tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45865520597085365532024-03-13T21:00:55.807-07:00My Sicilian HomeDreaming Sicilian dreams...Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-53797161282499000092013-03-04T09:09:00.001-08:002013-03-04T09:11:00.826-08:00And More Progress!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Great news! Nick and I drove an hour to the nearest city to go to our favourite travel agent. I know there are travel agents in our little town but we have been dealing with <a href="http://www.flightcentre.ca/" target="_blank">Flight Centre</a> for a decade now and they have never been anything but helpful. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vintage.johnnyjet.com/images/picfornewsletterMarch112003FlightCentre.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://vintage.johnnyjet.com/images/picfornewsletterMarch112003FlightCentre.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Picture borrowed from <a href="http://vintage.johnnyjet.com/">http://vintage.johnnyjet.com</a> with thanks</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So we bought our tickets, booked the car, got the travel insurance and we are in negotiations for a housesitter! 120 days until we leave for Bella Sicilia! I definitely need to ramp up my Italian studying. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blog.fiatusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/FIAT-500-Abarth-Commercial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://blog.fiatusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/FIAT-500-Abarth-Commercial.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://my-sicilian-home.blogspot.ca/2012/12/a-primer-to-driving-in-sicily-driving.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We may be driving around Sicilia in a Fiat 500, but I will definitely be trying to keep the wheels on the road!</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Other great news! We have more pictures from Scott. The kitchen counter is in, cupboards are up and the sink and the gas stovetop will be installed soon. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVXRurgSYeluVwOCfq408Ct0KckYOH2T2a9u5Jqu4QaZj80_wywAp_MV8d8hQAsDWPMl_cVWBl5TG19BQ1zPMU71IX2hm1uLFrStLm7X51xb5mAKjW80qo6byxuZuQ4Pvo0CZIQqwie51/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVXRurgSYeluVwOCfq408Ct0KckYOH2T2a9u5Jqu4QaZj80_wywAp_MV8d8hQAsDWPMl_cVWBl5TG19BQ1zPMU71IX2hm1uLFrStLm7X51xb5mAKjW80qo6byxuZuQ4Pvo0CZIQqwie51/s400/photo+2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The wood stove has had a facelift and the counters are the beautiful espresso colour we asked Scott for. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMvTJqW61YBES4YBVKOU1Sv9tRvafXGowVPhkQqM2AslVqmusnUEiQb211t4R_TIixyDynUdPiViXf0tUHWWOtL9laTIbJKvV5xQrVUYA_0UJZywFv2FNTF6ZRtU0-tASZPelpcKdRgJd/s1600/photo+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJMvTJqW61YBES4YBVKOU1Sv9tRvafXGowVPhkQqM2AslVqmusnUEiQb211t4R_TIixyDynUdPiViXf0tUHWWOtL9laTIbJKvV5xQrVUYA_0UJZywFv2FNTF6ZRtU0-tASZPelpcKdRgJd/s400/photo+4.jpg" width="298" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There was some leakage from the kitchen but Scott repaired the damage and you can't even see it now.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Scott sent us this message:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On
a side note. The hob and sink have not arrived but I am told they will be here
imminently so they will be fitted etc asap. The house is also drying out nicely.
I would like to get the outside of the house rendered and finished before we
re-paint so that it is water tight and no more damp can come in through the
front wall on the 2nd floor (currently ruining the paintwork we have already
done. (aggggghhhh) nothing for you to worry about though it will all be done in
plenty of time for your next visit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.abcteach.com/free/a/airplane1rgb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.abcteach.com/free/a/airplane1rgb.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is us flying to Sicily! Nick is the one behind the pilot with the curly hair, then me all excited, and then Nick's buddy Bill who is thinking about coming to visit for a week or so.</span></td></tr>
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<!--EndFragment-->Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-62466982197323123792013-02-11T14:39:00.001-08:002013-02-11T14:42:14.351-08:00Privacy Sicilian Style<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>This post was inspired by a blogger whom I only know as <a href="http://siciliangodmother.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">"The Sicilian Housewife"</a>. I really recommend reading her blog as it has me laughing with every post. She recently posted about the concept of privacy and I have reblogged her post below - with her permission of course. But here is my story of privacy in Cianciana.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>I have already blogged about my favourite restaurant in Cianciana, but it is not the only place to get delicious food when you don't want to cook. Even the fast food places make great food. </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqF2dgihX5A3LqNgC8XGhJzK1UB44zgTMfrw68pictwQGr8o496SpWTnz7rt8Acpsaj1GOjXYHyT98mSOcDhJBfGO6cAnQYT5ThrZpsPwf94pWPD2XfQKvWwGC6pduyKdIuo4u43eBaU7p/s1600/P1010195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqF2dgihX5A3LqNgC8XGhJzK1UB44zgTMfrw68pictwQGr8o496SpWTnz7rt8Acpsaj1GOjXYHyT98mSOcDhJBfGO6cAnQYT5ThrZpsPwf94pWPD2XfQKvWwGC6pduyKdIuo4u43eBaU7p/s400/P1010195.JPG" width="300" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Ciancianese Fast Food Place</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>I should clarify "fast food". The menu that sits in the window lists all kinds of wonderful and taste tempting delights: </b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ie-5fRxx1F0P7MrCVWz3CMlFiErrmuODIO-BHoNk9U_6YWiqEK8IIFRnB918qunzppnGF7xG7zJUTKYWeMzhJ9HKEUrrlpc5iVQfLB3I_daaiaQr_OrR0tGciNO0xyJ3MBjLw8BG8dei/s400/P1010196.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ie-5fRxx1F0P7MrCVWz3CMlFiErrmuODIO-BHoNk9U_6YWiqEK8IIFRnB918qunzppnGF7xG7zJUTKYWeMzhJ9HKEUrrlpc5iVQfLB3I_daaiaQr_OrR0tGciNO0xyJ3MBjLw8BG8dei/s1600/P1010196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>verdure grigliate (grilled vegies)</b></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>insalata di polpo (octopus salad)</b></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>insalata di mare (seafood salad)</b></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>tabule' di cuscus freddo (cold couscous)</b></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>pollo allo spiedo (grilled chicken)</b></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>cotoletto alla Milanese (Milan-style cutlet)</b></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>scaloppine ai funghi (mushroom scaloppini)</b></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>arancini (Sicily's fast food gift from the gods)</b></span></li>
</ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>But below the mouth-watering list it says: Ricorda questi piatti solo su ordinazione!! Remember, these dishes are by order only!</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>So, in other words, fast food in Cianciana means ordering it ahead of time and coming back later to pick it up. One of the dishes they offer is roasted chicken and chips but it is only available on Tuesdays and Fridays and only if you order the day before.</b></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxZdsF7rOm20Rw1rqUzam3OPE0oLNp9vPuJzpSvWoX7ZYw6XzXmx8-TmxjlaBXT7D5u61DIrj_0cerHdwwVIJu1s8dLFZpxPicPI0Gh5-2efeM9m2bVmSnL_jcsw2IE17lsCg5TuoM2Ug/s1600/P1010202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxZdsF7rOm20Rw1rqUzam3OPE0oLNp9vPuJzpSvWoX7ZYw6XzXmx8-TmxjlaBXT7D5u61DIrj_0cerHdwwVIJu1s8dLFZpxPicPI0Gh5-2efeM9m2bVmSnL_jcsw2IE17lsCg5TuoM2Ug/s400/P1010202.JPG" width="400" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>I met Maddelena (the proprietress of the fast food joint) while shopping for veggies)</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Nick and I decided that we would try the chicken and chips one Sunday. As directed by the sign, we ordered on Saturday. On Sunday, about 5pm (which is far too early for the 9pm dinner hour in Sicily) we dropped by the shop to see what time the chicken would be ready. The shop was not open yet, but as we stood outside discussing when we should come back, the neighbour came out on her balcony and shouted down to us in Sicilian, "Are you here for your chicken? Maddelena isn't open yet!" Nick called up, "Do you know when she is open? We just wanted to know when to come to pick up our chicken?" Thus began a long discussion across three balconies (the neighbours had come out to see what was going on) with both husbands and wives as to what would be the best time to return and pick up our chicken. Maddelena, who lived with her husband above the fast food shop, was out and therefore could not be consulted. After this prolonged and very loud discussion, it was decided that we should return at 8pm. Which we did. I will say that the chicken and chips (and everything else we picked up from her shop last summer) was delicious. Another big difference between North American fast food and Sicilian fast food.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>But the story doesn't end there. The next day, we were heading out to get "il cafe'" at our favourite bar. We were stopped by our landlady who asked us how the chicken was. We were a bit bemused as she had not been part of the discussion the previous afternoon. We told her it was wonderful. As we started down the street, we were stopped by one of the ladies from the 'consultation'. "Come e' andata la cena di pollo?" she announced to the street. "How was your chicken dinner?" "Molto bene, grazie. Very good, thanks." Off we went towards the bar. On the way (it was only two blocks) we were stopped twice more and asked about our chicken and chips. Later, I told the story to the waitress in the Canadian Pizza restaurant (I am not joking, there truly is a Canadian Pizza restaurant in Cianciana). She snorted and replied, "Of course they asked you. There is nothing else to do here but gossip!" While I don't agree with her sentiment (we found lots to do), clearly gossip is an important part of daily life in Cianciana and privacy has an entirely different meaning there than it does in Canada.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2B7Xp6Gg4scZ9tEERhCwt32AM48Mg1GFbA6AD6tin8l5q-k9bvYfb1Oj4pE_ghzwOFFzJF1KbtcV7Y2zj7djEYYuctwKYTeudz-QwEQWSnn1hmH1KBppo3P2myWZuDS4Uupz7AP57Z7To/s1600/P1010244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2B7Xp6Gg4scZ9tEERhCwt32AM48Mg1GFbA6AD6tin8l5q-k9bvYfb1Oj4pE_ghzwOFFzJF1KbtcV7Y2zj7djEYYuctwKYTeudz-QwEQWSnn1hmH1KBppo3P2myWZuDS4Uupz7AP57Z7To/s320/P1010244.JPG" width="320" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Arancini - Mmmmmmmmmmmmm</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyseq5HFWYRrf7swSI2KSdWga2w1QE24ThsaWreAB8ZuJbBoBV8y6ZTtJglp4jl3zQF6IXU0SzuZcHBc43IpBEnZfwYozcRO0dOXizJghob7flUk-RSsQM627aMiA1ZfbhuI3jaSEWnvN/s1600/P1010273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyseq5HFWYRrf7swSI2KSdWga2w1QE24ThsaWreAB8ZuJbBoBV8y6ZTtJglp4jl3zQF6IXU0SzuZcHBc43IpBEnZfwYozcRO0dOXizJghob7flUk-RSsQM627aMiA1ZfbhuI3jaSEWnvN/s400/P1010273.JPG" width="300" /></b></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>The Canadian Pizza Restaurant</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>And now, I hope you enjoy this post by The Sicilan Housewife. </b></span><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><a href="http://siciliangodmother.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/we-sicilians-want-some-privacy-capeesh/" target="_blank">We Sicilians Want Some Privacy, Capeesh?</a></span><u style="text-underline: #626262;"><span style="color: #626262; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Yesterday,
someone in Belarus hacked into my Facebook account. What did the Slavonic sod
want? What did he find out about me?<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>I
have images of him in my head, in his standard-issue East European shell suit
trousers, toasting his friends with a bottle of Stolichnaya in one hand and a
samovar full of beetroot soup in the other, dolefully singing “Kalinka my
Love” together to celebrate the fact that they finally have the password to a
valid Amazon account, and can order their suicidally depressing 8,000-page Russian
novels online from someone else’s bank account.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Or
is he a pedophile who downloaded photos of all my friends’ kids? and now
knows where they live?<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Of
course we don’t need to be hacked to have our privacy invaded. Facebook
does it for us. You keep saying “No Thanks” to Timeline and, next thing you
know, you have it anyway.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Suddenly
all your comments about your Mother-in-law’s fetish for sausages, and photos
documenting the time you accidentally emptied an entire ice-cream cornet down
your cleavage, are viewable by “public” instead of “friends only.” One of
your contacts comments on a photo you’ve posted, so now all <i>their</i>
friends can see it too.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>You
decide to politely click “like” on a random article you read online, about how
to write a novel so bestselling it will leave Stephenie Meyer in the gutter,
and mysteriously there’s an announcement to all your Facebook contacts that
“The Sicilian Housewife likes The Twilight Saga” accompanied by a photo of a
topless, oiled Taylor Lautner smouldering at the camera (or possibly having
contact lens trouble, it’s hard to tell.) Not only this, but the author of the
article is now one of your “friends” and can read everything you have ever put
on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Sicilians
have a totally different way of doing privacy. An excellent way. Read on for
instructions.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>At
first sight they don’t understand privacy. The Italian language has no word for
it. In an Italian-English dictionary, you are offered words which mean <i>intimacy</i>,
<i>isolation</i>, or <i>solitude </i>as a translation for privacy. The Italian
solution to this linguistic shortfall is simply to use the English word,
pronounced very badly with an Italian accent: praaaivasee.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>It
is a trendy buzz word in Sicily these days. This is probably because of <i>La
Legge Sulla Privacy</i>, or ‘The Law About Privacy,’ which is what the Italians
call their version of the Data Protection Act. Sicilians love this law because
it gives them a universal, infallible excuse for laziness and incompetence. “No
I can’t give you your blood test results because of the Legge sulla privacy.”
“No I can’t give you any money out of your bank account because of the Legge
sulla privacy.” “No I can’t move my car out of the way of your garage door
because of the Legge sulla privacy.”<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>One
of my neighbours, Mrs. Greenfingers, planted a row of luscious leafy
plants along her railings last summer, which created a bit of dappled shade and
reduced the x-ray view passers-by had into her living room by about ten
percent. Everyone in the street praised her on this wonderful idea for
obtaining a bit of privacy. Sorry, I mean praaaivasee.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>My
Mother-in-law (rendered internationally famous by this very blog, under her
alias The Godmother) liked it more than anyone. Every time she came to visit
us, she would stop, bend over and peer through it, looking for a suitable hole
through which to check whether the neighbour was at home. The Godmother wanted
a good look at her privacy. Mrs. Greenfingers was usually in her garden,
peering back out.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>If
not, The Godmother would push some leaves aside and shout out at the top of her
voice until she emerged, and responded to The Godmother’s friendly greetings
and enquiries into her private life. Indeed, the Godmother asked her for
gardening advice on cultivating such a succulent screen, as she had decided she
thought her newly installed privacy was so enviable they would like to have
some praaaaivaseee of her own. Don’t run away with the idea my mother-in-law is
a particularly prying person. Oh no, everybody peered through that plant
screen, all the time.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Last
time I was at The Godmother’s house, she carefully explained privacy to one of
her neighbours. Since privacy is so trendy, she was certainly not going to
pass up her chance to show off a bit.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>“My
daughter-in-law is English, and they think privacy is very important,” she
boasted from her balcony, her tea-towel fluttering in the breeze. “They have a
terrace outside for doing barbecues, but there’s a solid wall between them and
the neighbours, so they can eat in privacy. That’s the new way of doing it,”
she explained, switching into Sicilian conspiratorially. “Capisci?”<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>She
pronounces <i>capisci</i> as capeesh, and it means “do you understand?”
Sicilians only use this word at the end of a detailed explanation of something
precious, a titbit of information for the select few. Getting “capeeshed” is a
priviledge that, I am proud to say, The Godmother has bestowed on me
several times.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>The
next day, The Godmother turned up unexpectedly at my house with a special kind
of Sicilian sausage that is about three yards long and all coiled up into a
spiral. If you’ve ever been on one of those up-the-jungle holidays in Thailand
and tried to avoid malarial encephalitis by taking a rucksack full of moist
mosquito coils with you, you’ll be able to visualise it quite well. You usually
slap it onto a barbecue, but The Godmother did the other great Sicilian thing,
frying it in orange juice.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Since
the sausage tasted simply divine, the processed pork product of the gods, my
husband decided to make the neighbours try some. Sicilians do this whenever
they cook something that turns out particularly delicious. We happened to be up
on the roof terrace: you know, that one with solid walls that gives
us our wonderfully trendy privacy.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Hubby
hammered on The Wall of Privacy till he established, with disappointment, that
the immediate neighbours were out. Then he climbed up onto the wall, so he could
peer past the immediate neighbours’ roof terrace, and into the terrace
of the neighbours beyond them, Mr. and Mrs. Greenfingers, to find out if
they were at home.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>I
should explain here that The Wall of Privacy has a slippery marble top, which
slopes downwards towards the outer wall of the house. After springing up onto
it, with his bum hovvering over a sheer drop of at least 30 feet, Hubby spotted
Mr. Greenfingers and started telling him in Sicilian about sausages. Actually,
he had to attract his attention by shouting rather loudly, at an estimated 700
decibels - another Sicilian cultural tradition. I’m pretty sure, by this
time, they even knew about that sausage as far away as Catania and maybe even
Naples.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Mr.
Greenfingers was so excited about tasting the porcine ambrosia that Hubby
grabbed some and climbed over The Wall of Privacy, the one that looks like a
chute made for whooshing you off the terrace and down 30 feet to a splattery
death, all the while holding the plate of sausage in the air like a silver
service waiter. His legs flailed over the precipice, his buttocks dared to defy
gravity, and finally he plopped to safety on the other side. He walked
across the immediate neighbour’s roof terrace, commenting that their new
barbecue looked nice, and handed some sausage to Mr. Greenfingers. Whilst he
ate it on the spot and broke into poetic eulogies about The Godmother’s
culinary talents, I was having a hyperventilation attack. I had almost
been widowed.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>While
Hubby climbed back (my head was in my hands by now, I couldn’t look), The
Godmother and Mr. Greenfingers engaged in a chat about the wonders of
praaaaivaseee.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>I
think all this makes it abundantly clear that Sicilians just don’t comprehend
privacy in the English sense of the word.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>They
know how to keep secrets, though. One of the harshest criticisms a Sicilian can
make of anyone is “Da troppo confidenza!” This means, “He confides too much”,
or “He is too open”. You’re supposed to keep your personal stuff personal, no
blabbing. Capeesh?<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>I
hardly know a single Sicilian who uses their real name on Facebook or their
email address. They all invent an alias, so you can only identify them if
they have revealed it to you. Their profile photo is a wacky image of a cat or
some boobs or a big piece of cheese. They use Facebook to play games like
Farmerama or pass on silly jokes and cartoons. They never write about their
families or anything else personal.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>The
neighbours can peer through the plants or look at their new barbecue all they
want. Online, they’re anonymous and untraceable.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Who
cares if the neighbours have climbed into their garden and seen their barbecue?
At least they know that no future employer will ever find out what they do when
they’re drunk, no hacker will ever use their bank account to order the complete
works of Tolstoy bound in de luxe leather, and no pedophile will ever see a
photo of their kids in their swimming trunks.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #343434; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>In
the modern world, isn’t that real privacy?</b></span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-4489250914930457482013-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:002013-02-01T09:40:36.826-08:00Sicilian Wines from a Tea-totaler<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jF5RorFYPIs?rel=0" width="853"></iframe>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I can’t believe that, after 9 months of blogging about
Sicily, I haven’t mentioned wine even once!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Now I know what you are saying. "Diane!" you say. "That film was about wines from Bascilicata!" Yes, that is true. I did include a film about Bascilicata wines, but this wonderful little film captures the essence of family in Italian wines. I have to thank <a href="http://www.cantforget.it/artist/caspar-diederik" target="_blank">Caspar Diederick</a>, the very talented, young Dutch film-maker for permission to post this lovely film. Please check out his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalDiaryItaly/videos?flow=grid&view=0" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>. I also have to apologize for the layout of the film on the page. I haven't yet figured out how to shrink it down to fit a little better.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I must, at this point, make a disclaimer. I don't actually drink wine. In fact, I don't really drink anything at all except water, coffee, and the occasional club soda. And yes, I can hear you now. "Diane! How can you, an non-drinker, write about Sicilian wine???" Well, everything that I know about Sicilian wine, or really any wine, I learned from my very Sicilian husband, Nick. He is my expert, and I bow to his knowledge! So, under the tutelage of Nick, here is my treatise on Sicilian wine.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoj25Ma0l9QnKEuIgRQVm2OVTi4Amyoyyaxuh64E0-n4HKHktf-FAckESoszcCqzN-hEWuvD04qYy7acPsVBBjB9qu5KZsT6B7twl5Y25iJ0rkfXOlImSWBkyyXrKD37t9ELrgbiQLHr4b/s1600/GEDC0261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoj25Ma0l9QnKEuIgRQVm2OVTi4Amyoyyaxuh64E0-n4HKHktf-FAckESoszcCqzN-hEWuvD04qYy7acPsVBBjB9qu5KZsT6B7twl5Y25iJ0rkfXOlImSWBkyyXrKD37t9ELrgbiQLHr4b/s400/GEDC0261.JPG" width="393" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Every meal must have wine!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Wine is the lifeblood that runs through Sicilian veins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Nick was a boy, his father made
wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mean he went to the local
“wine and beer boutique”, picked out a box or two, paid for it then came back
in a month or so to bottle it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nope, he
made wine in the basement of their house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their yard wasn’t big enough to grow grapevines so they would buy boxes
and boxes of wine grapes when they came in from California.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for Nick, he probably had his first glass
of (watered down) wine when he was five or so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfW2AGQD6q_ALNd4y77YcX6aUwu0kQ0CxA_jugg8o8ftMS90XuM7Icz2Lcx98LNe9XwuLtJL3BnVXBDUffn9deLN1DWnGhXmnYIDQhpcrGAw83U14hZp1VD2RadEELddpbCLqipczP4akm/s1600/P1010463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfW2AGQD6q_ALNd4y77YcX6aUwu0kQ0CxA_jugg8o8ftMS90XuM7Icz2Lcx98LNe9XwuLtJL3BnVXBDUffn9deLN1DWnGhXmnYIDQhpcrGAw83U14hZp1VD2RadEELddpbCLqipczP4akm/s400/P1010463.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Later, when Nick moved to Vancouver Island, he bought the
house we currently live in which has about 2/3 of an acre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perfect grape growing country!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It actually is, Vancouver Island is covered
with small, excellent wineries).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nick
and his uncle would pick the grapes, add a couple of boxes from California, and
then make their own wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nick has told
me that his uncle’s wine would knock you flat after two glasses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Wine making is a family affair all over Sicily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most families have home-made wine tucked away
in dark cupboards to be pulled out at every family function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These wines are often strong, red wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best part of these wines is the family
feeling and love that they engender.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But, apart from home-made wines, there are excellent wines
to be found in Sicily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, Sicily
has more wineries than any other region in Italy and competes with only Puglia
to be the largest wine-producing region in Italy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are travelling through Sicily on about
November 11<sup>th</sup>, Saint Martin’s day, you will see signs of festa del
vino, or festival of the wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
said, in Sicily, <span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Il giorno di San Martino il mosto diventa vino</span><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> or "On Saint Martin's
Day the grape juice becomes wine".</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sicily is most famous, of course, for it’s dessert wines,
particularly it’s Marsala.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1773,
Englishman John Woodhouse came across a wonderful sweet wine while travelling
in Marsala.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wanting to take this wine
back to England, he added extra alcohol in order to have it survive the long
journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is how the Marsala wine
was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wine was such a hit that
Woodhouse returned to Marsala and continued to produce this lovely dessert
wine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0KFOOAjZtLRpYOnEBGvQiDlIh5XD8EQWqfMjX4nEMJVw9QOVdh6u7ZbeCKhV16KT-6MdY5swPcN45huv78C1SAmhRZTSZlPP8ZIWqZICrlsX6hyphenhyphensfr_wC8o1uYCpEtwxIshdAU0Peved/s1600/P1010792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0KFOOAjZtLRpYOnEBGvQiDlIh5XD8EQWqfMjX4nEMJVw9QOVdh6u7ZbeCKhV16KT-6MdY5swPcN45huv78C1SAmhRZTSZlPP8ZIWqZICrlsX6hyphenhyphensfr_wC8o1uYCpEtwxIshdAU0Peved/s400/P1010792.JPG" width="286" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The label is hard to read, but this is a Marsala</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Another Sicilian wine worth trying is the Caruso and Minini
Cusora Syrah-Merlot blend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an
award winning wine having been awarded<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
with the Great Gold Medal, for the second year in a row in Brussels, and with
Silver at the Syrah du Monde. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Another Syrah is
the Fuedo Arancio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has an aroma of
wild berry with an undertone of chocolate and licorice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqbOEFl3p8fufgO5qW5Y9tkDBKqDNmL8i_CzxTHQPhdZrG8-jysg7U4RywibMRuWAMc3PEbHGhaKRGK_UBykPNjqB91Qt2dG5YRCGXnUXB7C7hBX6k8AaJAmPNph2RtMRwREj3MHjMUGY/s1600/P1010795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqbOEFl3p8fufgO5qW5Y9tkDBKqDNmL8i_CzxTHQPhdZrG8-jysg7U4RywibMRuWAMc3PEbHGhaKRGK_UBykPNjqB91Qt2dG5YRCGXnUXB7C7hBX6k8AaJAmPNph2RtMRwREj3MHjMUGY/s400/P1010795.JPG" width="278" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Most non-Italians,
when they think of Sicilian wine, picture rich reds, but Sicily produces good
white wines as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The MezzoMondo Pinot
Grigio Chardonnay is a wine with a fruity aroma and a slight tang of spices on
the tongue.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5jJPKGnj5HeBuFMLYLgwBhjxPoLadP3fOAJ0Igk3G9vXxqhTJZKHMx0RpHCtIlblwSwrjpZkERP_M0WfdBHJ_E4K7dg7FugvP0ddYuKfOcKkhnLuxvrIsrJKcnUJyo_vUu9yGUFUA62L/s1600/P1010798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5jJPKGnj5HeBuFMLYLgwBhjxPoLadP3fOAJ0Igk3G9vXxqhTJZKHMx0RpHCtIlblwSwrjpZkERP_M0WfdBHJ_E4K7dg7FugvP0ddYuKfOcKkhnLuxvrIsrJKcnUJyo_vUu9yGUFUA62L/s400/P1010798.JPG" width="313" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I have to say, for a non drinker, I certainly learned a lot writing this post. Thank you Nick! While researching this post isn't going to make me start drinking wine, I will enjoy watching my husband enjoy his much more. </span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-58756122683026496262013-01-17T10:03:00.001-08:002013-01-17T10:09:02.300-08:00Things to Think About Before Travelling<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7fiOiEfC3y4qVhdndy8RFjzOr-Efloka7W-rYuPO9POzJP4xzJAPkPEPjK_eKYafeKefO63a4_UcN9qkVlfkgnlWZHEVhRHJHQKabpB4f14COQL10ZSoTwZMjbFfkLazg0tVooVNuOj2L/s1600/IMG_0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7fiOiEfC3y4qVhdndy8RFjzOr-Efloka7W-rYuPO9POzJP4xzJAPkPEPjK_eKYafeKefO63a4_UcN9qkVlfkgnlWZHEVhRHJHQKabpB4f14COQL10ZSoTwZMjbFfkLazg0tVooVNuOj2L/s400/IMG_0019.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is me panicking on the gondola ride up Mount Etna...I have a real fear of heights.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Over in the world of Wordpress (another blogging site) I started following Jen at <a href="http://wanderoneday.com/" target="_blank">Wander One Day</a>. Her blog today contained a list of, as she called it, Crisis Containment Plans. I thought it was a good list and one that should be shared, so here it is (with a few comments from me between the ***):</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Crisis Containment Plans:</span></b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Have a list of emergency
contacts and their phone numbers.</span></b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> (written on paper in case you are unconscious, someone
else can access them) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">***I would also keep them in your phone***</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3a3939;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Have a form of health
insurance in place that will cover you while traveling.</span></b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> (even if they bill you up
front, having it in place will allow you to get reimbursed) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">***Emergency care is free in Italy, but beyond that you have to pay***</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3a3939;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Be aware of emergency
resources in foreign countries.</span></b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> (what is the equivalent of 911?) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">***In Italy it is 112***</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3a3939;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Be aware of your
surroundings.</span></b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> (don’t
wander around with your headphones on, oblivious to the world – keep an eye out
for suspicious things around you) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">***And in Italy,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta;"> <a href="http://my-sicilian-home.blogspot.ca/2012/12/a-primer-to-driving-in-sicily-driving.html" target="_blank">crazy drivers</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">***</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3a3939;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Know where your country’s
embassies are located.</span></b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> (if a war breaks out or even if you just lose your passport,
your embassy can help you get home – don’t forget to email yourself a digital
copy of your passport for this purpose) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">***Closest Canadian consulate to Sicily is in Naples - not sure about other consulates***</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3a3939;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Have prearranged meeting
locations if you are traveling with others.</span></b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> (if you get separated, arrange to meet up at a specific
hotel, restaurant, or other easily found public place – also have a photo of the
others in your group in case you need to provide it to authorities if the other
person gets lost)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Don’t keep all of your money
and important documents in one place.</span></b><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"> (keep spare money hidden somewhere it can’t be
pickpocketed, keep a copy of your passports in an email account, etc)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #3a3939; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">And this one is more minor,
but equally as important: <b>Alert your bank in advance that you will be
traveling in certain countries.</b> (you don’t want to run out of
money and have your credit and debit cards to be frozen on a weekend
when you can’t call your bank to unlock the accounts)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 11.0pt 36.0pt; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -36.0pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">***This last suggestion is mine - </span>Use
a travel agent rather than buying your tickets online and keep his/her phone
number and email handy. Besides the fact that your TA often gets better deals
than the ones online, if there is some emergency and you need to quickly change
your flights, a quick email or phone call to your TA will usually get you the
help you need.***</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3a3939;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #3a3939;">Many
of you are experienced travelers, solo and in groups. Do you have anything to
add to the list?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Thanks to <a href="http://wanderoneday.com/about/" target="_blank">Jen</a> for giving me permission to reblog her list!!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-2407150891114069642013-01-10T08:56:00.002-08:002013-01-10T08:58:30.573-08:00More Pictures!!! Feedback needed...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Scott sent us a few new pictures of the terrazza and the kitchen and I would love some feedback.</span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnZvnbs72_7FKkqurGzXK-9V-cOHW4xSTRUrdagW8QTZCCi0BXFkxVwxeD2GCgEeEmgG3Flr161OUK9pfN_0jxLmkYMfO9xz_QHY1KhP3hiDSAIzPhjbNTq5NQhO6QU6wBhTotTvK78CP/s1600/photo-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnZvnbs72_7FKkqurGzXK-9V-cOHW4xSTRUrdagW8QTZCCi0BXFkxVwxeD2GCgEeEmgG3Flr161OUK9pfN_0jxLmkYMfO9xz_QHY1KhP3hiDSAIzPhjbNTq5NQhO6QU6wBhTotTvK78CP/s400/photo-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><b>This is the new tile on our terrazza off the kitchen. I love it!!!</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_Z6e1NknnbwXEAYz6F-VuGT-_AF3cPwKeryf5HbNNVvZOX91Fyz3xO5GSrKoGVmynNgWr2Iu6MdXOvno4VlCdAXCSpt8XM5LBbZU1d4-dG2t_iu0q6cz2p5tJ3SRDhgoh2gkmBY7yxV2/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_Z6e1NknnbwXEAYz6F-VuGT-_AF3cPwKeryf5HbNNVvZOX91Fyz3xO5GSrKoGVmynNgWr2Iu6MdXOvno4VlCdAXCSpt8XM5LBbZU1d4-dG2t_iu0q6cz2p5tJ3SRDhgoh2gkmBY7yxV2/s400/image.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our new countertop being installed! So much work space!</span></b></td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitM_IiIe0EQUfe2eor0ydtnhNt-YiJVMicTT-TES-8BYbs4wc8NYESndAfeDiIHRwO_ubeoIrmPX4NdMzxK_2T-WLT_Ei_cNhxlnjiqM3XlRBhNFcOVGuNAQnVH33KdWWKGlISRYyCod9D/s1600/image-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitM_IiIe0EQUfe2eor0ydtnhNt-YiJVMicTT-TES-8BYbs4wc8NYESndAfeDiIHRwO_ubeoIrmPX4NdMzxK_2T-WLT_Ei_cNhxlnjiqM3XlRBhNFcOVGuNAQnVH33KdWWKGlISRYyCod9D/s400/image-1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Scott asked if we like this colour stain. While I like this colour, I think a darker stain might make the countertop pop more. What do you think? I would love some input!</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-14537746281866528372013-01-03T15:39:00.000-08:002013-01-03T16:15:51.487-08:00La Bella Figura - Part 2<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">[La bella figura] basically means
that you don't want others, be they strangers or friends, to have a negative
impression of you. .... they must always think you are the tops. This
means bringing for example, cookies to someone's house if you're invited over
for just coffee...that's putting on a bella figura. It means kids always
saying please, thank you and not being wild when visiting others ... this is
bella figura. It means helping or offering your help to neighbours
even if they don't ask for it...that is bella figura.” <a href="http://expatsinitaly.com/node/16872" target="_blank">Expats in Italy</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOh-NqZ08mQoyRLaIisXQsQl83YH5pH0CmkWvJTFT-pRcOL30D49Mey49ayVYHVDuWN4VIF0JwiYo8X4OlAr6tLtg90r33l9v2dawO1sUReSb8v5ysEnFuJDkax7AHqeprby8yb6c1D9ae/s1600/P1010337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOh-NqZ08mQoyRLaIisXQsQl83YH5pH0CmkWvJTFT-pRcOL30D49Mey49ayVYHVDuWN4VIF0JwiYo8X4OlAr6tLtg90r33l9v2dawO1sUReSb8v5ysEnFuJDkax7AHqeprby8yb6c1D9ae/s400/P1010337.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rosaria, our friendly landlady, insisted on changing clothes and putting on a touch of make-up <br />before she had her picture taken.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I believe that anyone who lives
in or visits Italy experiences la bella figura in one way or another. Perhaps the only exception to this might be
those who, after landing in Rome or Milan take a taxi to the most North
American or British style hotel their travel agent could book for them, eat
only in the hotel restaurant, and take guided tours of the most famous
sites. Then, they cab it back to the
airport, fly home and tell their friends about their wonderful or
not-so-wonderful holiday in Italy. Yet
even these people may have been touched by la bella figura (even though they
haven’t realized it) in their dealings with the hotel staff, the taxi driver,
and the tour guide. It’s a shame that
these tourists don’t understand the concept of la bella figura as they most
certainly make “la brutta figura” – a bad impression. These are the tourists that you can hear
saying things like “This pizza/coffee/pasta isn’t like what we get back home in
Chicago/Toronto/Manchester!” How sad to
come to Italy and not make the most of the experience. Once, when we were visiting Roma, outside the
Colosseum, we saw a group of Americans who were being guarded on all sides by
what were obviously members of the secret service. I have no idea who these people were but I
thought to myself what a restricted view of Italy these people will go home
with!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;">“I definately see most people
doing their best to be kind, thoughtful, gracious, polite, and helpful.”<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><a href="http://expatsinitaly.com/node/16872" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta; font-family: inherit;">Expats in Italy</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;">My husband, my daughter and I
have all been grateful recipients of la bella figura. In 2010 we visited Nick’s family in
Sicily.</span><span style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlFjnm_Nc0m6Q4c1Pzt7Z-_rGUlQg6uJMDJeRD161t4PbwmxpKX5vKpuP-ZQAMM1xbZwmI8HVKsvrYiXdEKrDHH2-dfdtlXAxc6EylQaEC0reW1qkLQp7IXD70ca_caUatjp6DluDZM8N/s1600/GEDC0312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlFjnm_Nc0m6Q4c1Pzt7Z-_rGUlQg6uJMDJeRD161t4PbwmxpKX5vKpuP-ZQAMM1xbZwmI8HVKsvrYiXdEKrDHH2-dfdtlXAxc6EylQaEC0reW1qkLQp7IXD70ca_caUatjp6DluDZM8N/s400/GEDC0312.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Capizzi</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;">We drove a windy road up to
Capizzi and went into the town hall where Mimma, Nick’s cousin, worked as the
town clerk. This started a wonderful,
whirlwind day. We were introduced to the
mayor of Capizzi, treated to a delicious seven course meal with family members
that Nick had never heard of before. We
were toured around the town and visited all the churches, saw the home that
Nick’s dad had grown up in, and were invited into the homes of distant
relatives. He was surrounded by people
who came to tell him that they remembered his father or his mother from 55
years before. And every person treated
us with kindness, delight, and joy. We
felt completely and totally welcomed.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mimma and Jackie at lunch</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">At the end of a huge lunch</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nick's father grew up here.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Friendly neighbours who came out to see the "Capizi boy from Canada".</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nick with two of his elderly cousins.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;">Nick and I are active members of
<a href="http://www.couchsurfing.org/" target="_blank">Couchsurfing</a>. In 2010, we couchsurfed
our way from Sicilia to Milano. We were
welcomed into so many homes and treated to so many wonderful experiences. In Agrigento, Marilena and her mother,
Giovanna, took us to the family farm where we picked fruit fresh off the trees. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Giovanna picking fresh vegies.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Marilena and her mother Giovanna</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;">In Catania, Nello toured us through museums
and took us to a jazz concert and later we picked bananas in his garden with his father. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nello and his dad picking bananas.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;">In Puglia, Elena and Paolo put us up in a
beautiful trullo and included us in their community and celebrations for their
son’s birthday. Luca, who hosted us in
his house in Padua, gave us one of our best days in Italy, touring us through
all the wonderful backstreets of Venice.
And Matteo in Bergamo treated us to an evening of laughter with his
friends in a pub way out in the middle of farmers’ fields. Every host we had went out of their way to
make our stay with them memorable. Each,
in his or her own way, was the embodiment of la bella figura.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cianciana</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Last summer, in Cianciana, we
witnessed la bella figura every day. In
the evenings, people dressed their best and did passeggiata (a slow stroll) up
and down the main street. Bars placed
tables and chairs on the sidewalks and they were filled all night as the
visitors and Ciancianese alike watched the unofficial parade fill the street. More than once we were invited for coffee or
a drink because in Cianciana they say, “the visitor never pays”. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Gaetano invited us for a coffee at the Antico Bar Trieste as we watched the passeggiata.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A youth group entertains the people strolling along the street.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Over and over the people in Cianciana treated
us with grace, kindness and helpfulness.
When we told our friends and coworkers in Canada that we were planning
on buying and renovating a house in Sicily, so many of them told us we were
crazy and that we would be cheated out of our hard earned money. Instead we found a realtor and a contractor
who were honest and transparent in all their dealings with us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit;">Please don’t misunderstand
me. There are things that that are
annoying and frustrating in Sicily too.
When Nick and I made our bank account we had to sign a stack of papers
at least an inch thick. As I mentioned
in several earlier posts, <a href="http://my-sicilian-home.blogspot.ca/2012/12/a-primer-to-driving-in-sicily-driving.html" target="_blank">driving can be hair-raising</a>. Gas is ridiculously expensive. People crowd together on beaches and yell
back and forth. But for every difficult
moment there are ten joyful ones. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Researching and writing this post
has been a real learning experience.
Nick and I have been such grateful recipients of la bella figura that we
both want to make sure we make la bella
figura ourselves.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #414141; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-30320660969223427612012-12-30T22:14:00.002-08:002013-01-12T17:45:17.505-08:00La Bella Figura : Part 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“Being Italian is a full time job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We never forget who we are.” Severgnini from
<u>La Bella Figura.</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Recently Nick and I watched a Canadian news special about
the sinking of the Costa Concordia and particularly about the actions of the
captain <a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/10/18/1350581410852/Francesco-Schettino-arriv-008.jpg" target="_blank">Francesco Schettino</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Canadian reporter was very critical of Schettino when he arrived at the first
of the hearings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why was he critical?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because he was wearing an exquisitely
tailored suit, silk shirt, expensive leather shoes, and he had not a single
hair out of place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was tanned and
smiling for the cameras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I commented on
this to my husband. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">“Well, of course he dressed like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s la bella figura!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nick nodded his agreement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A strict translation of la bella figura is “a
beautiful figure”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A more useful
translation would be “to make a good impression”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we in North America understand the
concept of making a good impression, and many people would consider it
important, it is not embedded in our cultures here the way it is in Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Canadian news reporter assumed (as many
Canadians would) that his appearance and behaviour indicated a lack of humility
or feeling of responsibility for his actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is completely wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
appearance and way of entering the courtroom would be expected in Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be completely shameful if he hadn’t
tried to make that impression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now,
don’t get me wrong, I think his behaviour as captain was appalling and he
should face a trial, but these comments by the Canadian journalist show a real
lack of understanding of the Italian culture and psyche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just by happenstance, a few days later I turned on my
favourite Italian cooking show that is broadcast in Canada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/b011298x" target="_blank">The Two Greedy Italians</a> are two rather plump,
very funny Italian gentlemen who travel the length of Italy to find some of the
best traditional Italian food and to explain how it is related to Italian
culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this particular episode they
visited a nonna living in Tuscany who talked about how la bella figura is part
and parcel of how she gathers her food and how she feeds her family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps there was more to this bella figura thing than I realized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To make myself better informed on this topic, I started by
reading Beppe Severgnini’s book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/La-Bella-Figura-Field-Italian/dp/0767914406/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358041479&sr=8-1&keywords=la+bella+figura" target="_blank">La Bella Figura:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Field Guide to the Italian Mind</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I glimpsed my first explanation of the need
to make a good impression in his words about the airport in Milano: “Malpensa encapsulates
the nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only a naïve observer would
mistake this for confusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually
it’s performance art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
improvisation by gifted actors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one
believes for one second that he or she is an extra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone’s a star no matter how modest the
part.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hmmm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely there is more to la bella figura than
this seemingly egocentric view of life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I began to ask my Italian friends and expats who live in Italy this
question: What does la bella figura mean in your life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got these answers:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 11.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 10.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“I'm an American who has been living in Milan for about 18 months. I
first interpreted the idea of bella figura to mean that people dressed their
best to make a good impression on others, and I further interpreted it to mean
that I (and my kids) would be judged harshly for not keeping up with trends or
designer labels. I have no interest in those things, and I can't afford them in
any case, so I figured I was doomed to disdain. Now I interpret it more
generously. I take it to mean that each of us has a duty to be our best selves.
For some that will lend itself to ostentatious shows of fabulousness, but for
most of us people (Italian and otherwise) it will just mean "putting in
the effort" to make the best of what you have, be it in terms of how you
dress, how you cook and eat, or the energy and kindness you extend to others.” <a href="http://expatsinitaly.com/node/16872" target="_blank">Expats in Italy</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 11.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 10.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“…back in '70s my Uncle Louis, who traveled to Italy often,
pointed out that in Italy and only in Italy, you can spend 10 thousand lire at
a cheap trattoria or 40 thousand lire at an expensive restaurant and you get
the same meal. From the poorest to the richest, they want to make a good
impression with their food.” <a href="http://expatsinitaly.com/node/16872" target="_blank">Expats in Italy</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 11.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 10.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In Italy, when we say "bella figura" we are likely to refer to
our behavior, before our looks. "Fai una bella figura" when you have
just done something honest, useful and nice to the others. Or especially, if
you are polite. Banally, years ago we went to a restaurant in Rome, and
the final bill was missing desserts and coffees. We could have shut up about
it, but we felt it was fair to call the waiter and tell him. He was very surprised
and admitted that such a thing would rarely happen. So, that moment we were
making a veeery bella figura of ourselves and (to his eyes) of people from
north Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bella figura is also
showing you have a beautiful house, you can set a table in an elegant way, or
cook in an extraordinary way.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BrunoBozzettoChannel" target="_blank">Anita and Irene Bozzetto</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 11.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 10.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->“…in my opinion the bella figura comes a lot into play also because we
are a small town [Cianciana] and we all know each other and so a lot of people
try to impress each other. I come from a big city so I don't have that kind of
mentality. Plus it's a very outdoor lifestyle and we are strutting our stuff
all over town and so they like to make a big show. Of course, we are
individualistic and like to make a good impression, but in my opinion this is a
good thing (individualism instead of collective) because it values the person -
see the way the sick, elderly etc are treated around town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, style is in the Italian DNA -
fashion, art, cars, etc . God gives different people and nations different
gifts so that they get together and make the world a better place for all.” <a href="http://www.ciancianamyhouse.it/public/as1/index.asp?message=" target="_blank">Joe Guida</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 11.0pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 10.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">“I
not only grew up in an Italian family but spent almost all the summers of my
youth in Italy. I embrace the ideal of la bella figura, and although some
people may interpret this term negatively, I see it as an aspiration of being
your best self. I take pride in my appearance, for me, not for anyone else. I
don't think you have to spend lots of, or any, money to embrace this
notion. I strive to always be gracious to others and bring hostess gifts,
etc.” <a href="http://expatsinitaly.com/node/16872" target="_blank">Expats in Italy</a></span></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<!--EndFragment-->Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-81428920118356639182012-12-12T13:51:00.001-08:002012-12-12T13:52:35.878-08:00We Have Pictures!!!!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We have pictures! Scott, owner of <a href="http://ciancianaproperty.com/" target="_blank">Access Sicily Property</a>, who is doing all the reno work for us and has been and continues to be wonderful through this process, has sent pictures and an update.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The bedroom wall that had been half taken down by the previous owner has been returned to it's pristine state:</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uUmfhesajAFqp45er1qnzZWK31kRnuSJtigi33R1QnzDN_pebqiWDn1EY6IDIK5hjkM3yPBhBN7KMckpDrif3z6Br1-yX4no5CpDsWApBO_fRb4cDm9MYtsyAqdZExXEUD_BGX8QCU9z/s1600/IMG_0177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uUmfhesajAFqp45er1qnzZWK31kRnuSJtigi33R1QnzDN_pebqiWDn1EY6IDIK5hjkM3yPBhBN7KMckpDrif3z6Br1-yX4no5CpDsWApBO_fRb4cDm9MYtsyAqdZExXEUD_BGX8QCU9z/s400/IMG_0177.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Before</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCLtr8etpR6yYCIwCEoCny5qLb1iL-raJs15bBq-OsQ314n9NR83XJXmbFf_5DVRiqBLYW8QCF5XKIzq2WrDT_tBHCFHhS1pKWEEHedPbFdwgN8p8n6AVhfvvcV27Niqi1KSEJG1wxgfd/s1600/photo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCLtr8etpR6yYCIwCEoCny5qLb1iL-raJs15bBq-OsQ314n9NR83XJXmbFf_5DVRiqBLYW8QCF5XKIzq2WrDT_tBHCFHhS1pKWEEHedPbFdwgN8p8n6AVhfvvcV27Niqi1KSEJG1wxgfd/s400/photo+1.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The asbestos roof on the storage room on the top terrazza in now off and replaced and two 1000 litre water tanks have been installed.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6g_RkRdNb8UBj-WcyydTi7U_BeEuXPuHUxgXcuZy7TCR1Qu-8nefQ53-odDDPm42WlxRMfJGHA8j4W41U4PAkL2KLadVvBstHl3iQBFz02XrQl26425E1QpMOB4V1LbC9lqyXieO_xcHU/s1600/IMG_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6g_RkRdNb8UBj-WcyydTi7U_BeEuXPuHUxgXcuZy7TCR1Qu-8nefQ53-odDDPm42WlxRMfJGHA8j4W41U4PAkL2KLadVvBstHl3iQBFz02XrQl26425E1QpMOB4V1LbC9lqyXieO_xcHU/s400/IMG_0206.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Old storage room asbestos roof</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5zS5oSNdms4i0o2Fpy0wWkk8kEjyJyKBLii4pGLWJSzHE6yL8uFuodEK5skNShZ15wEPDPLrvJQ5pxinG4WDFqKakzmI7oFBSClAo5fLjz1s90t8sOSrQEAe3t9OT6_dy_AGfK3-vA0o/s1600/IMG_0205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5zS5oSNdms4i0o2Fpy0wWkk8kEjyJyKBLii4pGLWJSzHE6yL8uFuodEK5skNShZ15wEPDPLrvJQ5pxinG4WDFqKakzmI7oFBSClAo5fLjz1s90t8sOSrQEAe3t9OT6_dy_AGfK3-vA0o/s400/IMG_0205.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">More of the old roof</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsErQ6nERQCYMcEs8lrdxtdWRq5gDTkbBen42vdc94WCiJnBdyuQKpJFhOqPp2wxMnLI5dHSRuSptnOKITH-ZKc_3N7WWRFMBT6Ur9s1kwIITC-M0JqQCQ85XKlGbxcen64gMCp0vL83S/s1600/IMG_0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsErQ6nERQCYMcEs8lrdxtdWRq5gDTkbBen42vdc94WCiJnBdyuQKpJFhOqPp2wxMnLI5dHSRuSptnOKITH-ZKc_3N7WWRFMBT6Ur9s1kwIITC-M0JqQCQ85XKlGbxcen64gMCp0vL83S/s400/IMG_0202.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Old water tank</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wSWnngEJvuU757NIbC6Pmeu-GkOjXW3K4PXcmabfR2nVCD2_qFc156FBBs-qs_QDpdcb3HCehn3VbUJzjs1D9KAPH0q0zOwmFnXZmpXjVo8EoBcCrIcoBJJxb_PidE1up1u-ZKmmdshe/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wSWnngEJvuU757NIbC6Pmeu-GkOjXW3K4PXcmabfR2nVCD2_qFc156FBBs-qs_QDpdcb3HCehn3VbUJzjs1D9KAPH0q0zOwmFnXZmpXjVo8EoBcCrIcoBJJxb_PidE1up1u-ZKmmdshe/s400/photo+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Beautiful new non-asbestos roof</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmPnF0pSGenVQNI8aOEpMjm2v1Y4MnrcW63FBv6iFQd8ESV-tURlgtD76mQdi6Ihs5UtjuCTwwYVjRa4rIAfqOzJoD7pii53KO5J3pjyAwILHb1fJXuexKztEAwone4f8YRvHseZaXv4Q/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmPnF0pSGenVQNI8aOEpMjm2v1Y4MnrcW63FBv6iFQd8ESV-tURlgtD76mQdi6Ihs5UtjuCTwwYVjRa4rIAfqOzJoD7pii53KO5J3pjyAwILHb1fJXuexKztEAwone4f8YRvHseZaXv4Q/s400/photo+4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Two new much larger water tanks</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of the discoveries as Scott worked was that the terrazza off the kitchen was leaking to the room below in the winter. So he pulled up the tile floor of the terrazza, fixed the leak and replaced the floor and just needs to be tiled.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHCs2Tod5P-rHzNhSlB7A6OEqQuVbp7ZGtOV-ywKrhCJJzmOHIUQObN4lEs-4n8jEJuPEq-dbCijA9dkHkJT8S6RqUp63d1HglNMjeRwH-_be6_R8sd_Abcur8pQXn95eigZhughDG9Lp/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHCs2Tod5P-rHzNhSlB7A6OEqQuVbp7ZGtOV-ywKrhCJJzmOHIUQObN4lEs-4n8jEJuPEq-dbCijA9dkHkJT8S6RqUp63d1HglNMjeRwH-_be6_R8sd_Abcur8pQXn95eigZhughDG9Lp/s400/photo+5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New floor on the lower terrazza</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The kitchen has been pulled back to the wall and the structure for the new counter has been made. The new wooden countertop is being made as I am typing this. The bathroom off the kitchen has a new sink and taps and cistern for the toilet.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6RVUYf__S7OqdrCqUDQnHLS7UEzgQy90NcDjH86dJA_hqwvoj-kEkVZvf5-G_C2zeZS4gMUsPZIHj8-J7fpRRwhphMbliXFK0catVAyC82o0uuK1ZftVeYp9uafqic0uFiZSUFCMPD4a/s1600/IMG_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6RVUYf__S7OqdrCqUDQnHLS7UEzgQy90NcDjH86dJA_hqwvoj-kEkVZvf5-G_C2zeZS4gMUsPZIHj8-J7fpRRwhphMbliXFK0catVAyC82o0uuK1ZftVeYp9uafqic0uFiZSUFCMPD4a/s400/IMG_0194.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The kitchen when we bought our new home</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvwxaXWgjB0AvwZz8s8Kxr5musdYiwSMNjq2jTRUqYZ5pKuAv0lTJpjpQ0T-JBDdeBOYtrEkwnCflSdHL9FLS-Kwl_a5tg1o3igDwU97kDhDnUzuHPfzHvOMRYc374wVSPF1oFdrnODSE/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvwxaXWgjB0AvwZz8s8Kxr5musdYiwSMNjq2jTRUqYZ5pKuAv0lTJpjpQ0T-JBDdeBOYtrEkwnCflSdHL9FLS-Kwl_a5tg1o3igDwU97kDhDnUzuHPfzHvOMRYc374wVSPF1oFdrnODSE/s400/photo+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The new kitchen in the process</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiOeTqr7F4c_Q3WlLmSpIcBdrjGApXoIjE90wGJzj5xnmpSzEOkCmN-SD9TayV7J5sxxXJNFc2kfvzshIWi8OthA5SD4o5i4lJVyLV3locAh8n7ezr22Ijci_PHfv3M8BN46pGMeZhiYt/s1600/IMG_0197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiOeTqr7F4c_Q3WlLmSpIcBdrjGApXoIjE90wGJzj5xnmpSzEOkCmN-SD9TayV7J5sxxXJNFc2kfvzshIWi8OthA5SD4o5i4lJVyLV3locAh8n7ezr22Ijci_PHfv3M8BN46pGMeZhiYt/s400/IMG_0197.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bathroom off the kitchen</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But the thing I am most excited about in the kitchen is the wood stove. The beautiful old tile has been carefully removed and the stove is being repaired.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZeAkBktf7QAyPnqylYfdVTghqLcUtd4yA9nmsGausNuSdGcpWCDWYZsZhecDRr05iyfjOkmgdfnyn_gqIrez574rckf3M4WpVo0eo2EkaWdm6xGu5IR17sIQKsR3WhmS5EyI5auJf-pvW/s1600/IMG_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZeAkBktf7QAyPnqylYfdVTghqLcUtd4yA9nmsGausNuSdGcpWCDWYZsZhecDRr05iyfjOkmgdfnyn_gqIrez574rckf3M4WpVo0eo2EkaWdm6xGu5IR17sIQKsR3WhmS5EyI5auJf-pvW/s400/IMG_0192.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The old wood stove as we bought it </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmOZjLdg79AZR2E8TbQqJPqkJpPjl_ZoiDYHCaJpXtpif6vTWDCCgNNQJfUakbgYIYTP8RPGqeAJ-JN7j43-EQTZrISweROFHiuGjITbeOsJKkcofXU5cDrQOZ2rz3eP4DfAczJA5LzVa/s1600/photo+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmOZjLdg79AZR2E8TbQqJPqkJpPjl_ZoiDYHCaJpXtpif6vTWDCCgNNQJfUakbgYIYTP8RPGqeAJ-JN7j43-EQTZrISweROFHiuGjITbeOsJKkcofXU5cDrQOZ2rz3eP4DfAczJA5LzVa/s400/photo+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tiles removed</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3A02hZejnmp3Cz20_i2AnwTR6aapFizSTMBGoiqdmdulPl-rt_dTf2QKhgYoKUpIPGD14SpsRczaejMm7mB8Ew55Ck9CnCobM9ESdm8kmVtyeC62GrBfMPfV8D7QFFsiEUVjVB7KRNtD5/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3A02hZejnmp3Cz20_i2AnwTR6aapFizSTMBGoiqdmdulPl-rt_dTf2QKhgYoKUpIPGD14SpsRczaejMm7mB8Ew55Ck9CnCobM9ESdm8kmVtyeC62GrBfMPfV8D7QFFsiEUVjVB7KRNtD5/s400/photo+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wood stove skeleton</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally, our "en suite" (rather a grand expression for the bathroom close to our bedroom). The <u>electric</u> hot water heater was directly over the tub with wires hanging down. The new heater has been moved outside the bathroom and the electrical and plumbing has been moved. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1eQYqXR6pJVM3AnZ4QTO_dGVe4yrjlP6u3NyU6f3dIa40zXcz7PFQwoLABq28omoIbIYWhIw9n6lVO1EpXThhEah9dKkHqQKNI49zeTZ6RFuSbhdV5vVa_s5iifxgFrYTEotNiUcpJLCp/s1600/photo+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1eQYqXR6pJVM3AnZ4QTO_dGVe4yrjlP6u3NyU6f3dIa40zXcz7PFQwoLABq28omoIbIYWhIw9n6lVO1EpXThhEah9dKkHqQKNI49zeTZ6RFuSbhdV5vVa_s5iifxgFrYTEotNiUcpJLCp/s400/photo+5.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New hot water heater</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUQm0FTbEPouV_M39BvLgQilP67tW5liqSrCFFvct7z0EAGbIvZ1f7Y2y5sz5Ww0JwBv0uSbsyuOwxZQx_p-vjq-6BGfdl0XkngsZZTmIhiJU9BJZzjo1NRvhwoYNl74m-3C7ILQqS_kv/s1600/photo+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUQm0FTbEPouV_M39BvLgQilP67tW5liqSrCFFvct7z0EAGbIvZ1f7Y2y5sz5Ww0JwBv0uSbsyuOwxZQx_p-vjq-6BGfdl0XkngsZZTmIhiJU9BJZzjo1NRvhwoYNl74m-3C7ILQqS_kv/s400/photo+4.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bathroom without the hazardous hot water tank</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thank you Scott! </span>Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-51428259771665208762012-12-09T18:11:00.002-08:002013-01-20T21:38:19.562-08:00A Primer to Driving in Sicily: The Wrap-Up<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is my final post about driving in Sicily. I thought I would end with some of the pictures about driving that I hadn't yet posted.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But before you go on to the pictures, I have to tell you about the blog post <a href="http://eloradaphne.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/blindness-and-memory-loss-while-driving/" target="_blank">Blindness and Memory Loss While Driving</a> on A Canadian in Italy by Eloradaphne. This is the quintessential 'driving in Italy' story. I encourage you to read it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And on to the pictures... </span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is the road to Capizzi, the tiny mountain village from which my husband's family originated. If you could drive as the crow flies it would take about 20-30 minutes from the coast. However, this road is so full of switchbacks that it takes 2 hours.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2tUtns_LceDy2oGFVgz03_PEjoTgG7-OMYsfnXXNJrVuqog73JUuyuYoD-mp3df-c0GA3q6qx-XX05Aby9FMzjL-NKlR_FlJJe36hT9gSd6in4bBy0AmYgnWqsayRV2Q1J7N50D5AWCl/s1600/GEDC0245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2tUtns_LceDy2oGFVgz03_PEjoTgG7-OMYsfnXXNJrVuqog73JUuyuYoD-mp3df-c0GA3q6qx-XX05Aby9FMzjL-NKlR_FlJJe36hT9gSd6in4bBy0AmYgnWqsayRV2Q1J7N50D5AWCl/s400/GEDC0245.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We stayed with a friend in Piazza Armerina in 2010. Every evening this car was parked in this spot. We never got to see the right side of the car so I can't say if it is scratched up or not - I suspect it must be. I was just so impressed that someone could park that close to a wall!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChzVm-lwp5f_QZrxqV6nQ_cMN6pyDFfyWl0cy0i6T4JJdEAL3czpxNtNlltD2U9NqKOEfcwQUHhgIlSVQv0Z-7TzMT_0knuV2m73xoWNbs1nzD4n2IUQCkwN8v2GbrYrOQPoTmYzn-Eba/s1600/GEDC0439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChzVm-lwp5f_QZrxqV6nQ_cMN6pyDFfyWl0cy0i6T4JJdEAL3czpxNtNlltD2U9NqKOEfcwQUHhgIlSVQv0Z-7TzMT_0knuV2m73xoWNbs1nzD4n2IUQCkwN8v2GbrYrOQPoTmYzn-Eba/s400/GEDC0439.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I loved this little truck. We saw it in Cefalu' on one of the many narrow back streets. I don't know how the vegie vendor could drive without losing the vegetables off the top!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0GscMn8NzE8XKi3F6Nrh51MufQA4XopwPgvK-F74feffGemsnfmxaiJa_6DQvy_aQ3WwRJmagTTt8q6D67n13qfPMBUZesb0jh9pRmtLoWE3XlKQgooHjTnuDh-eoBrN3htSy5oMP7g9e/s1600/GEDC0553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0GscMn8NzE8XKi3F6Nrh51MufQA4XopwPgvK-F74feffGemsnfmxaiJa_6DQvy_aQ3WwRJmagTTt8q6D67n13qfPMBUZesb0jh9pRmtLoWE3XlKQgooHjTnuDh-eoBrN3htSy5oMP7g9e/s400/GEDC0553.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I wrote earlier about the Ferrari night in Cianciana. This is such a great example of la bella figura or putting on the best face. There were about 20 or so Ferraris in Cianciana that night, all from Ribera, a nearby town. In the small town in which we live in Canada, I am sure there aren't 20 Ferraris, 10 Ferraris - in fact I have never seen even one Ferrari! The unemployment rate in British Columbia is about 7% whereas the unemployment rate in Sicily is 25%, the highest in Italy. Logically, you would think that British Columbians would have more disposable income to buy race cars than Sicilians. I would guess that la bella figura plays a good part in the number of expensive sport cars that can be found in Ribera.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I included these two pictures of the main street in Cianciana. This is <a href="https://maps.google.ca/maps?client=safari&q=cianciana&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&hl=en" target="_blank">Salita Regina Elena</a>. The top picture is in the mid-afternoon when most people are at home resting, sleeping, or watching television. The second picture is at night when people come out - at least in the summertime - and do the passagiata, visiting with all their friends and neighbours, sharing wine, beer, coffee, or a meal. Cianciana is a lively place to be in the summer at night!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is Sant'Angelo Muxaro - an even smaller town than Cianciana. As you can see, Sant'Angelo Muxaro hangs on the edge of a cliff. Amazing that the buildings can cling there without sliding down the side of the cliff! Believe it or not, there is a road going up that cliff to the lovely, friendly little town at the top.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> One thing I didn't mention when I talked about the autostrada is the off ramps. In North America, off and on ramps are usually long, giving drivers lots of room to merge. In Italy on the autostrade, off and on ramps are very short. To compensate for that, the name of the off ramp and large arrows are painted onto the highway so you are given good warning ahead of time. That is, if you realize what the names and arrows are telling you.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sicily is full of mountains which means lots and lots of tunnels. I like the tunnels for a couple of reasons: one, they are interesting and plentiful, and two, they are good places to pass slower cars in front of you. The first time you drive through these tunnels you will understand the reason for the law insisting drivers turn on their lights on the autostrade. </span><br />
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<br />Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-71600682717930734192012-12-07T10:14:00.001-08:002012-12-07T10:16:15.074-08:00A Primer to Driving in Sicily: Driving in a Small Town<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXpnyHq-d7q0uO8r_9K_3mC1ACVYczV-Jfu0nKG2xE9d7lyZ_5HDqQSV3IG98pNCsfzp4oFMcIXzXsPbxK-OJ3dfy-kmDpFg7b1c2f32E8Kg7l_v1sBLpDyih8eVkkAPKo9ULQ0xkUqm9/s1600/GEDC0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXpnyHq-d7q0uO8r_9K_3mC1ACVYczV-Jfu0nKG2xE9d7lyZ_5HDqQSV3IG98pNCsfzp4oFMcIXzXsPbxK-OJ3dfy-kmDpFg7b1c2f32E8Kg7l_v1sBLpDyih8eVkkAPKo9ULQ0xkUqm9/s400/GEDC0218.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Would you drive here?</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Driving in Sicily's small towns and villages requires a new skill unto itself. Would you want to drive up this road? I wouldn't. But people do and I have done out of necessity. In fact, the street on which our new house lives is about this wide and the road leading to our street has an incline similar to this one. I think I have mentioned already that turning onto our street means leaving half my tires on the road. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So, let's begin. I have mentioned that a GPS is essential for driving in Sicily. That is absolutely true - to a point. Once you are in the small town with twisty narrow roads that are often one way (not that a one way street concerns many Sicilians!) your location finding needs to become creative. This is where a map comes in handy. I can't speak for other small towns, but I know that Cianciana has street maps that they hand out generously! Where do you find them? From the realtor (<a href="http://www.ciancianamyhouse.it/public/as1/index.asp?message=" target="_blank">My House</a>), from the library, the museum, and most people who rent out apartments to sun seeking foreigners. You could also print out a map from Google Earth or Google Maps before you leave. Driving in a small Sicilian town you will find that this is where those meditation classes I mentioned in the first driving post will come in handy. You need to be prepared for the following:</span><br />
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You will make mistakes.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">People will honk at you and make rude gestures.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You will get lost. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Parking is almost impossible to find unless you come across a piazza.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There will be swearing.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In a small town, three stopped cars makes a traffic jam and there will be honking.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Drivers in front of you will stop at random to discuss the latest football game, the weather, their families, or whatever with someone they see walking on the road.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Your car will probably get scratched or, like me, you will knock off your side mirror - maybe both.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You will turn a corner and see something amazing that you never expected.</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you know and fully accept that these things will happen, it will make your small town driving a more enjoyable adventure.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My Personal Examples of Some of the List Above</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Number One and Five</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZBgbjFsOA_uWZjQW8bJu8P4h2jYz_URBZ0iMtQ4bI7aFTs3d1fPt7kHK2IBiUGS4h19lJAwNyx8N7bCPNt9AuztYO5NhYOUOVft6fkyFZNSeTpjGGeVvAbuBU0Tu6kniEsdKYGF7P9Ek/s1600/GEDC0626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZBgbjFsOA_uWZjQW8bJu8P4h2jYz_URBZ0iMtQ4bI7aFTs3d1fPt7kHK2IBiUGS4h19lJAwNyx8N7bCPNt9AuztYO5NhYOUOVft6fkyFZNSeTpjGGeVvAbuBU0Tu6kniEsdKYGF7P9Ek/s400/GEDC0626.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My mistake? I drove over a nail and the tire exploded. There was swearing.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Number Two and Six and Seven</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz2JP3E9NJaMFm7nvErLixm-6t4MrUMqTBt5U_nFiQdAJ6EWNBsQSektPXglXHl3OkeojqaX2YvuxxNZl9tPCdrxeFUXHJ6ahkRGxdgkPfxvYWX_x0j8aojuojC8eMiRex0mtlWksKUJn/s1600/IMG_0064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz2JP3E9NJaMFm7nvErLixm-6t4MrUMqTBt5U_nFiQdAJ6EWNBsQSektPXglXHl3OkeojqaX2YvuxxNZl9tPCdrxeFUXHJ6ahkRGxdgkPfxvYWX_x0j8aojuojC8eMiRex0mtlWksKUJn/s400/IMG_0064.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is in Cianciana - I heard so much honking that I went out onto our balcony <br />and snapped a shot of the three car traffic jam! The driver in the white van was chatting with all the kids as they walked by. In Cianciana, everyone knows everyone.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Number Three</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjksdc8K3Yf7Z5zpqmy885nfCYQRoFPRHMCT9Mh7S7oSQ2GT14G70BhWv-MnCnOcGZIYthauq60p_RobAhhzJ4Q7vzOKONG5gXYhUH28u4-pBlxUWpCnrVYBBXWK_1Cfs3hXWpNkZ5cLE/s1600/IMG_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjksdc8K3Yf7Z5zpqmy885nfCYQRoFPRHMCT9Mh7S7oSQ2GT14G70BhWv-MnCnOcGZIYthauq60p_RobAhhzJ4Q7vzOKONG5gXYhUH28u4-pBlxUWpCnrVYBBXWK_1Cfs3hXWpNkZ5cLE/s400/IMG_0015.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is the Turkish Steps or Scala dei Turchi. You will find this in any tourist book of Sicily. The cliffs are spectacular. On our trip to Sicily in 2010 we tried to find this beach several times. Do you think we could find it? Finally, in 2012 we managed to make it to Scala dei Turchi. BTW, the man in the foreground wearing the knee length shorts is my husband, Nick. Those shorts scream "STRANIERO - FOREIGNER!!!" The Speedo is ubiquitous in Sicily. But that is another post.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Number Four</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkeVFonFRj6kOm4OhYlPq8PJbo4LOZU0on0QTZno2lNW5cQzeJrXJWfz5ufFvf7lu1_CZB3h99WwKxqwjnrBxHu0MnUDgzmYFXazl4g5uTfDq7V7qoMahRqH4CtuFe9nVQcOiF_n5xrhrj/s1600/GEDC0470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkeVFonFRj6kOm4OhYlPq8PJbo4LOZU0on0QTZno2lNW5cQzeJrXJWfz5ufFvf7lu1_CZB3h99WwKxqwjnrBxHu0MnUDgzmYFXazl4g5uTfDq7V7qoMahRqH4CtuFe9nVQcOiF_n5xrhrj/s400/GEDC0470.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This was taken in Piazza Armerina which really doesn't qualify as a small town. The parking in this piazza wasn't free but 100 metres from here was the piazza in front of the duomo - cathedral where we parked because the parking was free.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Number Nine</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDd5sroT-rmls_OYvybIun0RMphJzQndgq98oQyPjVggjfYb62qavuhfScEPu3HVMhMhX0zfttkiqvZa8F9t41u5VBl_i9HCQ2sefMfvM7KJ0MmUbX80oViQO17dlxDL_t-Py7e7c6mdt/s1600/GEDC0338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDd5sroT-rmls_OYvybIun0RMphJzQndgq98oQyPjVggjfYb62qavuhfScEPu3HVMhMhX0zfttkiqvZa8F9t41u5VBl_i9HCQ2sefMfvM7KJ0MmUbX80oViQO17dlxDL_t-Py7e7c6mdt/s400/GEDC0338.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This was my amazing and really unexpect thing: We visited Capizzi, the hometown of my husband's family. We were there on a Sunday and everywhere we went we seemed to run into this procession. The patron saint of Capizzi is Saint Giacomo. They were solemnly and respectfully carrying their relic of Saint Giacomo from church to church. I must admit that I was quite startled to hear that the relic was Saint Giacomo's finger which was encased in a golden hand on a long pole. If you look closely at the picture, you will see the man behind the priest (in red) is carrying the pole and the golden hand is above him.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46Flhp2sZUYHkfTOHyckdzyCbeaIN5wWrCbn6s1eVKVWvYLKh2eNAEu8xdA-u7bfoSIrwLSdBFCrBYCgkUr3ml9gsF7-V3yp7S2qDZCqfY6Pw_p0ewFZRcwGMX43onaick36pH3gIwbW-/s1600/IMG_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46Flhp2sZUYHkfTOHyckdzyCbeaIN5wWrCbn6s1eVKVWvYLKh2eNAEu8xdA-u7bfoSIrwLSdBFCrBYCgkUr3ml9gsF7-V3yp7S2qDZCqfY6Pw_p0ewFZRcwGMX43onaick36pH3gIwbW-/s400/IMG_0005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This man was walking his horse down the middle of the road as we approached Polizzi Generosa.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYhsiGSdEZ9YbX0bnyZ8SKuxXbcb1uhuhsr0qVN9jW1KhOkZHfVqDxVQYxjoAedkZhVHIG1E_zCrIHH2rtp6qkjI115SgqbIHCOvtDQ2NmRgkYA0xd5j6K83ioZ3btaxpIC_utxtEv3Np/s1600/DSCF5054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYhsiGSdEZ9YbX0bnyZ8SKuxXbcb1uhuhsr0qVN9jW1KhOkZHfVqDxVQYxjoAedkZhVHIG1E_zCrIHH2rtp6qkjI115SgqbIHCOvtDQ2NmRgkYA0xd5j6K83ioZ3btaxpIC_utxtEv3Np/s400/DSCF5054.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you arrive in town on market day park the car and count yourself lucky. You will find your way blocked by trucks laden with fruit and vegies, refrigerated stands with meats and cheeses that I had never seen in Canada (goat meat???), tables of ten euro shoes that the venders <u>swear</u> were made in Italy, tables of clothing, household goods, purses, sketchy-looking electronics, jewelry, and just about anything else you can think of.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWt6DWimxnjJXo7nSDaIUL6RlkNq2qbZ16jrFOvroF2g93w_3C3aDHeNZ1SWMzM2Iz5HP0JCtfeVUHkDlNXBLbaYDAmpSyokkb4rWy1Rg96mHYhKAelJnI9aYPFGdd28biekne3IBA3QW9/s1600/IMG_0041_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWt6DWimxnjJXo7nSDaIUL6RlkNq2qbZ16jrFOvroF2g93w_3C3aDHeNZ1SWMzM2Iz5HP0JCtfeVUHkDlNXBLbaYDAmpSyokkb4rWy1Rg96mHYhKAelJnI9aYPFGdd28biekne3IBA3QW9/s400/IMG_0041_2.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sometimes the market is just on the back of a truck driving up and down the streets and stopping as soon as there is a whiff of a customer. BTW, I am the rather large lady with the appalling cargo shorts. (Why oh why did I ever think those were a good idea???)</span></td></tr>
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Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-31135311008742400042012-12-03T14:44:00.001-08:002012-12-03T14:45:07.120-08:00A Primer on Driving in Sicily: Traffic Signs<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Traffic Signs</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You may have read my previous post about the <a href="http://my-sicilian-home.blogspot.ca/2012/11/windsock-warning.html" target="_blank">"Windsock Warning"</a> sign. Italian traffic signs can be confusing. If you are from North America like I am, heads up - our signs are different. That is, with the exception of the "Stop" sign which actually says "Stop" instead of, oh, I don't know, 'arrestare', 'smettere', 'bloccare', 'fermarsi', 'cessare', <u>anything</u> in Italian. So, knowing this, you may want to check out <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Italy#Gallery" target="_blank">Italian traffic signs</a> and their meanings. This link to the Wikipedia page explains them all pretty clearly. I have to say that, next to the windsock warning sign, my favourite is the <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Italian_traffic_signs_-_divieto_di_transito_ai_veicoli_con_esplosivi_od_infiammabili.svg" target="_blank">exploding car sign</a>.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When I first started driving in Sicily, I followed all the road signs and rules of the road. That lead to a great deal of honking and rude hand gestures on the part of the drivers with whom I was sharing the road. The hand signal I saw most often involved slapping the left hand on the inside of the right elbow and the right forearm coming up with the hand clenched into a fist. So, I started watching. I discovered that, according to what I was seeing, to Sicilian drivers, traffic signs are just suggestions.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIAG3ju-UPzQWrUY2zGaH9hZeAbzZUKh8HZxGd4Z8jYbApDwCf024fIjb7vvshBUfzf4tOY2A_KVEivtfNkVaCP7geWeMGwdJLT6yOs6ICJzfFDrw_ffUjc2MSnQOlsQaRA9yVYj-yPb_/s1600/IMG_0032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIAG3ju-UPzQWrUY2zGaH9hZeAbzZUKh8HZxGd4Z8jYbApDwCf024fIjb7vvshBUfzf4tOY2A_KVEivtfNkVaCP7geWeMGwdJLT6yOs6ICJzfFDrw_ffUjc2MSnQOlsQaRA9yVYj-yPb_/s400/IMG_0032.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On the right next to the bush are <u>two</u> no parking signs. Notice the five parked cars.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOeM6KoPS-i80D2U_mooSgJr7abMrtNutLKR2rawTzKB2eTBl-1Iggw-ekFZl6fS08VSYjyPPnyY4Ew7ia65GyHyNY5oYz_phnMQKuAdgsY3ENaW2CU0mv6d3zQK7yuh3VBoADhLY0qSk/s1600/P1010198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOeM6KoPS-i80D2U_mooSgJr7abMrtNutLKR2rawTzKB2eTBl-1Iggw-ekFZl6fS08VSYjyPPnyY4Ew7ia65GyHyNY5oYz_phnMQKuAdgsY3ENaW2CU0mv6d3zQK7yuh3VBoADhLY0qSk/s400/P1010198.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is a one way road - notice the blue and white arrowed signs. Also notice the car pointed down the up-only street AND parked on the sidewalk.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sometimes the signs are hidden and easily missed. I really think the Sicilian department of highways likes to mess with our minds.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQYuBWXuIZGfmuRutvfKiZxc9Xh_g_jvaJ7XGGsjbTFzJj2eA8WjR2KFLUB0bjelypcqu7svj9GWstPrA0xNxcJseCHdhQQlrlvyRngsLANHLNdYf9a72bmVuUeJThfid9K7PbF_HTfG3/s1600/P1010484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaQYuBWXuIZGfmuRutvfKiZxc9Xh_g_jvaJ7XGGsjbTFzJj2eA8WjR2KFLUB0bjelypcqu7svj9GWstPrA0xNxcJseCHdhQQlrlvyRngsLANHLNdYf9a72bmVuUeJThfid9K7PbF_HTfG3/s400/P1010484.JPG" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Let's just hide this one in the bushes - they'll never see it there!"</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In relation to the picture above, speed limit signs also seem to be suggestions.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgXi1NkJb4Vuml1b8WpZB6iM3awpDgK1XOPUAgEAWCz_flS0KJf5i6FIDNiBXeVgywK0BTYAGuEfB33ml72_TBtTQgh3BE2mgUIkQMvALtCIT5uw6JAN-WunwKwmJkcHgy5rwiJYWcxsU/s1600/P1010388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgXi1NkJb4Vuml1b8WpZB6iM3awpDgK1XOPUAgEAWCz_flS0KJf5i6FIDNiBXeVgywK0BTYAGuEfB33ml72_TBtTQgh3BE2mgUIkQMvALtCIT5uw6JAN-WunwKwmJkcHgy5rwiJYWcxsU/s400/P1010388.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">80 km/h? Yeah, right.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On the autostrada away from the cities where the the traffic is more spread out, the speed limit becomes less and less a rule to be followed - a maximum speed sign indicating 80 km/h would see cars speeding by at a minimum of 120 km/h. Minimum. As in most people are going faster. At one point on our first trip to Sicily I was keeping up with the traffic on the autostrada to Cefalu'. I glanced down at my speedometre and I was doing 160 in a 90 zone without even realizing it. I almost pooped my pants! I had never driven that fast in my life.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQEeSjuk6sC7tN1-T1PO_39kIfGPZE2jXWOz8bcYzbmKHMLmKHVQX2Oma0T84GsdhJ4_ZRdMmcpvdNRnDlaSuFB0c-Q1Y6EOOSFZVYirSw4W3VrvVVyBel5ErqhvXa6XGwCo1vO2W_TEo/s1600/IMG_0049_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQEeSjuk6sC7tN1-T1PO_39kIfGPZE2jXWOz8bcYzbmKHMLmKHVQX2Oma0T84GsdhJ4_ZRdMmcpvdNRnDlaSuFB0c-Q1Y6EOOSFZVYirSw4W3VrvVVyBel5ErqhvXa6XGwCo1vO2W_TEo/s400/IMG_0049_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Oh Crap! How fast am I going???"</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just another note on speed. Once you are off the autostrada, in terms of speed, all bets are off. Sometimes you will see someone driving a little three-wheeled, one person truck that seems to be powered by a hamster on a wheel and will be driving half the speed limit.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLW749d9xArbPx6X3_Zie3sTCgKnaiLhB_l9eAo5k5X7n1m-eejmix7p423ouDuFG_Cg2jySXacVZt3nLEoqcSPSw1cRweuWspgnfQrew0249eoKwm7YCZb0g84OSubTXM8ltpMd4i981/s1600/GEDC0416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLW749d9xArbPx6X3_Zie3sTCgKnaiLhB_l9eAo5k5X7n1m-eejmix7p423ouDuFG_Cg2jySXacVZt3nLEoqcSPSw1cRweuWspgnfQrew0249eoKwm7YCZb0g84OSubTXM8ltpMd4i981/s400/GEDC0416.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I think the hamster sits right above the front wheel!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sometimes you will have someone in an ordinary little Fiat who will be speeding around 30 km/h corners at 80 or 90. And then sometimes you will see a car that you expect to be going fast but the driver is moving at the pace of a snail! Two and a half years ago, in Calabria (same rules apply there), we pulled onto a regional highway behind a Maserati - shiny black, obviously well taken care of. We fully expected the driver to leave us in his dust. Instead he was doing about 60 in a 90 zone. It was one lane each way, constant curves and no way to pass. So we drove for about 2 hours behind this beautiful Maserati until he finally pulled off. Two off-ramps later we pulled off and found the side road we were looking for. We drove for about 20 minutes and who did we see in front of us? The shiny black Maserati and driving even more slowly! ARGGHH! Another 15 minutes behind the Maserati.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So what did I learn? Now I just drive at the speed that is comfortable for me - no more 160 km/h!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There are some signs that you might chuckle at but you really need to pay attention to. We came across this sign just outside of Agira.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We had a little giggle about a cow warning sign. We drove around the corner and this is what we saw.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When the cattle had passed us and we continued on a couple of kilometres down the road and we were in the middle of....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One night we were leaving Capizzi, the hometown of Nick's family. It was dark and we came around a corner to see...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Horses, cows and a couple of goats all on their own. I honked and they just looked at me. I had to weave my way through them before we could continue on our drive back to Nick's cousins' house where we were staying.</span></div>
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Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-731419484112014472012-11-29T10:17:00.002-08:002012-11-29T10:20:52.959-08:00A Primer to Driving in Sicily: Picking Up Your Car from the Trapani Airport<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The <a href="http://www.airgest.it/en/default.asp" target="_blank">Trapani Airport</a> is by far my favourite Sicilian airport. If you go to the official website you will see there is no map. That is because you don't need one. It is a tiny, tiny airport. There is no circling waiting for a runway, and when we landed we walked in to no immigration and no customs! That was a surprise! This is because it is mainly a domestic airport. I checked the flights in and out for today. Eleven flights in, eleven flights out for the whole day and only one in and one out were not domestic. There are only four airlines that use Trapani: Ryan Air, Darwin Airline, AirOne, and Alitalia. Ryan Air reports having flights from all over Europe flying into Trapani. I can't comment on that as we have only flown from Beauvais, just outside of Paris. Darwin Air and AirOne only fly domestically to Trapani. Alitalia has connections all over the world so flying into Trapani shouldn't be a problem.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of the nice things about Trapani is once you pick up your luggage and walk into the main part of the airport, the car rental desks are right in front of you. Our experience was that there was no English speaking clerk there so Nick was brought into service and did all the negotiations in terms of renting the car. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We arrived from Canada so walking out into the HOT July heat of Sicily was a shock. It was also a shock walking to the very far end of the parking lot to pick up our little Ford Fiesta. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The really nice part of driving out of Trapani Airport is that it is beautiful and there is no traffic to speak of. This gave me some time to get used to driving in an unfamiliar place until we hit the real traffic. We were heading to Agrigento so we decided not to take the autostrada, but to take the regional highway to the south. This turned out to be the best choice as we had some amazing views.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ERzkc7hLZ_f5cZRpp31VbRqEoex3uu4qzFmNIFKFY1ap0JaOKrF53r_q52zy-SpeTSeYyEBCYA6qYS8V8IVJkl7V_BqjS-j-uKRmKk2PJ6Wj0JAZ7S6ugAqO4cIycFN0Wf2_02SUtCfo/s1600/P1010385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ERzkc7hLZ_f5cZRpp31VbRqEoex3uu4qzFmNIFKFY1ap0JaOKrF53r_q52zy-SpeTSeYyEBCYA6qYS8V8IVJkl7V_BqjS-j-uKRmKk2PJ6Wj0JAZ7S6ugAqO4cIycFN0Wf2_02SUtCfo/s400/P1010385.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Almost no traffic! Even the signpost thinks we are going the right way!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFopxQ3CHZW2ugMfu5Mf2lRixCRG_yvXT0qvfqfSHCPJdagXnqMBjh4G1LB0_I2xuSGwRjyTxvmOqbLtevsfSu-o9Ybf20TSKfd84NK1TIKBovHBOFX1pbZHpVzzz-13irmlL6rxDpxMiF/s1600/DSCF4571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFopxQ3CHZW2ugMfu5Mf2lRixCRG_yvXT0qvfqfSHCPJdagXnqMBjh4G1LB0_I2xuSGwRjyTxvmOqbLtevsfSu-o9Ybf20TSKfd84NK1TIKBovHBOFX1pbZHpVzzz-13irmlL6rxDpxMiF/s400/DSCF4571.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This view had us squealing! You don't see this in Canada!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRa-zZ_CWU4TLgUpb6MQFmGfAaPc159cOLw_d3YBI6KJuOV837QgZvrJ2TD2WpQjTYEj7ZGWgDU_oeawAY-dZgKLwStrNE7dCZvC1HUBtb2fcEeM1-QQj0AFu4VrxN4uQQxGj4U5htQSrb/s1600/DSCF4574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRa-zZ_CWU4TLgUpb6MQFmGfAaPc159cOLw_d3YBI6KJuOV837QgZvrJ2TD2WpQjTYEj7ZGWgDU_oeawAY-dZgKLwStrNE7dCZvC1HUBtb2fcEeM1-QQj0AFu4VrxN4uQQxGj4U5htQSrb/s400/DSCF4574.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Again, more Greek architecture that had me drooling!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSItwRYEGU0mmWLS314FqIO56B0gcqurj1UDoxk7uY9y-amNJ0qjWJzt2TZNBMJFTNoTj-m9b0ks9sefG3I4GGBDZItzY7JqjDbTXt4JrG2yzxf3rAet1hSiAMWbMJb9en2FQWtAjqCF-/s1600/DSCF4730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSItwRYEGU0mmWLS314FqIO56B0gcqurj1UDoxk7uY9y-amNJ0qjWJzt2TZNBMJFTNoTj-m9b0ks9sefG3I4GGBDZItzY7JqjDbTXt4JrG2yzxf3rAet1hSiAMWbMJb9en2FQWtAjqCF-/s400/DSCF4730.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Not the best picture of our first glimpse of the Mediterranean <br />but considering we were driving and had nowhere to stop , it's not bad.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcWZqcslLZhWLq2AIPQY_OovD1YNUZVNC4R9H1y-H8SjIEjWqW5SNcxgTbKNIqKSpXUvXdISORT2PMUHbZcXyLNAfnozQtWGNOrNmCOyZy9_PwW50YRUpxKND9algpTc7Jez_24Ls4j5w/s1600/DSCF4731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcWZqcslLZhWLq2AIPQY_OovD1YNUZVNC4R9H1y-H8SjIEjWqW5SNcxgTbKNIqKSpXUvXdISORT2PMUHbZcXyLNAfnozQtWGNOrNmCOyZy9_PwW50YRUpxKND9algpTc7Jez_24Ls4j5w/s400/DSCF4731.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">We took a side road that went by the Turkish Steps or La Scala dei Turchi. <br />The houses there were spectacular, as was the view!</span></td></tr>
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<br />Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-31220188336174664182012-11-27T16:31:00.002-08:002012-11-27T16:34:33.369-08:00A Primer to Driving in Sicily: Picking Up Your Car from the Catania Airport<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Last summer, Nick and I landed in the <a href="http://www.catania-airport.com/" target="_blank">Catania airport</a> for the first time in our travels. It is a medium-sized airport that we found pretty easy to navigate. There is a beautiful new terminal, and a quite serviceable old terminal. However, when you look for the car rental desks inside the airport, no luck. <a href="http://www.smart-systems-integration.org/public/news-events/events/annual-forum/venue/Airport_catania.jpg" target="_blank">To find the car rental office </a>you need to walk to the end of the old terminal, walk outside past the bus stops and you will see a little white trailer on your left across the road. That is the car rental office. The nice thing about picking up your car in Catania is that the parking lot is directly behind the car rental office. No long walk, no searching for your car in a huge parking lot. It was as easy as pie! Or cosa facile. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Getting out of the airport was easy as well. Good signage, clear lanes - easy. Then you hit Catania. Oh. My. God.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Catania is a town that Sicilians love to hate. I heard all kinds of negatives and slanders about Catania from Sicilians all over the island. However, we found that Catania has its own beauty, albeit a crumbling beauty. The nightlife is exciting and there is a vibrancy amongst its people that we really appreciated. Yet just around the corner in Acireale you can find traditional Sicily.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymuyvmeLSkxLqZ2txCJF7kAxeTTaq4MsR0kUVWo9wOkGWcSZn6CJDtECjxieIDFaUOCwhFJmhkbawbqOLgFgpcDgOZlr-q5DAJbaEb2Ks87BqQqnQh6ElzbUOhyphenhyphenrCjKLWi4GIjB3HS2PC/s1600/DSCF4880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymuyvmeLSkxLqZ2txCJF7kAxeTTaq4MsR0kUVWo9wOkGWcSZn6CJDtECjxieIDFaUOCwhFJmhkbawbqOLgFgpcDgOZlr-q5DAJbaEb2Ks87BqQqnQh6ElzbUOhyphenhyphenrCjKLWi4GIjB3HS2PC/s400/DSCF4880.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Set up for a midnight jazz concert in Catania</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uxJug0dwsgzO577TyrSTuE2zcfGgcCpcgSOzKnGsjAzZC5bYvDusdjjKpjRQwvjB7zGsx6UZKgz0mhRHSbUcsAhrqHxhHMPK8L_jnx1mdDJWRz7wmzOVg9iJRTavG-xyQHgOedH4gJCB/s1600/GEDC0353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uxJug0dwsgzO577TyrSTuE2zcfGgcCpcgSOzKnGsjAzZC5bYvDusdjjKpjRQwvjB7zGsx6UZKgz0mhRHSbUcsAhrqHxhHMPK8L_jnx1mdDJWRz7wmzOVg9iJRTavG-xyQHgOedH4gJCB/s400/GEDC0353.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An Acireale fisherman heading out into the bay just as his father, grandfather, <br />and great grandfather did. </span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The roads in Catania are wide for the most part, and easy to drive, with three exceptions:</span><br />
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<ol>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There are one way streets <u><b>everywhere</b></u>. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Both streets and lanes merge <b><u>without warning</u></b>.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The drivers in Catania are <b><u>CRAZY</u></b>.</span></li>
</ol>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What this means is that you have to keep your eyes open all the time. You can't let your attention wander ever. Let me repeat that. <b><u>You cannot let your attention wander ever!</u></b> And it is extremely helpful to have a navigator to help you figure out where you are going as you drive. Even with a GPS, it was necessary to have Nick giving me clearer directions because the GPS is not always completely clear. Because of this, Nick and I have no pictures of driving in Catania to share on the blog as we were too busy just driving to get the camera out.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I wish I could say that getting out of Catania was as easy as Palermo (which is not particularly easy) but it is not. There are several autostrada to choose from and if you find yourself on the wrong one, you could be heading towards a part of the island that you had no intention of visiting. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you take the Viale Mediterraneo you will get to autostrada E45 also known as A18. North takes you up towards Taormina and Messina and south takes you towards Siracusa (Syracuse) as far as Rosolini. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To get to the autostrada that will take you west through the centre of the island, you will have to take E932 also known as A19. This autostrada will take you west as far as Enna and then north to the E90 about halfway between Termini Imerese and Cefalu'.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The traffic as you either leave or enter Catania is busy and impatient. Be prepared for people cutting in front of you, honking and waving their arms rudely. Just take it all as part of the Sicilian experience!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQFWIiM9iy8oRhLxEetNvR4F9SuwEisd0XCo26iYp1Gx3U7DRmhuTvadMrrKn9PFusMU0L7QoitBAmmAEZ2_uOPDvrsLSV-qlibJk57WA6UKFs1mymEq0VU7mIJ05Hf9d-5CF-vuvVzG8/s1600/P1010422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQFWIiM9iy8oRhLxEetNvR4F9SuwEisd0XCo26iYp1Gx3U7DRmhuTvadMrrKn9PFusMU0L7QoitBAmmAEZ2_uOPDvrsLSV-qlibJk57WA6UKFs1mymEq0VU7mIJ05Hf9d-5CF-vuvVzG8/s400/P1010422.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Heading to a toll booth into Catania</span></td></tr>
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<br />Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-49140037981081546342012-11-26T12:23:00.002-08:002012-11-27T12:45:33.292-08:00A Primer to Driving in Sicily: Picking Up Your Car from the Palermo Airport<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When you land in Sicily, you most likely will arrive at one of the airports (you can reach Sicily by ferry as well) which will be where you pick up your rental car.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Sicily there are three airports that take international flights: Palermo, the largest; Catania on the east coast; and Trapani the smallest of the three.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I can't talk much about the Palermo Airport as we haven't yet flown in there yet, but I will tell you what I have heard and do know.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Picking up a rental car in Palermo is fairly easy, especially if you don't speak Italian. Most car rental desks have English speaking clerks. It is a bit of a hike to the car rental areas if you have some mobility issues or if it is mid-summer and crazy hot. Where it gets really interesting is when you leave the airport. Palermo is full of twists and turns and narrow streets and crazy drivers. I found this video on Youtube which shows you some of what driving in Palermo can be like. Warning - they drop a couple of "F-bombs" which is quite understandable considering that they are totally lost.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ifbJVXiPQ-k?rel=0" width="640"></iframe>
This is from the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/miobbi?feature=watch" target="_blank">miobbi Youtube channel</a>.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Once you manage to find your way out of Palermo, and that is no mean feat, you will find yourself on the autostrada heading, well just about anywhere in Sicily. That autostrada is called Viale Regione Siciliana or E90. Depending on which direction you take, you might find yourself in the beautiful Castellammare del Golfo, or you could land in the equally beautiful but touristy Cefalu. And off the E90 you can take smaller highways to take you to places like Corleone, from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ate_Gy36Vyk" target="_blank">The Godfather</a>, or Sperlinga, a tiny town in which people used to live in caves.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNlwbqLjqSpxECutjozBPQclBGriJx6hH_LtQ_I7CgmUxWuiRbJKxvwUnIsNV1oY-3etS7yLGiBCWcxg8w1Bri0dgbYyFJcRjSeMOsLpZmDxWS8HsKUzXz1DOLegm4hR-W1pldYyhWDi-/s1600/P1010300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNlwbqLjqSpxECutjozBPQclBGriJx6hH_LtQ_I7CgmUxWuiRbJKxvwUnIsNV1oY-3etS7yLGiBCWcxg8w1Bri0dgbYyFJcRjSeMOsLpZmDxWS8HsKUzXz1DOLegm4hR-W1pldYyhWDi-/s320/P1010300.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Streets of Corleone</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Anti-Mafia Museum</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMN2G28VdkUvL_TFp1hkmIHkr3GBDK42_sZtJrCjucE1lydITGUQHIdWWn1gl2tiESBNOuRpB-fF-RtVWwh1hNUPZboh5JbWJYt5V7AjC0uZDeDP-cYAktC2_juoqkEF2JwrwZvZrQsEj/s1600/P1010296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMN2G28VdkUvL_TFp1hkmIHkr3GBDK42_sZtJrCjucE1lydITGUQHIdWWn1gl2tiESBNOuRpB-fF-RtVWwh1hNUPZboh5JbWJYt5V7AjC0uZDeDP-cYAktC2_juoqkEF2JwrwZvZrQsEj/s320/P1010296.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Central Bar with the Godfather theme</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUEwvqVsq6jbt-epYlYFS1Tok7PcBcfwQd4vO1EsFRu74hKUf3pzaagWo-tt8IvE-KcwPPJcYaaMoyTsTRV94EVh_EBImOqIESXZUcGKufBoIZjX8GrQ2mfOPKpcV-LYUAP037SK4Qa3P/s1600/GEDC0494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUEwvqVsq6jbt-epYlYFS1Tok7PcBcfwQd4vO1EsFRu74hKUf3pzaagWo-tt8IvE-KcwPPJcYaaMoyTsTRV94EVh_EBImOqIESXZUcGKufBoIZjX8GrQ2mfOPKpcV-LYUAP037SK4Qa3P/s320/GEDC0494.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Entrances to the cave homes in Sperlinga</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">After climbing the hill with our slightly reluctant guide</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Entrance to a cave home</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Inside a cave home</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you want to read more about Sperlinga (and it is a fascinating place) I would recommend <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Stone-Boudoir-Travels-through-Villages/dp/0738208000/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354047182&sr=8-2" target="_blank">The Stone Boudoir</a> by <a href="http://www.theresamaggio.com/index.htm" target="_blank">Theresa Maggio</a>. Her book is about the interesting mountain villages that can be found in Sicily.</span><br />
<br />Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-16464743779574573192012-11-17T21:51:00.000-08:002012-11-19T21:56:16.142-08:00A Primer to Driving in Sicily: Before You Leave Home<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkKlykLG9U9xyXSN030ygRtafJFrE2TavBik_kdkXOyA3QHN1b2m7UVIE3Xy1ER8F8u_pHW9Y1K1MdQlwR4095kO17J8TfvTOH-cEJlVYzOyk2yYif5G_Kd-6iiBRLgtJS_3i4XFOxIJe/s1600/P1010421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkKlykLG9U9xyXSN030ygRtafJFrE2TavBik_kdkXOyA3QHN1b2m7UVIE3Xy1ER8F8u_pHW9Y1K1MdQlwR4095kO17J8TfvTOH-cEJlVYzOyk2yYif5G_Kd-6iiBRLgtJS_3i4XFOxIJe/s400/P1010421.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Approaching Catania</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It occurred to me last summer, that a primer to driving in Sicily would be a very useful thing, especially since Sicily has a real lack of convenient public transit and renting a car truly is the best way to get the most out of visiting the island. I thought I would begin with a video by Bruno Bozzetto called Yes and No: Driving in Italy. Short of seeing people's dogs flattened and people killed on the street, I have seen almost everything that he has put into his video. In fact, I have actually done a couple of the "no"s and several of the "yes"s.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PbnjGiGFxG8" width="420"></iframe>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I want to thank Bruno Bozzetto and his daughters Anita and Irene for giving me permission to embed his video on my blog. He makes great videos and if you want to see more, I suggest you check out his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BrunoBozzettoChannel?feature=watch" target="_blank">Youtube channel</a>!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I don't pretend to be an expert on driving in Italy. I have had, now, about 9 weeks of experience driving in Italy - most of which was in Sicily. When we rent a car, I do all the driving. It is much cheaper renting a standard shift than an automatic and my darling husband, Nick, is not comfortable with a stick shift, nor does he like driving unfamiliar roads much. Also, it costs an extra €7 per day to have an extra driver so I play chauffeur. At some point, once we figure out how to get insurance without being residents, we will buy a car - probably some beat up old Fiat - but for now we rent.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Before You Leave Home</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There are a couple of things that you need to know before you leave home.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our Fiat Panda rental car</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">International Driving Permit <br />(in case you couldn't read the picture!)</span></td></tr>
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<ol>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You MUST be at least 18 to drive in Italy. No ifs ands or buts about it. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you don't have an EU licence, you need to get an International Driving Permit. In Canada, you can go to your local Automobile Association (even if you don't have a membership) with your driver's licence and for a minimal fee (in my case it was $25) you can get your IDP. The IDP provides a translation of your driver's licence into numerous different languages. It is good for one year.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rent your car through a travel agent at home. It is cheaper renting it outside of Italy and, more importantly, you get better comprehensive insurance. Trust me. I don't care how good or experienced a driver you are. You might be the stunt driver for <a href="http://ca.jalopnik.com/5942700/this-is-the-greatest-car-chase-in-james-bonds-50-year-history" target="_blank">Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me</a> (which just happens to take place in Italy) or <a href="http://www.fastfever.com/?vid=341" target="_blank">Jason Statham in Transporter</a>, you still need the best comprehensive insurance possible. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When selecting the type of car, think about the smallest car you can get away with and then get one size smaller. We had a Fiat Panda last summer. Very nice little car - peppy, comfortable, easy to drive - but I still wished I had a smaller car. If you can get away with a smartcar or a Fiat 500 you are better off.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You will need sunglasses if you are there in the summer. Find the coolest possible sunglasses - either designer or believable knock-offs. In Italy you need to put on the best bella figura (literally: beautiful figure - it's all about making a good impression).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Take meditation classes before you leave. While driving in Sicily can be fun, you are guaranteed to have some heart-stopping moments. Anything you can do to lower your blood pressure and stress level when those moments happen will do you some good. "Om mani padme hum". </span></li>
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Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-46482407784039442122012-11-13T11:45:00.001-08:002012-11-15T09:53:10.454-08:00Windsock Warning<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">All right, I will admit it. Sometimes I get a little silly. When we were driving in Sicily last summer, I noticed a traffic sign that we don't have in Canada - or at least I have never encountered it. Inside the red-rimmed warning triangle was the image of a windsock.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"What the heck does that mean?" I asked Nick. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"What?" Nick replied, being, of course, the passenger and not paying attention to road warning signs with such stunning countryside to watch instead.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"It was a warning sign with a windsock in the middle. What is that? Watch out for roving windsocks?" And off I went - images of roving windsocks - herds of them crossing the empty Sicilian landscape. 'I have to write a poem about this.' I thought. So, finally, this morning, months after I got the idea, I put fingers to keyboard and came up with this.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Windsock Warning</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When we arrived in Sicily,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I must say,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I did not expect to see</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Warnings of such a dire nature.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Such a beautiful and ancient land</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Marred by roving herds of terrifying beasts.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Stopping in a village for a gulp of il caffe' and a bite of a brioche</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We met a group of men, young, middle-aged, and pensioners</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Playing cards at tables set out on the sidewalks.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Where are you from?" they asked.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Canada. We are driving to Cianciana." we replied.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Through the mountains?" one man asked us in a shocked voice.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Certo. Of course." we answered. "It's the fastest route."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Shaking their heads, they gave us this advice:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Watch for the signs!" we heard.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Don't be fooled by the bright colours. These creatures are dangerous."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"They travel at night - whatever you do, don't stop your car at night!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"But what do they want?" I asked, voice querulous and hushed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"The sea. They want to get to the sea." came the answer.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"They run down anything that gets in their way!" one voice told us.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Another voice shuttered. "It happened to my cousin. We couldn't even recognize him when they were gone."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I shuttered. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"But what are they called?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">There was a silence. They were afraid to say the name.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally, a boy stepped forward, chest out, wanting to show that he was not afraid. "Manica a vento. "Windsocks. They are called windsocks."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The men winced at the boy's boldness.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Awkward silent filled the air between us. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Breaking the tension I asked, "Is it never safe?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Relieved, they laughed, "Oh yes!" they chorused.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One ancient man turned to us and smiled.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"When they reach the sea at night, they curl themselves into a tight roll. In the morning they wake and open as ombrelloni, beach umbrellas."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">They all sighed with palpable relief.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Si', that is when they are content." one man added.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The ancient man looked me in the eye, with all his years of wisdom he told me,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"That is when you can walk in the sand amongst them. That is when you are safe."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And with that pronouncement, the men nodded, pick up their cards and resumed their play.</span><br />
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Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-41985032254064376592012-11-12T17:28:00.002-08:002012-11-12T17:50:30.582-08:00Weekly Photo Challenge - Renewal<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Every week, <a href="http://dailypost.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Daily Post</a> sets a weekly photo challenge. This week's challenge is "Renewal"</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRfHx1bdDjisxSVt3oJB8w5qcUjW6n7y027PJYqe7hjo9h4asAVMr6H8w71_TBI_w94Bcd6mtQ6Oi0OMzDZKtiCUzEYkA5Vr9nQBXefGNt1sW4AhEA9_AMkILyY3kobHQsaA-C-6C6Tme/s1600/P1010014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRfHx1bdDjisxSVt3oJB8w5qcUjW6n7y027PJYqe7hjo9h4asAVMr6H8w71_TBI_w94Bcd6mtQ6Oi0OMzDZKtiCUzEYkA5Vr9nQBXefGNt1sW4AhEA9_AMkILyY3kobHQsaA-C-6C6Tme/s400/P1010014.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sunrise in Delia, Agrigento</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have been a teacher for just shy of 30 years. Sadly, in the past few years the government has funded education less and less and it has become harder and harder to be a teacher. At 51, by the time the school year is over, I am completely and thoroughly exhausted. Last school year was no different. On July 10th we arrived in Catania, drove to Delia to stay with our friend, Marilena. After a wonderful, relaxing sleep, I woke early, got up and walked out onto the terrazza to see this spectacular sunrise. I snapped the picture and then I stood and watched the sun come up. For the first time in a couple of months I felt a wonderful lightness, a new purpose and a real joy.</span>Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-52040868945827279442012-11-08T12:02:00.002-08:002012-11-08T22:27:06.137-08:00Cappuccino in the Morning: Part II<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Coffee marks time in Italy. Espresso at the bar on the way to work in the morning. Cappuccino before noon. Gulp back your espresso and head out of the bar in minutes. It is a caffeine-laced labyrinth if you want to immerse yourself in coffee culture in Italy. Here are a few rules that I gleaned from a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/6246202/Italian-coffee-culture-a-guide.html" target="_blank">Telegraph</a> article from 2009. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Let's start with the word 'espresso'. In North America, and I presume in the UK, espresso is used in coffee shops or when you purchase coffee in the store to indicate a particular kind of coffee. In Italy, all coffee is espresso therefore if you simply want an espresso, you order il caffe'. I remember making this mistake a couple years ago. We were in a hotel in Marina di Ravenna that included breakfast. The first morning our hostess asked us if we wanted il caffe' and I specified espresso. She gave me a very odd look and said, "Si', il caffe'" then shook her head presumably thinking she was dealing with an ignorant foreigner - which I was - at least about coffee.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As I mentioned, cappuccino should only be consumed before noon and even then between 11am and noon is questionable. The thinking behind this is that hot milk is not good for you on a full stomach which you presumably would have after lunch. And god forbid that you should order a cappuccino after a meal in a restaurant. This would certainly label you as a boorish foreigner. What applies here to cappuccino also applies to any other coffee drink that contains milk.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A "Godfather"-themed bar in the town of Corleone</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Coffee is ordered in a bar. Bars are not quite the same as in North America. Besides serving alcohol, they also serve coffee, soft drinks, gelato, pastry, panini, pizza, and (if you are lucky and in Sicily) arancini. Children can enter bars. Bars open in the morning and, at least in Cianciana in the summer, stay open until 2 or 3 in the morning.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our favourite bar in Cianciana - Antico Bar Trieste</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Waiting for il caffe' with our new friend, Gaetano</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In Canada, if I go to a coffee shop and order a coffee, I will sit and sip my coffee taking my time to finish it. In Italy, if you drop by a bar to order il caffe', you stand at the bar, stir in heaping spoonfuls of sugar and toss your coffee back quickly. Afterwards you drink the glass of water they often offer you, and then you head off out the door - no wasted time. Another note - if you are living in a small town, you should spread your custom between all the bars in order to stay on friendly terms with everyone.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What to call your coffee: these are just a few of the options you can get in a bar.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Il caffe' - we would call this espresso. It will have a thin light brown foam on top which is called 'crema'. You will hear the gentlemen in the bar discussing the quality of the crema as it is considered a very important part of the quality of the coffee.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Caffe' Hag - this is decaf. It is the name of the largest producer of decaf coffee and has been adopted as the general name for it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Caffe' Americano - this is a much weaker and more bitter coffee and is closer to what is normally served in North America. Italians also call this acqua sporca or dirty water which tells you what they think of it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Caffe' con Panna - espresso topped with whipped cream. Yum!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Caffe' Corretto - espresso with a small shot of liquor - often grappa (very strong Italian liquor) but other liquors can also be use.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cappuccino - pretty much the same as in North America.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Caffe' Macchiato - espresso with just a touch of milk and foam.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Food that you can get in a bar:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbY6QoFtUPXbzW14ed_QvI1tJHDA2iv7CQOCwagKs6w3IBRYgmWiCRWVYcz1OHuPpxWR8FlQ95_cIfoIH_bV9uzpI590H89bBDb9DODLy3igZJ6yfh2pjaExn9mau1JYnIsIxfQj4m1uLu/s1600/P1010243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbY6QoFtUPXbzW14ed_QvI1tJHDA2iv7CQOCwagKs6w3IBRYgmWiCRWVYcz1OHuPpxWR8FlQ95_cIfoIH_bV9uzpI590H89bBDb9DODLy3igZJ6yfh2pjaExn9mau1JYnIsIxfQj4m1uLu/s400/P1010243.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Gelato in a brioche (sweet bun) - any place that serves ice cream in a sweet bun for breakfast is alright with me!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckYk1yo5nMaelygUWKDGc8noqQtOU6Tzx8zWr5OkPqeOahUrECInTHT_jAKGa-CPAbaHhqvEviRnJG01zkS-OMV3aZ-uLmd-QgoZS-_5GkoI1kOEsJJ9Xyc1C2ss3rS0aI1hK6uK4tarl/s1600/P1010244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckYk1yo5nMaelygUWKDGc8noqQtOU6Tzx8zWr5OkPqeOahUrECInTHT_jAKGa-CPAbaHhqvEviRnJG01zkS-OMV3aZ-uLmd-QgoZS-_5GkoI1kOEsJJ9Xyc1C2ss3rS0aI1hK6uK4tarl/s400/P1010244.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is an arancine - it is a deep fried rice ball stuffed with meat ragu' or spinach and cheese or ham and cheese. Truly a gift from the Sicilian culinary gods!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdIYvJUS4lIR5-CeaSiZXd7qaXX6DExX6XMM6fMW3ipw_CE3PdzFKGjzCpWf7pjeSC1n_MNRnUuM5mbM-gsys1wqXkVxpqcHeTeNH_X3R09AP50iCjmoxQIKqr9hdtSvqQqTtsi4sY14F/s1600/P1010284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdIYvJUS4lIR5-CeaSiZXd7qaXX6DExX6XMM6fMW3ipw_CE3PdzFKGjzCpWf7pjeSC1n_MNRnUuM5mbM-gsys1wqXkVxpqcHeTeNH_X3R09AP50iCjmoxQIKqr9hdtSvqQqTtsi4sY14F/s400/P1010284.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">No description needed.</span></td></tr>
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<br />Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-2135873813333413952012-11-08T11:38:00.000-08:002012-11-08T11:40:03.177-08:00Cappuccino in the Morning: Part I<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I may not be in Sicily right now, but there is one part of Italian culture that I am enjoying as I am writing this post. I am sitting at the diningroom table, tapping away on my Macbook's keyboard and sipping appreciatively at a cappuccino. After Nick and I returned from Italy two years ago, we knew that we couldn't go back to the Canadian coffee standard - a Timmie's double double. (For those of you who are not Canadian - a Timmie's double double is a <a href="http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/index.html" target="_blank">Tim Horton</a>'s coffee with two cream and two sugars). We started buying espresso, pulled out our little espresso coffee pot - stained and beat up - and we began to make espresso every morning. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">On mornings when we had time, I would heat up some milk and blend it until it foamed up. Perhaps not quite the same as steaming the milk, but it is a close second. Then I would pour in a little of the milk and spoon the foam all over the top of the espresso. I love a foamy cappuccino! I haven't yet figured out a way to make the patterns on the top like you would get from a professional barista.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It took me a while to find the perfect espresso. I wanted an espresso with a dark, rich taste, organic and fair trade. My favourite coffee company, <a href="http://www.levelground.com/" target="_blank">Level Ground Trading</a>, doesn't have an espresso line, so after doing a little searching I discovered <a href="http://www.kickinghorsecoffee.com/" target="_blank">Kicking Horse Coffee</a>. Kicking Horse has a line called Cliff Hanger Espresso. It is both organic shade grown coffee and certified fair trade. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Even when I don't have time to make a cappuccino in the morning, I always have time for at least an espresso. It takes me, even for a few moments, back to Sicily, back to our second home.</span>Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-64630225310658354852012-11-07T10:46:00.001-08:002013-04-29T20:50:25.844-07:00Visions of Our New Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just recently we received an email from Scott, our intrepid contractor, giving us an update.</span><br />
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Hi Diane</span><br />
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Hope you are both well, just wanted to touch base with you. We have actually paused on your place for a few weeks to get some critical work done before the rains set in. You have a new roof and terrace floor, and you also have a nice large garage room opened up with walls stripped off. Bedroom wall is in and plastered.</span><br />
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As soon as we get back onto your place I'll give you a shout and keep you updated.</span><br />
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All the best</span><br />
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Scott</span><br />
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One of the things that I appreciate about Scott is the communication. He sends us regular updates which keeps me on edge and chomping at the bit to see how everything is coming. If I could snap my fingers it would be the end of June and we would be packing for our flight to Sicily.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11GyYvbTxv9AcUM9F1UlbQYT-EX6L3BAHcoVU6Zjih_QGLTTysKHPi5ASsrkKbTX6gUj9rtHoAybxBmetJV_n4C_90qwN-cRu3BZLUYWCXrqc6IwTwWTfDu4ZUOE8ITbHKQID51BNDhpx/s1600/P1010499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11GyYvbTxv9AcUM9F1UlbQYT-EX6L3BAHcoVU6Zjih_QGLTTysKHPi5ASsrkKbTX6gUj9rtHoAybxBmetJV_n4C_90qwN-cRu3BZLUYWCXrqc6IwTwWTfDu4ZUOE8ITbHKQID51BNDhpx/s400/P1010499.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Scott is on the extreme right and his partner Matt is third from the right in the blue shirt. </span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Last night I was looking at the <a href="http://www.ciancianamyhouse.it/home/EN" target="_blank">Agenzia Immobiliare </a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ciancianamyhouse.it/home/EN" target="_blank">My House</a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(realtor) photos of when it was still on the market. So, here is what Casa Cacciato will likely look like when it is all done and furnished.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We will be keeping the upper cabinets but the sink, stove & oven and little white cabinet will all be replaced by a long wooden countertop, a new double sink and a five burner gas stovetop.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is our bedroom. The walls will be painted white and the plaster along the bottom of the wall will be fixed up. The closet in the corner is a walk-in closet, small but still a walk-in. And it comes with a safe! Never had a safe in a house before.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is the guest bedroom. Again, it will be painted white. We figured we would add colour with paintings and some of my photographs.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picx.bienesraicestodo.com/s/6136023-Dining_room" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://picx.bienesraicestodo.com/s/6136023-Dining_room" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is the sitting-room off of the guest bedroom. We have almost the identical sitting-room off our bedroom as well. The window on the right is actually part of a door that opens onto a balcony.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is our street, Cortile Arcuri. Casa Cacciato is on the extreme left - the grey house with the brown door. As you can see, the end of the street overlooks the distant hills. </span></td></tr>
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Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-3519395322151921542012-11-04T20:58:00.001-08:002012-11-04T22:05:34.221-08:00One Hundred Reasons to Blog4Peace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">November 4th is Blog4Peace Day. I may not have a hundred reasons but here are my thirty reasons to blog for peace.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30f2iWktk5BiFdvEd3jSc9-c8Z410nnywclAH7qCr5lpLJbU91JGVWHKseFGPTXmznuR5T4o3R9PKCPm-tvkG3VrpEBiYBTBwPyjTwdSTKU1hnxn7lUFLMYDs8APAOXZEZPX8ewgsto0g/s1600/PICT0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30f2iWktk5BiFdvEd3jSc9-c8Z410nnywclAH7qCr5lpLJbU91JGVWHKseFGPTXmznuR5T4o3R9PKCPm-tvkG3VrpEBiYBTBwPyjTwdSTKU1hnxn7lUFLMYDs8APAOXZEZPX8ewgsto0g/s320/PICT0122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My dad was one of the most peaceful people I have ever known.</span></td></tr>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We have a responsibility to our children. The <a href="http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/resources/plainchild.asp" target="_blank">United Nations listed the rights that all children</a> should have. None of these can be upheld if our children don't live in peace.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our world is greater than just the human race. When there is no peace we destroy our environment and the environment that supports all other life - plant and animal.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The more people who are talking about peace, the more power the words have.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When I blog about peace, it reminds me to struggle for peace in every aspect of my life from the smallest interaction to the loudest protest.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The simplest idea can become the tidal wave of change tomorrow.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I don't want to live in a world in which situations like Darfur are ignored and unknown by most people.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I believe that every drop of positive energy that I release into the world dilutes the evil.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I believe that all of the money that is spent on war and on the war on drugs could be spent on feeding our hungry, healing our sick, and educating our young.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The waves of every gunshot, every bomb explosion, and every war related death washes over us all. We need to keep ourselves clean of this evil.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just because we have war today, doesn't mean we need to have war tomorrow. I really believe that the world is becoming a more just place.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have learned that I don't want hate or anger in my life, and my life includes all that is in this world.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I want to live in a world that someone's colour, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, passport, or any other characteristic that currently separates people no longer means anything and that we can live without labelling one another.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I am proud of both my father and my uncle. They were both in the army in WWII. My father never got any farther than England. He spent his time during the war ironing other soldiers' uniforms for a dollar so that on his days on leave he could travel around England and sit in the peaceful English countryside (the parts that were not being bombed) and sketch. I have on the wall in my dining room, framed pencil sketches of Salisbury Cathedral, Dover, and Abertillary Wales. My uncle, my father's oldest brother, did get beyond the English shore. He was with the Allied Forces that landed in Sicily. My uncle Rex was, however, a medic. He spent the war keeping people alive. He was awarded the Military Medal because he kept two severely wounded men alive for three days in a foxhole in spite of the shells that were raining down around them. I am very proud that neither my father nor my uncle Rex were responsible for adding to the pain and suffering, that in fact my uncle relieved suffering and my father created beautiful things. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I think that by standing up for others' rights I am standing up for my own as well.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." Mother Teresa</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If I blog or speak out for peace it helps me confront my own fears.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCX3ZNDZAwY" target="_blank">John Lennon touched my heart</a>.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Writing this reminds me that there are so many things that I can email my <a href="http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-7.htm" target="_blank">MLA</a> or <a href="http://www.canada.gc.ca/directories-repertoires/direct-eng.html#mem" target="_blank">MP</a> about.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Whatever we believe about the creator of the universe - God, Higher Power, Big Bang, Mohammed, the Goddess, or whatever else we believe in - He, She, It, deserves our best efforts to protect it.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace." Buddha</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Not to be trite, but I really believe that the pen is more powerful than the sword, and that the Internet and social media are even more powerful than the pen. (think Arab Spring).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I think if enough people declare world peace then just maybe it might just happen.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To celebrate - not just tolerate - every person in this world.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I think that all those who love should have the right to marry and that the shape of their genitalia or their chromosomes should have nothing to do with anything.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One day, Nick and Miyuki and I were sitting on the beach at Marina di Ravenna and we were approached by a man selling sunglasses, hats and watches. I apologized and said we hadn't brought any money to the beach. Instead of just moving off to the next potential customer, he stopped and sang a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdB-8eLEW8g&feature=fvwrel" target="_blank">Bob Marley</a> song to us. This was his way to spread peace across the beach even though he wasn't making much money that day.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For Nick and Miyuki.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Because Neil taught me that it is better to live in peace than it is to insist on being right.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding." Albert Einstein</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Laughter can lead us to peace. Which leads me to my final quote - from the late great George Carlin who taught me the seven dirty words you cannot say on television which my friends and I whispered to each other back and forth in French class (my apologies to Mme Petrovich) - "Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity." Let's keep it peaceful.</span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Peace for my darling girl...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">...and my sweet husband.</span></td></tr>
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Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-75018037980187336202012-10-27T22:58:00.002-07:002012-10-27T23:17:30.501-07:00Ragusa Ibla<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Last summer, while we were biding our time waiting for the sale of our new house to go through, Nick and I had the opportunity to visit a few places in Sicily that we hadn't seen before. We didn't always agree on the destination - usually I wanted to go to the places that were close-by and Nick would more often choose places that were farther away. I did the driving so Nick often would go along with what I suggested, but there were a couple of places that Nick really wanted to see that were quite far from Cianciana. One was the Acantara Gorge from the previous post. Another one was Ragusa Ibla. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Ragusa Ibla lies in the south-east corner of Sicily, below Ragusa Superiore. The original Ragusa was built on the side of a steep hill. In 1693, the area was hit with a severe earthquake and the town was destroyed, sliding to the bottom of the hill. Instead of relocating the town, the townsfolk decided that they would rebuild in the same place. As most of the rebuilding happened in the 1700s, the town today is filled with wonderful baroque architecture. Many of the people moved to the upper part of the town - Ragusa Superiore, but some still stayed in the lower part - Ragusa Ibla. While some of Ragusa Ibla is now falling down, some is still standing and is being maintained beautifully. A stunning example of this is the Cathedral of San Giorgio.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What I loved most about Ragusa Ibla were the winding, narrow streets that took us to surprising places. We followed one up a set of stairs and past some lovely old row houses - well kept and striking. We rounded a corner and found ourselves walking along a narrow path lined with baroque shells. This wasn't apparent immediately until I put my face up to a couple of the windows and found that the interior of the houses dropped two floors to what had become a grass-strewn yard over the years. Some of these interiors now had trees growing inside them, yet from the outside it looked like you could knock on the door and someone's nonna would answer and beckon you in for a glass of wine or a cup of espresso.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Enjoy here some of my pictures of the buildings in Ragusa Ibla.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For more information about this stunning corner of Sicily, I would recommend you read <a href="http://www.baroquesicily.com/" target="_blank">Baroque Sicily</a> by Jann Huizenga. Jann lives in Ragusa Ibla and her blog is full of interesting bits of info and lovely pictures about the area.</span>Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-30251285986850644842012-10-06T19:02:00.000-07:002012-11-04T21:55:42.549-08:00Alcantara Gorge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.terralcantara.it/en" target="_blank">GOLE ALCANTARA</a></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Not far from the resort town of Taormina and the slopes of Mount Etna is a stunning gorge formed by the hundreds of lava flows with which Etna has gifted the surrounding areas. The walls of the gorge reminded me of my mother's pottery studio - the pile of discarded clay that was thrown on piece by piece until she had created a multi-layered ceramic checkerboard. These towering walls, amazingly, were home to small cacti growing between the cracks.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cactus growing on the walls of the gorge.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The gorge, or gole in Italian, has 4 hiking trails. Nick and I took the shortest one, about 1.5 km. It was a roasting hot day, when we were there - 38 degrees Celcius. As we walked along the pathways, I found myself grateful for the shade along the path and also for the occasional 'mister' that sprayed cool water over us. The path took us to lovely viewpoints that gave us glimpses of the river below.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After a nice lunch, we took the elevator down to the river beach. (Yes, an elevator!). The edge of the river was filled with people - elderly nonnas with their toddler grandchildren in tow, young German women sunbathing topless, middle-aged British men in baggy shorts, Italian men strutting in speedos with gold chains tangled in their chest hair, and shapely young Italian women with perfect make-up and perfect hair wearing brightly coloured bikinis. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As we made our way down to the river's edge there was a large sign written in Italian, English, German and Spanish warning us that the river was frigidly cold and we should only spend a few minutes in the water. I stepped in the water. While chilly, it was most definitely not frigid. I grew up on the mountains to the north of downtown Vancouver, Canada. I spent my summers swimming in the snow run-off in Lynn Canyon. The water here in the gorge was not so cold.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Nick and I made our way to a little beach in the shade of the tall walls. While he sat on the beach, I walked against the current as far up the river as I was allowed to go before I hit the river rapids. The walls of the gorge rose up on each side like the dome of a cathedral. The only sound was the echo of the rushing of the water. There was a nearly spiritual feel to the place and I felt my cheeks start to hurt, I was grinning so hard at this amazing experience. Everyone I passed who was walking the other way in the river had the same grin and was sharing the same experience.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I probably stayed in the water for over an hour. It was a magical day. Both Nick and I left feeling that it was an afternoon well spent, although I must admit, I suspect one reason Nick was so pleased with the day had something to do with the topless sunbathers!</span><br />
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<br />Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-74626375932318146282012-09-30T22:36:00.000-07:002012-10-03T06:22:05.797-07:00Crazy things I never knew about Sicily<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have never been much for using travel guides. Whenever I have travelled in the past, I have depended on advice from the people I met locally to find the restaurants, hotels, and the most interesting sites. Nick, on the other hand, would pack every book we owned on Italy if we had space and unlimited luggage weight. This trip, I managed to keep him down to two books: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Top-Sicily-EYEWITNESS-TRAVEL-GUIDE/dp/0756670438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349061555&sr=8-1&keywords=top+10+sicily" target="_blank">Top 10 Sicily</a> and the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sicily-6th-Cadogan-Guides/dp/1860113974/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349061606&sr=1-1&keywords=sicily+cadogan+guide" target="_blank">Cadogan guide on Sicily</a>. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">While I haven't read a lot of travel guides, I am a reader. I usually have either a stack of real or virtual books sitting next to my bed waiting for me to read them and this trip was no different with one exception - I didn't bring enough reading material. After the last of my books were finished, I found myself rummaging around in my husband's suitcase to see if there were any books that I didn't know about.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So, after finding no fiction (I prefer fiction over nonfiction and fantasy over everything else) I picked up Nick's Cadogan guide to Sicily and Top 10 Sicily and started reading. The Cadogan guide was written by Dana Facaros & Michael Pauls. I haven't read (to my knowledge) anything else by these two but just from this guide I suspect these two have a terrific sense of humour. As I read their guide, I kept coming across crazy things about Sicily that I had never heard before and as I did I would turn down the corner of the page so I could find them again and read them to Nick. So, having compiled my list here is my top 10 countdown of the crazy things I never knew about Sicily.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">10. Sicily was under Byzantine rule in the 7th century ruled by Emperor Constans II. He was the first Emperor to travel to Sicily after the fall of Rome. He was seriously considering moving the Byzantine capital onto Sicilian territory at Syracusa when a courtier, furious over the slight to Constantinople, approached Constans II in the bath and killed him with a soap dish.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">9. Arguably, one of history's most interesting mystic characters was Count Alessandro Cagliostro, born Guiseppe Balsamo in Palermo in 1743. He became adept at the use of pharmaceuticals and a master at forgery and through these talents scammed and conned his way into the highest of high society throughout western Europe. His greatest coup as a con man involved convincing a goldsmith that he had discovered a cave on Monte Pellegrino that was full of treasure but guarded by devils who could only be lured away with 60 ounces of gold. The goldsmith brought the gold to the mountain but the "devils" (Cagliostro's accomplices) came out and beat the poor goldsmith until he ran away and they scarpered with the gold.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">8. On the same theme of scam artists in Palermo, this story happened much more recently. In 2005, a Palermitani couple bilked a poor woman out of 50,000 euros. How did they do this? They claimed to be vampires so convincingly that she truly believed that they would come and impregnate her with the Antichrist if she failed to pay up.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">7. Lampedusa is a small, but stunningly beautiful island off the south coast of Sicily. It is about 20 square kilometres with a population of 4500. Its industries are fishing, agriculture and tourism. In 1987, Libya shot two scud missiles at Lampedusa. Fortunately for the Lampedusians, the aim of the Libyan military was not so great and the missiles fell into the sea. This was apparently in retaliation for the American bombings of Tripoli and Benghazi. Apparently the Libyans had a map in which the 51st US state was Lampedusa. (Just kidding).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">6. This one actually didn't come from my guidebooks but is one that I had seen on the television show Urban Legends and found later on the <a href="http://www.nasca.org.uk/Sicily/sicily.html" target="_blank">Internet</a>. Starting in January 2004, in the tiny village of Canneto di Caronia, appliances in people's homes would burst into flame without warning. This moved from appliances to non-electrical things like mattresses and chairs. The fires became so frequent that the region's fire brigade set up permanent residence in Canneto di Caronia. People began to leave the town, rather than live under the constant threat of fire. Other residents believed that it was supernatural in origin and turned to the Church to perform exorcisms. After a month, the fires began to diminish. No one has any explanation for the fires. And to continue on the mystic theme...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">5. In Enna, in the absolute centre of Sicily (a.k.a. Umbilicus Sicilae or Sicily's navel), stands the Torre di Federico II. Other than being in the centre of Sicily, the spot has other significance. It is the crossroads of ancient Sicily's three main thoroughfares which symbolize the Trinacria found on the Sicilian flag. The tower, however, is a mystery. Octagonal in shape, it has no known purpose. Federico II built the Castel del Monte in Puglia on the mainland which is also octagonal in shape and also has no know purpose.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.sicilianfamilytree.com/images/sicilian-trinacria.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://www.sicilianfamilytree.com/images/sicilian-trinacria.gif" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the 1960s, historian Umberto Massocco theorized that the spot was the centre of ley lines, similar to the ones found in England. On these lines can be found a variety of landmarks of historical and spiritual importance: Agrigento, Eraclea Minoa, Syracusa, and numerous others. His suggestion was that the whole island of Sicily is a large geometrical temple.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">4. Many people know the story of Archimedes running down the street yelling "Eureka", but if you don't, here it is. Archimedes, also known as the Wizard of Syracuse, was a mathematician and the cousin of Hieron II. Hieron had commissioned a golden crown to present to the gods at Delphi. Once the crown was finished, he asked Archimedes to find a way to ensure that the goldsmith had not cheated him and used a cheaper metal on the inside. While sitting in the bathtube in his home in Syracuse, Archimedes came up with the idea of using displacement to prove if the crown was solid gold or not. So excited by his discovery, he jumped out of his bath and ran naked down the streets of Syracuse shouting "Eureka!!!"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">3. Sicilian history seems to be full of magicians and wizards. Somerset Maugham wrote a story called "The Magician"which was based on the true-to-life story of Aleister Crowley, originally from Leamington, England. Crowley was referred to as the Magician of Cefalu'. Cefalu' is a tourist town with a stunning bay and white glowing beach. To see this town, one would never guess that it had hosted a cult centred on drugs, sex and black magic. Crowley established the Abbey of Thelema to hold "rites" that would, he said, be the successor to Christianity. Crowley referred to himself as "The Beast" and encouraged people to do whatever they pleased, no matter how perverse. He was famous for his pornographic murals and his book "Diary of a Drug Addict". Eventually he was thrown out of Italy by Mussolini. In 1947, on his death, his will requested that he be buried in Cefalu'. The town of Cefalu' denied his request. (I wonder why?!?)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">2. The little village of Villalba is at first glance an ordinary Sicilian village - no particular reason to visit this village over any other except for this. Near the village is Pizzo di Lauro, a mountain peak. Rumour has it that the greatest treasure in all the world is hidden on this peak. According to Facaros and Pauls, this treasure is said to be guarded by fairies living in a palace. People trying to find the treasure disappear on the mountain and all that can be found of them is the sound of their groans, moaning the following:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pizzo di Lauro, for your riches</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We have lost our lives and our salvation.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And finally, my favourite crazy story about Sicily is...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">1. In 1064, the Normans made their first attempt to attack and seize Palermo. Sadly, they bivouacked up a hill covered with a particular species of tarantula whose bites caused the soldiers to suffer from a very unpleasant attack of painful farts, thus ending their first attack on Palermo.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">No one could make this stuff up. Seriously.</span>Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4586552059708536553.post-83999107515624245402012-09-30T19:33:00.001-07:002013-04-18T21:24:57.237-07:00Catch Up Time<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gbk87pt7W092IzD247Gv2QHvbrs-BSMXkLYtTBjnKzCX61l8WW6sx_0v7PiyktldVSu6KlhduuFJq3o8Fz-hvpxgUWHdVjyZXhKTY2ckBTbRwu8-jZHZJn1fbnVVzdDsQVarTczBNmw-/s1600/IMG_0225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gbk87pt7W092IzD247Gv2QHvbrs-BSMXkLYtTBjnKzCX61l8WW6sx_0v7PiyktldVSu6KlhduuFJq3o8Fz-hvpxgUWHdVjyZXhKTY2ckBTbRwu8-jZHZJn1fbnVVzdDsQVarTczBNmw-/s320/IMG_0225.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Our Sicilian Home</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">It has been about seven
weeks since Nick and I got back from Sicily.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">We hit the ground running here and this is the first chance I have had
to really do any writing for the blog.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">So, those of you waiting for updates on our Sicilian home, my apologies.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">August 24<sup>th</sup>,
after we arrived back in Canada we got the email we were waiting for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joe, our terrifically helpful realtor, sent
us the word:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I was going to write to you this morning to tell you the good news
that we signed the deeds on Thursday afternoon… </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Congratulations!</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">Joe</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11GyYvbTxv9AcUM9F1UlbQYT-EX6L3BAHcoVU6Zjih_QGLTTysKHPi5ASsrkKbTX6gUj9rtHoAybxBmetJV_n4C_90qwN-cRu3BZLUYWCXrqc6IwTwWTfDu4ZUOE8ITbHKQID51BNDhpx/s1600/P1010499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11GyYvbTxv9AcUM9F1UlbQYT-EX6L3BAHcoVU6Zjih_QGLTTysKHPi5ASsrkKbTX6gUj9rtHoAybxBmetJV_n4C_90qwN-cRu3BZLUYWCXrqc6IwTwWTfDu4ZUOE8ITbHKQID51BNDhpx/s320/P1010499.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: small;">Celebrating the purchase of our house with Joe our realtor (in the middle)<br />and Scott our contractor (on the right) the day we left Cianciana. Nick is on the left.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">And then September 6<sup>th</sup>
we got word from Scott, our equally terrific contractor/renovator saying that
the work was underway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the
path of renovation never runs completely smoothly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">…there has
been a small glitch in that it has rained this week quite heavily and has
unveiled that the terrace in front of the kitchen has some severe leaks through
to the room below…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">… we have been
having some problems with the neighbour who is complaining that damp rising
from the wall between your garage and his kitchen is ruining his kitchen. He
would like to put the problem right between you…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Fortunately,
the solutions to the problems have proven to be fairly easy and not too expensive
– certainly not compared to the glitches we had when we renovated our Canadian
house!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The leak was fixed by removing
the tiles from the terrazza, laying a waterproof membrane and re-tiling with
new tiles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About 800 euros well spent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">As for the neighbour’s
kitchen…our ground floor walls had been covered with a horrible vinyl wall
covering that we had wanted to get rid of anyhow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2kAQeDGc5Mo3LaE86ZaL4xZ7sdOY5zT_Tn3cpsGpxhPytBp4bKKNsozhxvtKc-hycXIWX1OqrFW-48h740bT0G4GKJvJN5Ex0Cyq_KYk9KneKgVjsMw-4rtH8Jatjpotgp4VJatK6EAt/s1600/P1010067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2kAQeDGc5Mo3LaE86ZaL4xZ7sdOY5zT_Tn3cpsGpxhPytBp4bKKNsozhxvtKc-hycXIWX1OqrFW-48h740bT0G4GKJvJN5Ex0Cyq_KYk9KneKgVjsMw-4rtH8Jatjpotgp4VJatK6EAt/s320/P1010067.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: small;">Our ground floor. All of these walls are now down and are stripped back to the stone.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Scott removed all the wall covering and then
the render (probably plaster) on top of the stone walls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What will most likely happen next is to let
the walls dry over time and see if this improves the situation with the
neighbour’s kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not, then there
is some treatment that can be done to the stone that will help take care of the
damp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must say that when Scott emailed
us with a “damp problem”, I was a bit terrified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, “damp”
is associated with “leaky condo syndrome”, which frequently costs the owners
tens of thousands of dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the
removal of the rendering added only 150 euros to our bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With luck, that’s all we will have to do and
we will be left with a ground floor that has beautiful exposed stone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the
meantime, Scott sent us pictures of how the kitchen will look...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDO6L_uMQRHX1GZOnjoGLZOTmriNL2A0rEJf2QyLR64F8HdQzIo8oDsBjlTl9FxNkcJ19DHJYgCHo3XTk-NiCLZknO2F3wkuBaFq_vyEDgYvvAWDnlp7TD1tbTx_LCP0gNudMCmfFLTol/s1600/D&N+Kitchen+layout+front+veiw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYDO6L_uMQRHX1GZOnjoGLZOTmriNL2A0rEJf2QyLR64F8HdQzIo8oDsBjlTl9FxNkcJ19DHJYgCHo3XTk-NiCLZknO2F3wkuBaFq_vyEDgYvvAWDnlp7TD1tbTx_LCP0gNudMCmfFLTol/s320/D&N+Kitchen+layout+front+veiw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrMButIuZsBjxjsdrUF3oJI5UiSMA6zRtfxktmkOuqYWYL3vuQlc2vKH6zzB2MH7nFTiZSNiiyld3FogTuD-JVipu9SfVdlQKyOj-Nyo-hxMiF9iK7vuSRB4c8fSNeung4wIatGj4CZ7w/s1600/D&N+Kitchen+top+layout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrMButIuZsBjxjsdrUF3oJI5UiSMA6zRtfxktmkOuqYWYL3vuQlc2vKH6zzB2MH7nFTiZSNiiyld3FogTuD-JVipu9SfVdlQKyOj-Nyo-hxMiF9iK7vuSRB4c8fSNeung4wIatGj4CZ7w/s320/D&N+Kitchen+top+layout.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">...and today we
heard that he is removing the asbestos roof from the storage room on the
terrazza and replacing it with a new and non-cancer causing roof. </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOE2SEo0oudm5A6wYW4St4Y9iquNY5-oo8-jGCZBhjQyIZcWm7bTq2J1KuwVaEBQUOY60wA0m2A6k_YWvmevhSwIEzxcLjWcCvBLrkeOUsRA3RvJSXGkYSu9VwD0VSwlkLn2bCmbV_88PN/s1600/IMG_0205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOE2SEo0oudm5A6wYW4St4Y9iquNY5-oo8-jGCZBhjQyIZcWm7bTq2J1KuwVaEBQUOY60wA0m2A6k_YWvmevhSwIEzxcLjWcCvBLrkeOUsRA3RvJSXGkYSu9VwD0VSwlkLn2bCmbV_88PN/s320/IMG_0205.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: small;">The storage room on our top terrazza.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We picked a
new colour and new tiles for the outside of the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before we left Cianciana, we walked around
the town and looked at colours and tiles that other people had used.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The house is on a narrow street so we thought
a bright colour would be better.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNrVVrDQ9KrJPOGKGIps2pP1dVQp8tevld1aptODBxRvqcTNtiPX8q9WmfYgZgxULhciSEP1nEk1ifkACkF2HHyfnCokWUOeAy8XLfO7A7ybEutqAH0MVWNNks9MoYKc0DSNDU0fvqZNv/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqNrVVrDQ9KrJPOGKGIps2pP1dVQp8tevld1aptODBxRvqcTNtiPX8q9WmfYgZgxULhciSEP1nEk1ifkACkF2HHyfnCokWUOeAy8XLfO7A7ybEutqAH0MVWNNks9MoYKc0DSNDU0fvqZNv/s320/IMG_0082.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: small;">Our house will look like this on the outside.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">All in all,
work is progressing well and we are counting the days until we land in Sicily
again in 274 days (but who’s counting!)</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://countingdownto.com/" style="color: #444444; font: bold 8px Arial; padding-left: 19px;">COUNTDOWN TIMER WIDGET</a></div>
Diane Cacciatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04167113109043798592noreply@blogger.com2