Today marks the end of January, thank goodness - isn't January the worst month? It's got all the coldness of December without the holidays to look forward to. Oddly enough, today was a stunningly beautiful day, maxed out close to 60 degrees with sunny skies. And of course, the days are getting longer. Yay!
But then on the ride home I learned from my bus driver that these are the "giorni della merla" - apparently January 29-31 are know as the "days of the blackbird." You can read this cute story about the legend that blackbirds in Italy used to be white, but because it is so cold this time of the year, they have to shelter in chimneys and when they emerge, they are covered in soot!
But before we turn our attention to springtime, I wanted to share some photos from a great Christmas and New Year we had here in Italy.
We were super-lucky to have Nick and Celeste both come to visit, and Celeste even brought her awesome boyfriend Jack. We had Nick for one week, and Celeste and Jack here for three weeks!
First, Celeste flew here from school in LA - via New York, because Jack spent the fall semester there doing an intensive internship at the United Nations (he was working with the British delegation, not a quiet time there!). Between both of their crazy schedules, they arrived a little exhausted, but rallied quickly - we celebrated their arrival with their first Aperol Spritzes! Soon after we were exploring Chieri, and then off to Torino to see all of the Christmas decorations and festivals.
Piazza San Carlo . Now that's an advent calendar! Shops along via Roma
Having visitors prompted us to do something we hadn't done yet - check out the famous Egyptian Museum in Torino. "The Museo Egizio is the world’s oldest museum devoted entirely to ancient Egyptian culture." It was founded in 1824 and houses something like 30,000 artifacts - if you're an Egypto-phile this is your place.
When Nick arrived it was so good to be together for the first time time in so long...we hit an aperitivo and then it was time to get down to business...getting the apartment decorated for the holiday!
We decided against a tree, because we knew we wouldn't be there for Christmas (more on that next time!), but we opened our box of favorite holiday stuff from the shipment, and started on our #1 holiday tradition - a 1500-piece jigsaw puzzle!
Rudolph eyes the church, Some "Christmas cheer" Rudolph likes Panettone
Our time in and around Chieri was a whirlwind, as we got ready for our side trips...we walked up to the top of the hill to Piazza San Giorgio, the highest spot in Chieri, to show off the great view on a clear day. We went back to Torino so Nick could explore a really cool car museum, Il Museo dell'automobile di Torino, and then finished our visit with what else...an Escape Room! We have been lucky enough to get to know Nick's (recently-married) roommates/friends Hunter and Kaitlyn (GA Tech grads) over the last couple of years, and they kindly gave us a going-away present of...tickets to an English language Escape Room in Torino - the perfect gift! Yes we escaped (still undefeated).
The view from the hill at Piazza St. Giorgio, check out the Alps!
The old Palatine Gates in Torino (from Roman times), and a decent selfie at the Chieri Arch!
Thanks for reading - next up: Holiday journeys to the Ancient World!