Finest of Building Materials

The first round of finals had finally ended, but there was still some time before I knew if I had passed them all (and if I would need to attempt round two of exams). Some friends (Thies, Sema, and Soheil) and I decided to escape the sweltering heat of the city and took a trip through the alps to Cesana, Italy. On the way towards Cesana, we first stopped at the Museo del Gusto (Museum of Taste). While not the most popular of museums, it did have some interesting information and concluded with free samples of Piemontese Genepi and cookies.

We continued on our way through the mountains until lunchtime, at which point we pulled off the road at a small picnic area and began preparations for some hamburgers. As the coals were warming up for our little grill, an Italian family sitting nearby walked over and offered us some of the extra food that they had prepared (which ended up being more food than we could possibly eat). We gratefully accepted and stuffed ourselves full of fantastic Italian sausages, salami, and lamb.

After lunch, we found our way to Cesana for the 2015 Carton Rapid Race. Teams had to build rafts out of nothing more than cardboard and tape and race down a small stretch of rapids on Fiume Dora Riparia trying to achieve the best time. This is significantly easier said than done, and many rafts made it no more than a few meters down the river before collapsing, flipping, or sinking. It is also hilarious to watch.

After the race had ended, we then began the trek back through the mountains and into the heat and humidity of Torino.