So let me tell you all the story of the floating African hooker.  Yesterday we took a long walk along the river Po that runs through the city.  9 miles!  We parked at a building that looks like a huge kite and was the venue for figure skating for the Torino winter olympics and walked up the river towards the center.  On the city side it is all parks and there were joggers and bikers and doggie walkers.  The parks are full of giant Plane trees - very pretty.  Then we crossed a bridge and headed back.  On that side-the hills side- of the river you walk along a walled River Walk and you pass all the private rowing and tennis clubs. It was a very nice day and I commented on how relatively clean and well maintained it all was and how much Torino had changed for the better since we last lived here.  Then yesterday afternoon we were listening to the news and heard that a woman had been found floating in the river by some fishermen that morning - just at the time we were crossing the bridge and saying "Hey look all the emergency vehicles".  She was an African prostitute and had been stabbed multiple times and thrown into the river.  Oh the joys of city life!

But this morning in less than an hour we procured our ID cards and Health cards which guarantee us total coverage for all and varied ailments for the rest of our lives, followed by a cappucino and an apple tart.  Now off to clean out cupboards.  xxoo me