Travelog for: Tora

Hi! My name is Tora, and I am a brand new ToyVoyager! I am ready to explore the world, one place at a time. I'd love to visit you!
Also, I don't mind where I visit, but I'd love to learn about your culture, your hometown, or stories of your past 
Also, I love seeing historical sights!

Hi again!
Today, I went to Rozelle Markets in Sydney, where I had a great time exploring and getting in the way of everyone 
I especially liked the plant stall, and all of the rugs!

Hello Mum!!! I finally am in Italy!!!

As soon as they opened the envelope, I popped out and delivered the envelope you gave me!



I've found out I didn't arrive at my host's house, but at her parents' house.
My host, Francy, came to visit them and to pick me!
She took Trifolo with her to welcome me



We are in a mountain town, the air is fresh and I enjoyed the sun after the long journey in the dark of the envelope!





There are a lot of flowers...



Francy's parents also grow a little garden with vegetables and fruit, so Trifolo showed me all the growing vegetables.



I saw eggplants...



… cauliflowers...



…and carrots. You can't see them because they grow under the ground. Trifolo was very excited about them and told me everything about carrots' growing.



I could also pick a few strawberries!



Later, we came back home and I had the chance to make friend with a local cat.
At first we had some problems with the language, but we managed to get to know each other. In the end, I think he liked me!





Tomorrow Francy will go back home, and I'll be with her!

Here I am! Finally in Torino! 

My host's house is not very big, but looks confortable. And there are a lot of friends!
Paco, Orso, Wellington, Ray and Tare. They look nice, I think I will have a nice time with them!

Dear Mum,
I have great news! 
I think I did my first mission already! 

Today, Francy showed me around Torino a little bit.
Did you know Torino used to be Italy's first capital city? At that time, the Savoy family used to reign over Italy from Torino 

This is why there are a lot of palaces which used to belong to the Savoy family, and they all are Unesco sites now, they are the “Residences of the Royal House of Savoy”

I managed to see some of them!
Two of the palaces are in the same square, called Piazza Castello.
Here we have the Royal Palace...



and Madama Palace...



between them, in the corner of the square, there are the Royal Armoury and the Royal Library, which are part of the site as well. But we didn't go that way this time, so we took no pictures, but maybe we will go next time!

We went walking along Via Roma, the streets of shops and fashion, so I could do some good window shopping!





The weather was quite hot thought, so when we arrived to San Carlo Square, we had some rest reading about the square...



… looking around...





… and also drinking at one of Torino's typical drinking fountains.





In Torino's dialect, they are called “Turet”, which means “little bull”. Actually, “Toro” means “bull” in Italian, and the bull is the symbol of the city, so you can find it almost everywhere!

We then walked back, and we got the chance to see another one of the Residences of Savoy -Palazzo Carignano.
This is were the Italian Parliament settled at first.



Doesn't it look quite weird? It has very strange shape, and colour.

We walked back home then, but Francy promised me another good walk very soon!

Hi mummy!

Guess what? Another mission is completed! And a yummy one! 

Basically, Francy didn't really felt like cooking dinner, so she had a great idea to make me happy without having to cook -she ordered home-delivered pizza!!!

So, I got an anchovies & black olives pizza, and a Pepsi! 



Francy got a buffalo mozzarella one, looks nice as well, mmm? 



It actually was good!!! 

Hi Mummy! 

We had another tour of Torino today, but we didn't walk this time -we used the city bike sharing service! 



First thing, we went to see a monument which is the symbol of the city -the Mole. It's the tall building behind me!



It was built to be a synagogue, but now it actually hosts the museum of cinema. We went closed and there were a lot of pictures of actors and actresses outside, so I got my pictures taken with the famous Sophia Loren...



... and with Alberto Sordi and Silvana Mangano.




As we passed by, Francy also showed me Torino University. Not really anything special...




... but it's quite nicely decorated on the other side...





There also is a strange monument just opposite. I'm not sure what it is, but you can hear the sound of water coming from inside it!





Then, we reached the river Po to enjoy the view over the bridge and the Gran Madre church, on the other side.




.


Francy also wanted to show me another castle along the river, but the weather was turning out so bad, we decided to cycle back home as quickly as we could!

And we did it just on time! A huge storm started!





I don't know if you can see how much rain was falling, Mum, but here you can see what kind of pieces of ice were falling!!!! 





I guess we'll stay home tonight...

Hi Mum!

Another week has started... We haven't planned anything special for it, but my host Francy is doing some dog & cat -sitting before the holidays, so we might be a bit busy in the next days.

Today, we just did some Postcrossing & penpalling: I helped Francy picking the right postcard...




... and writing the addresses...




Then I helped Francy writing a letter to one of her penpals. Did you know she studies Japanese?
I helped her by reading the draft while she was writing it down...




Of course, we are enjoying the Olympic Games in the meanwhile! 
Today there was a diving competition, it looks fun! 




Maybe I will try it someday... 

Hello!!!!!

Did I tell you Francy was going to do some cat-sitting? Well, today she let me go with her!!! 

We visited Merlino, a black cat whose owner is on holiday right now.

I helped Francy taking good care of him -I washed the food bowl...




... and I picked the right food for him (pretty yummy, if I have to tell you)...




... and I kept him in good company while Francy was doing the bad part of the job -litter cleaning!




I was quite proud of myself as we went back home, I think I did a good job! 

Hi Mummy!

We have a new customer! 
His name is Iago and it's a young Cocker Spaniel we are hosting for the weekend.

Iago is very friendly, but maybe a little too excited about me, so I can't really get close... 
But we managed to take a photo together! 




Iago loves walking so much, we spent the whole afternoon walking around. So, we catched the chance to visit the park we couldn't reach the last time because of the rain.
It looks beautiful and it was a relaxing stroll!




We saw the ducks in the park...






There also is a whole Medieval village built inside the park!
We entered from the drawbridge...




... and saw the church...




There also was a knight! 




Then we continued our walk and reached the Valentino Castle, another palace from the Residences of Savoy. It looks very beautiful!




While walking, Francy told me we will soon leave for a one-week holiday, but she didn't want to tell me where. I'm curious!!!! 

Hi Mummy!!!!

Today our holidays began!

We packed everything, fasten our seatbelt, and here we go! 





We travelled for a few hours, and...



Here we are, we're in Tuscany! 
We are staying in a sort of ranch, there are cats and dogs walking around... and also horses! 



We settled down a bit and then started exploring around. We went to the nearby town of Scarperia, which still has some historical buildings, such as the ancient Governor's palace.



We went back soon as we were tired from travelling, but we'll explore more in the next days! 

Hi Mum!

Today, we made a trip to Florence! 
I saw a lot of Italian art masterpieces and I added another Unesco site to my visited ones!

We started from Florence's Dome, with the bell tower by Giotto. It's a bit difficult to the it in whole because there is another building in the same square





Then, we walked to Piazza della Signoria to see the many monuments there.
I saw the government palace (Palazzo Vecchio)...



... an artistic fountain...



... and many many statues!!!
Here I am with Michelangelo's David... well, it's not the real one, just a copy they keep in the square!



But there are many many more! 



Just a few meters away there's the famous Museum of "Uffizi", where the most important artworks are kept! 



Unluckily we couldn't go in, as it's closed on Mondays! 

But we enjoyed a walk in the city centre instead, we went to see the Ponte Vecchio and also walked on it -it hosts a lot of jewelry boutiques! 



I also saw a real Formula 1 car in the Ferrari shop! 



And I met the famous ancient Italian poet, Dante Alighieri 



As night fell down, we prepared to enjoy dinner at the Hard Rock Cafè! 



I ordered a yummy hamburger with onions and sauces!!!! 



and there also was a rockabilly concert, so we could enjoy the music 



Mmmm... going to a concert was one of my missions, wasn't it? But I'm not sure this one counts as it was a little one... 

Anyway, I'm going to sleep now, it was a long day. Tomorrow, we'll be relaxing...

Hello!!!

Another relaxing day under the Tuscany sun... we found out there's a small lake near the ranch, so we went there to see... it doesn't look bad!



It looks even better from near, there's a lot of people sunbathing and swimming, so we decided to stay there and enjoy the "beach" as well! 

Hi Mummy!

Today we had another relaxing day -we visite the Mugello International Circuit, just here near.





They use it both for motorbikes and cars races, but we have motorbikes today







The circuit complex is very big!



Later we got some bread, ham and cheese, so we made some sandwiches....



...and enjoyed them on the grass.



We spent the whole day at the circuit, so we were pretty hungry.

Francy told me I am leaving Italy soon, so she wanted to make me a last surprise, by taking me eating something special -a Florence-style T-bone steak! 



It was huge! 

But I'm a lion... 

I did it!



but I needed some sleep afterwards...

Tomorrow we're leaving Tuscany, and I also have to start packing for my next destination...

Hi!!!

We're going back to Torino today, but before heading home we made a little diversion to see Modena.

You know, this is another Unesco site for me to visit -the Cathedral, the Tower and the Square, as I read here:



We saw them, but unluckily we could't visit the church as, you see, they're working on it



Francy told me that's because an earthquake happened here last May, and it has been damaged. What a pity!

Luckily it still looks good on the other side



and the other palaces on the square are ok as well!



It was interesting, but it really was time to go home now...