on a Thursday, genovedi, evening

A deviation from my Sicilian adventures, to my everyday reality.  

After fixing and cleaning up dinner, I decided to set up my camera on the tripod in the kitchen window to catch the Orioles and Hummers at dusk.  They always become more active at that time.  

I have had 2-3 pairs of Orioles coming the last few years in the Spring.  With 2 varieties and their mates.  They are such a gorgeous yellow and black.

Here are a few pictures from this evening....

If you look closely, there are 3 hummers, the one in the back is comical through the liquid of the feeder.

more of day 2, 3/14

From the farm, we left our friend, who had some business to tend to and we would meet up with later to head to Modica.....chocolate, here we come.
The citta (city) was founded either 1360bc or 1031bc, there are conflicting dates. And while well known for many things, we were after the famous Chocolate of Modica, from an ancient Aztec recipe.

 

  

This is reminiscent of Ponte Vecchio in Florence.  Lover's Locks.   There were many locks on the fence overlooking the city.

 The Church in Modica.

 

chocolate, chocolate, chocolate

 

 We also went to Rogusa Ibla, and now that it has been a month already, I can't keep the cities straight, so much for my memory.

The city suffered a major earthquake in 1693 and many structures were damaged.  The patron saint in St. George.  San Giorgio Vecchio has a re-entrant facade with notable Gothic-Catalan portal and high relief on the lunetta portraying St. George slaying the dragon. One of the few pieces left standing.

http://www.bestofsicily.com/ragusa.htm

You can read more at this website and understand it better than I am relaying.

 

Les & Ang in the park

 

la tazza necessaria di caffè

  

I just loved these two perched up on top of a building.

Mi due

Uomini  Mafioso 

And that is it for another day, the way I am going, I just might have this done by the next time I return, which isn't even planned yet......

 

 

Day 2, out and about March 14 Sabado

Our 2nd day of adventure began with leaving early to meet a local friend of the kids. He was born in Sicilia, grew up in New Jersey, married a local Sicilian girl and migrated back to his home town of Scoglitti. More about that later.
He had us follow him to a local farm that produces cheese that they send world wide. Which is amazing, because the cheese making room is not bigger than one of our bedrooms. They have special cows, which for the life of me now escapes their origin, that produces their outstanding cheese.
For breakfast we were treated with fresh, warm, out of the barrel, Riccotta cheese with fresh baked bread, oh my goodness, nothing like it!

 

But of course, I did not get a picture of breakfast, but here are a few pictures of the cheese room.

 

  

The kids did buy some of this and we ate off it for the next week, soooo good!

 

This region had rock perimeters, sheds, houses, walls everywhere.  Unlike any other place I had seen.  The capstones were so uniform.

 

This is Terry, Tony and Les with the farmhouse in the background.

 

And my friend, he was so sweet, but only spoke Italian.

Only time for this entry, and so much more to tell you......domani

sogni di oro

Day 1, the afternoon

After we reconnected at home with Les, the four of us took off for Toaromina, but changed our minds and stopped just south at Giardini Naxos, the first Greek colony on Sicily, dated around 395b.c.
We found a place to park next to the water and walked the beach for a bit, while Ang & I took pictures. Unfortunately, I started having some issues with my cf card and lost some of the pics.

There was a group of guys getting ready to launch their boat into the water and our guys asked if they could help, it was great! Another personal Sicilian experience.

 

  

This was a statue fountain we saw, not a great pic, but all I got.

We decided to curb our appetites just a bit until catching dinner on the way home with gelato!

Until domani 

Day 1 in Sicilia, Benessimo

 We arrived back to beautiful Sicily.  Springtime is an absolutely wonderful time to visit.  The hills are green and the wildflowers starting to spread everywhere.  There are many similar things about Sicily and California, ecspecially the central coast.

We were glad to get off the current mode of transportation and anxious to reunite with our daughter and son-in-law.

For more details in many of the days, she has done an excellent job of blogging our trip and you can visit her at:

anglouise.blogspot.com 

So I will share from my side of the lens.

 

The first morning after we settled in, we ran up to Mineo, the hill town behind where they live.  A stop for a cappucino, the very best, forgot how good it was and a treat for Terry, a fresh Arancina, his absolute favorite Sicilian treat.  It has a ragu/cheese middle, surrounding by rice and rolled in bread crumbs and fried.  They are yummy.

Then we walked up the hill to the Friday morning market.  There is absolutely everything you need and fresh from the fields, dairy and sea.

 
 

Just take a good look at everything on this truck.

 
 

Now this is fresh fish!  pesce

 

  

You start to understand the sign layout after a bit.  Makes sense.  Terry got very good at it.

 
 

Me and our bella figlia, Angela with Mt. Etna in the background.

My command of the Italian language was not so good, even after taking Conversational Italian 2x in 2 years.  If you can't practice it, you just (or rather I) do not retain it.  But enough to catch words here and there, and at least recognize the jest of some conversations.  Angela has been picking up the language well.

 
 

 As we walked around town and through the market, it is always fun to spot different things.  I wanted to get a picture of this lady, while she wasn't watching us.  I succeeded and then while I continued to walk, a thin, short man with a grin started talking to me and pointing to the lady, he explained that that was his suocera, mom in law. As I walked away, I wondered what was going through their minds, was mom in law keeping a eye on him?  Just all fun stuff.

 

  

Notice the gentleman in the window?

 

Ang & Terry

 

 A "typical" Sicilian street.  I LOVE it!

 
 

Oh, yes, my friend.  Apparently I walked by him with no notice, with Terry & Angela a few steps behind, when I heard the laughing.  I guess he started fixing his hair, standing straighter and I missed it all.  So I turned around and asked if I could take his picture and he obliged.

And that was just the morning.  The afternoon will follow.

Ciao

baby it's cold outside!

Well, to start off, Ang & I went to a cooking demo at a local family run home that caters to growing their own olive trees and processing the oil and holding cooking demonstations with participation. Today we shelled fresh fava beans, and again no pictures.... sorrry.
Ate & cooked and drank the most delicious fresh food. From Fava bean omelet to pasta, fresh sausage grilled on the outdoor grill, next to the pizza oven, mixed their house red wine with fresh squeezed blood orange juice, antipasta, mushrooms and eggplant marinated in their olive oil... and a taste of lemon infused Grappa.
The weather was threatening, but held off until we were done. Windy, oh my goodness, cold...not cool, COLD. I swear there was icy particles in the rain hitting the windshield.
Terry said he came across snow in his journeys today.
So, now it is afternoon, every huddled in, we have a corned beef in crockpot for later.
That's it for now!
Ciao

A week already in Sicilia!!

I cannot believe that a week has already gone by. We arrived safe and sound, and reasonably well without allot of jet lag. Though, it would be so fantastic if there was a way to recline to sleep, yep, me and most the other 200+ passengers, sansa 1st class.

We were treated to a local experience by one of Les's brothers of his lodge. He is a local Sicilian who grew up in the states and moved back to his hometown of Scoglitti.

http://www.scoglitti.com/inglese.htm

I do not have any pics yet, maybe I can get some of Angela's.
Anyway, time to go for now. We are going to try and make it to Enna, just about in the middle of the Island.
Terry is out & about on the motorcycle.
Hopefully more time to blog later.