Torino after the Olympics

I have never lived in a Olympic city, but as I toured downtown yesterday I really enjoyed how Torino has cleaned up, opened up to our guests and shook itself free from the “woe is me, FIAT is dying” mentality. Now that the Winter Games have ended, what will become of all the banners, art installations, lights, information kiosks, extra payphones, extra garbage cans and friendly faces trying to speak English? Piemonte is landlocked but not far from the Ligurian Sea, we are surrounded my mountains, The Alps and the Appennines, so in actuality we are quite isolated. I hope that with all the good publicity we have received because of the Olympics, more and more people will be attracted to visiting this region of Italy. I hope the Torinese people have had their curiosity peaked by all the tourists and that they retain that curiosity. I hope the warm feeling I now feel for Torino having been my home for almost a year, never fades from my memory.

Over the past twelve months in Torino, we have hosted 6 pairs of guests, which include my aunt and uncle from Norway, my niece and nephew, ex-pats, and friends from other parts of Italy. I have become somewhat of an expert in Torino but I better not quit my day job giving English lessons.

Here are a few things I have learned about this city/region:

1. Torino is home to the Shroud of Turin.

2. The grand outdoor market, Porta Palazzo is one of the largest in Europe and very ethnically diverse. On special Sundays, this market has a much sought after antiques for sale.

3. We are a culinary powerhouse with:

-world famous wines

-famous meat

-TRUFFLES!

-great chocolate

-great coffee

-wonderful regional specialties like bollito misto, tajarin, veal tartar, bunet, bagna cauda, agnoloti del plin, grissini and many, many more.

-Torino has a great museums and art galleries.

-The porticos of Torino are famous. They were first built to protect the nobles of Torino from rain, so they could walk and shop under cover. Now the miles and miles of portici or covered sidewalks are a great way to see the city. I think only Bologna rivals Torino in kilometers of portici.

On another note: Next month, from 10-19 March 2006, Torino will host the Paralympic Games!

All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

More Medal winners from Torino. Note: I sincerely fogot to
mention that these photos are from the camera of Stefani.
She and her husband stayed with me for three days and two
nights. I was so happy to hear that her idol, Apolo Ono won
the Gold! Now that is what I call a great Olympic experience.

Olympic Medal Winners

Medals Ceremony after short track speed skating.

Washingtonian Apolo Ono wins the Gold Medal in men's short track speed skating. I did not go to the event but my guests did and they brought me this souvenir. They also brought me American magazines, Almond Roca, Cream of Mushroom soup, molassas, corn syrup and some canned lychees. Now I am stocked up for life.

The Games Come to a Close

Some friends arrived in town yesterday and the first thing we did was go to a bar for coffee and Torino's famous chocolate drinks, like marrochino and bicerin. We then headed to dinner and saved the majority of the site seeing for Saturday.
Here, the weekend Today Show interviews James Suckling, from Wine Spectator about the famous wines of Piemonte. Spectators gasped and booed when at the end of the show, assistants poured out the unfinished wine in the glasses.
They tasted Dolcetto, Barolo, Barbera, and Barbaresco. The crowd really went wild when they found out one of the wines retailed for $500.00 a bottle!After the wine tasting, we saw an interview with the Hughes sisters, Emily Hughes, a junior in highschool replaced Michelle Kwan, who dropped out with a groin injury. Sarah Hughes, won gold at the Salt Lake Games in 2002.
Here are Barbara Fusar-Poli and her partner, Maurizio Margaglio. They won Italy's first ever Olympic figure skating medal -- a bronze -- at the Salt Lake Games. After three years off, they came out of retirement to compete at their home Games in Italy and won the gold in Ice Dancing in the Compulsory Dance category.
Here is local hero and hottie Enrico Fabris. He won gold 1500m men's speed skating event. Not a great photo, as I was being pushed and shoved quite violently.
No this man is not selling pins, he is looking to add to his collection. Men, women, young and old were seen displaying their Olympic pin collections all over the center of Torino. They are mainly looking to trade pins with other collectors. This man came all the way from Calgary, to widen his collection.
Just look at his collection.
These are the gold, silver and bronze medals being given out these Games.
The Olympic Torch will be extinguished tomorrow at the closing ceremonies, scheduled to begin at 20:00 CET (19:00 UTC) at the Stadio Olimpico, just blocks from my house. At the end of the ceremony, the president of the International Olympic Committee will announce: "I declare the Games of the ... Olympiad closed and, in accordance with tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now at ... to celebrate with us there the Games of the ... Olympiad". Not to fear, in two years the Olympic Summer Games will be held on August 24, 2008 in Beijing.Check out the ticket prices here.
All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

No Language Barrier Here

I went to a Chinese restaurant with Laura for lunch today. Why did I go? I've complained about the food to friends and family but when it's convenient, cheap and quick, I can't do too much squealing. This time though I thought I do a bit of documentation.

While we were waiting for our food to arrive, the hostess comes over to our table and asks me if I am Chinese. I tell her "yes." She then asks me if I speak Chinese, I tell her "yes" but quickly interject that I speak Cantonese. I try to chat with her but there is a definite language barrier. She tried to understand me and repeats, in Cantonese, a few of the things I say like: "Oh, you speak Cantonese."

After the introduction we begin to talk about the differences between Cantonese food and other Chinese cuisines, except this time we are speaking in Italian. She asks me where I am from, about my parents, my siblings and my life in Italy. Then she started counting from one to ten in Cantonese, I obliged her and counted from one to ten in Mandarin. By the end of the meal, the language barrier was gone. Italian ruled over both Mandarin and Cantonese. I never thought the day would come in which for me Italian would be the bridge between two Chinese people. What an interesting day.

Here are some typical Chinese dishes, in Italy that is.



The spring rolls or involtini primavera were fried rolls with mostly cabbage, shredded carrots and a bit of either minced pork or chicken inside. They were quite large, thick and folded into a rectangular pillowish shape. I cut mine in half to let them cool, then ate them with sweet and sour sauce or salsa agrodolce.

This is hot and sour soup. It looked a bit dark and contained the following, wood ears, tofu, bamboo shoots, preserved Chinese cabbage aka zanzai, minced pork, and mushrooms.

Cantonese fried rice, with peas, diced ham and egg.

Mung bean threads aka spaghetti di soia, sauteed with red peppers in a spicy sauce.


All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

Guess Who I Saw Today? Hint: He's from TODAY!

As I was wandering around Porta Palazzo today in search of walnuts, THIS man caught my eye. Mainly because he had a camera pointed in his face and he was speaking English. May I present Mr. Al Roker.


Here I yell out "Hi Al" and he does not answer me but looks my way. His assistant tells me, "He's not being rude, he's on the phone." I did indeed see an earpiece sticking out of one ear.


Another shot of Al as he looks at all the wonderful stalls of fruits and vegetables all around him.


The NBC show set up a little media center in the middle of the market. With all the lights and wires, they were hard to miss.


All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

The Shroud of Turin

Before I moved from Seattle to Torino/Turin, Demetrio tried to get me psyched about living here by reminding me that Torino was going to host the 2006 Winter Olympics. Other than that I really knew nothing about Piemonte or Torino except for the famed Shroud of Turin.

I knew it was a famous religious object/relic that is thought to have been the cloth Jesus was wrapped in after his crucifixion. I have walked in front of the church that housed The Shroud but never went inside; this week I did. The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist/Duomo di San Giovanni Battista has had possession of The Shroud since 1578, and is located next to some Roman ruins in Torino between the Palazzo Reale (a palace of the Savoy Family) and the quadrilatero (a chic and hip part of Torino, famous for bars and restaurants) I did not get to see The Shroud but a shrunken photographic replica. The real McCoy is kept in an airtight enclosure between two glass panels, with sophisticated computer systems that regulate the temperature and humidity.

The Shroud was owned by the Savoy Family and was given to the Catholic Church by the House of Savoy in 1983. In 1988, the Vatican allowed the shroud to be dated by three independent sources--Oxford University, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology--and each of them dated the cloth as originating in medieval times, (1260-1390). With this bit of evidence, many skeptics think The Shroud is a hoax and not the burial cloth of Christ.

On April 11, 1997, almost exactly one year before The Shroud was to be displayed; there was a fire that gutted the cathedral. The Shroud was unscathed and returned home just four days before going on display on April 19, 1998. This was only the fourth open exhibition of the controversial holy relic in this century, other rare showings were held in 1931, 1933 and 1978. The most recent public exhibition of the Shroud was in 2000. The Shroud is only publicly displayed every 25 years; the next scheduled exhibition is in 2025. Road trip anyone?

I did some research on The Shroud and found its history fascinating. There are many unanswered questions about the image on The Shroud, its age, the red stains on it that some say is paint and others blood, look it up and find out the truth for yourself.


The image on The Shroud.


The Shrouds current resting place.


All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

Caught red handed. What is one to do with these 42, almost 43 year olds who still love to play racing games?

My Mom’s Cantonese Fried Rice

Although I love Chinese food, I must say that there is a fair amount of chopping, dicing and slicing that goes on. Since we don’t use knives at the dinner table, I guess this is just a practical thing. Chicken is chopped into bite sized pieces; so are crab, pork and duck. If you have ever been to a Chinatown and purchased roast duck or BBQ roast pork, you will see the meat is cut up for you before you take it home.

How does one eat rice with chopsticks? It is easier than you think. With sticky rice, usually used for dessert and for special dishes like sticky rice in lotus leaves, the rice is so moist that you can pick up tiny “portions” with ease. With medium to long grain rice it’s a bit harder to pick up but there is a simple solution. You pick up your rice bowl and gently shovel the rice into your mouth with your chopsticks, all without making too much noise.

I did a quick search for Cantonese fried rice on the internet and found a lot of variety. Traditionally fried rice is a peasants dish made from old leftovers. This is the way my mom always made it and as her little helper, I make it but always give her credit. Mom I miss the “real” thing made by you!

Cantonese Fried Rice
Serves 4

4 C. day old rice, fresh rice is too moist and tends to stick a bit more (I usually use 1 C. of cooked rice per person)
1 sm. diced onion
½ to 2/3 C. of diced carrots and thawed peas or fresh peas lightly blanched (dice the carrots so they are approximately the same size as the peas)
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 eggs, beaten
1-1 ½ C. meat/shrimp/tofu (this can be diced BBQ pork, Chinese sausage, diced ham, diced pork, beef, small to medium cooked shrimp or tofu)
sesame oil
chili oil or chili flakes (optional)
chopped green onions
chopped cilantro
S + P
soy sauce
canola or sunflower/safflower oil

1. Take cooked rice and break apart if there are clumps, set aside.

2. Heat wok, or large skillet (you may have to do this in batches if you do not have a wok). Add oil until wok surface is coated well, swirl wok to achieve this. Add onions, sauté until translucent, then add carrots, peas, garlic and chili flakes. Sauté until just about done, then remove and set aside.

3. Add more oil to the wok and swirl, when it is hot enough (you will see tiny wisps of smoke), add the rice. Sauté constantly until dry and separated (up to 5 mins). With freshly made rice this may take a while (up to 10 mins), do not stop stirring as rice will burn. (It is okay to brown the rice a bit but this is not the time to take a phone call. My arm used to get a bit sore doing this as a kid.)

4. When the rice is ready, make a well in the middle of the rice, add a few drops of oil, then the eggs. Stir the eggs in the well to cook, when almost done, combine with the rice. Continue stirring until all the rice is coated with egg. Add salt and pepper, the veggies and the cooked meats.

5. After all the ingredients have been combined, add the green onion and cilantro. Taste for salt, add more salt or soy sauce, add sesame oil, chili oil and serve.

For a Vietnamese twist: ladle the fried rice into iceberg lettuce cups, drizzle with nuoc nam, and serve.




All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

Torino During The Games Part 2

Cyndi and her mom were loads of fun. We filled our days with seeing the sites and documenting Torino during The Games. Here are a few observations:


Security was tight. As we entered on of the Villages, the Sponser Village, we were basically frisked. Cell phones and digital cameras had to be proven operational. I was asked to turn my camera on and off. There were police cars/vans/trucks all over the city, some filled with riot gear. Luckily we did not see any disturbances. On another note: most policemen stood around smoking and chatting with their neighbors which was nice to see.


Neve and Glitz are the official mascots of these Games. Neve means snow in Italian and Glitz is just a name. Everybody loves them!


Here Neve and Glitz are being followed by a crowd of children who were just drying to get their photo taken with the tall, fluffy, characters. Does the Pied Piper come into mind?


Piazza Solferino was filled to the brim with tourists from all over. Detroit, Texas, Minneapolis, Indiana (oh yeah, that was Cyndi and her mom), Russia, etc... There were even official "pin" vendors that sold Olympic pins. Apparently they are a hot item to collect and place on hats, scarves and jackets.


This is Piazza Castello, the castle in the middle of Torino. A stadium has been put up in front of the castle and this is where the Medals Plaza is. There are concerts at night and a firework show after the medals are given out. One of the days it was quite foggy and cold but the next day was sunny and still cold.


One afternoon, as we strolled downtown we heard some live music coming from the stadium. Duran Duran were practicing some of their new songs but when "Rio" started playing, I could not help but sing along. I remember them from 8th grade.
More security but these guys were cute.
With all the tourists in town the cleaning crew has been at work full time. The sidewalks of Torino are spotless. Not many cigarette butts, dog poop, or litter of any kind gets a chance to accumulate, it is swept away as soon as it is dropped. This man told me he sweeps up Via Po, a grand street, 4-5 times a day.
At the end of Piazza Vittorio, on the way to the Gran Madre (a church), is the giant Olympic superstore. We looked at ear warmers, jackets, t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, you could even buy a perfume called "Victory" and it actually smelled good.
The strangest item for sale, in my opinion. On Olympic head band/ear warmer complete with blonde or black braids.
In the giant Mall just a few minutes outside of Torino, there was a giant sand sculpture. I was told this sculpture took a Japanese firm 20 days to complete. The details are simply breathtaking.
Check out the details, wow!
In many piazzas, special Christmas light displays were installed for the holiday season. With the Olympics coming to Torino, the displays were not taken down. They were left up to dress up the city a bit more and this one is my favorite, in the Piazza della Citta.

Winter Sports

Growing up on Guam, I did not have any chances whatsoever to engage in any winter sports. Can you blame me?Skiing, count me out! Spear fishing, count me in!Snow shoeing, count me out! Skin diving, count me in!Snowboarding, count me out! Knee boarding/wake boarding, count me in!

Wow, my legs are sure sore! Look at the size of my thighs.


I can see all of the Alps from up here!

All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

Olympic Torches

Living in Torino and having the Olympics here, you would think I would be more interested in posting about the events surrounding The Games. Thanks to Cyndi and her mom, I got the opportunity to get out, show them around and see a few sites of my own. At one of the Olympic Villages, there was a display of past Olympic torches. I wish I had a photo of the torch being carried to Torino but I just missed the photo-op by 10 seconds.

Here are a few “Must Have” Olympic Torch trivia facts (in no particular order):

1. The tradition of the Olympic flame began during the ancient Olympic Games, over 2700 years ago in Greece.

2. The ATHENS 2004 Olympic Torch Relay was the first global journey of the Flame. The torch reached five continents.

3. The first Olympic torch relay was at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games. The flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, just as it had been centuries before. Then it was carried to Berlin, Germany, for the start of the Olympics.

4. The torch relay was not introduced to the Winter Olympics until the 1952 Games. It was lit that year not in Olympia, Greece, but in Norway, which was chosen because it was the birthplace of skiing.

5. Since the 1964 Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria, every Olympic Games -- Winter and Summer -- has begun with a torch-lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, followed by a torch relay to the Olympic stadium.



The path of the Olympic Torch through Italy.


Torino 2006


Athens 2004


Barcelona-1992

Rome 1960


Cortina 1956

All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

Ode to Cat-My Valentine's Day Post

-Even when you beg for milk after I’ve given you a helping, I can't deny you.

-Even when your hair, fine and white, sticks to every single article of dark colored clothing I have, I still want to hold you.

-Those giant fangs of yours scrape against me as you rub your face affectionately over my hands and cheek, but I will always encourage you.

-Your kibble is scattered all over my desk, since you insist of pulling bits of it out of the bowl before eating them, nonetheless, I am very handy with the vacuum cleaner.

-You take over my pillow at night, purr like a chainsaw into my ear, tickle me with your long, stiff whiskers and get between my Luvie and I, in spite of everything, I have not the heart to put you out.

-You ask that your food be warmed, stirred and dressed with a few drops of fresh bottled water, it’s a small price to pay, three times a day, to see you still eating a drinking like you used to.

-When you’re adamant about lying over half of my computer so I am forced to type emails with one finger, I can’t be cross with a cat who wants to keep me company as I work now can I?



A face that everyone can love.


Not so good for typing e-mails, great for taking a break and realizing e-mails can wait.

All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

Polpette aka Meatballs

If you want to sound really American (nothing wrong with this) then try ordering spaghetti and meatballs at an Italian restaurant in Italy. Most likely they will tell you, it does not exist or they have never heard of it. Spaghetti and meatballs I’m afraid, are not eaten together in Italy. Meatballs are usually eaten as a second course all by themselves.

I stopped into my local butcher and saw that they had ground meat, seasoned and ready to be made into meatballs. After inquiring into what kind of meat it was, they informed me it was veal. Beef is also used as well as ground pork and ground sausage. The percentage of each kind of meat varies from kitchen to kitchen; this is what my resident Italian told me, with his encouragement I set out to give meatballs a try. The end result was a savory, moist and very tender meatball. My meatballs were a hit with the hubby. He said they were moist, very tender and flavorful. Not bad at all for my first attempt. I loved them enough to have them for breakfast the next morning.


My first attempt at meatballs.


Polpette aka Meatballs
makes 12-16 meatballs

1 pound of ground veal, or a mix of beef, veal, and/or pork
2 T. finely chopped, onion
1 T. finely chopped carrot and celery
1 pressed garlic clove
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 eggs
Bread crumbs or day old bread soaked in a bit of milk to moisten
dash of red pepper
dash of oregano
bit of chopped parsley
bit of Parmigiano, about 2-3 T.
tomato sauce


1. Sauté the onion, celery and carrot in olive oil until translucent and soft, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Set aside to cool.

2. To the meat mixture, add the cooled veggies, 1 egg, parsley, spices and seasonings, cheese and bread crumbs/bread. I did not measure the bread crumbs but estimate I added about ¼ C. The meat mixture should be moist and pliable with no clumps.

3. I usually test meat mixtures (won ton, etc…) for seasoning by frying up a small bit and tasting it for spices and salt. If necessary, add another egg and more bread crumbs or cheese. After the tasting, roll the meat mixture into meatballs, a bit smaller than a golf ball and sauté in olive oil until browned on all sides.

4. Place the browned meatballs in a sauce pan that just holds all the meatballs. Add enough tomato sauce to barely cover the meatballs, season the sauce with oregano, salt, pepper and stew the meatballs for 1.5 hours. Enjoy!


All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.

Carnival and Bugie

While walking home last week I noticed star shaped paper confetti all over the sidewalks near our building. “Someone must have had a party,” I think. I soon find out that all of Italy as well as many Catholic countries are “partying” for Carnival. I knew of Carnival in Brazil but did not know much else about it. The good ole internet is such a great tool when it comes to researching. Here is what I found:

The Carnival Season is a holiday period during the two weeks before the traditional Christian fast of Lent. What is Lent? It is a 40-day period of fasting and sacrifice right before Easter. What is Easter? An important Christian holiday that celebrates when Jesus was resurrected after his crucifixion. When is Easter? This year is it on April 16th. How Easter is calculated is complicated and involves the full moon, vernal equinox and the Gregorian calendar.

In February, Italians get ready for the Carnival. The most famous one is in Venice, which usually takes place between February 9 and 16. I have always loved the Carnival masks of Venice; they frighten yet intrigue me. After approximately two to three weeks of fun, the celebration of Carnival ends on "Mardi Gras" (French for "Fat Tuesday). Think New Orleans and trumpets.

In many parts of Italy, special treats are made for Carnival. My favorite is bugie, (pronounced boo-gee-eh) not budgie like the parakeet: this flat, crisp elephant ear dusted with a bit of sugar. Yummy.




All contents copyright 2004-2006.
All rights reserved.