Italy Journal
Thursday- Sunday, November 1-4, 2012
Will and Gina Rock and Roll
Gina and Will’s visit was short, but oh so sweet. They
travel a lot, so they didn’t have as much trouble with jet lag as I do.
We met them at the airport in Torino on Thursday and went
directly to the San Pe Agrigelateria!! We needed to get them in the right frame
of mind! It worked. The gelato was fantastic…maybe even better than that on the
way to the BigStore! We were glad that they had taken a later flight from Roma
to Torino so we would get them just in time for gelato!
Peter made a wonderful pasta dinner for us that first
evening that Gina and Will were here, and then…we were off to get more gelato!
Will is my gelato friend. We talked about how good another gelato would be
after that savory meal, but Will was the one who insisted that we should stop
talking and go out for gelato. Go, Will!
Friday proved to be a truly memorable day for all. A truffle
hunt with Stefano and his dog Kere made us dream of a wonderful egg dish with
truffle shavings on it for breakfast the next day, which we had, thanks to our
chef of the day Dan Wilson. He’s graduating tomorrow, and we’re so sorry to see
him leave Bra!
By evening, we were ready to share Aperichees-o with
Immobiliare Luca, his girlfriend Lisa, Daniel Chia, his mom, her husband,
Charlotte, her friend from America and Dan Wilson. We had a great time tasting
7 of Giolito’s cheeses with their paired wines. Then, we toured the cheese caves,
where the cheeses are aged, and the museum of cheese-making artifacts in the
lower floor. There’s always something new that we learn when we are at
Giolito’s.
Lisa and Luca came back to our house with us for a light
dinner, but none of us was ready for anything after all of those cheeses. Much
later, Peter finally prepared something, and some of us enjoyed a delicious
salad. As it turned out, Gina and Will were eager to talk with Immobiliare Luca
about details of buying a house in Italy! He was a wealth of information, and
he showed them some houses to buy on Sunday, just to get a feel of what they
might want. It was very helpful, but he finally suggested that they rent some
place for 6 months before they decide exactly where they want to buy. They are
just at the beginning of their discussions, and they need lots more
information.
Saturday was a roam-the-countryside day, and we visited hill
towns and vineyard enotecas. We came back in plenty of time to shop at the
farmers’ market and to prepare for Saturday Supper with 22 of our friends. That
was a treat because of the mix of people there and of course the delicious food
that everyone brought to share. A good time was had by all!!!
Brunch on Sunday was special because 2 of the students from
the University were making the meal at the Gastronomic Society building. We
enjoyed beautiful meals that day. Even the hamburgers were so Italian that the
guys commented on how healthy they tasted. Great meal!!!
The true disappointment of Gina and Will’s visit was the
walk to the gelateria on the way to the BigStore. It was CLOSED! This weekend
was a long holiday weekend due to All Saints Day on Nov. 1. We didn’t expect
the gelateria to be closed though!
We were so please after this disappointment to find that
Enzo and Lisa had returned early from their short vacation in Florence. Peter
found Enzo while he was looking for an ATM that was available, and Enzo invited
all of us to come for coffee or tea after our walk. We did and were very
pleased to introduce Will and Gina to our dear Italian friends.
Before taking off for a Malpensa Airport hotel for Gina and
Will, we visited the Banca del Vino on the campus of the University of
Gastronomic Sciences. We had an interesting tour led by another student This
(pronounced “tees”…he’s from Switzerland). He was very knowledgeable, and we
learned a lot. I refrained from tasting any of the wines because I was going to
drive Gina and Will to Malpensa afterwards. As it turned out, there was no need
for me to do that. The tour at Banca del Vino lasted longer than we thought.
Everybody was hungry then, so we went back home to leave Peter and get some
supper. It started raining hard, and Peter decided to drive all of us in the
car after all. It was nice for Will and Gina to have both of us there to wish
them buon viaggi!
We have such pleasant memories of our long weekend with Gina
and Will. We were thrilled when they planned a return visit in mid-January to
see more of the countryside and look at more real estate! We can’t wait to see
you again, Gina and Will!
Colleen
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