House of Massarini

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  Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Monday, October 6, 2008

Well I'm just finishing up my first stay in an Italian city and it was fantastic. I would like to give a special thanks to Sandy Bulmer for putting me in touch with Massimo, Isabella, and the rest of the Massarini family. They were everything one could ask for from a host family: kind, generous, funny, intelligent. They knew the city inside and out and helped me experience the best that Torino has to offer. Thank you Sandy for becoming re-acquainted with your old friend and for acquainting me with a new one!

That being said, let me give an update as to what I've been doing for the past few days...

After surviving the debacle that is the Geneva train station, I started the journey into my old homeland. On the train ride to Milan (I had to go through the Milano station to get to Torino), I was grouped with three other young travelers. One was a French-German girl on her way to med-school in Bologna, another was a Canadian painter making his way back to his 'away from home' home in Florence, and the third was a young American entrepreneur heading to the Milano airport to fly back to the states. We dove into a conversation that was on par with the usual topics that one would expect from such a grouping; philosophy, psycho-anaylsis, Southpark and sexual fetishes (canadians are weird), and it was all great fun until someone had to arrive at the Milano station (us). That train ride was probably the most fun experience on my trip (up to that point). So, after getting off that train with my spirits high, I skipped through the Milano train station and got onto the wrong train to Torino.

It ended up not being a problem, however the stress it caused ended costing the equivalent of few years of my life. When I got to Torino, Isabella picked me up at the station and drove me to their gorgeous apartment in the center of Torino, and plopped me down in their small guestroom (HA!).

I spent the next few days waking up and walking around the center of Torino, which is full of piazzas, palazzas, and cafes. I went to the Egyptian Museum in Torino(which boasts the 2nd largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts, 2nd only to Cairo), the Cinema Museum (which is housed in the largest tower in Torino), and the Museum of Modern Art in Torino. At night I would dine with the family, and we had many great discussions comparing and contrasting American and Italian lifestyles. It was all great fun and interests.

Yesterday, Massimo drove me to his family's apartment in the Italian Alps, where they go every weekend to ski. The drive out there revealed some of the most magnificent images I've ever seen on snow covered mountain peaks set against clear blue skies, and Massimo also showed me some of the sites of the 2006 winter olympics, which Torino hosted. We had a multitude of conversations ranging from politics to illegal downloading; it was a great car ride.

So far I've been in Italy for six days and I've already had two 'bests': the best chocolate ever and the best ice cream ever (well it was technically gelato). Isabella and Massimo took me to what they claimed was the best gelato store in Torino; called Grom. I definitely believe them. I ordered chestnut flavor, and I was blown away by the amazing texture of the ice cream coupled with the delicate flavor of chestnut. Then they directed me towards what they claimed was the greatest chocolates in Torino (quite a remark for the city that claims to be the chocolate capital of Italy). The Massarinis sure know their stuff because the chocolate there was truly incredible.

I'm no longer with the Massarinis, for yesterday I transferred to Isabella's friend's house where I will spend one more night before heading to the coastal city of Genoa. My time with them was truly spectacular, and they are most definitely welcome in the House of Farch if they ever decide to journey to Syracuse.

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