Torino and the train

We arrived in Torino tonight after leaving Venice in the late afternoon. We were heading to Milano, changing trains and going to Genova. At Milano, after consulting with the map and being too lazy to drag our bags off the train, we kept going to Torino. This turned out to be a good choice for although we had no accommodation and arrived at 8pmish, we soon found a hotel within our budget by rocking up and asking and then a wonderful pizza and salata. The wine was also very good, a slightly fizzy pino chardonnay. I had had a similar one in Doha from the distribution centre, very refreshing!
Travelling by train has been an interesting experience. When Muzz arrived in Roma on 30 May, we decided not to drive. We had driven last trip and it was at times a bit stressful. We went to purchase a ticket at the station in Roma only to find it too expensive, plan b, investigate the options fully on the internet. We went back to the station having looked at the options and ended up with a Trenitalia ticket, 7 days travel within 2 months for 180euro each, not bad after the first quote of over 500 each. The pass took us far and wide from Roma to the Amalfi Coast to Venice and as we slowly learnt the rules, which train we were allowed on and which we had to pay a little extra for, it became a very good option. It is relaxing to ride the rails and catch up on the reading and ipod. It's not so relaxing when caught on the wrong train without the right booking, not to mention expensive. Tomorrow we head to France, possibly to the south but eventually over to Paris.