Oh Mia Dio <3
Caio from the blissful mountains of Torino!
It may have been the total lack of reliable wifi, or the fact that I have been deeply distracted by the Italian lifestyle. I mean..Hello..GELATO people!! But I apologize for the M.I.A. Blog. I’m back and have have so much to tell you!
We’re going to play a little game of catch up here, I’m going to take you back to my first evening in Torino and what I’d like to call ‘First Week, First Impressions’
There are a few things you learn quickly in Italy (Torino specifically), here are just a few of them:
- Fiats rule the land – Sometimes I feel like I’m in a scene of The Italian Job or The Fast and The Furious tehe – FYI Torino was home to one of the largest automobile factories in Europe, and you guessed it. They made Fiats! (Fun Fact! The factory rooftop test track features briefly in the getaway sequence in the film The Italian Job 1969 and is now the location of a popular shopping mall populated by teeney boppers)
- To add onto that last one..The cars are extremely small and Italians are impeccable at parallel parking – They should actually win some sort of global recognition award for this one #koodos. Not to mention their garbage pick-up trucks look like little HotWheel replicas. Ask anyone! They’re so tiny!
- Onto the food you knew this one was coming 😉 – Let’s get one thing straight. Italians know how to eat and boy do they blow everyone else out of the water! I could really talk about the food for hours, but perhaps I’ll leave this for a separate post (It deserves the attention anyways). However, let me introduce you to a few of my local faves.
- Focaccia is unreal – my favourite is from a small bakery across from my school, convenience is a gift.
- Gelato is unreal – “What time is it?” “Well it’s gelato o’clock of course!”
- Espresso ahmmm Caffe is unreal – yes they are the same thing, but you sound much more Italian if you ask for a caffe #losingmytouriststatus
- PIZZA is unreal – You knew this already. Does not require an explanation.
- Okay, basically all the food is unreal and I’m not quite sure how well I’m going to cope come my arrival back in Canada. I already predict a major withdrawal. Woe is me, I’m so woe.
- I’ve also developed a strong and loving relationship here in Italy and his name is Espresso. We are happily enjoying each others company. He keeps me nice and warm on cold mornings and perks me up when I’m feeling low. We see each other often, every morning of course, in between classes, and usually after school for a brief moment.
- ^ I really hope you got that one
- Peanut Butter does not exist! This was literally a state of emergency when I first arrived. No peanut butter?! I couldn’t believe it, I was literally heart broken. We Canadian kids live off of this tantalizing spread.
- After a couple weeks in, the peanut butter Gods sent me a wonderful gift and a jar of Skippy was found at the local grocery store <span class=’wp-smiley wp-emoji wp-emoji-heart’ title='<3 My prayers were answered
- While peanut butter is definitely NOT a thing here, Wine and Chocolate are. And wowwowow do they ever do this right.
- It would be cruel to describe to you how incredibly decadent both of these things are, but hey, I’ll tell ya anyways!
- In the afternoons I usually take a trip to Eataly or the local market where you can find an abundance of yummy treats at your finger tips. Eataly is particularly home to the best selection of Torino made chocolates, which is wayyyy too hard to pass up. Giandujot is one of my absolute faves! Decadent chocolate combined with local hazelnuts and a creamy nutty taste. May I add that they’re wrapped like tiny gold blocks, so cute!
- In the markets, which you may find in nearly every neighbourhood in Torino, is a selection of fresh breads, pastries, meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, to clothing, toiletries, household cleaning products and best of all..vino. I like to visit a small stand where two young farmers sell wine on three shelves, labeled 1-3 euro, 3-6 euro and 6 euro and up. I have yet to explore the 6 and up, but I’m sure it’s just magical. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any shelf! I often close my eyes and play a game of eeny meeny miney moe. It always ends it pure deliciousness so I’ll keep that strategy for a while.
Well..my host mom just called me to dinner, so caio for now! I’ll be back with some more stories to tell and meals to share!
xo Kelly
