside though and I got several photos of that as well. It was also nice to get out of the city for a bit and out into the more quiet and peaceful outskirts of the town. Other than that I'm basically preparing for my other classes that start this week so we'll see how that goes. I've posted pictures of my apartment on facebook so check them out! I've got plans to go to Locarno, Switzerland this weekend so I'll be updating that trip as well!

Ciao!

First Week of School

Ciao Ragazzi!

So I just got done with my first week of school which went really well. I just had my intensive Italian course this week so there wasn't much homework or anything which was nice. The class moves pretty fast but I'm finally picking up the language! My other classes start next week but I'm hoping that I don't get too much work to do cause there is still a ton of stuff to do in my free time. I did some exploring during the week and posted some more photos on facebook for anyone who is interested. The photos take awhile to upload so I'm just getting them uploaded to a single site so it takes less time. I have taken a few videos which have unfortunately proven to be pointless to try and upload on the blog, since the time it takes to upload stuff isn't so great here. But I'll try to get the videos posted on facebook for everyone to see. I'll be spending this next weekend in Torino again, with some more sites to be seen throughout the city and some "disco's" (aka clubs) that I plan on checking out. More updates/photos to come from this weekend!


Arrivederci!

New Apartment / First Weekend Update

Hey Everyone,

So I finally have some time to update my blog. I am all moved into my apartment but unfortunately I do not have internet access there. I am currently at the school where I am starting my classes today. Like I mentioned I am all moved into my apartment and I plan on posting photos of that soon. It's really nice and a good size. I have done sooo much this first weekend. I may just consider posting pictures on facebook, as there are already a ton to be seen. I got to see a lot of the city this weekend with some of the highlights being of the Mole Antonelliano, the Basilica de Superga, and the 2nd largest Egyptian museum in the world. It has definitely been a very busy past few days with not nearly enough time to write about everything I have done so far. I have been starting to get used to a lot of the cultural differences here and I'm starting to get used to the whole "language barrier" thing. I do look forward to learning a lot of Italian while  I am here and meeting with the locals.I have also been getting a little more familiar with places around my neighborhood as I continue to master the many uses of public transportation throughout the city. My next top destination that I want to see is the Olympic village and stadium which is not too far from my school. More updates to come!

Ciao!

I Have Arrived!

So after nearly 14 hours of total traveling time I can finally say that I have arrived in Torino! We flew from SFO to Frankfurt, Germany which took about 11 hours, had a 2 and a half hour layover in Frankfurt, and then flew about an hour to Torino. On the flight from Frankfurt to Torino I saw one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen. As I looked out of the airplane window, down below me were dozens of snow-capped alps. I had never seen anything quite like this and it is truly amazing how massive these mountains are! We arrived yesterday and once we got to the airport we were taken to the Hotel Roma in the city center to stay the night. The bus ride from the airport to the city was about half an hour and thats when it really started to hit me that we were actually in Italy! We arrived at the hotel, dropped off our luggage at the room and quickly headed back out into the city. Me and my roommate for the night, Brandon, decided to take a walk around the nearby sites and we were right near the central train station of Torino, Porta Nuova. We also came across a pretty incredible church after a bit of exploring and I was able to grab a photo of that as well. After the walk we met up as a group and went to a pizzeria where I had some authentic Italian pizza and it was delicious! We then settled for some gelatto afterwards which was also quite delicious. From there, we took a quick tour of the city center which I will be revisiting shortly to take more pictures. I must say that by the end of this day I had been more tired than I ever have in quite awhile, and unfortunately, the 9 hour time difference didn't allow me to get much sleep afterwards. Today we will be moving into the apartments and spending more time in the city so another post will come soon...Below you will find some of the first pictures I took in the city.

A Presto!

                          

My Blog!

Hello Everyone,

As you can see, I just started up my own blog to keep tabs on what I will be doing while I'm studying abroad in Torino, Italy. I'm hoping I can update this as much as possible with  plenty of photos, stories, etc. Feel free to visit anytime for any updates on what I'm up to. 6 days 'till I'm gone!

PEACE!