Housing Trip to Torino...Days 5-7

We received great news this morning! The house we selected has been settled and we still get the surface shipment to move our stuff. Praise God!!!

Back to the trip...After settling on the Pinerolo vicinity, we decided it would be a good idea to check out the area a little more in-depth. So, we drove past the house and just walked along the outside (it is fenced and gated so this is all we could do). We then drove to the small village center that will be our stomping ground for the next 2 years. It is quaint and small. We will probably frequent the market and maybe the pizzeria. It will depend on how everyone reacts to gluten in Italy.

Luckily, Pinerolo city center is only a 5-10 minute drive from our house. We parked and walked the shopping district, buying Italian meringue cookies along the way. We then walked the cobblestone alleys toward the piazza, deciding to attempt some real, Italian pizza. Oh my goodness, it was divine. An individual pizza was way too big for me. Joe had to assist me. It was so good! We also got our first taste of solicitors in Italy. They target Americanos, apparently. Joe gave him 1.50 EU, but he wasn't satisfied. He wanted us to pay for an entire spaghetti dinner. He would not leave our table until we completely ignored him. It was quite uncomfortable and quite sad. He knew to come to us since we were his best chance for getting something. We also knew we couldn't start a habit of throwing money at everyone we see in need. We don't have enough money to cover that. It is heart-breaking tho. We want to be the light of the world...but having discernment in that is difficult. We are praying that God shows us the people He desires we help.

Since it was lunchtime, everything was closed! If it isn't a restaurant, it is closed during the lunch break. And the lunch break goes from 12:30-3:30. So we just window shopped and went back to the car to hang out until 3:30. Joe napped, of course. That guy can sleep anywhere. He claims it is lack of sleep. I think I got less sleep than he did on this trip, and yet he could fall asleep instantly while I could not. At 3:30 we head out to find some gelato. It was soooo good. It was so much better than the gelato we had at Eataly. Not sure if it is a good thing or bad thing that it is so close to our new home!

At the pizzeria

Best gelato I've ever had

We then headed back to the hotel to Skype with the kids and get ready for dinner. We went to a gluten free restaurant for dinner and it was very good. We even got dessert and loved it! I will say one thing, our entire family will be in much better shape after moving. You do a lot of walking! Often, the place you want to go is not just a few parking spaces away. You have to walk to your location, unless you want to figure out the bus lines. Even in Pinerolo, we will likely park and walk. Supermarkets do exist, but we'd much rather go to the open air market, frequent local restaurants, get the full Italian experience. I'm sure we will hit up the supermarket for the big stuff, but most things will be bought locally. I am really looking forward to that!

The next day we packed up and headed to Ikea. At that time we thought we would not be getting our surface shipment. We looked at mattresses and kitchen gadgets we might need. Luckily, we will not need them. Our surface shipment will move all of those items for us. Still, it was fun to walk around Ikea Italy style. We then went back into downtown Torino to have a bicerin at Al Bicerin. It was the real deal, with coffee, melted chocolate syrup and cream. It was exquisite! I think the bicerin is the reason I've been craving coffee since we returned. I've always despised the taste of coffee. Add some chocolate syrup and cream, and it is soooo good. I really didn't plan to get an addiction while there. ;)

Close to Al Bicerin was a local cathedral, Santuorio della Consolata. It was gorgeous. Words can't describe its splendor. A picture can help, tho.

The altar

We decided to check out the souvenir shop. I won't tell you what we bought, because that might be a Christmas surprise, but we thoroughly enjoyed the lady that worked the counter. Although we told her we speak English, she spoke only Italian. She had long conversations with us, pointing and showing. We only picked up enough words to sort of understand. It was great fun, tho. Joe said it was his favorite 15 minutes of the trip. I must say, we were there longer than 15 minutes. This lady was a saleswoman! :) We then decided to drive past the location for the International Church of Torino. It is in a sort of technical school. So we just drove by to see the location. It will be a 1-hour trip each way for Sunday service. We figure it will be a chance for us to do things in downtown Torino on Sundays. 

At this point, we figured we should head to Milano to get checked in to the airport hotel and eat dinner. We just did dinner in the hotel restaurant, as we were not close to anything but the airport. It was tasty and several courses.

Driving to Milano - I'm exhausted!

The next day was the flight home. We really missed the kids, at this point, and just wanted to wiggle our noses and be home. Unfortunately, I'm not Tabitha, and I was stuck on flights for 15 hours. At least I was with Joe, and we made the most of our flights...when he was awake. I never watch much tv at home. On a flight is a different story. There isn't much else to do. Watch a movie or 3, eat some lousy airplane food, read a book or magazine. I, unfortunately, forgot to bring any reading material. Oh well! Lesson learned for the next flight, which will be soon! 

I am hoping to keep up with this blog while we are gone. This will be the easiest way for us to keep in touch with everyone at home in KY and to show you what we've been doing in our travels. Arrivederci, for now!