Torino Transformed

We had a friend over for dinner last night; all three of us hypnotically watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony on TV while slurping my puttanesca. Since the Olympic Stadium is only 7 blocks away from our house, our street was blocked off as the athletes and VIP's arrived by the busload. At the end of the ceremony our building shook as the fireworks (the loudest I have ever heard) signaled the end of the ceremony and the beginning of The Games!

Saturday morning was an absolutely gorgeous day, I begged Deme to come with me downtown to see the sights. After 8 years of preparation, Torino has been transformed. Strolling through the center of town, I could not help but notice the tourists. They were everywhere, I heard Chinese, French, German, and the most English since I left Seattle; somebody pinch me!



Believe it or not, as little as four months ago this Piazza was a giant hole in the ground. Piazza San Carlo was demolished some time ago and rebuilt with a new spacious parking garage underneath. I never thought they would finish it in time but they did. In the background is the set for the TODAY show with Katie Couric and friends. See the giant camera on a crane like thing that shoots video of the crowd?


Here is a closer shot of the set of the TODAY Show, notice the policemen in the foreground. Security is out in full force with policemen around every corner.


Here I am standing behind a film crew that is filming a short piece about the Olympic sport of curling. I think I might have made it onto T.V. All around me were Americans from Tennessee, Texas and Washington State.


In Piazza Solferino is one of the Olympic Villages. A crowd was gathered to enter the Village but also there were many folks just hanging out in the Piazza enjoying the sunshine.


Here a boy tries his hand at the bobsled.


After all that walking around, we stop for lunch at a restaurant downtown. I noticed that they revamped their menu for the Olympics, it now reads in Italian, English and French. Notice the "row beef"; it's supposed to be "raw beef". Nevertheless, I love carpaccio and ordered it as an appetizer.


Stay tuned for more updates this week.

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