Happy *White* Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! :)

First snow in Torino... avg temperature: 5C during the day and -3C at night.

Photo on Left: Balcony view

Photo on Right: Piazza San Carlo

偷得浮生半日閒

Dear Mama

My mother stayed with us for a month in Torino last month. Now you have to know something about her... she's not a traveler. She has only traveled in 3 countries before coming to Torino: Taiwan, US, and China. So it was her first trip to Italy, to the entire Europe! Not only that, she came here alone, by herself. Yes, she was worried about locating the connecting flight and then finding us. But she did it (thanks to Antonia's help)! We were smiling at her when she came out from the Arrival Gate in Milan airport.

My mother's idea of 'having fun' in Torino is eating (she loves pizza and cheese), walking around the city, shopping (both in purchasing fresh food and clothes), and cooking. She loves Porta Palazzo, the biggest farmers' market in Europe. We went there at least twice a week and bought fresh produce, meats, and fresh & clean tripe/ intestine/ liver. For those of you don't eat the latter, just know that it is very difficult to CLEAN them! Anyways, my mother said that she hasn't had such good dishes for a very long time. As for walking, man, we practically walked all over Torino. Our daily exercising time is about 3 - 4 hours. I don't think I walked that much for the 6 months I've lived in Torino.

We also went to quite a few little towns around Torino (within 2 hours of train ride). I will just post some photos instead of writing a super-long blog entry. So my mom's favorites? Of course pizza and cheese! :) Her least favorite? Well, too many smokers on the streets. :(

Photo on Left: Santuario d'Oropa with Simone. Simone drove us from Biella to this sanctuary and later to his home town nearby for a festival. My mom was excited to talk to Simone in Mandarin.

Photo on Right: Simone's parents and Filippo's parents. Simone's parents were so kind to invite us to dinner in their house in Ubertino. My mom said this was the best experience she had traveling.

Grazie mille, la famiglia di Ubertino Rosso!














Photo on Left: Alba Truffle Festival! But I heard that with the bad economy this year, the price of the truffle has dropped 80%. Look how proudly the dog did on the sofa, haha, j/k.

Photo on Right: Yummy spaghetti with truffle (it tasted salty and light).














Photo on Left: Piazza San Carlo at night

Photo on Right: City Hall Market














Photo on Left: A friendly signora kitting with her doggie. She kept telling her dog to look at the camera.

Photo on Right: The only Roman gate left in Torino














Photo on Left: Hiking in Bardonecchia with beautiful autumn leaves

Photo on Right: The famous Duomo in Milan

Here We are Making Cheese... Well, Maybe Not!

Last weekend we went to another small town, Aosta, which is 2 hours train ride from Torino. Syd read it from a travel guide that a farm house (agriturismo) near Aosta (30 min drive all the way up in the mountains) can provide room & board, and also teach us how to make goat cheese. Well, knowing Syd's a cheese lover (he has also converted my mother and me into cheese), we had long planned for this adventure.


Oh, boy, was it cold (~ 8C)!! Aosta is located north of Torino which is close to the border of France and Switzerland (St. Bernard). I'll leave you to imagine the temperature in the mountains at night. And yes, there was snow in the mountains.

The valley of Aosta is breath-taking. The view was worth the trip to come to Aosta. The farm house we stayed at is managed by a family. The grandparents take care of the guest rooms and the cooking (we had a typical Aosta-style dinner while breakfast was already included). The daughter-in-law handles the goats, milks them, and makes cheese while the son takes the home-made products (cheese, salami, soap, etc.) to markets. They also have a bunch of chickens and geese, 3 pigs, 3 dogs, and 2 cats. As a city girl who had never been with so many animals at once, it was exciting. I got to pat some of them (not chickens and geese cuz they were too fiesty) and to eat some others (sorry :( ).

Photo on Left: The farm house

Photo on Right: One of the specialities of Aosta - can you guess what it is? It tasted great with warm chestnuts and honey on rye bread. But many of you probably won't eat it (we won't either for a long time). Answer is at the end of this entry.















Well, so the next morning we were supposed to make goat cheese but... goats are not making enough milk at this time of season. During summer, they are usually milked every 12 hours. Bummer. Oh well, we still checked out their living quarters (eew, too many flies), milking machines, and cheese-making rooms. Man, it was the only time I feel being a male is not a privilege. The male goat was separated in a small cell from other goats who can run around in a huge field... I guess since the sole job for the male goat is to 'have fun', he only gets to do that once in a while (fall).

We also found out that I was the 3rd Asian (the other two were Japanese and Singaporean) who ever visited the farm house in this remote village in the mountains for the past 22 years. I guess we Asians just don't go to cold mountains too often.
















Answer to the mysterious dish: lard.

Our Little Friend

I just realized that I haven't introduced our little friend to you guys yet... we met her during the first few weeks after arriving in Torino. She has a cool name, Asia (pronounced ah-si-ah), and she lives next door. We became close after babysitting her a few times. Asia now comes to visit us at least once a week. Tonight she came over again (through the balcony) so I was able to take photos.















I don't get along with cats because they bit me and spooked me with scary shining eyes when I was a child. So I never thought this kitty would like me since she should be able to sense the unfriendliness from me. It was a surprise when Asia chose to sit in my lap (no kitty has ever done that before!) instead of Syd's (and he's a kitty boy). Asia is the first kitty that I have ever enjoyed to play with! I'm learning to be a friend to a kitty in Torino.

The World is Changing!

The World is Changing!

The challenges in US for Mr. Obama are difficult: the worst economy in a century with a huge national debt, 2 wars, a poorly constructed health system, and an energy crisis. Let's give Mr. Obama time and help him to lead us to better days. The world is changing but it can't change in a day!