May 1, 2010, down days in NW Italy

After a week of perfect weather, perfect views, and ok skiing, Mother Nature gave us a dunking.  We had a nice short AM tour Friday, and headed to Chamonix for some stormy lift skiing.  Along the way one of our rental cars decided to break down, so we wound up in Aosta, familiar territory after last year with Eric and Lisa.  Hertz told Tom they had another car for him, but he would have to make his own way to the Torino airport to pick it up, yikes. 

Again, however, the lemons made great lemonade.  We forgot that May Day is Europe's Labor Day, and got to watch a great gasp from the past, Communists Parade, in downtown Torino on our way to the Alpine Museum with a great view of town and the Alps (in better weather.)   Then we visited the city market, sort of a Pike Place gone wild, and headed back to our cars.   We passed a huge snaking crowded line for some event, and stopped for gelato and coffee at a nearby food stand.  Turns out it was the "Shroud Crowd", the Shroud of Turin was on display for the first time in a decade!   And tomorrow Il Papa is in town, no wonder the place was packed with tourists (mainly Italian!)

An hour's drive brought us back to our hotel in Aosta, and a failed attempt at fine dining on a Saturday night (luckily they had a table for us at lunch Sunday, but that's another thread.)  Instead we found a great little restaurant serving local specialities and enjoyed local wine tasting a a book fair in the central plaza. Rick Steves is right, go with the flow and you will be pleasantly surprised.