Super Saturday ...

Who needs endless Super Bowl hype when you're in Italy?

I spent yesterday just experiencing one great thing after another in Torino and back in Volpiano.

Here are some of the highlights:

-- Tried a hot chocolate here and it was SO thick. It was good if you are a chocolate-holic but this experience will likely lead me to cappuccino in a hurry. Then again, each place does it differently so perhaps I shouldn't give up on finding a good cup of hot chocolate yet.

-- I went with Giusi to a real Italian bakery and I must say that bread is THE food of Italians. Good bread is easy to find here because it is such a complement to every meal.

-- We ate lunch at what is also a bocci club. The food was interesting. First plate was bread (of course), butterfly-style pasta in a light tomato sauce (Note to Em: do you want butterfly pasta?) and then I had rolled chicken and vegatables (zucchini and eggplant). Finished with an orange.

-- We then drove to Torino so Giusi, who will be a volunteer at the Paraolympic Games in March in Torino, could get her ticket for this Wednesday's rehearsal for the Winter Olympics' Opening Ceremony. She gets to do this, but she promised me she will give me some insight (perhaps I'll keep a few things secret for those on this blog who don't want to have their viewing experience spoiled). Also, I bought a ticket for a Canada-Germany men's hockey game on Feb. 16. More on the significance of that purchase as the day of the game draws closer.

-- We went to the Torino Olympic store. I bought shirts for my nephews, two for me, a coffee mug and I also bought two pins. I almost wanted to buy something for the Italian team because hey, I'm partially Italian already on my mother's side and two, I feel with each passing day, I'm adding more and more Italian to my blood.

-- Saw a friend of Giusi's who has a wine vineyard and a wine store with fresh batches being made all the time. I sampled both a red and a white wine. Both were good. I was also given a complimentary bottle as a friendly gesture. I might mail it back to the U.S. ... or not.

-- Last night, we got back so Giusi could set up for a big dinner party of 10 people (that's including me and Giusi). She had four couples over for dinner and it wasn't just your normal dinner. It was a bagna cauda meal. Bagna Cauda involves the following -- it is an oil-based sauce that includes garlic, just a splash of milk and has mashed anchovies in it. The key is that they serve a lot of things to dip into the sauce. There were a lot of vegatables -- bell peppers, cauliflower leaves, celery and then the most unique, a Jerusalem artichoke -- and of course bread. I tried every different kind of vegatable in it. It wasn't bad. I've now had anchovies twice in my life (on Thursday after I arrived and then Saturday).

-- After dinner: The reason they had gathered was because this entire group and one who could not make it will be coming to the United States in August for three weeks. They are flying from Torino to San Francisco and will visit the wine country, drive down to L.A. for the Getty Museum and then trek all the way back to the East Coast, seeing a lot of sights along the way. Funniest feeling came over me as I was sitting there trying to soak up the conversation. Picture this: One American who speaks only English, in a room with nine Italians discussing a trip to the United States and the one American not truly understanding what they were saying aside from a few words. It just means I really need to pick up my Italian faster because I'm already missing out!