都靈是一個規劃良好的城市,有整齊的街道,市中心充滿著十六到十八世紀巴洛克式的建築物,除了剛才提及的 Piazza Castello 外,還有很多漂亮的廣場,如 Piazza San Carlo,Piazza Vittorio Veneto 等。貫通 Piazza Castello 與 Piazza San Carlo 的街道 Via Roma, 全是柱廊建築物,十分有氣派,在那裡逛街不用日曬雨淋。由於在都靈時天氣漸漸轉熱,炎炎夏日令筆者失去胃口,為了解決晚飯問題懊惱了一會。後來發現原來都靈不少咖啡店在旁晚開始有一種東西叫 apericena,這個字由 aperitivo 和 cena 兩字合併而成。Aperitivo 時飯前酒的意思,而 cena 是晚飯的意思。在夏天,當地差不多十點才天黑,市民都喜歡在下班後和朋友相約在露天咖啡店邊喝東西邊聊天。那裡的咖啡店考慮到不少客人喝酒時想有一點小吃,所以推出 apericena 來吸引顧客, 用劃一價錢包括一杯飲品和任吃自助式的小吃。筆者在廣大的 Piazza Vittorio Veneto 找到這樣一家露天咖啡店,只是花了七歐元便點了一杯意大利人愛喝的 aperol spritz,坐在美麗的廣場上喝喝酒,吃一點芝士,迷你薄餅等點心,十分寫意。
Turin is a well-planned city with grid-like streets, filled with many stunning Baroque buildings built between the 16th and 18th centuries. Aside from Piazza Castello mentioned above, there are many more grand squares, such as Piazza San Carlo and Piazza Vittorio Veneto. Piazza San Carlo is one of the prettiest square I have been to. And the street connecting Piazza Castello to Piazza San Carlo, Via Roma, is itself a lovely street to walk as this shopping street is a covered passageway, protecting one from the elements. Speaking of which, the weather was really warming up when I was there. During warm weather I simply lose appetite, which is a big problem in Turin as there are so many good restaurants (Turin is also the home of slow food movement). So when I learnt of apericena, I thought it was exactly what I would go for. Apericena comes from two words, aperitivo, a pre-dinner drink and cena, dinner. As the sun doesn't set till almost 10pm during summer, Torinese people love to meet friends for a drink after work or college, and most like to hang out in outdoor cafes in the squares. Some entrepreneurial cafe owners came up with apericena, as people always prefer some nibbles to go with their drink. For a flat price, one can order a drink and take as much nibbles as one likes from the buffet table. Most cafes have some salads, cheeses, mini pizzas etc. I found such a cafe with the apericena offering Piazza Vittorio Veneto, and for 7 euros I got an Aperol Spritz, more than enough nibbles and a fantastic view of the piazza, just leisurely watching the world go by.
On the last day, I was going to take a morning train out of Turin, but as I walked by a restaurant specialising in truffles, I thought I just had to stay for lunch. In the morning, I walked to Piazza della Repubblica to check out the market there. This market claims to be the largest outdoor market in Europe, and it is wrong. It is absolutely massive. It is sort of divided into four zones by the big intersection, with one zone dedicated to all sorts of household products and clothing, another section has seemingly hundreds of stalls selling fruits, it's absolutely mind-boggling as it'd be such a pain to try and shop around for the best bargain! After only spending 70 cents on a kilo of yellow prunes, I slowly made my way to the restaurant.
When I finally sat down and read the menu, I struggled to decipher anything as there were just too many unfamiliar words. Luckily the waiter (who can speak some English) came to the rescue, and as I told him I wanted to have truffles he recommended the mixed degustation plate. My jaws dropped when I saw the plate, there was just so much black truffles shavings, on the beef tartar, fried egg, bread with mascapone etc. I was just about to devour my delicious lunch when a lady came out of the premises (I was sitting at an outside table) and sat down at the table next to me. I figured that she works in the restaurant but was just taking her lunch break. I then spotted what she was having for lunch - fried egg and some pasta with lots of black truffles shavings! After finishing her lunch she leisurely drank a coffee before heading back inside to work. I can't figure out where else would serve black truffles as staff meal, it certainly beats soggy sandwiches by a million miles! Torinese really know how to live.