Sicily - March 2009

When we travel, everyone keep a daily journal. The following post is from Susan's journal:

Sunday, March 1, 2009

March roars in like a lion back home…….. and in Scilla it’s very windy this morning but it’s a warm breeze for a change. Showers for all, finish packing up, put apartment in order and clean up. Carlo comes at 11am; we give him the keys and say we plan to return to check records in Cannitello before we head to Roma.
We drive to Villa San Giovanni to get the ferry to Messina. They run every 20 minutes or so. We get our ticket and board without a hitch. Not the last one on this time. The water on the Strait is blowing sideways but sun is on the Sicilian side. Italians are prompt in their schedules, the ferry leaves on time. We go up top and laugh at how you walk side to side for the rocking. Out on deck, the wind is blowing like the tempest from the Odyssey but we brave it for a short while. Before you know it we are in Messina.
The drive to Milazzo is quick to check the ferry schedule to the islands of Stromboli, Vulcano, etc. Drive the coast a bit to find a sunny spot for lunch overlooking the sea. Bread, cheese, salami, fruit and the azzurina (light bluish turquoise) water makes for a delightful moment. Travel southward to Taormina begins to get a bit grayer and cloudy and once we start to Castiglione de Sicilia we are driving in fog.

We know we are climbing up and travelling down and we know Mt. Etna is nearby but for the life of me, you can’t tell. We find St. Caterina B&B by luck and in the fog it’s delightful. Valentino speaks wonderful English and his cousin and chef Francesco speaks poco but is very enthusiastic in both English and Italian. Both of them are young and handsome and have had the B&B for 6 years. Valentino worked in Manchester for 6 years at a hotel. Francesco is 24 years old and living a single life (which is not the norm here in Sicily). Most are married young and have children soon after.
The place is adorable, multi terraces, narrow stairs; room is clean and made for the 4 of us. Best is our own terrace looks up at the castle and churches. Francesco makes us a simple meal of homemade macaroni and sun dried tomatoes, bread and a good bottle of vino after a walk in the fog to the castle on top. Good night in Sicily.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Clear blue skies, sunny and warming up fast. I can see a huge valley below us and Mt. Etna looms over all in all in its snow capped glory. The landscape is rugged but still has its terraced vineyards, citrus groves all over the valley and the hillside. A simple Sicilian breakfast of fruit, bread, cheese and meat sends us on our way to Etna and some of the towns in its wake.
First stop, Il Picciolo Golf Club. A beautiful 18 hole course down in the valley, very pretty. On to Lingualossa to travel up the slope of Etna. The higher we go the more snow is on the ground and lava rock valley flow out in every direction. We drive as far as we can go up to a ski resort (if you can call it that), a few small buildings with skis, snowboards, hats and souvenirs. One slightly larger one where I guess you get the lift passes, and again, cars parked in every direction. You can see trekking expeditions heading up the slope. There are lots of volcanic cones; some small as a building, some 3 km across, a few have smoke coming out at times. It’s very eerie.

As we drive as high as we can, an occasional ristorante pops up or a terraced area planted with trees. We stop for a cappuccino at a rest stop? Retreat area? With a young handsome guy there by himself. Lonely job in the off season. We continue our travels to Milo – the highest town on the eastern side of the mountain with a piazza, of course by a church that has a gathering of 6 or 8 - 722 hp Mercedes that are participating in some kind of Mille Miglia. Mr. Phillips would be having an orgasm if he saw these cars and the road we just came from. You can see the Ionian Sea from here. Simply spectacular. We stop in Zafferana Etna, a slightly more cosmopolitan town for a walk in their piazza by Santa Maria (Chisea Amdre). It’s said their patron saint has stopped the lava flow from destroying the town more than once, last time in 1991.
From there it’s the fast highway to Randazzo, a town closest to the craters. For some reason, it was never destroyed by Etna. Most of the building and masonry are black lava stone. It has been dated to the 2nd century BC. The church as Santa Maria dates to the 13th century. Driving though the countryside back to Castiglione we stop at a farm that’s got homemade vino. We stop and get a bottle (2 l plastic) after a taste. The home brew isn’t bad and the man was very happy to show us his press.
Dinner at the President was a bust (closed) so as we wander back up to find Hotel Frederico, we get lost but find a restaurant open on Monday. Turns out it was the hotel and it wasn’t far from where we were staying. The route we took was circuitous. Not as easy finding our way here as it was in Scilla.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Day breaks again with clear blue skies and after breakfast and some schoolwork we head out to golf at Il Picciolo Golf Club in the hills of Etna. It’s a beautiful course, not quite finished resort and the couple of hours spent walking and playing was good family time. The last ½ hour was getting overcast and cooler and we finished before it got too chilly, but the afternoon was sunny and 63 degree. Not tropical but not bad.
On the ride back, I finally got to stop in the cemetery on the hill facing Castiglione. It’s much bigger than I thought with private (family) mausoleums and small chapel-like buildings and individual sites with some fabulous statues. The oldest date of death I could make out was 1820. I can’t imagine if there is room left for anyone else or not, it looks so packed with stones and candles.
Francesco is preparing us food on the grill tonight, so we get the big bags from the car to get out clothes for the day backpacks, put the clean laundry away and re-organize. We leave tomorrow for Caltagirone. At 8:30pm, the boys are famished so we head down to the small dining area, smelling the steaks on the grill. Simple meal-steaks, sausage, romaine lettuce, sun-dried tomatoes, bread (of course), but it was all so fresh, you could taste the difference. I gave Evan ½ my steak & sausage, he ate his so fast. Aaron too!!! You’d swear we never fed them. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re getting so big or because of the lateness of dinner or what. We buy enough fruit and bread & cheese to eat between, and it goes fast. Anyway, the food was delicious – plates licked clean (poor Jackie) and all was well.

Wednesday, March 2009

Happy Birthday Dad and Ann Marie!!!
After breakfast we traveled to Villa del Casale near Piazza Amerina. There must have been a garbage strike in Amerina as all the garbage cans were more than overflowing. Watching the landscape change from lava rock and ordered fields or groves with terraces and grapevines to a more sandy, tan colored soil with larger hillsides and white stone. Sheep, cattle and goats in treeless environs. Wider spaces and less order (less manmade intrusions prevail until Piazza Amerina). It reminds me of the countryside that surrounds State College – farm, field then boom ! A fair sized town smack in the middle.
The Roman Villa del Casale is a short way from Amerina and as we park and walk towards the site it doesn’t appear to look like much. We get our tickets and walk down a path a short way and see stone walls, some just a few blocks high and others about 8-10 ft. covered by plexi-glass - greenhouse frame. A metal walkway allows you to walk most of the way around the rooms and all the way around others. You know you are in for a treat with each part. The designs are so intricate and the animals, people and scenes appear never ending. As luck would have it, the Villa just reopened on March 1st after 4 months of restoration. So some of the buildings are still off limits but we can still walk about 80%. Three distinct buildings connected by courtyards and passageways, all tiled in incredible designs. Hunts, serpents, wild animal, nude men and woman and the horses; all with unbelievable details and color. Then it happens – I see my sissy in the famous room of 10 girls in bikinis. Beck (a.k.a. Rebecca) !!! I couldn’t believe it and the one she was tossing the ball with could have been me. Very bizarre and too funny. Walking in the Atrium, with the columns and partial mosaics was awe inspiring. To think I had my feet on a structure built in the 3rd or 4th century on a beautiful tile floor that was walked on by people with togas and Roman sandals was mind blowing. Me and a multi colored gatto (who looked like a patch work of many cats), very funny and pretty vocal enjoying the sunshine.

When we finally leave after a second tour around for me, the skies begin to gray and the last 30yds to the car was met with a rain shower. The drive to Caltagirone was off and on rain but the landscape changes were no less spectacular. Sweeping valleys with high hills (“ships in the fields”…. sheeps) and outcrops of rocks (some that appear tomb like with square openings. We find the Guatliers B&B across from St. Francis of Assisi church and Giuseppe Barletta shows us our flat. Adequate but has a great view of the valley on one side and the turquoise titled dome in the lower city. Its blustery here – cool, very windy with showers you can watch approach from across the valley. Giuseppe tells us where we get our breakfast, so we all walk and then see the steps of Annta Maria del Monte. 142 to the stop and all faced with a different pattern of tile and flanked by majolica potters workshops (like Deruta, you can’t turn around in this town and not pee on a potter). In addition to practical pottery, they do these lifelike terra cotta figurines, some of regular folk and country peasants, but mostly figurines for the most amazing crèche scenes I’ve ever seen. We do eventually make it to the top and back. The boys get sandwiches and I get 2 bird shaped cookies (Evan believes they’re seals) and I see these flat basket shaped, designed dough with braids and a fold with an egg held in place by the baked dough. Some kind of Easter treat? Anyone’s guess.
We ventured back out at 8pm to find a pizzeria and down the street after checking out the Planet bar, we find a place and the boys are in heaven – Lo! a 42” flat screen TV. It still has weird Italian shows on it. (the strange red Barney like character and a lot of busty girls). Sated and well vino’d, the walk back was windy and rainy. From the room window, we watch the storms approach.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Crappy day!!! Very windy, on and off rain, damp and downright nippy. A brisk walk for breakfast – good cappuccinos and great pastries – bad hot chocolate and juice for the boys. After finding the contemporary ceramic museum last night, we venture to find the archeological museum (of ceramics) in the lower part of town after dropping off Aaron’s computer to be checked. Museum pieces date from Neolithic period to 1800’s. Love the early majolica tile work and bowl designs. The oil lamps and lovely little pots – some plain fired others with intricate design. Hard to believe the vibrancy of the colors so long ago.
Some breaks in the rain and a few flashes of sun but no break from the breeze accompany us on the walk down to a large green space with a small tiles, outdoor theatre and the Tondo Vecchio. A giant dome on 8 columns with the façade completely covered in tile. Aaron gives me his baddest dance moves in the center. Gotta love it. We pass the cinema – Benjamin Button still in the limelight here – Frank wants to go – I definitely don’t! We laugh as we make our mental lists “Things we miss at home”: hot tub, toilet seats, movies with popcorn, half and half, and the critters. After the cappuccino stop to warm our hands, we add “Things we hate about Italy” list including planters on the sidewalks and Vespas passing everywhere.

Later in the day, we go to check on Aaron’s computer and I go next door to Mario Alba Ceramiche Shop (he’s the one we were told does whistles). We saw him earlier and bought one of his and he showed us the antique one from about 1750 – 1800’s. They are religious figurines of Christ, Saints, etc. and are pretty high pitched but really cool. He and a friend were helping me find out about this Calandruccio crest (geneology) from Caltagirone and again between their poor English and my poor Italian we have a discussion that’s informative and curious on both sides. I find that this is the 3rd time (I with Marianne to help interpret & 2 solo) that I have had an opportunity to connect on a personal level with a few people. It’s an interesting experience because I can understand more than I thought and certainly more than I speak. Anyway, there are no Calandruccio’s in the phone book, although Mario’s friend believes the name may have been changed when he emigrated, but they showed me on the map the municipal building, to ask for records and also a library where old documents have been stored. The municipal bldg’s records go to 1940’s and there are no people of that name, but the girl tells me that a lot of records had been destroyed in the earthquakes but maybe the library can help. I’m finding dead ends and cold & tired. Aaron had found his way to the computer store (God knows how) to check on the progress, which is none and we both walk home.
Frank brings a hot lunch of grilled chicken & potatoes and filled friend rice pears which are so tasty, they can’t be good for you. Late dinner at the Planet Bar where they are setting up music (DJ karaoke Italian style). Burger paninis for the boys grilled chicken one for me and Frank with salad and ravioli w/ spinach and cheese w/ pistachio sauce. Quick walk to B&B – decision made to get out of the windy mountain town and head back seaside. Hooray!!!.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Up early, looks like another blustery one in Caltagirone. Quick pack, pay the bill w/Giuseppe, one last sweet from the Café for breakfast – reprogram Jane to Siracusa and after a short but harrowing turn about town, we find a road outta Dodge. Lots of small slides on the roads from the rain and sandy soils, but the skies are variable and in some of the valleys, patches of sun pop through. We know we are nearer the coast when the land flattens a bit; the fields (groves) become more organized and look! Mt. Etna smoking away to our left and then right on the way to Siracusa.
We drive right into the island part of Siracusa and begin to look for accommodations (our B&B requests were unanswered) but it really is cool here, dry and warmer by about 25 degrees, so we’re staying. We check out some hotels and we circumnavigate the island and after being diverted from the coast road we find ourselves near the restaurant Ann Marie told us about (La Foglia) and sure enough, in the little alley was beside it is the B&B Aretusa Vaccize. Really cute, great room w/2 bedroom, kitchen area (stocked) fridge, heat (a biggie), terrace on top of the building that you can see the bay. A bit more pricey than what we’re looking for but perfect for a few nights. We are so staying !!!
Frank has to move the car after some guy begins yelling at the boys in the back seat while we were looking at the room, so his quick jaunt around the block takes an awful long time. When he finally shows back up, his jaunt around the block turned into a turn around the whole island. Too many “do not enter” streets and bastardly Vespas. It was a perfect “you know” moment. After a good laugh, we’re checked in – the boys are sucked in MTV – Frank and I head to Mariano’s ristorante next door for Sicilia tipica lunch. Antipasti samplers for us to try (zucchini, quiche of some kind, spicy sausage, spinach and a cheese filled pinwheel w/ tomato, eggplant, artichoke, spice & oil covered bread w/ a ricotta, pistachio spread. Frank gets ravioli’s and I a penne with artichoke, capers and tomatoes. Molto Bene!!! The owner plops down 2 bottles of some liquor on the tables – 1 brown and 1 amber in color. Frank goes 1st w/ the brown one & the face is priceless, then the 2nd taste face is even better. He’s right! The brown one tastes like paint stripper, the amber one is odd tasting but not bad. I finish the cup with about a ½ inch in it and the short walk down to the castle was a bit wobbly but enjoyable all the same.
The boys have been hunkered in getting an MTV fix, so a walk to find a small market for milk, bread leads us to the Duomo. Wandering the Plaza shows one building very different from another but as beautiful as can be and, of course, these are 2 churches: St. Lucia and the Duomo.

The Palazzos are stately and solid, impeccably kept. Incredible space – it weighs on the eyes. Back home, a short nap for me – internet time for everyone else – must be the stuff in the bottles catching up with me and when it time, we head out to ZSA’s for pizza and caprise for me. I’m not walking fast enough to keep up with the amount of pasta I’m chowing down. The late hour for dinner doesn’t do well for my waist line either.

Saturday. March 7, 2009

Cool crappy day. Good day for school and a bit of laundry. After breakfast and showers, they get logged on; we get a few progress reports and try to map out what needs to be attended to for school. Off and on rain, keeps us focused on school until the break in the clouds sends us out to explore Ortigia. Some of the courtyards on the way to the Duomo are too tempting to resist wandering into. All of them are interesting and of course, there’s a Vespa or a Fiat parked inside (premium parking). The Duomo is open, so Frank and I go inside. It’s big, not as ornate as the outside but marble floors and statues are the norm. There’s an altar for St. Lucia with small crypt with glass sides that shows part of her forearm bones. They are wrapped in a shroud had have flowers and candles all around. The artwork rocks.
We find the fountain of Diana in Archimedes plaza. One of the few that are spouting water. It’s magnificent and so incredibly detailed, right down to the Italian greyhound that sits behind her. Come` bella ! My eyes do not tire from all the cool stuff all around and the images hopefully will remain in my brain. We continue walking up to the bridge over to the mainland and some rays of sunshine allow us to get some sun on the Temple of Apollo and the waterfront. We show the boys where the Pupi labatorio (puppet shop) is and we watch 2 young men (1 an apprentice?) carve and paint a new marionette. Unfortunately for us, the theatre is shut down until??? Their puppets are a tad creepier looking than the ones in Prague. Exposure to these things is decreasing the freak factor but they still have an element of “eewww”. Pizza tonight is across from the Duomo. New place, fancy in a modern sense but no denying you’re not in Kansas anymore with the view across the Plaza. We find an art opening not far from the Plaza featuring women artists. Some of it is OK, rest is sophmorish or immature. Technique is thin.

Sunday. March 8, 2009

Day starts a bit cloudy but then the sun breaks though, breeze is a bit warmer and after a bit of school work we head to the archeological park in the metropolitan area of Siracusa. It’s funny how you get tickets in an area ¼ mile from the site so they want you to meander the souvenir stalls before you get to the sites, I guess. We cross the busy street toward the park and head to the “teatro Greco”. It was built for a tyrant Heron I by Demacopos and opened in 470 BC with a play called “The Persian”. The 2 levels are separated by a corridor which on certain parts of the walls you can see Greek letters carved. We believe it says “cheap seats” but you never know. They say it could seat 20,000 and it faces the sea but with all the trees and growth it’s hard to tell.

On top of the theatre is a flat terrace with an open area that has water flowing into a grotto, on either side the walls have openings carved into them. I find later that offerings were deposited as the grotto of Nymphaeum was a sacred place for religious ceremonies. There are plays still being performed there in the summer of Greeks tragedies, of course. In the adjoining valley is a quarry where prisoners were forced to dig rock until they died. Hard choices in politics in those days. Greek, Carthage, Syracusian – who you sided with could have been your undoing if not this century, well the next. There a large cave called the “ear of Dionysius”. It has the most amazing acoustics. I was listening to a tour guide sing inside after the boys went back to the entrance and it resonated crystal clear. Bravo !
Not far away is a Roman Amphitheatre built in the 3rd century AD. It’s pretty big but I guess you need big when you play gladiator. It claims to be the 3rd biggest colosseum behind the ones in Rome and Verona. At the end of the quarry is stone they hadn’t gotten around to digging out yet, maybe it was the wrong color or the winning team decided they didn’t need any more stone, but on that small ridge of stone is where the tomb of Archimedes was. Out of all the holes carved in the rock, his was easiest to spot as it had the remains of columns on the side of the opening and the triangle of a roof carved into it. He gets the pretty tomb because he built all the machines of destruction and they decided they liked him, even though the Romans killed him by accident.
Back in Ortigia on a fine afternoon, again we walk the streets and alleys – to the fountain of Aretusa where the papyrus grows and the ducks swim, all along the waterfront in the sunshine with a couple of gelatos to go (mine’s pistachio, yummy). The castle Maniace is closed for renovations. Very Byzantine with painted arches and vaulted ceiling. The amount of people out and about is staggering. The girls in their fashionable jackets and sunglasses and spike heels with patterned hose. Tre` chic! The guys in black leather jackets, scarves and Ray Bans or Gucci sunglasses.
We (Frank and I) have a lovely lunch together at La Foglia. Ann Marie was right – great place, fabulous menu – Lentils & white zucchini soup for me. Ravioli w/meat sauce and a meat ball for Frank. The guys go for internet time and I hang out by Aretusa and enjoy the sunshine and watch the people walk, talk and greet each other. There’s a couple with a tiny brown Chihuahua – he must weigh about 2 pounds and he’s barking at people and dogs 100X bigger than he is. He gets a lot of reaction from people passing by. It’s fun to be part of a parade. What a great ritual these Italians have.
Dinner is on the oceanfront promenade tonight. One of the seaside ristorante – with the outside shelter and heaters are still a nippy for us so we decide to go inside. Great decision. The restaurant is a small round vaulted room with a glass floor and below is a group of pools and fountains spewing water everywhere. It is so cool! There’s a spiral staircase and Aaron & I go down to explore. It’s a low ceiling and narrow walkway but it’s a lot of fun down the. Statues and splashing water in the pools make me have to pee – so up I go. It’s funny to see people’s reaction when they realize the floor is glass – first is joyful surprise then trepidation when they first walk in it, then the look when the women realize that there’s a 13 year old boy that could look up their dresses.

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Off to the southwest coast to find an apartment on the Mediterranean Sea for a week or so. Decide to check out the town of Licata, Agrigento and Sciacca before making a decision. A seaside home in Sciacca base found.