Campidoglio Turin

... Not a cane in sight in this house.

We waste no time getting to the point, we're both hungry, so we sit down to lunch, and Carlo assumes his usual role as translator.

"I feel sorry for the rest of the world" his dad says, shaking his head "because nobody eats as we do, here in this house." he continues, pointing at the table for emphasis.

As my friend Elyse says "no one in the world is as sure as the Italians, that their food is the best. You simply can not tell ...

... still live with your parents. You can look all you want, and you can touch if you're careful, but there's no way you're taking her home.

I'm a creature of habit, when given the chance, and I've developed a bit of a daily routine. I'm now recognized by my regular vendors and greeted with a smile and a "hello!". I buy a loaf of ciabatta and a brioche from the Romanian woman, who is careful to always choose the biggest loaf for me. I get sliced meats ...

... of my cooking, thanking me everyday. As we talk now it feels as if we've known each other for ages.

After a coffee and a shower at his place it's time for dinner.
"What do you want to eat? Pizza?"
"Whatever's going"
We join his friend Tanya and go to eat the best pizza of the city.

It seems so simple, why can't we get it right back home? The crust is thin, but not too crispy, light and fluffy, but not doughy; topped with ...

... 3D pictures, which had photos from all over the world.  Then there were the incredible themed rooms (think Campo grad nite, times about 20) that had loops of clips of different films...the large film clip screening area with fully reclined seats and wrap-around headrests with built in speakers... the enormous collection of movie posters... the area about the history of Italian movies/TV.  It's funny that such a medium-large industrial town has had ...

... le salle de western. Il y avais un bar avec tous les tables et chaises frénétiquement et des bouteilles brisé avec du liquide coule dehors d'ils. Après nous sommes partis, nous sommes allés au place où il y avais un marché du chocolat. J'espère que j'aurais mangé quelque chose. Il était un jour très occupés alors quand le temps je suis retournée chez moi, j'étais épuisée.

... they left for McDonald's. I met with Ricca at about 7pm but Mom and Janet were gone. Ricca and I went around to look for them. Later they returned to the plaza. After that we had a long meal in Shanghai Restaurant with Ricca's papa and his gf. They don't speak Cantonese. Food came really slowly and they weren't authentic.

Ricca ...

... all I
saw was sugar, cacao and hazelnut. Seems like any chocolate in
Turin would have hazelnuts in there. This is what they're famous
for, hazelnut chocolates.
A side note about coffee: We had cappuccino in another cafe and then we took a bus
and went home. Cappuccino definitely tasted better than those in America.
The froth is so ...

... of credit hours so I am in school all day almost everyday. I am taking Intensive Italian and the history of modern architecture. I have class from 9:30 to 4:30 with a half hour break for lunch. The Italian class isn't bad, but my architecture class is borderline hell. Its is soooo long and the teachers english isn't that great. To top it off there is only three of us in the class, so it is pretty impossible to go unnoticed when you fall asleep ...

... need one. Every day as I was taking the bus or tram or train into the city, at rush hour I could see the rich people with their shiny expensive cars, waiting forever at traffic lights while the public transport zoomed by... and unlike most places public transport in Switzerland is actually a pleasant experience because everything is so unbelievably clean and nice...



Madlaina Bezzola (my host mother) is from St. Moritz, Graubuenden, Switzerland, but moved to Zurich ...