Road Trip Torino: Day 4

Today it rained all day. It didn’t just rain, it poured. All day. So I’m going to tell you a little bit about the school, since we didn’t get any photos of Torino outside.

The school is located in the historic center of the town, in the part that dates back to the Romans. It’s in a lovely old palazzo, on the second floor (American third floor). You enter the palazzo from a side street, through a smaller door in an enormous wooden one. Once inside, your first view is the courtyard:



The building is built around this courtyard, which means that all the offices and apartments have windows for light and fresh air. If you stand in the archway and turn around, you see the front door:

Inside there’s a gate, and you can either enter directly on the right (left in the photo) or go through the office on the right in this photo. (I didn’t get a photo of the door from the outside because it was raining too hard…) In the photo you can see the wonderful mosaic floor on the left in front of the mailboxes. If you go over there, in front of the mailboxes, you can see the staircase:

Like the staircases in many of these old palazzos, it’s a gentle one, not too steep. There’s been an elevator added in the middle, messing up the lines a little, but the convenience for those who have to climb to the upper floors more than makes up for that, I think. We take the stairs, though. I love to see these old doors as we climb:

This one’s an office of lawyers. Other doors have notaries behind them, still others have apartments. On the second floor, there’s the school, with its big reception room next to the office:

And finally, there’s our classroom:

Dan and I are in the same class, and we’re having a great time. Our teacher is emphasizing communication, and the ability to USE the language, which is the most important thing for us. The other students are also interesting. A very good group. A very good school.

Tomorrow, we’re hoping for some sunshine. Or at least no rain. There are some beautiful places here, and I’m dying to get some photos. Torino may be the best kept secret in Italy, I’m thinking. Wait till you see!

To be continued…