The bank guarantee, a craveable chicken sandwich, a summer farro salad, and a new June playlist.

Plus, a bit of This & That.

I Had A Craving

It's interesting to see what you crave once you leave where you've lived and start existing somewhere completely new. For me, last week, it was a sandwich. Of course, they have many different kinds of sandwiches here in Turin: ones on focaccia, ciabatta, or small soft rolls. But, they don't make sandwiches like we used to get in LA, the style you will find at a shop like Wax Paper. Sandwiches on chewy sourdough bread piled high with lots of crunchy veggies, cheese, meat, and mayo. I've had my share of paninis since we've been, but I need a nice stacked American sandwich! And after discovering that a shop down the street sells sprouts, my desire to make this kind of sandwich took over, and I just had to have it. The quantities of the ingredients may vary depending on how big your bread slices are, but this is the amount I used on long slices of country-style bread from Tellia Lab bakery in Turin. It was so delicious; I'm still thinking about it and excited to be able to taste a little bit of home every now and then.

ROTISSERIE CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH AVOCADO, TOMATO, SPROUTS, AND GRUYERE

Makes 1 big ass sandwich

• 2 large pieces of country-style or sourdough bread

• Mayo

• 1/2 small avocado, cut into thin slices

• 1 small tomato, ends trimmed, cut into thin slices

• 1/3 cup sprouts

• 1/4 cup grated gruyere or a few thin slices of gruyere cheese

• 1/3 cup shredded rotisserie chicken

• A few pieces of iceberg lettuce

• Lemon

• Sea salt

• Black pepper

If your bread is fresh, no need to toast it. If it's a day or two old, I would pop it in the oven to lightly toast it and bring it back to life.

For assembly, spread a generous layer of mayo on each slice of bread and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. On one half, layer the avocado, tomato, sprouts, and a light squeeze of lemon juice. On the other side, layer the gruyere, rotisserie chicken, and iceberg lettuce. Smash the two halves together and eat immediately.

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The Bank Guarantee

Finding an apartment was very stressful when we moved to Turin, Italy, especially since we were doing it all the way from Los Angeles sight unseen. But, once we found the one we thought could work for our family, it all went relatively smoothly. Andre and our landlady quickly became fast WhatsApp friends, and she was very kind and accommodating throughout the entire process. The apartment was located in a beautiful neighborhood and was huge, over 2500 sqft, double the size of our home in LA. The rent was €3000 a month + €250 condominium fees + heating costs for the season. To rent our apartment in Turin, we were required to show our tax returns from the previous year and proof of funds in our bank account. The landlady requested a 3 month security deposit and the first month's rent, but after dealing with Andre for a bit she kindly lowered it to 2 months security. The lease agreement was a 3+2 (three years with a 2-year extension), but if we wanted to leave the lease before the end of the term, we simply had to give written notice four months in advance. And that was it.

As we have come to learn over the past few weeks, trying to rent an apartment in Rome is an entirely different game.