Doing touristing wrong

Our four companions were up and out long before we woke, to catch the train to Paris and then London. To indicate how well we had planned our day in Turin, over breakfast we were googling "Things to do in Turin". 

I found a Lonely Planet page which recommended the Oficine Grandi Riparazioni as an exciting free-to-visit space  with exhibitions and events, in a former train repair workshop. It is well out of the centre, and to save working out public transport options we got the hotel to call a taxi (cheap here compared to France).

We were a little bewildered when we got there. It took us a while to even work out how to get inside. The architecture is impressive, but there seemed to be nothing actually happening. The main feature was a cafe filling the large open space outside and spilling into the courtyard. It was full of students in small groups tapping industriously away at laptops. We ended up having a coffee because there was nothing else to do! Then we did more wandering, finding a section which appeared to be dedicated to the offices of various tech startups. Then we established by S asking someone with a badge that there were currently no exhibitions or events. Hmm. One of my few photos of OGR in extras.

It was about 30C by now. We went outside and spent a long time sitting on the grass under a tree trying to figure out how to get back into town. Even the taxi app refused to help us, claiming the zone was not covered, and indeed we didn't see a single taxi pass us. Eventually we set off walking in the right direction, and when we got to a bus stop S asked someone waiting there who pulled up the bus app on his phone and told us which bus to get on and where to get off. When it arrived, the bus was so full that we couldn't get anywhere near the driver to pay. I crammed in by the rear doors and was nearly sent flying onto the pavement when someone getting off bashed me from behind with his rucksack.

Still, we got to roughly the right area and found a quiet, un-trendy bar for a much-needed beer. I googled restaurants for lunch, and we walked to the nearest recommended one, which was full.  Reverting to the pre-google method worked though -- we walked on till we spotted a nice-looking place with a short and interesting menu on a blackboard, and easily got a table in the air-conditioned interior. The meal was good, based on local produce, and not expensive. Even though they were offering tiramisu for dessert, we skipped it in favour of returning to the gelateria S visited yesterday, which was not far away. The ice cream was so good.

We still had plenty of time before our train, so we did more random wandering, admiring Turin's regal architecture. We also had a souvenir stop in a delicatessen, buying a slab of vacuum-packed guanciale in the hope of reproducing an Italian-style carbonara -- it really does make a difference! But it was so hot that we ended up returning to the hotel, picking up our luggage, and taking a taxi to the station, where we found a cool place to sit and recover from our exertions.

The train deposited us in Chambéry at 8:15. I'd taken the precaution of booking a family-run hotel right opposite the station, so we quickly dropped our luggage and decided to walk into town to find a small something to eat.

It was rather baffling trying to figure out where the town centre actually was. The area round the station is entirely modern with food options limited to a couple of kebab shops, and for some reason was seeing much fire engine and police blue light activity. Young people were wandering around with bulging rucksacks and sleeping mats, and there was African drumming in the park. Not quite what we expected from Chambéry!

S asked two ladies in the park, who recommended walking up to the square in front of the Palais de Justice. A good choice -- we sat down outside the Bistrot du Palais and ordered a plate of Savoie cheese and some wine. We enjoyed this to the accompaniment of wailing fire engines and speeding police cars. There was no obvious crisis, but walking back there was an ambulance in the park, and the pompiers were talking to a young woman who seemed slightly the worse for wear. An interesting introduction to the town!