I've been thinking that
Turin will be one of the more enticing Winter Olympics venues I'm likely to see during my liftime. I discovered that a friend is headed off for a month to help with press coverage. Now that's a good gig!
My only experience of the city was brief, a stop-over during a weeklong road trip around
Italy. Unfortunately I won't be there for the Olympics, but according to Andrew Dampf's Associated Press article, "
Turin may offer more after the Olympics", picked up by
MSNBC, that may not be such a bad thing. Dampf emphasizes the obvious: once the craziness of the Olympic Games have passed, Turin will be at its best without the hords of toursits, inflated prices, etc.
"The 1 million people expected for the games will be gone, making travel, hotel reservations and the city's world-class food and wines much more accessible. Post-Olympic visitors will also enjoy a completely remodeled city."
Makes sense to me! At least it's helping me to overcome the jealousy I was feeling for my friend who'll be headed off to
Torino soon. Dampf goes on to highlight Turin's impressive transformation (modeled on Barcelona's rebirth for the 1992 Olympics) including:
- a new airport terminal (partially completed in time for the games
- downtown facelift
- restoration of the Varia royal residences
Of course, all three are backlogged, so he focuses on some of the more exciting outlook for pre and post Turin Olympics. It's a pretty comprehensive overview, so you'll need to read it if you're even remotely interested in being current on "the Turin Olympics situation"! He covers post-Olympic events including UNESCO world capitals recognition, the upcoming Slow Food festival. the annual chocolate festival and musical festival, and "Italy's second-most important film festival, after Venice." Then, of course, there's sports, food and sightseeing (urban and alpine).
Inspired to jump a last minute trip to Italy? It's going to be tight at this point, but here's a list of sites to get you started:
I'm looking forward to some interesting article submissions from all of you after the Olympics!
