Even after all these years of coming to Italy for study and work, I had never really spent proper time in the city of Turin.

This week, I spent a few nights and more days there and just fell in love with the place.

Did you think I was going to come all the way to Piedmont and not eat vitello tonnato (above), arguably my favorite dish of all time?

I only had a little free time to stroll the city’s beautiful porticoes but I was blown away by all the rare book shops. I even found a vintage record store that specializes in classical — one of my recent collecting interests.

The Egyptology museum blew me away! As a dog lover, of course, I was drawn to the mummified animals section, purportedly one of the biggest collections in the world beyond Cairo. It was amazing. The whole thing was amazing. There’s even a “tomb” designed by Renzo Piano. Not to miss.

Car culture, as one would imagine, is big in Turin. I was told that the automobile museum is great. Next on my list. And it was cool to see some of the crazy cars that people drive in the city.

One of the things that I really dug was how the city has retained its old-school feel. There’s not just a sushi place and a Burger King on every corner. Those are tajarin al Castelmagno at Porto di Savona — SUPER OLD SCHOOL and wonderful.

Still so much to explore there. I can’t wait to get back.

Thank you again Michele for inviting me!