Elegance And Egyptology In Turin

After a tad over 24 hours here, I'd say that what I'd heard about Torino is generally true.  It is a world apart from Roma and southern Italy.  The wide boulevards, general orderliness, and charming elegance are reminiscent of a smaller-scale Paris or Vienna.  Indeed, I just looked at a map, and Torino is way closer to Zurich and Geneva than it is to Roma.  (My knowledge of European geography is still pathetically weak -- although, come to think of it, my knowledge of American geography ain't much better!)

The Americano has replaced the Negroni as my favorite Italian cocktail.  

One nice surprise was the Museo Egizio di Torino.  Turin's Egypt museum is billed as the world's finest collection of Egyptian treasures outside of Cairo.  I believe it.  If you have any interest at all in Egyptian artifacts, this place is fantastic.  The highlights are a wonderful statute of Ramses II and the tombs of Kha and Merit.  The latter are from 1400 B.C. -- that makes ancient Roman ruins and sculptures look new!

The cat on the right is Tut.  Which reminds of me of this question: was King Tut the weirdest villain from the old Batman TV show?  Remember that guy?

I'm planning on learning a helluva lot of information tomorrow about the Shroud of Turin.

On The Road Again (A Lot)

Roma has been excellent these past couple of weeks. The blistering heat that lasted from late June into late August has begun to break. It has only been in the mid-80s for the past several days. The crowds have come back too and - now that it's a little cooler - the energy and buzz they bring is welcome.  The late summer city has been nice.

Grattachecca: a traditional Roman (not Italian) shaved ice.  This is different than the much more common granite.  

The oculus of the Pantheon

But it's time for more travel. I head up north this week to a region of Italy I have never visited: Piemonte. The truth is that - other than a couple of days in Venice with Oomps back in 1999 - I haven't spent any time in the north. I'm looking forward to it.

I am on the train right now to Torino (Turin). Torino is the biggest city in Piemonte by far, and it has lots of history. Torino was Italy's first capital after unification. It is allegedly much more elegant than the south, and is supposed to feel a little like Vienna or Paris. We shall see. After 2.5 days in Torino, I will drive east and go explore the Monferrato area - one of Piemonte's wine regions. A good friend and California wine grower has connected me to a couple of wineries in Monferrato, so I hope to visit them on Thursday and Friday.

After this excursion, I'll be back in Roma for a week. Then comes one of this year's longer trips. Twelve days with a California pal in Marseille, Barcelona, and Cinque Terre. This should be awesome. Everyone always raves about Barcelona, and that will be my first time in Spain. And Marseille has been in the press a ton this past year. This southern France port city is one of 2013's two European Capitals of Culture. All the travel mags have been featuring it this year, and the NYT just ran this piece over the weekend: travel.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/travel/marseille-polishes-its-image.html?pagewanted=all

Pulling into Torino now. Ciao!

For Those Of You With Some Free Time On Your Hands

We try not to do too many plugs on this blog.  You get enough of those from other sources.  But I know that many of you are not as busy as I am, and that you may be looking for some entertainment once in a while.  Here's something that you should consider.  It can supply hours and hours of viewing pleasure.

Some Chinese zoo or habitat or compound has installed something like 25 webcams that run 24 hours per day that show what each of its dozens of pandas is doing around-the-clock.  You can pick the cam you want to view -- the cubs, the adults, the "young panda," the "mom and kids," etc., etc.  Or, you can just select the cam that they've judged at any given time to be supplying the most interesting footage.  Whatever you choose, it's gripping.  You can watch pandas eating, sleeping, frolicking, or just chilling out.  

I warn you.  It is addictive.  

Here's the link to iPanda:  www.ipanda.com

Speaking Of "Red Lines".......

I have noticed this poster all over Roma in the past few days.  It is everywhere:

Translation: "I am with Putin!"

My sources tell me that the group responsible for these posters is a fringe right-wing group at the extreme end of Italian politics.  I'm told that they have only a couple of thousand members.  I have no idea if this is true.  I do know that they make lots of posters and that they walk around the same parts of the city that I do!

Obama's "Red Line:" Did The Phrase Originate In Ancient Rome?

With all the talk about "red lines" -- and who created them, who crossed them, what penalties should attach for violating them, etc., etc. -- it's only natural that discussion would turn to the origins of the phrase.  Turns out that at least one academic traces the origins of the phrase to ancient Roman military history:

"The phrase 'red line' appears to be an adaptation of a much older metaphor—a 'line drawn in the sand,' according to Ben Yagoda, a professor of English and journalism at the University of Delaware. One of the earliest recorded instances of anyone drawing a line in the sand took place in ancient Rome around 168 B.C., during a conflict that, curiously enough, involved Syria. A Roman envoy named Popillius was sent to tell King Antiochus IV to abort his attack on Alexandria. When Antiochus tried to play for time, Popillius drew a line in the sand around him and told him he had to decide what he was going to do before he crossed it. He acceded to the Roman demands."

The short little article from National Geographic is here: news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130904-red-line-syria-obama-chemical-weapons-sarin-gas/

Rosh Hashanah In Roma: Going To Services

I did it.  I went tonight to services at Rome's main synagogue.  It was awesome.

I've been to the big Rome synagogue before on tours.  I always thought it was pretty nice-looking for a synagogue.  But I'd never been there for an actual service.  There is a world of difference.  With all the lights on, with a couple of hundred people in attendance, and with the cantor and rabbi leading the prayers, the setting was marvelous.  It was quite majestic and moving.

I of course did not understand a word of it.  I obviously didn't understand the prayers -- they are all in Hebrew.  And I did not understand anything that the rabbi said to the congregation in Italian.  But it did not matter.  It was just interesting to watch the Italian Jews celebrate the New Year and the beginning of the 10 Days of Repentance.  The prayer chants were different than the ones I am used to from going to temple in New York as a youth.  Some of the tunes were beautiful.  Women and men sat in different areas -- that too is something I did not grow up with.

As I sat there, I could not help but think about how in this city 460 years ago, on Rosh Hashanah, the Inquisition burned all of the Jewish texts in a fire in Campo de' Fiori.  And, in this city only 70 years ago -- during many of our parents' lifetimes -- the Nazis gathered up and deported all the Jews they could find.  (There was a lot of bad stuff in between too.....)  Tonight, by contrast, dozens of Italian police officers guarded the synagogue and set up barriers all around it at which they questioned every person who wanted to even come close to it.  This is a different world.  (OK, yes, the fact that so much security is necessary is probably not a good thing.  But we will focus on the good!)

I wish I could have taken some pictures.  But I was warned by several of those police officers that photos were not allowed.  I decided to heed those warnings.  

L'shanah Tovah (Happy New Year) to all!

Cucina Coreano (Korean Food) In Roma

I'm not just fascinated by the cuisine of my own ethnic group in Roma.  As much as it hurts to skip a night of pasta, I have enjoyed checking out the local restaurants serving Asian cuisines.  Unfortunately, I've been underwhelmed by these forays so far.  I was not that impressed by the cucina cinese I've had or by the cucina giaponnese.  Last night, I went with a couple of friends for Korean food in the Esquilino neighborhood near Termini.  Much better!

It helped that they had probably my two favorite Korean dishes: bibimbap and dukboki.  They were not brilliant, but both were pretty solid.

The dukboki is not on the menu.  But you can ask for it.  

Even better, on the way out, I asked about whether they served a Korean/Chinese dish that has long been a favorite.  It's my understanding that typical Korean restaurants don't have it; only the Korean/Chinese ones do.  But the Gainn staff said that, although it's again not on the menu, they do serve chajangmyeon.  I'll definitely be back.