早前曾到意大利西北部一遊。 這趟的第一站是都靈 (Turin,意大利文為 Torino),位於西北部 Piedmont (意大利文為 Piemonte)區域,毗鄰法國和瑞士。以為對都靈一點認識都沒有的朋友,當聽過筆者以下的介紹後應該會有 「噢,原來是這裡」的感覺。都靈是 Piedmont 的首府,曾在一八六一年成為意大利剛立國時的首都。它在阿爾卑斯山腳,是二零零六年冬季奧運會的主辦城市。都靈是一個工業城市,FIAT (快意)汽車和 Alfa Romeo (愛快羅密歐)汽車的總部都設在那裡。喜歡看歐洲足球的球迷,也許知道意大利甲組隊伍祖雲達斯 (Juventus)的老家在都靈。在外地,只有在高級意大利菜的餐廳才能吃到的黑和白松露都是來自 Piedmont 的森林,而有名的紅酒品種 barolo 也是 Piedmont 的出品,這些東西在都靈都不難找到。還有,世界各地的小孩愛吃的榛子朱古力醬(最為人熟悉是 Nutella,但 Nutella 是個品牌名字,在意大利文裡這種醬叫 gianduja) 就是在都靈發明的。
抵達都靈,坐機場巴士不消四十分鐘便到達市中心。由於時間還早,預約了的酒店房間還沒有準備好,而當天的天氣報告預料會下雨,便坐地鐵從中央火車站 Porta Nuova 到位於市南的 Lingotto 去逛逛。那裡有一間Eataly, 是一所高級超級市場,賣的是意大利各地最好的食材和關於飲食的書籍,也有課室教授不同烹飪技巧。這所超市源於都靈,現在分店遍佈羅馬,米蘭等地,近年亦已擴展到國外,紐約,東京也有分店。筆者十分喜愛吃意大利麵,也自以為對此有些認識,但在 Eataly 看到林林種種的意大利麵條,乾的麵條滿滿地放了三條通道,還有十來種新鮮的麵條在冰箱裡,實在不禁覺得對意大利麵條的認識太過皮毛。
抵達都靈,坐機場巴士不消四十分鐘便到達市中心。由於時間還早,預約了的酒店房間還沒有準備好,而當天的天氣報告預料會下雨,便坐地鐵從中央火車站 Porta Nuova 到位於市南的 Lingotto 去逛逛。那裡有一間Eataly, 是一所高級超級市場,賣的是意大利各地最好的食材和關於飲食的書籍,也有課室教授不同烹飪技巧。這所超市源於都靈,現在分店遍佈羅馬,米蘭等地,近年亦已擴展到國外,紐約,東京也有分店。筆者十分喜愛吃意大利麵,也自以為對此有些認識,但在 Eataly 看到林林種種的意大利麵條,乾的麵條滿滿地放了三條通道,還有十來種新鮮的麵條在冰箱裡,實在不禁覺得對意大利麵條的認識太過皮毛。
Eataly 超市內有不同的熟食檔,賣肉類海鮮也有,賣意大利麵和薄餅也有,午飯時間一到,本地人都扶老攜幼到哪裡吃午飯。筆者當然在那裡吃新鮮的意大利麵做午飯,後來還在超市內的咖啡店喝了杯咖啡。說開咖啡,在意大利就入鄉隨俗,和本地人一樣站著喝 (一般咖啡廳有兩種收費,坐著喝比站著喝要貴得多),筆者其實不懂意大利語,但因為這幾年間曾多次到意大利旅行,從觀察中學到意大利人點咖啡時大多是說 un normale, 意思是一杯普通的咖啡, 等於我們認識的 espresso。尤其是午飯過後,沒有意大利人會點混了牛奶的咖啡,雖然筆者平時喜歡喝 cappuccino 或澳洲式的 flat white,但在意大利旅遊時都會點個 normale。
逛過 Eataly 後便往附近的都靈汽車博物館 (Museo dell‘Automobile di Torino)參觀。都靈生產汽車的歷史悠久,FIAT 汽車公司早在1899年便已在都靈成立,他們的總部就在汽車博物館附近。博物館樓高三層,用故事形式很生動地介紹汽車歷史,那裡有一百六十輛從十九世紀到現在,八十間車廠出品的汽車展覽,有些車輛是車主私人珍藏捐給博物館的,不少是絕無僅有的舊汽車。筆者雖不是一個汽車迷也花了整整三小時才看遍所有展品。
待續。
逛過 Eataly 後便往附近的都靈汽車博物館 (Museo dell‘Automobile di Torino)參觀。都靈生產汽車的歷史悠久,FIAT 汽車公司早在1899年便已在都靈成立,他們的總部就在汽車博物館附近。博物館樓高三層,用故事形式很生動地介紹汽車歷史,那裡有一百六十輛從十九世紀到現在,八十間車廠出品的汽車展覽,有些車輛是車主私人珍藏捐給博物館的,不少是絕無僅有的舊汽車。筆者雖不是一個汽車迷也花了整整三小時才看遍所有展品。
待續。
I visited Italy again a couple of weeks ago. The first stop of the trip was to Turin (Torino in Italian). I have long wanted to visit this city but flights to Turin from London used to be infrequent so I have waited till now. Turin is an industrial city in the northwest of Italy, in the Piedmont (Piemonte in Italian) region which neighbours Switzerland and France. Turin seems to always be in the shadow of famous cities like Rome, Florence and Milan, but after the short introduction you would definitely feel "oh so that's Turin". Turin was made the capital of Italy when it was first unified in 1861. It has a long history of car manufacturing, FIAT and Alfa Romeo both have their headquarters in Turin. Being at the foot of the Alps, it was the host city of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Piedmont produces some of the most amazing foods, such as the highly prized black and white truffles, and barolo wines. These are not difficult to find in Turin as it is the capital of Piedmont. Also, the hazelnut chocolate spread which kids all over the world love (everyone knows it as Nutella but that's a brand name, the actual name of the spread is gianduja) was invented in Turin.
The city centre is a 40 minute bus ride from Turin airport. My hotel room was not ready as it was only mid morning when I arrived. Weather forecast predicted rain later that day, and being a Sunday, I thought my best chance to get lunch was to visit Eataly in city south, a suburb called Lingotto. It's a short underground ride from Porta Nuova, the central train station to Lingotto (fyi the underground is very nice and efficient, as it was only built about a decade ago). Eataly is a posh supermarket (think of Wholefoods, but only selling Italian produce) which stocks the best produce from around the country. They also have a bookshop which sells every cookery book (in Italian) under the sun, and there are cookery workshops to sharpen anyone's culinary skills. Eataly originated in Turin, with branches in cities like Rome and Milan, in recent years they have even expanded overseas and now there are branches in Tokyo and New York.
I love pasta and could eat it everyday, so I used to think I know a thing or two about pasta. But when standing in the pasta section in Eataly, I was absolutely in awe of the variety of pasta available. The dried ones take up three whole aisles and there is around a dozen fresh ones in the fridge section. So many I cannot even pronounce the names! Inside the supermarket there are cooked food stalls and plenty of seats, so when lunch time comes, local families all make a beeline for the yummy food there. Naturally I chose to have plate of pasta, and after lunch I walked all around the supermarket. There are seafood stalls, a butcher stall, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, numerous kinds of cheeses and cold meats, it's pure joy just walking around learning about the food.
The city centre is a 40 minute bus ride from Turin airport. My hotel room was not ready as it was only mid morning when I arrived. Weather forecast predicted rain later that day, and being a Sunday, I thought my best chance to get lunch was to visit Eataly in city south, a suburb called Lingotto. It's a short underground ride from Porta Nuova, the central train station to Lingotto (fyi the underground is very nice and efficient, as it was only built about a decade ago). Eataly is a posh supermarket (think of Wholefoods, but only selling Italian produce) which stocks the best produce from around the country. They also have a bookshop which sells every cookery book (in Italian) under the sun, and there are cookery workshops to sharpen anyone's culinary skills. Eataly originated in Turin, with branches in cities like Rome and Milan, in recent years they have even expanded overseas and now there are branches in Tokyo and New York.
I love pasta and could eat it everyday, so I used to think I know a thing or two about pasta. But when standing in the pasta section in Eataly, I was absolutely in awe of the variety of pasta available. The dried ones take up three whole aisles and there is around a dozen fresh ones in the fridge section. So many I cannot even pronounce the names! Inside the supermarket there are cooked food stalls and plenty of seats, so when lunch time comes, local families all make a beeline for the yummy food there. Naturally I chose to have plate of pasta, and after lunch I walked all around the supermarket. There are seafood stalls, a butcher stall, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, numerous kinds of cheeses and cold meats, it's pure joy just walking around learning about the food.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do so they say (though I was in Turin), so in Italy I usually have a coffee after lunch too (normally I only drink coffees in the morning). There is a cafe and a gelateria inside Eataly so I had a coffee there. Although I don't speak any Italian, I have learnt from my travels that Italians usually just ask for "un normale" or "un cafe". They both equate to what we know as espresso, and no I never hear of them using the word espresso! Italians never order coffee with milk after lunch time (at most a macchiato, with just a small stain of milk), so even though I am normally a cappuccino or flat white (okay...I am Aussie after all) person, in Italy I just go with the flow and ask for un normale.
After lunch I made my way to nearby automobile museum (Museo dell‘Automobile di Torino). This museum is so underrated Turin tourism office really has got to put it on The Map! They use an interesting story-telling way (and in the near future, interactive too) of presenting the history of automobile. There are some 160 cars from the late 19th century to present (and some futuristic prototypes too), from 80 different car manufacturers. Most have been carefully restored, and some were donated to the museum by their beloved first hand owners. I am no car nut but even I spent almost three hours there. I highly recommend it to anyone who is remotely interested in cars.
To be continued.
After lunch I made my way to nearby automobile museum (Museo dell‘Automobile di Torino). This museum is so underrated Turin tourism office really has got to put it on The Map! They use an interesting story-telling way (and in the near future, interactive too) of presenting the history of automobile. There are some 160 cars from the late 19th century to present (and some futuristic prototypes too), from 80 different car manufacturers. Most have been carefully restored, and some were donated to the museum by their beloved first hand owners. I am no car nut but even I spent almost three hours there. I highly recommend it to anyone who is remotely interested in cars.
To be continued.