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Training Future Firefighters
On Piazza San Carlo during the Independence Day (old VE day) festival local firefighters show children ow its done We have been busy trying to transition out of the hotel (as nice as it is) to finally moving into our apartment. That has turned out to be a little bumpy but not too bad. I'll explain in a little while but first, as I promised, the Shrimp Boil party!
Its been almost three weeks now since we got here officially and on the first Saturday we were invited to the home of one of the Lockheed Martin leaders here in Torino. He and his family have been here for two years already and they decided to reside in a more suburban setting. The town is called Pino Torinese and it is located east , northeast of Torino central beyond the east bank of the Po River. Torino sits on very flat terrain west of the Po but just to the east the topography gets hilly quickly as we found out. As I explained in my last post driving in Italy was not yet second nature to us. We had, and still have, our share of new episodes pretty much every time we get behind the wheel here. Last time I mentioned the general character of Italian drivers (generalized I know
i430 Engine
I have no idea of the cc displacement but it sounded amazing but it seems to be pretty common), now add steep windy roads to the picture and it gets more interesting with each Km traveled. Of course, being from Texas, this LockMart family has to live on a sort of mesa at the peak of a pretty tall mountain (think Catskills or Berkshires here for comparison, not Alps but for Floridians... well you get the picture). Needless to say the 1.6 L diesel got a workout getting there and I pissed off many Italian drivers getting there. I expected scooters and MCs to pass me on the twisties but mini-vans (Fiat Multipla) with grandmas at the wheel that I was not expecting. I guess I was being overly cautious since I didn't know how many tickets I had already racked up from the traffic cameras in the city. We finally got to the house (on a gravel road - thank goodness it was a one way loop - made heading back much easier). I wish I had taken pictures but I forgot the camera. Great views of other mountains and the villias on them. When we pulled up we could smell the sausage grillin and the shrimp boilin. One of the
other LM guys is from Louisiana and he was the master cook for the event. Lots of good food, Shrimp, Andouille sausage, potatoes, mushrooms, corn on the cob, lots and lots of bread and local cheeses plus Chianti, Dolchetta and Barbera wines. Really felt welcome and relaxed. There were several Italian neighbors and co-workers there as well and they happy too. Most did not like the shrimp too picante (spicy) but all in all it was a great time. We got there at 1730 and left at about 2230. Made some good friends got lots of good advice and guidance on living in Italy too.
Debra spent a lot of the next week in Roma and so I busied myself just wandering around Torino. My youngest son, Joe was with me for a while so that was good. I will up load pictures of some of the stuff we saw. One of the best things we did was to get a couple of year subscriptions to Bike. It allows you to use 8 speed bikes located at stations all over the city to get from place to place. The year subscription cost 25 euro. You check one out and if
you check it back in (at any location city-wide) within 30 minutes its no additional charge. If you use that bike over 30 minutes it starts to accrue credits at 1 euro per 30 minute slice. We have been using them a lot and have never had a problem finding a station on our way to a destination that took anywhere near 30 minutes. Its a great time saver and a way to get a little exercise too.
All this time we had been waiting for 1 June to come because we knew that we could occupy the apartment on that date. Finally, we could stop eating out all the time, stop having to answer the door for the maid service or turn down service or the guy checking the mini-bar. After almost 3 weeks of living in the same hotel room we were ready. On 1 June we got the news. Yes we could move in but the gas service (which heats the water and provides for cooking on range top) could not be turned on until 13 June. So our hopes were dashed a bit but all is not lost. I will take the time to paint most
Local Graffiti
This is near the local DIY (Bricolage) center. I found it very interesting of the place replacing the sort of hideous yellow with a color that we like much better. Since the "bad news" we have also started to buy and order other stuff we need. Small washer/dryer (we will still hang clothes), TVs, vacuum, coffee make, espresso/cappuccino machine, light fixtures, mirrors, and all sorts of other stuff. Earlier this week our first shipment arrived and all was in perfect shape, no damages. The first of my 2 bikes made it and I assembled it anxiously waiting for the rain to stop ( its been rainy for 5 days now) so I can get out and explore beyond the reach of the rented city bike. Hopefully soon on that.
This week I will paint, assemble some of the IKEA furniture we purchased, hang a few light fixtures and mirrors, and order Internet service.
So, now that we are somewhat up to date I will say buona sera until later.
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Tracy
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Into June
So glad to hear that your bikes arrived safely. I know that was a concern. Glad to hear you are getting into your apartment too. Today is the 13th, so hopefully you will have hot water and gas by today! Love all the pics you are posting. It looks beautiful.