Weary Greetings From Torino!

Just returned from a short trip to the Olympic Games in Torino (or Turin – the debate still continues!). So, I’m just now resuming these blog entries and updating my web site: www.olympicproportions.net.

Through my “behind the scenes” treks through the city and via stories relayed to me by others, I share with you a (lengthy) insider’s view of Torino that differs in many ways from what you’ve read or seen in the major publications, broadcasts, or web sites…

TORINO PREPARATION:

Having visited this city and the mountain venues in January, I did notice a great deal of progress complete in readying the cities and the venues during this visit. However, scattered throughout the city remain scuttled projects fenced-off and garnished with Olympic banners to hide the incomplete construction – presumably due to time and/or budget constraints. The Security was top-notch – compliments of 10,000 polizei, carabinerie, and militarie.

CITY LIFE:

The Torino environs, with a population of 900,000 citizens, surrounded the historical and pulsing city center - complete with Roman ruins, baroque churches, palaces, and piazzas (or squares). Amidst this history and culture, Olympic festivities and decorations flourished – especially evident in these piazzas where crowds congregated to watch competition on big screens, shop at bordering upscale or bargain stores, and enjoy tasty Italian dishes, pastries, and chocolates at any number of nearby ristorantes, cafes, patticeries, etc. At night, this central area came alive with night lights, music, late night shopping, and medal ceremonies at the newly constructed, and extremely secure Medals Plaza (adjacent to a several hundred year-old palace). For those homesick for America, the outdoor NBC stage, Coca Cola Pavillion, and familiar stores and eateries like Nike and McDonalds were only steps away!

PROBLEM-Os:

Despite this great ambience and festivity, hurdles did abound. For the average visitor, the only options for lodging were outside of the city – compliments of the Torino Olympic Committee’s booking of any/all hotel rooms for officials, dignitaries, sponsors, etc. over a year ago. As a result, a great deal of time was spent hopping on buses, trams, and trains in the evening hours to return “home” – oftentimes well into the early morning hours. Some even commuted to and from Milan – about two hours away!

Second, info booths were extremely few and far between – especially in the city center and near the venues. In some cases, supposedly knowledgeable staff had trouble answering simple questions about travel, directions, etc. Frequently, visitors had little, if any, idea about how to get to venues, which type of transportation to take, etc. In some cases, this equated to hopping on the wrong transport in the wrong direction – only to depart and then hike several blocks to where you were supposed to be headed. The 20,000 volunteers, whose purpose was presumably to help, were rarely seen far from the venues. Helpful, universal signs were lacking in providing directions and some of the guidebooks provided wrong information (e.g., showing a non-existent “P7” park and ride lot).

Language proved to be a slight barrier in that English is not spoken prevalently – unlike in other Italian cities. So, a lot of pointing, motioning, and sticking “O’s” on the end of words proved helpful (e.g., what is the cost-o?, can I buy a ticket-o)?

Fortunately, to fill this void, travelers would often share advice and experiences with each other about how to best get around, where to find piazzas, etc.


THE COMPETITION SITES:

The Olympic Sports venues were fairly new and ready for the crowds. I attended three separate sporting events in different stadiums while seeing the USA Mens Hockey Team (of course, lose), the Figure Skating Ice Dancing short program (USA Belbin & Agosto), and a Speed Skating race (Davis & Cheek winning Gold & Silver). Security gates akin to those in airports greeted each spectator where backpacks and coats were inspected and tickets checked by military staff. Each venue was well decorated from the outside – contributing to the experience. Common food and drink options across these venues included reasonably priced cold panino sandwiches, Ritz crackers, “Freaky Fries” (bagged fry-shaped snacks), sodas, coffee, and Budweiser! Once inside the arenas, the views of the competition were exceptional – compliments of the relatively small-sized (3000 – 4000 seats) arenas. Despite empty chairs numbering in the hundreds in some cases, fans from all over the world could be seen cheering on their athletes and others! Most noticeable were the Dutch Speed Skating fans, dressed in strange orange garb (e.g. wooden shoe hats), hoisted banners and flags while singing to the accompaniment of their own band! In contrast, at the upscale Figure Skating event (whose tickets were very expensive), spectators could be seen in semi-formal suits and dresses. ( Of note, the seats in this pavilion were surprisingly very cramped without seat backs and no room under the seats for storing anything. )

The heart of the Olympics competition rested in the city center and in a cluster of Olympic venues (hockey, speed skating, figure skating) about a 15 minute bus ride south of the city. Here the Olympic spirit and melding of cultures was most prevalent! In contrast, the five mountain region venues seemed almost a world away. Those who ventured to these outlying areas were likely sports fanatics, family members, or travelers who wished to endure eight – ten hours of transit time to and from such competitions as Snowboarding, Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Biathlon, and Ski Jumping!


DIVERSIONS:

The city seemed to be fairly prepared for the crowds who descended in this central arena. Although sidewalks and pedestrian arcades proved to be busy at times, you could often venture off the beaten path to a cozy café for a drink (e.g, a chocolate/coffee drink called “bicerin”), pastry, or a meal. In these wanderings, one could easily venture into centuries-old churches to view the ornate architecture and design, or stroll through such buildings as the “Eqyptian” or “Marionnette” museums.

Shopping proved to be a fun experience – despite the lackluster exchange rate (1 Euro = $1.20). Italian clothing and shoes dominated these retail establishments – in contrast, there were very few true “souvenir” shops. In a peculiar twist, it was not atypical to see some item in a showcase window – only to find-out that the shop was down the block or even a few streets away!

Of note, during the half-way point of the Olympics on February 19, the two main “Olympic stores” in the city had shelves that were becoming quite bare – the result of intensive clothing and pin purchases by the masses. Furthermore, in an attempt to reap additional revenue, the TOROC raised certain merchandise prices by 10%– as evident by the overlaid price tag (ex: pin prices changed from 6.3 Euro to 7 Euro).

Ciao!