Ciao, Amici di San Francisco!

September was the month for San Franciscans to visit Torino... well, at least 4 of them were here! :) Our friends took their time showing up (of course)... first Antonia and Toby on 9/19, then Doug flew in from Spain a day later, and finally Jen came on 9/25!

First things first, let's drink in our favorite wine bar! (For those of you with an excellent memory, I fell in love with a white... wine here, Moscato di Asti). But besides drinking, this family-run place also prepares delicious local dishes such as Acciughe in Verde (Anchovies in Green Sauce), various local cheeses/ salami, etc.

While we were waiting for Jen to join us, we visited famous sites in Torino: La Mole (Symbol of Torino - Cinema Museum), Superga, Egyptian Museum (way too cool), hiked to a ruined abbey in freezing cold (I was smart soaking in bathtub at home), Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), Venaria Reale, tons of awesome Italian dishes, chocolates (with ChocoPass), and gelatos. Toby even had 2 gelatos in a day!

But the best of all in my opinion is the drive to Langhe's wine region. All 8 of us in 2 cars searching for the great wine. We stopped at Bra (a small town where slow food got started) for a bellissimo lunch (tasty local raw sausages but I loved my goose with white beans more). Then we followed the directions from the wonderful wine bar owner and found THE wine producer: Beni di Batasiolo in la Morra. We didn't make an appointment beforehand so Syd just rang the bell. The gatekeeper asked quite a few questions but it turned out that Syd only needed to say the magical 2 words: Siamo Americani (We're Americans). Voila, the gate opened! :)

Photo on Right: Happy happy Lily!

Photo Below: Happy Antonia with all her wine glasses!














Photo on Left: Happy customers with the knowledgeable and friendly wine educator. We purchased total 3 cases (6 bottles/ case) of different wines.

Photo on Right: Happy ladies!















And of course the birthday party... we had 3 birthday people (1 Virgo and 2 sexy Libras) in the house: Toby, Doug, and me! Syd and I invited all of our friends in Torino to join us for a relaxing and entertaining night. Singing happy birthday in 3 different languages (Italian, English, and Mandarin) was a blast but I think Filippo had the most fun playing with Jen's new digital camera. It takes pictures when the target person smiles! Wow! Afterwards, we all went back to our apartment nearby to watch Doug and Jen's Ironman video and continue chatting. What a great night! Thanks, everyone! :)

Photo on Left: Toby, Antonia, Syd, Filippo, Roberta, Trevor, Beth, Jen, Doug, Lily, Giorgia, and Simone.

Photo on Right: Birthday people - Doug, Lily, and Toby. We all turned 25 this year! :p *Grazie per i fiori, Giorgia e Simone! Grazie per la carta, Beth!*