Mike Gajda - July 20, 2022
Milan Bosco Verticale

One of the two towers that compose the vertical forest

10:00 Depart Milan

Italy's rail service is famous for its interconnectedness, even if it has a reputation for delayed trains. I booked an $80 roundtrip ticket on the highest speed rail in Italy (Frecciarossa) that took me from Milan to Turin in slightly over an hour. This would be a day trip for me since Brandon was in conference all day.

Before heading out I stopped by the Bosco Verticale to see the tree-filled tower in person (see the cover image). We had actually planned to see this the day before, but our schedule got away from us.

The Joys of High Speed Rail

The joys of high-speed rail: traveling at 300 km/h!

11:00 Arrival in Turin

Once I got to Turin I started a search for lunch to get me through my museum-heavy day. I'm not sure if it was the area I was heading towards in Turin or the day, but very few restaurants were open and with my Italian skills not being great (read mostly nonexistent), I wanted to grab something quick with minimal awkward interactions. I spotted a mall with an Eataly attached to it that caught my eye. I knew I'd be pilloried when I got back for going all the way to Italy to eat at Eataly, but since I was taking a solo trip I went in.

Turin Eataly Pizza

My very delicious slice of pizza from Eataly in Turin.

I perused the aisles to look for pre-made or packaged foods, but I didn't find anything that stuck out as a quick lunch. That was until I stumbled on the pizza and bread stand that drew my attention. One slice of a very filling margherita pizza with some trail mix and I was ready to go for a day of exploring.

12:00 National Car Museum
2:30 Fiat Museum
20:00 Dinner at Al Venticinque

After soliciting recommendations from friends on Instagram, I settled on Al Venticinque for dinner with one of Brandon's friends. Known for the best carbonara in city in other reviews, we all ordered a medium portion of the meat carbonara and I think we all had the same reaction: YUM. Service felt slow compared to other places, but with a full restaurant both inside and outside, we felt that a wait for something as tasty as this carbonara was more than worth it. Plus, we snacked on steak tartare and drank spritzes while waiting, so we weren't famished or anything.