After a quick shower and nap we head out for an early apperativo… at 8.30pm. This is a truely Italian dinner at the true Italian dinner time in the first of many cute narrow cobblestone streets which Italy is famous for.
We start the next morning with a traditional Italian breakfast of cappuccino brioche- which at 9am is the last acceptable time of the day to have milk in your coffee.
Our friends Lorenzo and Erica then took us for a whirlwind tour of Torino, starting with an incredible view across the city from the top of a nearby hill.
This hill was also the home of the Basilica Supergbia, a 16th century church with a dome inspired by that of St Peters in the Vatican.
Our next stop was a building they call the “slice of polenta”, the narrowest (and weirdest) building in the city. At 6 stories high it is as tall as it is long, and 5m wide at one end narrowing to only 70cm at the other.
Walking around Torino reminded me of all the things I loved about European architecture, and the lack of people (due to it being the region’s holiday period) was a fantastic break from the crowded tourist attractions of Iceland.
After a beautiful and authentic lunch (and of course wine), I will admit we did one touristy thing- taking an elevator to the top of the national museum’s tower with a 360 degree view of the city.
On the way home Lorenzo remembered Dory’s fascination with squirrels (not found in Australia) and said “I know just the place”. Within 10 meters of entering the parkland, we saw 2 squirrels playing under a tree and watched until a dog came by and chased them up the tree.
We spent the evening at a friend’s father’s 80th birthday party, which was a fantastic party full of food, wine, and the discovery that the tune for “Happy Birthday” is the same in Italian, but just with a different set of words.
Their beautiful town house up in the hills felt like we were on the movie set of a typical Italian family feast. It was lovely to be invited into their family for the night, and it felt just like the family gathering with my Italian godfamily back in Sydney.
We have a nice sleep in then a car trip to the Langhe wine region. Our lunch was at a restaurant overlooking a vineyard. It was very picturesque. Dory was mortified to see rabbit on the menu and begged everyone to not order it. Where there is lunch there is more vino! All the wines were delicioso. We finished off with a cheese platter and… more wine of course. Off to the cellar door we went for tastings and they were all so easy to drink. A few boxes of wine went into the Jeep and off we went.
Our next outing was at Lorenzo’s friends’ new house for a swim, feed and…. you guessed, more wine! Their home was so close to the city centre but it was on top of a hill overlooking rolling green hills. It was a magnificent evening and the swim was the cool off we needed after a 35C day. We said goodbye to our friend Lorenzo but just until we meet again.
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