Professor Plum in the Study with the Knife

Saturday didn't start as early as I thought but still would have liked to sleep in. When I got around the boys were watching cartoons and eating breakfast. I had some cereal and got dressed for the day. I played with the boys after tv time and then took them to the park across the street. When we got home Pat arrived shortly after us and she fixed a simple lunch of shrimp and pasta, salad, and fruit. After we ate she took the boys to a swimming pool with her sister. My time off had officially started. I went downtown and did some shopping. I found this awsome little book store tucked away from the busy street. The upstairs is devoted to English books so I skimmed the shelves looking for something interesting. I am on a mission to find the "perfect Italian dress" for a wedding I'm going to when I get back to the states, so I spent the rest of the afternoon searching in vain. Better luck next time I guess. I walked home dissappointed but still cheerful (I stopped to get some gelato and ate it in a beautiful Piazza-does the trick everytime). When I got home I fixed French toast, ham and eggs for dinner and the family were amazed. They had already eaten but said that sometime I need to fix it for them. I'm thinking of starting a new chain of restaurants, IHOFT-international house of french toast (catchy right?).

Today I slept in until 9 and then got ready for church. There were some new faces there. A girl from Italy but spoke good English with an British accent (weird). There was also a couple from Yorkshire, England but have lived in Torino for 6 months. The sermon wasn't much but the preacher's ability to tell stories is very entertaining. He is so lively and enthusiastic you can't help but get excited. He read the whole story of David and Goliath. I know the story by heart but it sounded new with his version. At the end of the service we sang a hymn from South Africa and he asked us to march around the room while we sang. There was a lot of giggling.
After church I planned to meet up with John and Lindsey to go to a shopping center in Torino. We took a seven minute train ride to a shopping mall that is inside an old Fiat warehouse. Outside there were several new Fiat models on display that you could sit in and check out. I thought they were very nice and cute (they kinda looked like Herbie in the 21st century). Inside the mall we walked around and looked for Lindsey some shorts (and I continued to look for THE dress) We went into a toy store to get some presents for their nieces and nephews. But while we were searching I found a present for me.....A travel clue game!! For you that don't know, clue is my favorite board game and I was thrilled to find one that was in Italian, plus it fits in my bag so I can play it during my travels (a good way to make friends on the train don't you think?) We went back to their apartment and played two games of Clue. I had a good time hanging out even though I never won. I also taught them to play the movie game and we played that for about an hour :-) It was getting late in the evening so I went to get something to eat for dinner and came home to an empty house. Today is Alberto's 45th birthday so I figured that they had gone out to celebrate. Tomorrow starts the last full week I have with them until they leave for the USA. I can't believe my stay has gone by so fast. So when I get back to the states who's up for a game night? I'll bring Italian Clue!!