Ultimate Gelato

  Ottimo! gelateria in Torino is know for it's unique flavors. As I am known for the same reason, I thought I might like it. The 2 flavors I tried here were: salted chocolate with saffron and sweet cream ricotta with pine nuts. I am fully on board with the sweet and salty combo in all forms so I was delighted with these flavors. Add this to the long list of gelateria I have given you to try in Torino!

Did You Know?

  Italian women often drive their scooters wearing heels.

What Would Pay for the Colosseum?

From The Huffington Post:

  "Most travelers would say that major world monuments like the Eiffel Tower or the Duomo are priceless. But, a new Italian study shows that you can put a price tag on just about anything. The chamber of commerce of Monza and Brianza calculated a list of the brand values of major European monuments using 10 different "economical, cultural and business parameters" that included the economic value of the land, the monument's reputation, number of visitors and tourism employees, multimodal accessibility, number of foreign visits and the value of exports."

So which monuments made the list and which ones were Italian? Did you guess the Colosseum? It's the #2 most valuable at a price tag of $114,259 billion. Italy had a second list maker in the Duomo of Milan ranked #4 valued at $102,959 billion. See the whole list here. Which mounment do you think made #1?

Welcome to America Nutella!

  You know you've made it in the US when you get sued. You might have heard that American mom's sued the Nutella company for falsely advertising that the delicious chocolate hazelnut and sugar spread, is good for you. Hay, Italian kids grow up on it and Italian are considered healthy, right?!

Here is one of the US ads:


In contrast, this Italian Nutella ad is all about amore. So Italian.

Postcards From Dublin

More to come...

On Vacay Teaser

  Sorry it's been a few days but I have a good excuse. We've been staying at this little shabby country cottage in County Kildare, Ireland.

Stories and more pictures to come soon.......

Something You Don't See Everyday

 What do you do when you have so many Roman artifacts you just can't fit them all  in your giant castle museum? Just chuck them on the side of the building so they are out of the way, just like Palazzo Madama did. Where do you keep your extra Roman ruin bits and pieces?

Happy Ferragosto Everybody AND What the Hell is Ferragosto?

Today is an Italian holiday, Ferragosto.

According toWikipedia, who explains it better than me:

Ferragosto is an Italian holiday celebrated on August 15. Originally, it may have related to a celebration of the middle of the summer and the end of the hard labour in the fields.
The Catholic Church celebrates this date as a Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary the real physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorrupt body, into Heaven. Before the Roman Catholic Church came into existence, however, this holiday was celebrated in theRoman Empire to honor the gods—in particular Diana and the cycle of fertility and ripening.
The present Italian name of the holiday derives from its original Latin name, Feriae Augusti ("Festivals [Holidays] of theEmperor Augustus.
In the past it was common that businesses closed, and the entire month of August was taken as a holiday and leisure time in Italy in honor of this feast day. In present days, Ferragosto is mainly a short holiday (for the ones who are not on longer holiday) when most of Italians take brief vacations at the beach, and enjoy big meals. People celebrate on the streets in many cities of Italy.
The holiday often coincides with peak activity of the Perseid meteor shower, leaving Italians at a particular advantage to view the astral event seen best at pre-dawn hours.

When Was the Last Time You Watched...

Roman Holiday? Who even comes close to Gregory Peck today?

A Mix of Italian and American Humor

Before & After Torino: Fontana Angelica

Just Finished Reading: InterRail

  I decided to get into the sprit of this novel, about the adventures of one man's InterRailing travel, by reading it on a train. The Italian intercity no. 504 from Liguria to Torino to be exact. Every time author Alessandro Gallenzi described his travel companions as he went from place to place, I secretly looked around to see if I was riding with any similar characters.

The book starts out with a smack in the face literary as the main character Francisco gets shoved stepping off a train and falls flat on his face. Little did he know that the one person who came to his rescue (Pierre) would end up involving him in international scandals involving multiple wives, multiple countries, and multiple private detectives.

Pierre is one of those rare shady people who can pull of living a luxury lifestyle without having any money. His motto is "Intelligent animals don't pay. Noodleheads pay." Brilliant words to live by in my opinion. It's the out of control and impulsive Pierre that's the interesting character in this book. Pushover Francisco is merely the slightly boring storyteller. Think of a Nick Carraway/ Jay Gatsby type of relationship.

I won't say any more and leave the rest as a surprise but if you have ever euro-passed your way through Europe, or just wanted to, you will find this book a fun read.

Favorite quote p.42: "Everything is beautiful in this country, he thought. "I could fall in love with a lamp-post here."

Find out which city he was talking about!: InterRail by Alessandro Gallenzi 

Only in Italy

  File this under things you don't see everyday. A modern car parked in front of a medieval village.So Italian.

What's So Cool About the Euro?

  Art. That's what's cool. Each country in the European Union has designed their own 1 euro coin with an image that best represents their country. Some are guessed easily. Some you have to read to find out where it's from. It's a fun game to look at the image and to break down symbolism. Italy is pretty easy. Greece is my very favorite. The owl reminds me of Bubo the owl from Clash of the Titans.

Flavor of the Month

  The flavor of the month at Grom for August is Mango. It tastes just like eating a mango. It's not creamy. It's not sweeter. If you love eating mango you will love this flavor. If you don't, it won't change your mind. I am of the later.

Museo di Antichità

  One of the most admired museums in Torino is the Museo di Antichità. It houses artifacts from the area dating from ancient civilazations up until the Roman city. As modern Torino was built on top of a Roman fort and settlement, many fine artifacts have been uncovered over the years. Some of my favorite items are the everyday things, the pile of oil lamps, the jewlery, the cutlery, the tombstones for loved ones.

Museo di Antichità
http://museoarcheologico.piemonte.beniculturali.it/
Via XX Settembre, 88 - Torino