Well they've got them.  GP and I have been watching live streaming out of Boston.  Grace was born in Newton, we shopped at a market in the area of Watertown that was closed off, GP worked a mile away, so it feels very personal.  But here, apart from us, there isn't much attention being paid to the situation.  It is as distant as Afghanistan or Iraq.  It is the distance that makes all the difference.  In Turin, people regard the bombings the same way we in the States would have had they been in Milan.  Horrible but impersonal.  Tragic but not affecting anyone we know.  Did you know that in the 1970's, the US government put out a travel advisory for Italy?  Americans were warned not to travel here because of the risks of terrorist attacks.  At that time, the Red Brigade was active here. They were a communist (USSR) backed anarchist organization who wanted to disable the Italian establishment.  They bombed government buildings and killed cops and kidnapped industrialists.  There were constant disruptions in everyday life.  In fact, public schools were closed so often that GP's parents sent him to private school, a 45 minute bus ride into the city (and into the chaos?).  But most Americans know nothing about it.  Just this morning I was listening to BBC and the London marathon is running today.  Apart from heightened security, there will also be a moment of silence for those killed and injured in Boston.  BBC's next announcement was news that 27 people had just been blown to bits in a market in Iraq.  No moments of silence, no international news feeds for hours on end.  Makes you think.

It's rainy today so doing housework.  I've now had 2 lessons with my irritating and smelly driving instructor and he tells me I should be able to take my exam at the end of May.  After vowing sobriety and dieting, yesterday GP and I went to a little wine fair in Chieri, the town where Grace's school is located.  The area produces a very specific wine there, Freisa, that I don't know well, so we thought we had to give it a try.  The fair was small, tucked away under the porticoes or arcades of an old monastery in the center of town.  The town band was playing and they got more raucous every hour and the local police were doing "quality control" of the products, sidling up to all the stands in their bright blue uniforms and red cheeks and noses.  It was fun and we behaved, staying only about 2 hours. 

We have just 2 days of school then off to London for a five day weekend.  Our only scheduled plans are on Friday when Grace and I are going on the "Harry Potter Studio Tour".  We are very excited.  GP has decided to skip it.  xxoo me