Mole Antonelliana and the Turin Catherdral

     Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, so BJ and I decided to venture to the top of Mole Antonelliana.  This amazing structure houses the Italian Cinema Museum and is one of the most iconic buildings in Torino.  It is also only about four or five blocks from our dorms =)

Mole Antonelliana

A panoramic view of the Alps bordering the city

BJ from the top of Mole

A castle quite near us, we havent explored to the top of this hill yet, so I am not sure what this castle is

BJ and I =)

Another beautiful view of the Alps, along with the amazing red roofs of Torino

Me!

Our dorms are right behind the right side of the piazza in the middle (the open area in the picture)

    On Monday, while most of the city was closed due to the Italian Election Day, BJ, myself and a few friends went exploring.  We actually stumbled upon some pretty amazing things!  

This is a beautiful indoor courtyard, with a few shops to browse

   The cathedral in the photos below is called the Turin Cathedral.  In this church is where, it is believed, that the original shroud that covered Jesus when he was removed from the cross and placed in his tomb was stored.  We were able to see where the shroud is stored, but it was covered with a red cloth for protection.  Also, they do not allow photographs in that particular area of the cathedral.

Out and About in Torino

BJ and I visited Il Boro Medievale Sul Po here in Torino a few days ago.  The castle was built in 1880 by the Savoy family as a replica of castles in The Middle Ages.

This photo was taken outside of the entrance to the castle's village.

BJ inside the castle's village.

The castle itself from inside the village.

This is the entry way into the castle.

The castle had its own private worship room.

The king's dining room.

We also toured around Torino a little bit more this week, so here are some pictures of our discoveries.

We found a restaurant called the Texas Ranger, so of course we had to get a picture!  We stopped in a few days later and found out they give a student discount and can get a burger for 2,50 euros! We will probably be checking that place out to eat sometime in the near future.

BJ took an amazing photo of Mole Antonelliana one day on our way to the grocery store, so I had to share that. 

We also passed some dorms for the University of Turin.  They had some pretty interesting art work on them.

This is BJ at the entry way to a bridge that cross the Po River.  They really have statues everywhere here.

A picture of the Po River from a park near our dorms.

Me with near a pretty stream in the park.

The is Castello del Valentino which actually houses the architecture faculty for Politecino di Torino, the school I am currently attending.

BJ took this picture of a beautiful church on Saturday when we were on our way to the market with some friends we made from Estonia.  The three people climbing the stairs to see if it was open are actually myself and the two Estonians. 

This photo is the entrance to the clothing section of the market.  The picture does not do justice to the magnitude of this market.  There was a huge section of fresh fruits, meats, and breads.  A whole other section devoted to shoes, another to purses, and others with antiques, bikes and flowers.

This morning we woke up to a beautiful snow so we headed across town to take this picture.  The statue is at one of the major round-a-bouts here in Torino.  It was a truly beautiful morning here.

This is the medieval structure of the Castello in Piazza Castello with snow covering the trees nearby.  The royal residence is very close by, and we plan on visiting that soon.

Bardonecchia, Italy - A day in the Alps

On Saturday, February 16th quite a few of the Americans here took a train to Bardonecchia, Italy to visit the Alps.  These first few pictures are just scenic pictures of the area.

As it turns out, Bardonecchia is where the snowboarding part of the 2006 Winter Olympics took place.

This is a picture of all but one of the Tennessee students here in Turin (Myself, Ben, Doug, Myles, and BJ).  Charlie and a student from Arkansas were snowboarding when we took this picture.

One of three 2006 Winter Olympic Villages were located in Bardonecchia.  

These is a picture of one of the many ski slopes in the area.

On our train ride into the city, we noticed there were many castles across the country side.  I managed to snap this quick picture from the train.

On our way back, we passed the tallest peak in the Alps, Mount Blanc.

Pictures Near my Dorm

BJ and I on our first day in Torino. The round-a-bout behind us is 2 blocks from the dorms we are in.

 This is the Po River, its about 3 blocks from my dorm.

 A few beautiful views of Torino from across the river, near a museum.

The building behind me is the museum where you can see the beautiful view of Torino.

This church is across the river from my dorms.

This is BJ in the round-a-bout near our dorms.