Blogs from Piedmont, Italy, Europe - page 12

September 25, 26 and 27 We enjoyed dinner at El Moli out on the patio. Maria's meals are good, basic Spanish (Catalonian) food. We had a tomato and onion salad, bread, chicken soup, fried fish and potatoes and chocolate flan. We slept well and enjoyed the absence of any barking dogs in the night. Breakfast was a wonderful spread that included chocolate croissants, figs, apples, fresh squeezed orange juice, eggs, cheeses and meats and various homemade jams on toasted bread. Maria came and visited with us and told us that she wanted to give us the night and dinner and breakfast as her gift to us! We were surprised by such a generous gift, but she said this way she will be more comfortable asking to come and stay with us in Oregon. We hope she ... read more

We went to watch the US and Canadian First Nation teams play and to watch the semi-finals for our grade (we will play-off for seventh or eighth tomorrow). But in typical Italian style they had changed the formats and the semis and the medal games were all being played today at the field near our hotel. So Dad, Mitchell, Raechel, Rowie and I went up to the Alpine museum as the view was so much clearer today after the rain and then spent the day watching all the games. Southern Masters won the gold, Camira Amigos the silver and Breakaways the bronze, all Aussie teams. We then went back to Eataly for dinner and had the fried fish tower in the beer hall, very tasty! Back at the hotel we had some wine, swapped some photos ... read more

Our game today was due at 11 but was delayed due to the rain from last night. We should have won this game but our base umpire didn't know the rules and appeared to have something against us, particularly after we challenged one of his calls. Dad even threw his hat down in disgust at one call. We reckon he cost us at least 2 runs and we only lost by 2! As it was Kevin's birthday we headed to the Lingotto shopping centre and had lunch at the Wild West Cafe so he could have steak. It was very pleasant. We then went to the Basillica Superga, a little out of town, which had great views of the city and a monument to the Grand Torino football team whose plane crashed into the hill in ... read more

Another early timeslot for game 5. We played the Alberta Crude team form Canada and were beaten again, 12-7, but it was a good game. The weather was much cooler so we headed into town and visited the markets, the Reale Palace and wandered the shopping streets. Then headed up to the Alpine Museum at Monte di Cappucini which on a clear day has a 440km view of the Alps. Back at the hotel everyone got dressed up in their new purchases and we went down the street to the Metropolitan Cafe where our friend Niño had organised dinner for us to celebrate Elise's 60th birthday. It was another great night. We had antipasto with various meats, then delicious pasta and then a plate with rolled veal, ribs and potatoes, very nice. For dessert they had ... read more

Game 3 was played out of Torino in Avigliana. The field was a little hard to find but was worth the search. There was a ruined castle looking down over the field and a gorgeous lake just down the road. We played a team from the Czech Republic who were lovely. We were winning 16-2 and only ended up winning 16-14!!! It was a fun game though. After the game we followed one of the local boys down through somebodies yard to the lakeshore for a swim. The water was beautiful and we all enjoyed the swim. We went back to the "Bar on the Corner" for dinner and they made us a lovely dinner. We had one large table of 19 and the locals had another. It was a great night and we gave them ... read more