Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, or: Stop this room! I want to get off!

Everytime I stop moving I feel like I still am moving - on a plane, or a train. We managed to make it from Milan to Torino today. We had a wake-up call for 8 AM but I woke up at 6 AM, after 6 hours of sleep. I decided to get up so we showered and had breakfast and the hotel shuttle took us back to the airport where we could catch a bus to the central train station. It didn't go off as smoothly as it sounds, but here we are. Getting on the train was tough, it's completely jammed, and we stood for part of the trip, and when I finally got a seat Steve was still on a fold-out seat in the breezeway. We packed light, but after today, I wish it was still half again what we are carrying.

The automobile comes in as a taxi - we walked a ways down the right street until we walked off the map we had and could figure out by the building numbers that our hotel was not in walking distance. We found a taxi stand and while we were trying to figure out how to call one, one pulled up. Thank god. My arms were in bad shape.

We checked in right at 2 PM and put our stuff in our room and headed down to the Torpedo Restaurant, named after one of the early Fiat cars. The hotel is the former Fiat factory, and boy is this place NICE! Our top floor room overlooks the city with what I think is the Swiss Alps in the background... We had a nice, light lunch, then gathered our things and had them call us a cab so we could make it to Europe's largest outdoor market at Piazza della Repubblica. If we had more time we might have tried by bus, but when you're in a hurry and are tired, 15 bucks to get somewhere is totally fine (even both directions...)

So we picked up some winter scarves (I know one of them says Made in China, but it was purchased in Italy, does it count?) and then decided to find another cab and come back. It's time for a nap. The restaurant will be open for dinner from 7:30-10:30 PM.

We are listening to somafm.com over the TV, internet radio that we listen to when at work. It's almost like home - except there was a 2006 Olympics chocolate coin on my pillow.