Chapter Seven—Piazza Vittorio: Going Out in Turin

For goodness’ sake, don’t get stuck going out at only the pubs. This is Italy; this isn’t the States. You can go out to a pub any time you want to at home. Please, I’m begging you: branch out. Don’t only hang out with Americans. Form a small group, and go out to Piazza Vittorio.

On the weekends in the warm seasons, Piazza Vittorio will be busy until late in the morning. It’s a fantastic piazza, huge and open, right next to the river.

It was my first weekend in Turin, and I’d accidentally locked my keys in my apartment. Miles, Alex, and Pat had just gone downstairs after inviting me to go out with them. I wasn’t big on going out, or partying, or whatever you’d like to call it, so I’d given them the diplomatic answer of: maybe, I’m Facebook chatting a girl right now and I’ll ask her if she wants to come.

But that was before I’d locked my keys out of the room. Or, before I realized it. And when I did realize it, I ran down the three stories of stairs to watch their bus pull away. I started sprinting. I caught up with the bus when it was stopped at a red light, I banged the door, and the driver let me inside.

We went to Piazza Vittorio. We went to a moderately creepy bar, meeting up with some other USAC students, that had blood-red walls and odd paintings. We were sitting around when Michael, one of the USAC students we had met up with, returned from wherever he had been, very excited, and told us he had met some Italians.

Piazza Vittorio is where the young Italians go in Turin on the weekends. The cocktails and drinks are expensive, but you don’t have to get more than one. On Friday night or Saturday night it’ll be busy until late in the morning. Friday night is the best time to go, because the high schools in Italy run through Saturday—so Friday night you won’t see many.