CIAO

My last day in Torino. A morning walk in the city center, quiet because the city forbids private cars in the city center on Sundays, in order to curb pollution... Then a final lunch with M&M and a friend of their's, an art historian, at a restaurant in the Parco Valentino along the River Po. It was warm and sunny, a beautiful day, especially after a week of rain. We walked first through the "medieval" village and castle, which was built for the 1884 international exposition in the style of 15th-century Piedmont; and then in the botantical garden. Lots of people--bikers, walkers, families; people rowing and kayaking on the river...

Lunch: The restaurant is on the river. If you look closely at the photo of the medieval castle, you can see the restaurant in the foreground, right. The meal: to start I had a tarte made with roasted-red peppers, anchovy, and cheese. (Red peppers, by the way, are called peperoni. How this name became used to describe a kind of pizza topping in the U.S. is unknown; but my menu-reading has been confused until M. explained this to me. He also informed me one cannot find "bologna"/baloney in the city of Bologna.) Then little potato gnocchi with baby squid, shrimp, and zuccini, in a Piedmont sauce made with tomato and cheese and some spices that I could not identify. Very tasty! M&M had as their starter a lovely pasta dish, made with green (spinach) and yellow (egg) pasta, that they call "straw and hay", with asparagus and a creamy but light cheese sauce. It was beautiful to behold. The cheese is a local product called Raschera, they said it was probably not availalble in the US but I would not be surprised if Fairways had it.

GRAZIE MILLE to my hosts and new friends in Italy!