Fiera dei Vini

Last Saturday night we went to the Fiera dei Vini (wine fair) for dinner since it was held in the Parco della Pellerina which is just a hop, skip and a jump from our casa. When we walked in the building it smelled fantastic! There were vendors selling hot grilled sandwiches, dishes with polenta, pasta and more, crepes, all kinds of desserts and candies, and of course wine.

So many choices. I went ahead and ordered a grilled pork sandwich on a piadina which is an Italian flatbread that while thicker is much the same to me as a flour tortilla. My sandwich came with grilled red bell peppers (which are known in Italy as pepperoni - not to be confused with the salame that we Americans love on our pizza) and sauerkraut which Italians call krauti.

Zibibbo is a wine of Sicily that is one of my personal favorites. It is a strong wine that is similar to Marsala, that has been partially fermented and then distilled without the addition of spirits. The Zibibbo is made from grapes that have been partially fermented in the sun. It is an old process. So old that it comes from a formula known in the middle ages. Trust me, it is good.

After dinner, we strolled past the vendors again letting the boys choose what they wanted for dessert. Crepes were the choice.  I chose Babba al Rhum. It is a pastry that is cooked, and then soaked in a sauce made of two parts water, one part rum, and a lot of sugar.



After the Zibibbo and the Babba our defenses were down and when we walked past an amazing display of Torrone in many different flavors, we couldn’t resist. We bought one kilo of Torrone in the flavors of Limoncello, arancio, Tiramisu’, Nutella, and Pistacchio. Mamma mia!

Oh pinguino, how do I love thee?

We left Torino around 8:45 am and had parked, and deposited Delta at the doggy daycare and entered the aquarium at Genova by 11:15. The boys were very excited, but M and I were carefully guarding the secret. There were penguins on exhibit! Gabriel has loved penguins since the first grade, when his class studied penguins extensively. This boy couldn't have been more pleased to see them. We visited the aquarium at the same time as a few (noisy) classes did. They were loud, but had in their favor the fact that they were short, ha! So they were easy to overlook. (Ok, terrible pun, I know).
So what does the aquarium of Genova have to offer? A lot! First and most importantly there were the penguins, but there were also seals, dolphins, sharks, baby crocodiles, a python, turtles, many tropical fish, jellyfish, iguanas, piranhas and more that I just can't remember. We also viewed a nice 3D film "Mostri degli abissi" (Monsters of the abyss). The boys were also able to pet some skates. It seemed to be well organized with more than 30 ecosystems on display, one of which my favorites was a reconstructed madagascar forest.
The only downside was that out of respect for the animals we couldn't take flash photos except in certain areas.

Master Chef Tempts Dieter

I'm strong, but for pity's sake, how was I supposed to resist that!?

Hey, lookey!

( Photo of document has been edited to preserve personal privacy, thank you!)

I got my green card, er rather, pink card, the carta di soggiorno. That's right folks! I am almost Italian, quasi Italiana in fact. This little pink paper is nearly equivalent to what we call a green card back in the U.S. The boys and I are as close to being Italian as we can possibly be unless we go out and take our citizenship test! And after filling out the appropriate paperwork, we only had to wait for nine months. So although we were waiting for the famous (or should I say infamous?) inefficiency of Italian Bureaucracy, I really can't complain! Less than a year's wait? Great job guys!

Now, what do I do with this pretty pink paper?