Torino's Mercatino di Natale

I have a not-so-secret confession to make.  I'm a lot in love with Christmas.  I grew up in a house with multiple Christmas trees and an extra-long season of festivities to anticipate.  And I'm not alone in this.  My dear friend Mike is my partner in crime in Vancouver as we seek out any and all Christmas events all throughout the month of December.  Often, we just wander through the festive displays downtown, or check out the lights of the historic districts, Blenz Belgian dark hot chocolates steaming in hand.  One particularly memorable year we took the Vancouver Trolley Lights tour, not realizing it was led by a Mrs. Claus karaoke madam.  My time with Mike is just one of the many things I'm missing about home this Christmas season.

But here in Europe, we have Christmas markets springing up in every town.  So Saturday morning, several of us hopped the train to Torino.  Now, Torino is a market city in general - hosting the largest open air market in Europe every Saturday.  Not only does it include an insane amount of food, clothing and odds and ends, it also encompasses artisanal markets, flea markets and antique stalls all along the 3 kilometre walk to the Christmas market at Piazza Borgo Dora.  It's truly a feast for the senses.  And wandering through wooden stalls in freezing temperatures, hot mulled wine in hand, is a great way to embrace the season.

My earliest Christmas memories are of this night light, which my mom
turned on every night to help me sleep - this is the first time I've ever
seen it for sale, and it was in Italy, go figure.  Not worth 30 euros though...