Auguri!

Auguri!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
5:59 PM

Ah another year passed in what has been a very fine life. Being away on my birthday has become a pretty stable trend. 18 - Bangkok, 19 - Japan (actually I may have been home but if I was I had just gotten back), 20 - Camp, 21 - Camp, 22 - Camp, 23 - Italia. One of the really nice things for me about being away on my birthday has been that it gives me plenty of time to be introspective and emo, which has become my favorite way to spend my birthday as delayed parties that fit in family/friends schedules are preferable any way.

I ended up taking a jog down to where the Po and the Duan Rivers intersect. I walked the entire way through the classic downtown taking a route through Via Roma which is Turin's 'Rodeo Drive'. Although today Milan is known for fashion Turin was the birthplace of the Italian style. There were, as always in Italy, tons of girls strutting about and checking out the various shops. The strut is an understatement as girls seem to wear heels almost everywhere, even at the market in the middle of the afternoon. Via Roma runs through a couple different squares, one of which is where Juventeus supporters celebrate club victories. This square was packed with high school age kids, many of them kicking it with one of my favorite sights in Turin, the bull water fountain. The tap water was easily the best I've ever had which is attributed to the proximity of the Alps.

After I was through the main downtown I headed down to the banks of the Po and went as far as that took me. It looked like they were building a new dam and the construction attracted quite a few onlookers. Jogging next to the river was very peaceful as it moves at a fairly leisurely pace, not quite a meandering stream but it definitely isn't in a hurry. As that trail ended I went up to a bridge and crossed the river, on the other side there was a wonderful dirt path raised up from the banks with grass on both sides and benches alongside. There were quite a few cyclists as well as seniors taking in the beautiful views. Eventually I reached the intersection and sat down on what was a very fine grained sand and enjoyed the calmness of the situation.

Upon returning back to Carlo's there was a great dinner (as always) prepared. The family sang Happy Birthday to me in Italian and surprised me with a cake, it was a wonderful day.