Eating and Hiking in Alps

Dawn, my college friend and our first visitor, arrived Torino on July 10th. The first meal she tried was our typical lunch and she loved bufala (buffalo) mozzerella cheese and sashimi-like salami. Before we explore other cities together, Syd took us to a small town (Bardonecchia) in the Alps for some hiking and eating! In case you haven't heard it before, Torino area is known for 'Slow-Food Movement'. Obviously it is to fight against Fast-Foods (Sayonara, McDonald's!), however, more importantly, it aims to preserve the cultural cuisine and the associated food plants and seeds, domestic animals, and farming within the local region (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food). In other words, the movement promotes preparing cuisines using local and quality ingredients to appreciate their taste and nurition.

The slow-food event consisted 6 courses: Antipasti, Primi, Secondi, Formaggi, Dolci, and Forte Bramafam. The hungry hikers hike 10 -15 minutes to each course to taste a dish accompanied by a choice of 6 - 8 different wines. The best part is that you can go back for seconds! :) Since Dawn doesn't drink wine, we forced her to get a glass at every course anyways... well, you know where the wine went. :p At the end of the hike/ lunch, Syd have tasted 15 wines and 2 liquors!

Picture on left: Entree - cosciotto di maialino cotto nel fieno maggengo con polenta concia (tender pork cooked in hay with polenta)
Picture on right: Formaggi - plates of cheese!













Picture on left: molti molti vini
Picture on right: the result of too much food and wine













Syd is a mountain guy so he really likes Bardonecchia. Well, can't complain much since the weather was cool and the scenery was beautiful. The town apparently hosted events for Winter Olympics 2006. It also looked like a good place for skiing (so you know where we'll go in the winter). But before winter comes, we already plan to revisit in August when Torino heat is supposed to be unbearable (well, I hope it's not as devilish as Taiwan's summer).

Adjusting and Slowing Down

Hi friends and family, yes, I have been back in Torino since last week. But I was so tired from traveling and the heat (don't travel in Italy in July and August if you can avoid it) that I needed to rest. I'm starting to feel back to normal so I'll try to post highlights of the northern Italy trip sometime this week. :)

I have also been a bit homesick for the past couple weeks. I miss my mom, you guys, Asian food (Vietnamese spring rolls and vermicelli, Chinese noodle soups, Thai pineapple fried rice, Japanese sashimi, etc.), and the familiarity and comfort of our home in Milpitas. I experience this backdraw whenever I travel outside of US for more than 2 weeks, so actually I'm doing quite well. The way to deal with it for me is to mix up the daily routine. So today I made an effort to go out having lunch, shopping, and exploring (I have been reading, internet surfing, and sleeping for the past week). It must have worked somewhat since now I'm updating the blog. I haven't feel like writing it since I returned to Torino.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well. I'm looking forward to friends and my mom visiting in September and October. In the mean time, I can't wait for the Olympics!!! Go Beijing! Talk to you guys later.

AIDA in Verona

It's odd that after Italian class ended, I have less time to myself. I have been trying to read "Under the Tuscan Sun" for the past month but I just have neither the time nor the mood. On the weekends I'm busy cooking. With fresh ingredients from Porta Palazzo, I want to prepare and taste the fresh vegetables and fruits right away. Last Saturday I made my very first cold tomato soup! Yummy and refreshing for the hot day. Beth gave us a chart that lists seasonal fruits in Torino, and of course summer produces the most fruits. This month Syd and I have to stuff ourselves with apricots, blueberries, peaches, cherries, raspberries, and strawberries! And on weekdays, while Syd's working, I'm either surfing on internet, creating blog entries, typing up Chinese writings, doing house chores, or taking a nap. So one way or the other, I'm just not reading (which is one of my favorite hobbies).

Well, all that changed for the past 2 days. I finished the book on the way to and back from Verona. Apparently traveling provides the time and mood for me to read. Beth, Trevor, Syd, and I went to see the famous opera "AIDA" (Verdi's version, though I also saw Elton John's version and I loved it!) in the ancient and oh-the-most-beautiful Roman outdoor amphitheatre (built in 30AD, it's 2000 years old!). Now dig this: NO amplifiers were used yet the voice of each singer traveled all the way to the last row of the theatre (capacity of 30,000 ppl when full)! It was incredible! We were drowned under the stars with Verdi's music, Aida and Radames' love, and Barbera wine in this amazing Verona Arena. Though no elephants appeared in the opera, I felt equally satisfied with the outstanding costumes, dances, singing and horses! I'd highly recommend a nice soft cushion for your behind (you can rent it at the Arena) because my tush was screaming in pain after an hour of sitting on the hard concrete (cheapest ticket). Syd refused to use his body as my cushion. Bad hubby.
























We came back to Torino today while Beth and Trevor continued on to Germany. We will meet up in Venice and Cinque Terre with my college friend Dawn next week. I told Syd that it's good to come home. I miss our apartment in Torino which has my comfy bed, my laptop (yes, I'm addicted to it), the yummy yummy pasta salad I made on Sunday and buffalo mozzerella cheese. Before reaching home, we went for a delicious and refreshing gelato of uva fragola at Gatsby's. Yes, we are home.

Our New Looks

Our Italian beginner course ended last Friday so you might think that we would now party all night, sleep in every morning, and be lazy bums from this week on. Well, how can you think of us that way? We managed to get up everyday this week around 9am except yesterday (we got up at 5:30am instead to take a train to the beach!). We went running and played frisbee on Tuesday morning. We're trying to exercise at least twice a week to set up a healthy routine living in Torino so we don't return to California gaining 20 lbs. each (darn those yummy buttery gnocchis)!

Since the course is over, Syd and I finally have time to do other things besides studying Italian. For example, we can pay attention to our appearances. Syd now has a goatee (I like it!) and that's all the change he made. As for me, it is more complicated because of my gender. I need to shop (though I'd say I spend only half the time most women shop), compare, think, and then choose. I'm happy to introduce Beth, my shopping partner/ fashion consultant, who accompanied me to spend $ at a big Robe di Kappa (a Torino brand) outlet. We had to take a bus (20 min) and after getting off, we searched for the outlet for 30 minutes because its name is 'Spaccio' instead of 'Kappa'. No wonder we couldn't find it even though it's only 1 block away from the bus stop. Anyways, I love this brand because it has a lot of sporty and simple designs: the style fits my personality. So I contributed to Torino's economy that day. :) Well, what could I do? I have been eyeing that jacket since my first visit to the store in Piazza San Carlo but I couldn't find my size then. I was so happy to find it (only 1 left with my size!) at the outlet that my blood started to boil which blurred my vision so I could only see the jacket. Besides, Beth said I looked good in it. Hence, although it wasn't on sale, I still went for it. I'm not posting a photo of this jacket, you'll just have to wait for its premier in winter. :p I can tell you that it has awesome symbols: an Italian flag, a Torino bull, 2 Kappa marks (which is a man and a woman sitting back-to-back with each other), and the word "Torino" across the chest. Please sit still, my CAL friends, the color of this jacket is Maroon, not RED. :p

My next choice is to get a haircut. Yes, it's a big decision as it's not just a simple haircut... I decided to go for a short hairdo. The first problem we encountered was how to communicate the desired style with hairdressers in Italian. Beth came up with a great idea: find photos of the hairstyle that we like online then we will bringing in her laptop to show them to hairdressers. It worked perfectly since pictures speak a thousand times better than words (let alone our poor Italian words). The experience at the salon was rather relaxing. Hair washing alone was 15 minutes of gentle massaging, washing, and conditioning. My hairdresser was a young man (mid 20s) with blond spiky hair and wears hip pink glasses. He wasn't surprised of my request of a rather dramatic hair style. As a matter of fact, he was the first and only hairdresser who suggested to cut my hair even a little shorter. Well, non `cè problema, I have had the same hairdo for a few years and since I'm in Italy, I want to go for a new look. Now with new clothes and a stylish hair cut, I need to look for earrings and sandals. Gotta go shopping. Again. Now.

St. Giovanni a Torino - Part II

We woke up the next day to a festive mood of Torino. Many farmer's and antique markets were showing their best products in piazzas all around the city. I think Trevor bought all the mazzarella cheese that was available in the City Hall Market because we couldn't find any when we went there. Nevertheless, we purchased 3 different flavors of sausages (wild boar, truffle, and Barolo wine) which will become our lunch next week. Syd and I took a nap to be prepared for the big party at night.

We met up with Trevor's gang (Trevor, his girlfriend, his sister, and his nephew) for dinner. We wanted to have apertivo (buy a drink and get to eat all-you-can-eat snack-size food) but couldn't find one that we liked on Via Po. Since we were close to Torino University, Trevor suggested we explore the restaurants with younger crowds. Sure, why not? We all can pass as in our mid 20s... well, except Aiden since he's only 5. We passed by a crowded restaurant called "Tre Da Tre" and according to our experience, a busy restaurant means yummy food, well, at least fresh food. While we were waiting for a table, we drank cold beer to refresh ourselves. I was very surprised that Beth and Trevor remembered our anniversary! They even had a card for us! How sweet! We celebrated the occasion with 2 bottles of wine with our pizzas, seafood pastas, and salads. We had to watch the time because the finale firework was scheduled to began at 10:30pm on River Po. Just as we were stepping out the restaurant, the firework started, so we all ran as fast as we could towards the river. The firework was fantastic! It was the best firework I've ever seen! San Francisco's NYE and Great America's July 4th firework cannot compete to Torino's St. Giovanni Day. The firework was more in quantity and bigger in sparks with different designs! Most importantly, they were insync with music (classical and modern). The final firework set ended with the popular "Volare, Oh Oh, Cantare, Oh Oh Oh Oh". Everyone was singing together! So cool! So many people showed up for the firework.




Afterwards, Trevor's gang needed to retire but the night was still young for Syd and I. We got together with Alberto and Paolo (Alberto's roommate) to drink some more at a bar (AlCool) near the river. I had a mojito to help me stay awake. :p Now if you have been tracking my alcohol intake, you'd notice that I've had a glass of beer, 1/2 bottle of wine, and a mixed drink. So yes, I was buzzed. Very. So was Syd. What an awesome feeling to celebrate with Torino on St. Giovanni's Day and also have the city celebrate with us on our anniversary. Che sera bellissima!

St. Giovanni a Torino - Part I

Happy Saint Giovanni's Day!

Every city in Italy has a patron saint who protects and defends its people. Italians worship and honor their city guardian on a daily basis, let alone on "his day". In Torino, that Saint is St. John the Baptist and Torinese celebrate his day on June 24th. This is one of the biggest holidays in Torino and so we get to party big. :)

The celebration began the day before with a parade of traditional costumes on Via Roma (the street with most expensive shopping stores) and continued on to the evening at Piazza Castello (come on, you should be familiar with this piazza already). We were lucky to see the parade up front and personal on Via Roma because we heard drums and trumpets from our apartment (only 1 block away). We ran down as quickly as we could with cameras in hand. Here are the results of our effort (please note that Torino's temperature has been 30C+ for the past week or so... yes, very very hot! :()


































Later in the evening (~ 9:30pm), we met up with our Mandarin-speaking Italian Friends, Simone and Giorgia, to go see the bonfire in Piazza Castello. The significance of the bonfire was to see which way the big torch falls. If it falls towards the palace, then it is good luck for the year. But if it falls the other way (towards the train station - Porta Nuova), then... well, you know. Can anyone guess which way the torch fell? The first person who emails me the correct answer will receive an autographed postcard from me and Syd. :p

After watching the bonfire, we went to Piazza Vittorio for the free pop concert. By the way, Syd and I both were speaking Italian with our friends (though I mixed a lot of English words in the conversation.) Many people were already at the piazza (11pm). We could only get to the right side of the stage but we were able to see the performers on a big TV screen. It was quite an experience to listen to different styles of Italian music. A female rock singer opened the concert with high energy. Though I couldn't understand the lyrics, I could feel her POWER! Then Mario Rozini (my favorite performer for the night), sang beautiful and romantic Jazz songs accompanied by his smooth piano playing. The Italian language is already musical... just imagine it with actual music. Jazzy music. I have to purchase Rozini's latest CD soon. Giorgia got very excited when the host announced an older gentleman (Giorgia: mi dispiace non recordo suo nome :(). His music style consists meaningful lyrics and folk-like melodies. I liked the meaning of one of the songs. It was about destiny... how a man was trying to run away from death on his horse yet still ended up meeting it in the next town.

We didn't get home until after midnight and this has became a long blog. I'll have to tell you guys the celebration on the actual holiday in the next blog instead. Stay tuned for part II.

Vespa, Vespa, Vespa!

Torino hosted 2 auto exhibits the past weekend: Vespa and you know, some 4-wheels. I was very excited to see so many Vespas in one place especially they range from the old reliable German style to the new slick Italian fashion.













Look how cool is the dashboard! Voglio una Vespa! :p I know Doug'd be just as enthusiastic as me on Vespas. We'd be jumping up and down checking out, touching, and taking photos with these savvy and free-spirited scooters. 英雄所見略同 (heroes and heroines think alike). :p


Here is my favorite Vespa from the exhibit. It's classic, sporty, and practical (comes with a spare tire).














As for the other auto exhibit? Well, it's really not in my interest but if you insist... okay, I will also post a few pictures. :p













Now I understand why Italy has so many piazzas... to host so many shows! We have been to Piazza Castello (where the Royal Palace is at) for a soccer game, a car show, a parade, a bonfire, and even saw American Indians performing music there.



I like this next photo. The little boy was standing next to a race car and kept saying, "Che bello, che bello (how beautiful, how beautiful)". His grandpa seemed wanting to take him to see other cars but the boy just stood there. Perhaps I've met the next Mario Andretti?! I've also included a photo of Italian police car since it was parked among all these historical 4-wheels.