who's up for round 2?

Happy December, everyone. Well. I'd been putting off this post for a while, seeing as how I've already treated you all to a description of our previous trip to Italy, and also how I've been unable to string together any remotely poetic turn of phrase for a while now, but I suppose I shouldn't procrastinate any longer, given the posts I have still to write in the 3 weeks remaining before we head back to the U.S. At the rate I'm going, I will absolutely not get them all finished, and frankly, I've already forgotten food details that I was convinced I'd remember in perpetuity. These are sad, sad times. But to Italy! Again!

We were fortunate enough to return to northern Italy a mere two weeks after our previous trip there, due to Mike's being invited to speak at the View Conference in Torino again. As per tradition, while he's giving talks and workshops, I roam the streets in search of photographic opportunities and chocolate (solid chocolate was invented in Torino! wooo!). They also have one of Europe's largest outdoor markets there, which is always worth a visit, especially to hear the fruit and veg vendors hollering about their prices and to see the gorgeous meats, cheeses, and breads. There's a little coffee shop in the meat/cheese hall that has tremendous espresso, and the guy behind the counter is just so nice. I always stop at the candy counter to pick up some goodies for my family, and for six years running, I've bought from the same lady. I think these are the reasons I love Torino: beautiful city, good food, nice people, and lots of familiarity.

There are lots of villas and palazzos in Turin: an open door usually leads to some sort of amazing courtyard.

Piazza San Carlo, one of the two central piazzas.

Another courtyard.

Piazza della Citta. Always has some sort of something stretched across it.

My favorite part of town. Narrow little streets with all kinds of fantastic little stores and good food.

This year is the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy: all kinds of exhibits and little celebratory touches, everywhere we go. 

Random lovely church. Have I mentioned before that I love the new wide-angle lens?

Duomo di San Giovanni, also known as the home of the Shroud of Turin, of which only a copy is on display. (Sorry, suckers. Apparently, we missed the real one in 2010.)

Piazza Castello, the main main square in Turin.

Back of Palazzo  Carignano (building started in 1679).

And its front. There is some seriously amazing brick work in this city.

After Mike's conference is finished, the director and her husband take the conference speakers and various luminaries on a field trip up into Piemonte wine country, which, as we all know, is ridiculously picturesque and full of gastronomic delights. This year, we visited a new winery, Fontanafredda; had lunch at Gemma's (of course! hooray!); and closed the day with a stroll around Alba.

Cask room 1 at Fontanafredda. We thought it was gorgeous until we saw the cellar cask room.

Cellar cask room. SO fantastic.

Love the brick arches!

Lunch at Gemma's: THAT'S A LOT OF TRUFFLE. For reference, when we bought ours in Alba, we had roughly one fifth this amount. For 11 people. And it wasn't cheap.

Mike on the roof at Gemma's.

House across the road from Gemma's. As we were leaving lunch, a little old man came out with his truffle hunting dogs (not kidding!) and invited a bunch of us in to see his truffle hunting photos. He spoke only Italian, was super nice to us, and gave the group a bottle of white wine. AMAZING.

And finally, back to Alba. Having been here only a few weeks prior, we made a mad dash to a wine store to pick up a barolo for a friend, accompanied by a man whom we later learned had won Oscars (multiple!) for his work in sound editing. Turns out, several people we'd been casually chatting with all day had won Oscars and/or had worked on such indie films as Apocalypse Now, the good Star Wars movies, Forest Gump, The Incredibles, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Twister, the Harry Potter movies, and a few others you may have heard of. Our little group also included video game and 3D animation pioneers and superstars, as well as a super interesting and nice guy who helps design the movie portions of theme parks around the world; a guy who creates and performs in giant interactive creature costumes; several Pixar artists and directors; and just a whole bunch of truly interesting, down-to-earth-but-talented-and-influential people. How we keep ending up in these kinds of groups, I don't know, but I'll take it.

Other things we've done recently: had an amazing, fantastic dinner for our friend Dave's birthday at what is reported to be the best restaurant in Zürich, Restaurant Spice. My first Michelin-starred restaurant, and BOY, was it a good time. Dave's girlfriend Jen managed to book the chef's table, so we ate in a little room just off the kitchen, and had maybe the best service ever. We went with the six-course surprise menu, which is always a good choice, but also always turns out to be more like eight or ten, including amuse bouches and multiple desserts. No one went home hungry. The lighting was weird, and I had only my phone as a camera, but nonetheless...a few highlights:

The frothy concoction in the glass on the left is this red curry soup that I could seriously eat every day. The other dish is quail over lentils. YUM.

The best truffle dish I've ever had: cheese-filled ravioli topped with truffle shavings and truffle foam. Yes, please. I firmly believe that white truffles are grossly overrated, but this was good.

Maybe my favorite dish of the night: venison with 4 types of pumpkin. Truly delicious.

The main dessert: chocolate and raspberry with toffee accents. (There were also petit fours and truffles following this. LOTS OF GOODNESS.)

There was also expovina, a multiple-week event in which they park six or so ferries and other small-ish boats at the north end of the lake and fill them with wine vendors and importers from all over Switzerland. Then you pay 20 francs and taste wines until they close. This is the cheapest entertainment we've had, to date, in this country, and we actually discovered some really nice new wines! (Spain...we thought your riojas were overrated, but we were wrong. We apologize.)

Interior of wine boat: somehow, they set up heaps and heaps of temporary bars inside the boats.

Boats at Bürkliplatz, daytime.

Boats at Bürkliplatz, night time.

So festive! So cold outside! Good thing they were serving cheese pies and bratwurst outside.

And then there was 11/11/11, the supposed international day of protest. Here was Zürich's contribution.

Occupy Paradeplatz! Staffed primarily by hippies playing bongos to--oddly enough--techno music. Ahhh, Europe.

Various bizarre marching bands throughout the city. This one was in the main train station. I would insert a video of them playing "Walking on Sunshine," by Katrina and the Waves, but it was just too loud, so the sound quality is no good. Sadly. Not really your traditional protest song, but whatever.

What I'm reading: Finished up David Crockett: Lion of the West, by Michael Wallis. Turns out, Davy Crockett (he didn't really like to be called Davy, though...) had a fantastically interesting life, and would have been a truly interesting person to have dinner with. I really enjoyed this book because while it's long, it's also a really fascinating and detailed portrait of an American icon about whom the majority of us know very little. Now I'm back to my pirates, or at least thought I was, with Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean, by Edward Kritzler. I will say, thus far, I'm fairly disappointed in how little pirating is going on in this book, but it is a fairly intricate recounting of the Jewish diaspora throughout Europe and the New World during the years of the Spanish Inquisition. It has truly riveting moments, but for the most part, Mr. Kritzler's writing style is as dry as a salted rock in Death Valley. Which is to say, dry. I've contemplated quitting on this one a few times, but I feel like I should stick it out, at this point, because I'm probably almost finished. (It's hard to tell with these Kindle books, 'cause the nonfiction ones usually have at least the last quarter dedicated to end notes and bibliographies. Who knows how long it actually is...?)

And now, a new segment entitled "My Favorite Things." Maria had her bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, and I'll have this list of people, songs, restaurants, books, websites, or whatever I else strikes my fancy at the moment. Today, it's Jason Bateman. Mike was watching a little Arrested Development the other day, and while the entire ensemble of that show was just flawless, I was reminded of how much I truly adore Jason Bateman. The guy is hilarious and can say anything with a straight face. I'm always delighted when he pops up in a cameo, or in a truly ridiculous role, as in Dodgeball. Thank you, Mr. Bateman, for the hours--nay, years--of hilarity you've brought to us all.

Next up: PARIS. My triumphant return, after 11 years, to the City of Lights. It was way different from last time, and thank goodness.