Friday, July 27, 2007

Escape From Italy

It's true that we didn't want to leave Sicily. And, in fact, I almost didn't make it out of Italy.

Sweetie was headed elsewhere after our trip, so I was on my own for the flights back to Israel. We arrived at Palermo's airport at about 4AM for my 6AM flight. Only to find out that my flight was cancelled. Lovely.

The good news was that they put me on an only slightly later flight to Rome, that would still theoretically give me enough time to catch my flight to Israel.

As the time came to go through security at Palermo, I unloaded all my water onto Sweetie since there were signs about the dreaded liquids rule. We didn't face that coming to Italy, so I wasn't 100% certain it would apply on the return flight, but it did.

After my bag went through the x-ray, the security guy grabbed it and said, "Botella." And I was like, "No......" and then it dawned on me.....we had placed a very nice bottle of Sicilian wine in my carryon. UG!!!!!! What a waste. Luckilly, Sweetie was still watching from afar and I waved him down and the security guard escorted me to Sweetie so I could unload the bottle. At least he was able to give it to someone who might appreciate it (turned out to be the lucky folks at Avis).

So...........that tragic loss of a good bottle of wine out of the way, I was able to board my flight to Rome.

The flight was uneventful except for the lady sitting next to me crying as she talked about living in the US vs. Italy (many of her relatives live in Sicily, though her parents emigrated to the US). She was very helpful in that she told me if I had to go through security again and wait in a massive line, to just push my way in from the side. That's how the locals do it.

Upon arrival at Rome, I followed the signs for "Transfers." And they most unfortunately led me to a mass of people the likes of which I have never seen in an airport. This was at passport control. I was flabbergasted that people actually had to go through passport control when they had PLANES TO CATCH. I estimate there were 1,000 people there, give or take 200. Okay, maybe it was only 500.

I tried to line up in what I assessed to be the shortest line -- only about 100 people in it. But then one of those stupid golf cart things tried to come through the masses. HEL-LO. There was just nowhere to go. The driver got stuck on a corner as she tried to turn with a wall on one side and 1,000 people on the other. I, unfortunately, was in the immediate vicinity of this and she actually ran over my toe. The hazards of travel.

Anyway, it was clear I was not going to get anywhere near passport control within the next say, ten days. And my flight was in 90 minutes. Some people were showing their ticket and moving ahead in the line. But, I decided this was for sissies. My strategy was to not make eye contact with anyone, as I simply shamelessly line-jumped about 50 people at a time (constantly switching lines). Out of the corner of my eyes I sensed a few dirty looks, but no one actually said anything. Frankly, I was astonished that EVERYONE wasn't trying to do this. I don't know how there wasn't a full-blown riot. Maybe everyone else had a 12 hour layover and nothing better to do. I do not know.

Anyway, after I had line-jumped to within 30 people of the front of one line, I noticed that a new line was about to open and I was perfectly positioned to slide right into that. Which I did. Five minutes later I was on my way to my gate. Phew.

I thought the worst was over. Then I arrived at the El Al (Israeli national airline, with the tightest security of any airline in the world) counter. There was a note that transiting passengers must check in at the "Security Desk" before getting their boarding pass. Hmm...that sounded ominous.

I was interrogated by a young woman:

  • Do you speak Hebrew?
  • What were you doing in Italy?
  • Where did you stay?
  • What, you stayed in the same place for two weeks??
  • Where did you go in Sicily?
  • Did you take pictures? Can I see them? [at which point I had to dig my camera out of my bag and she went through my 200-some digital pictures]
  • Why are you going to Israel?
  • Why don't you have a diplomatic visa? [I decided "Cuz your *&%$# country won't give me one" probably wasn't the best answer]

I pulled out my assortment of letters from the Embassy attesting to my status in Israel. She asked if she could call the Embassy. Sure, I said. So, she did. I was told to sit in the waiting area.

So, there I sat, and sat and sat. While the girl was on the phone for about 20 minutes. SURELY there are better targets for them to waste time on. Though, to be fair, there was a heavily tattooed American guy wearing a studded dog collar who was being similarly delayed.

About 40 minutes after arriving at the ticket counter, I finally had the magic piece of paper clearing me to board. But, the fun and games were not over yet. I had to present myself for an inspection of my CHECKED baggage.

So, I and a motley crew of random folks (including an Israeli lady with several small children) were led into the bowels of the airport, down a freight elevator, and onto the tarmac where our suitcases were waiting. We each had to open our suitcase up, go through every nook and cranny, and assure the staff that everything in it was ours. Lots of fun. I felt slightly less disgruntled after watching the lady with the kids try to restuff one of her suitcases while various assorted clothing items were popping out from all sides. And hey, the good news was that at least my bag was THERE and not in Monaco.

Anyway, it was all over and I finally boarded the plane (about 30 minutes after it was scheduled to depart).

Soooooooooooo, that was quite a bit of hassle just to get home from vacation!! Security for flights has gotten so out of control that I don't even see how anyone can feasibly fly anymore. You can only take a tiny ziploc bag of liquids on the plane, you have to pull that out of your carryon and have it screened separately even though others are telling you all your carryon items must fit in one bag and you must prove it by shoving them all into one bag at security even though security then tells you to pull them back out, you have to take off shoes, belts, etc. If you're flying El Al, you're subjected to a lengthy interrogation, as are DIPLOMATS in EMBASSIES on your behalf who surely have more important things to do....where is it going to stop? Are we going to have to board planes naked?

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Posts in Japanese

Just a note -- I am writing some posts in Japanese for my friends in Japan. So, if something looks funny or text is missing, it's probably just in Japanese.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Sicily - final days

I had read several favorable reviews of Osteria del Duomo - a restaurant at the foot of the cathedral in Cefalu. We had an 8PM reservation, so we wondered the streets of Cefalu for a bit before then.

We noticed many more old buildings and ruins. I loved seeing all the elderly watching street activity from their balconies. We passed a very rotund chef sitting on a bench talking to a little boy. We saw a boy and girl sitting and playing on the steps of a Megalithic structure on the sea wall. There was a very shy and suspicious cat playing with an old water fountain. As we wondered the more residential streets, we heard the sounds of someone practicing a musical instrument. And as darkness fell, I could see inside people's homes, the ancient vaulted yet low ceilings, old television sets in very simple kitchen/dining areas -- some protected from the outside only by a beaded curtain.

We wandered to the restaurant, and upon arrival, it was clear to us that a "reservation" simply meant that you took your pick of the leftover tables.

Not a great start.

The menu was completely unimaginative, in contrast to what was stated in my Fodor's guide. It was clear to me that tourists who have written reviews on tripadvisor.com and Fodors alike have confused this place with the Cafe Duomo across the street.

There was not enough wait staff, especially considering that rather than make people wait, they just kept erecting more tables outside the designated patio area. So, in the end, there were two people handling about 15 tables. They got my order wrong and Sweetie's meat had a huge piece of gristle.

But, it was a great setting in front of the cathedral and we enjoyed the piano player.

Afterwards, I went to the pastry shop across the street and picked up something that looked very traditional. It was sooooooo rum-soaked that I really had to struggle to eat it.

Anyway, we then sat on the steps of the Duomo for a bit, as this was clearly the thing to do. We had seen countless people wander up and sit on the steps during our dinner, so that's what we did as well.

The next day
On our final day in Sicily, we simply lounged around our bungalow, sat on its spacious deck overlooking the Med, and enjoyed our last meals at Calanica. We were sad to see our vacation coming to an end, and were already talking about going back...

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

鳳の昔

昨日とても久しぶりに茶道の濃茶点前をしました。こちらではかせの勉強をしている日本人の友達に来てもらいました。彼が京都大学にいたとき、裏千家の今日庵にお稽古に通っていたのです。彼が鳳の昔という柳桜園の濃茶を持ってきてくれました。まず彼に濃茶手前をしていただきました。私の家の地下にある茶室(ただ畳を引いた普通の部屋です)の光がそのときちょうど良く、茶入れからまわしだされてきた抹茶が湯気みたいに見えて、そして釜からも本当に湯気が飛んでいました。とても素晴らしかったです。そして、もう一人の「茶人」と一緒においしい濃茶を畳に上で、このクレージーな国で頂けて、何よりでした。一期一会です。茶道に感謝しています。

Thursday, July 19, 2007

いらいら

ちょっと日本語で書こうと思って。。。



私は3月から車がなくていつも歩いて行動します。今週からとても暑くなって、とてもきつくなりました。日本の暑さよりもきつい暑さですね。日差しが非常に強いです。夕方の5時でもまだまだです。



暑さを別にして、私を最もいらいらさせることは車がいっぱい歩道に止まっていることです。それだけではなく、沢山の人はちゃんと自分の庭にある木や植物をぜんぜん切ってなくて、とても歩道を邪魔しています。私は結局道を歩くしかないのです。

ほかの人のことを考えて行動する日本人とかなり違います。でも、沖縄にもよく人が車を道に止めて、自動販売機でジュースを買っていましたね。其れは時間がたってから納得できることでしたが、こちらのイスラエルのいらいらさせることをいつか納得でけるのでしょうか。

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Sicily - June 26 - Mt Etna

The air was thick with heat and smoke as we departed bright (or not so bright) and early for Mt. Etna (Europe's tallest active volcano) and the seaside town of Taormina. Much of the route on the highway retraced our path to Agrigento, and this time we were able to see the "Madonie after they burned" or the "Madonie on fire," as was the case when we literally drove through flames on both sides of the highway. Several times the driver actually had to slow down because the smoke was too thick.

After about three hours on the bus, we arrived at Mt Etna. Sweetie and I had toyed with the idea of doing the extra cable car/jeep trip to a higher elevation, but I started to have flashbacks to my near-death experience on a cable car in Venezuela. When I thought of the similarities in attitude between Italians and Venezuelans, I was downright panicked. Luckilly, Sweetie felt much the same way and we decided to just tool around in the "village" (ie: tourist trap heaven) for 2 1/2 hours while others did the tour.

We headed straight toward a nearby crater which had a path around the rim. The entire crater was just black ash. We started up the crater side, but it was soooo windy that I became completely terrified of being blown off the side. It didn't matter that there were numerous 40-pound children walking around the rim and not being blown off. So, Sweetie had to escort me back down to the "safe zone" (ie: the point where terrified four-year old girls were cowering with their mothers) while he forged ahead and bravely circled the rim. When he returned, he decided he also wanted to go IN the crater, so that's what he did. When he safely returned, he somehow was able to convince me that I should also descend into the crater because it was perfectly fine and un-windy there (he was right).

Once that was out of the way, we bought the required snack at one of the restaurants in order to use the bathrooms without attracting attention (that was one ice cream bar I could have done without, but oh well, sometimes we have to make sacrifices).

We were grateful for the cooler temperatures at the higher altitude.

We headed to Taormina after that. Taormina was sooooo lovely. I could have wondered its scenic shop-lines streets for hours. It was very pictureque and charming. The Greek theater there had stunning views from the top -- along the coast both north and south of Taormina. There was even a huge cruise ship in the harbor.

We had a rather late return to Calanica, and nearly missed the "special dinner" night. But Domenico at the front desk admonished us that our food was waiting at the restuarant, so off we went, unshowered and unchanged from our day trip. Oh well. We enjoyed the dinner, but I swear if I have another dish of grilled eggplant in this lifetime.....That was almost always the vegetarian option...

Friday, July 13, 2007

Sicily -- June 25 -- Madonie Mountains

This was our designated day for our trip through the Madonie Mountains (remember our failed trip to Castelbruno?). This time we had the benefit of my tour book that was in the wayward suitcase and a new map which set us back 7 Euro (only to discover that it was virtually the same as the one Jeancarlo at Calanica gave us for free, though to be fair, the one we bought was MUCH easier to read and I credit it with our successful trip).



We took our time and had a late breakfast around 9 AM. We set off at 10AM in our trusty automatic/manual hybrid Fiat Punto. We began our day at the church at Gibilmanna -- about a 20 minute drive from Cefalu. There were only a few Italians there, so it was virtually deserted. The church was small and absolutely stunning inside. I was put off from lingering too long by the man inside who was cleaning the pews in a very OCD-way. He had a book that he would put on the floor between each pew and kneeler to ensure they were spaced exactly right (the kneelers were not anchored to the floor).










There is a statue of the Madonna and Child that was confirmed to have caused two miracles, and I must say that it was incredible to look at. I wish I had not felt so unwelcome to admire the church.




Outside there was a nice view of the mountians and we ventured behind the church to find the cobblestoned grounds and brown stone buildings to be incredibly beautiful and serene.



Then, we ventured on in the Punto to Polizzi Generosa where we sought to find some "spectacular vantage point" referred to vaguely in my Fodors guide. Of course, Fodors provided no maps of the town which is literally perched on the edge of a mountain, seeming to defy gravity.






We found our way to a large bus parking lot, which I promptly declared must be the vantage point (I really didn't fancy the idea of driving further up narrow cobblestone streets). But, Sweetie was certain this could not be it. We returned to the car and drove about 75 yards further up the "normal" road where we then hit road construction. So, we parked and then just started walking UP.



A police car passed us on one of those ever-present "steep single lane cobblestone roads" and gave us a slightly dirty look. Something told me that we were the only tourists in the town that day.




We reached a plaza where there was a suspect-looking group of men sitting on shaded tables outside a store of some sort fronted with one of those beaded curtains that Americans used to hang in the 70s. I might add that we were a bit hungry, but I sure did not feeling like seeing if that was a restaurant. Actually, on this trip, I was amazed by how little food I could actually live off of. We did not have a proper lunch most days and I was completely unaffected by this. Perhaps it was those huge dinners that kept me going. Or the bag of Sicilian breadsticks that was always at my side...





Anyway, we started wandering the streets (in record-high temperatures, reaching over 100 F) of town looking for the vantage point. We tried to ask a police officer for directions (I think he was the one who gave us a dirty look earlier) but he didn't speak English and even though I sputtered out the plaza's name in Spanish, he just pointed vaguely AWAY from him. Anyway, we followed his "directions" but came up empty-handed. So, we ventured back into the first plaza we had entered and followed signs to a restuarant, figuring we could eat and ask for directions. Well, the restaurant was closed from June 15-July 15...



So, this left us with one option. To approach the men sitting in front of the place with the beaded curtains.


We approached them, and one led us inside. It turned out to be a gelatto shop/bakery-with-the-yummiest-looking-Sicilian-desserts-I-have-ever-seen. And the owner prompty pulled out a MAP (it might as well have been a winning lottery ticket, I was so excited) of the town and informed us that the plaza we were looking for actually had another name (hence the difficulty in finding it). He gave us flawless directions, we got a gelatto, and off we went on foot to find the plaza.



It was clear across town (ie: a ten minute walk) and did have rather spectacular views. (See photo)





By this point, we had been traveling for several hours and had been drinking lots of water given the heat. My only concern was to find a bathroom. We ventured into another beaded-entrance cafe and Sweetie got a sandwich and I got my bathroom (it was clean at least, but another one of those Italian toilets without a seat...). The cafe had an interesting selection of artwork on the walls (a poster with a list of "Why beer is better than women," for example). The lady working there was kind enough to wait until we finished before closing the shop for the afternoon. After this brief stop, all was well again.




Polizzi Generosa was an absolutely lovely town and turned out to be our favorite in the Madonie. It is also the hometown of Mario Dolce of Dolce and Gabbana.





Next, off we set to the next stop. Petralia Soprana, the highest village in the Madonie. We found the church referred to in my Fodors guide without too much frustration (well, finding a place to park was a bit frustrating, but again, walking clear across the city only took about 5 minutes). The views from behind it were stunning. It was too hazy to see Mt. Etna, but it was gorgeous nonetheless and well worth it. (See photo)






We set off back toward Cefalu, taking a slightly different route for a change of scenery. Sweetie noticed "the only cloud today." But then he also noticed that it didn't "look very natural." No, it didn't. Because it was smoke. From a fire. A forest fire. And there we were, in the middle of the Madonie Mountains, far from civilization. I monitored the "cloud" every single time it entered back into view as we twisted around and through the mountains.


Eventually, we twisted toward a few more "clouds." I was less than pleased with this development: "Hey, isn't that mountain with all the smoke on it precisely where we are going?"



It was. We eventually ended up skirting along the side of a mountain close to Cefalu and large portions of the valley below us were engulfed in flames. There was a firefighting plane flying over the inferno. Sweetie wondered, "Our road doesn't go down that way, does it?" Hmmm....looking at the map, I didn't think so.



And indeed, we didn't have to go into the flames to get home. When we arrived back at Calanica, however, I thought the smoke still looked a little too close for comfort (see photo).



Over dinner that night, we were able to watch the firefighting plane come in just above our bungalow and swoop down into the Mediterranean right before our eyes to refill. It was exciting!



Overnight, there was some excitement we could have done without. The fires continued to rage, and were moving over the top of the hillside near us. Ash was falling at Calanica. On our thatched roof bungalow. We ended up taking turns holding vigil until about 4:30AM when we crashed. But, we had to get up again at 6AM for our Mt. Etna and Taormina tour....

Road manners

The thing that makes me want to strangle people

Back in my pre-blog days, I mentioned the Israeli habit of honking their car horns virtually all the time (even at red lights). It is really excessive and it is the one thing in this country that actually makes me want to leap out and strangle people.

The other day, I was enjoying a delightful lunch at an outdoor cafe in a quiet, residential area. Then, suddenly, a deafening HONK! emanated from a large SUV about 30 feet from us. We ignored it. But then, HONK! HONK! HONK! HONK! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK.

I was aghast. Others were too. The lady apparently wanted to get through the single lane in the parking lot, but someone was parked halfway on the sidewalk AND the lady had this excessively large SUV, so she couldn't get through. Mind you, the shopping center is so small that it only has about 10 parking spaces, so whoever owned the offending car could not possibly have not heard the first honk.

At any rate, no one stepped out to move the car, and SUV Lady was honking so much that Israelis were actually getting offended by it and one man approached the lady telling her to stop. Then, the cafe owner also did the same. But, the lady ignored their pleas and HONKKKKKKKED again.

What does this achieve? Why are some Israelis so fixated on this practice? I do not understand. If I hadn't been so shocked, I might have actually gone up and physically harmed that woman.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Killer bugs, killer croquet

Distant Cousin of Creature From the Blue Lagoon



Last night I went out to lock up the gate and decided to take a brief stroll through the garden to admire my handiwork (I had trimmed back some of our flowers because they were starting to eclipse the lights -- welcome to summer in Israel). As I approached the elegantly lit pool, I noticed a large area of disturbance on the surface of the water. Hmmmm....I thought....that is interesting because the jets are off and the pool should be still. So, I moved in for a closer look. And that is when I saw the largest thing I have ever seen in our pool, humans excepted. I could not even fool myself that it might be a "water bug" or a "beatle," or even something as offensive and hideous as a cockroach. No....it was none of these things. It was a life form I had never seen before.



So, being the fearless type that I am, I got the pool net (conveniently located on the end of a 12 foot pole) and scooped it up. I tried in vain to dump it out of the net and into the neighbor's driveway. In the end, I just left it in the net and prayed I wouldn't need to use the net again for a good long while.



Killer croquet

Sweetie and I were invited to play croquet at the Ambassador's residence last weekend. I told Sweetie I was up for it, but that I hadn't played since the time my younger brother got mad at me for winning and hit me on the back with a croquet mallet about 25 years ago. I certainly didn't expect bodily harm would be involved among diplomats.



The first game was quite relaxed. The Ambassador acted as coach, while the rest of us fumbled along, until I came from behind and won the game with a string of brilliant croqueting. Nobody knew what hit them and Sweetie was virtually speechless.



The second game got a bit more strategic. I don't even remember who won, because the third game of the day sort of blotted out all memories of the second game. By the time we all reached the third game, participants were fully fixated on hitting and then whacking other participants balls into oblivion and it became a never-ending cycle. This situation was not helped by less-skilled players like myself, who, on the rare chances we had to actually make progress and hit a ball through a wicket, messed it up. Those who sat out the game were watching in shock and horror from the patio as the game dragged on and on and on....with no end in sight. It finally ended over two hours later with the Ambassador declaring that it was the longest game he had ever played.

Sicily -- Our trip to the pottery town

We took an afternoon trip to S. Stefano di Camastra -- known for its pottery. Indeed, we did find masses of pottery shops there. Most were a bit too gaudy for Sweetie, and I simply am not buying things anymore because I have too much stuff. We picked up a few gifts, however, and enjoyed the amazing view of the water from a plaza in town.

I noticed during our drive along the coast to/from Cefalu that there were lots of elderly men just sitting around outside on benches, chairs, etc. watching the world (and time) go by. One man was bringing a chair out in front of his house as we passed on our way to the pottery town. I couldn't believe it when he was still out there when we returned about 2 hours later! All I could think is how boring that must be. But, that's very typical for Sicily. Also typical is for older people to stand out on their small balconies in the evening and people-watch on the narrow medieval roads.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Sicily -- Sunday 24 June -- on the water

We took the "Cefalu Coast to Coast" boat trip in the morning. Our bus was quite late picking us up from the gas station, and after about 15 minutes of waiting, the booking agent zoomed up on a motor bike to tell us the bus was running "about 5 minutes late." Never mind that is was already 15 minutes late! Italian time...


Our bus did finally arrive and took us to the port where our boat (and two Brits already on board) was waiting. The only other passengers were a mother, two children, and the grandparents. Sweetie and I were perplexed by the family, as the mother seemed to speak Italian to the grandparents, but Russian to the children... Anyway, we were pleased to have a not-so-crowded ride, and the boat was nicer than we expected. Our host, Fabriz, who was turning 19 the next day, was very eager to please, and it was a really enjoyable trip.


The boat stopped several times for swimming opportunties, which neither the Brits (including Sweetie) nor I elected to take part in. But, we did enjoy watching the boat captain (when he wasn't on his cell phone) and Fabriz dive very deep down into the water. Fabriz even brought back a sea urchin which the captain ate. I assured everyone that they are delicious and melt in your mouth. (In my fish-eating days, "uni-don" -- a Japanese dish of rice covered in sea urchin -- was my favorite food).

We had an interesting "Chinese fire drill" on the ride home, when the family and we got into a minibus for the ride to the gas station, and the British couple got into a Mini Cooper with the man who had shown up at the gas station on a motorbike in the morning. Once we reached town, they had all of us pile out and the Brits got into the minibus, the family departed on foot, and we were told to get into the Mini. All very strange. So....we were regaled by the very gay tour director and his very loud Mariah Carey music for the trip back to Calanica.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Sicily -- Saturday 23 June -- the town of Cefalu

We ventured into town in the afternoon, and I tried one of Sicily's famous marzipan desserts (wonderful!). We followed my Eyewitness guidebook's stroll along the main road in the old medieval part of town. There were lots of interesting (and "very old" as I would say) buildings that you would never notice unless you were looking for them.



Also, we finally found the Porta Marina -- the only remaining city gate of the four that once led into the town. Sweetie said, "Shall we walk through it?" but it seemed to be occupied by a drug addict and so I discreetly declined. Sweetie offered up, "It looks contagious in there." We walked by it again a few days later, but it was occupied by a different drug addict...Oh well.



We also explored the "Night Market," which silly me, I was expecting to contain stalls of local handicrafts. .....Not quite. It was more like ummm...a swap meet or something. A bit bizarre. Oh well.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

日本語もできる!

発見!このサイトで日本語もできるのです。わざわざ日本のサイトでブログを作らなきゃいけないとつい思って。これは楽ですね。

これから少しずつ日本語も書くように頑張ります。

Monday, July 2, 2007

Sicily -- June 21 -- Day trip to Agrigento

Today we took a tour to Agrigento, in the south of Sicily. I apparently undercalculated the walking time to the nearby gas station (pickup point for the bus) and Sweetie made it clear that I would pay for this at some point in the future. Seeing as how we were already sweaty by the time we got on the bus (something to do with our mad dash to the gas station as a result of my miscalculation), it was shame that the A/C on the bus didn't seem to be cranked too high. Otherwise though, the trip was well-organized and the bus had plenty of room.





It took two hours to get to Agrigento. We first spent AGES in the stuffy museum which was interesting, but we had to wait for the guide to run though explanations in Italian and French before she got to English. Tedious.





The Valley of Temples (actually, they're on a hill, not in a valley) was great, but very hot. I felt like I was being cooked. Lunch was at an ordinary beach dive, but at least service was quick. We were seated at a table with the "Lady With a Paper Bag on Her Head" (see picture, she's in the middle). Sweetie noted, "She's not so ugly that she needs to wear a paper bag on her head." Anyway, Sweetie noticed Bag Lady was eating with her head so close to the plate that she was practically shoveling her food into her mouth. And then, when they brought out my spaghetti, she tried to claim it as her own....very odd. And we were both stymied by the fact that the gentleman with her seemed completely normal and yet undisturbed by her behavior. I decided he must have been a social worker taking her out on a trip.



After lunch, we walked out onto the wide, long beach with clear turquoise waters. It was scenic, but definitely had a different clientele than what we were used to up north...Let's just say I was glad I wasn't staying in Agrigento. It was very undeveloped and reminded me a bit of parts of Venezuela.



I enjoyed our tour guide's very matter-of-fact way of saying things like, "And the politician who accomplished the construction of this great highly was later accused of being Mafia."

Pick-up lines

Today I was walking to the store and a car pulled up beside me and a man starting speaking Hebrew. I said, "What?" and I figured he was asking for directions (as this still happens to me about 3 times a day). He asked how to get to the beach with the hotels and restaurants. Uhhhh....derrrrr....drive toward the water?? He didn't seem to understand the concept of "GO STRAIGHT." I kept repeating myself. Then he wanted to know if I was going to the beach. "No." So, finally I just started walking again because I sure couldn't help him if he still didn't understand my unmistakable "go straight" motion. Then, he pulled up again, and asked if he could give me a ride if I was going to the beach. "No, I'm NOT going there." He had a huge beer belly and sequins, yes sequins, on his t-shirt. I think next time I will wear sweatpants to the grocery store instead of a skirt...

Sicily -- June 20 -- MY SUITCASE ARRIVES

Today we went into town to get a haircut for Sweetie (it looks fabulous), and I managed to procure a plug converter for Sweetie's cell phone charger (major coup). Oddly, one of the men who seemed to always be loitering at Villa Cerniglia, the original place I had booked, was loitering in the doorway of the electronics shop.

Then, after much looking, we found some decent walking shoes for me, in case my suitcase doesn't make it before our tour of Agrigento on Thursday. The old man at the Ellesse shop where we got the shoes didn't take credit cards, but gave us 1 Euro off and told Sweetie to buy me a coffee with that. Very sweet.

So, we had drinks on the very steeply sloped plaza in front of the cathedral. I was hanging on to my drink the entire time. We had lunch at La Brace, which came highly recommended. We were a bit disappointed though. The food was presently very simply (no style), and Sweetie's catch of the day certainly wasn't big enough to warrant the price tag. That said, my tagliatelle with funghi was tasty, as was the hot banana doused in a sweet rum liquid for dessert.

We hit Calanica's "beach" in the afternoon -- and found that the snack bar there was actually open, so Sweetie indulged in an ice cream.

My suitcase arrived at 7PM -- a full FIVE days into my vacation. Anyway, it's nice to have a selection of clean clothes and other amenities for a change.

Sicily -- June 19, lazy day

Temperatures of 40 C were predicted, so we planned to stay in (little did we know that the heat wave would continue for a week, with temps ultimately hitting 46). The staff all know of my suitcase saga all too well, and I finally started calling Al Italia myself. They told me my bag arrived in Palermo in the morning, so I only hope it will get to me before they launch it onto another tour of Europe. Unfortunately my $100 new wardrobe hasn't stood up so well, as the
"Club Med" sandals (ironic, considering our search in the car for "Club Med" on Day 1) I bought for 5 Euro also have bit the dust. I was walking to the pool and suddenly the left one felt much looser....kinda like what happened with my shirt. Anyway, I was just grateful no one was at the pool because I'm sure the next thing to go will be the 8 Euro swimsuit I bought.

Sweetie and I braintstormed means of revenge against Al Italia in the afternoon. None of our ideas are publishable, however.

Calanica had a much-hyped BBQ in the evening. Only problem was that it started about 45 minutes late. It was worth the wait however, as they had an exciting and new (and more extensive) collection of salads (very key for the vegetarian). And once the BBQ got going, they had fish, meat, octopus, etc. There was also a dessert buffet with lots of yummy things.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

June 18

We took our time getting out of bed and finally sauntered down to breakfast at 9AM (it ends at 9:30). Then we strolled down to the "grassy knoll" -- otherwise known as the Solarium -- a grassy spit just above the water with some nice chairs and umbrellas. But, there was a stinky cat deposit near our chairs so we relocated, but somehow we were already turned off.



We returned to our bungalow. I washed my two shirts, two shorts, and two pairs of underwear that we picked up in a desperate shopping spree our first day. It's day Day 4 now and my bag is still missing. It's alternately reportedly been in Monaco, Berlin, Rome, Palermo, but not here. (As a result of this experience, Sweetie took his suit for his daughter's graduation in a paper bag so he could carry it onto a flight to Milan in case his suitcase when missing. Sad, isn't it?)


We wanted to get out, so we drove to Castelbruno -- a town in the Madonie Mountains. We took the autostrada (expressway) for the first leg, but did not enjoy the three very long (as long as 3 km) tunnels that were along the way. Haven't there been some fairly dramatic Italian tunnel collapses? Anyway, we hadn't set out a strict agenda before we arrived in the town--the driver was heading toward the castle, while the navigator was heading toward the center of town....Long story short, we got frustrated and turned around and drove back to Cefalu. We wrote it off as a recon mission for a future daytrip to the Madonie.

I decided to take a walk into town (rather than try driving our half-automatic/half-manual Punto). I had seen lots of people from Calanica doing it, so I knew it was possible. I just didn't realize that there would be NO SIDEWALK around BLIND CURVES with NO SHOULDER on the road IN ITALY. I felt my life was in immediate danger more than once due to this situation.

I did finally make it into town, and took my dead international cell phone into Vodaphone to see if it could be fixed. After waiting for 30 minutes while the clerk flirted with the girl in front of me (she wasn't THAT cute), and seeing two Italian couples give up and walk out, I finally pushed the not-that-cute girl out of the way and showed the guy my phone. He said I needed to charge it, but I couldn't get him to understand that I DID charge it and the problem is that it won't turn on even though I charged it. So, that was a waste of time.

I ran a few other errands and then started walking back to Calanica, and just as I set off, I felt one of my shirt straps go slack. It was one of the shirts I bought on Day 1 due to the missing bag. It was a very cute shirt, but not that expensive, and basically my only hope is that it would last until my bag came. No such luck. So, there I was, faced with a 40-minute walk back to the hotel with only one shirt strap. And this wasn't one of those shirts where the straps were sort of superfluous, either. I managed to catch it before all of main street Cefalu got a free show, and tucked it under my purse strap for the long walk back to Calanica.

That night (after I changed into Shirt #2), we headed back into town for dinner at Al Porticculo -- one of the restaurants with decks jetting out above the rocks on the water. It was a spectacular setting. Sweetie sat facing the sunset and I sat facing the town. I just loved looking up at the houses and seeing people out on their balconies, watching the sunset and checking out the restaurant action below.

I had the best pizza EVER for dinner. We tried a Planeta wine, which a friend recommended. Sweetie had a Sicilian cassata (cake) for dessert, which was even too sweet for me (I didn't know that was possible). I had creme caramel, which I only know as Japanese "purin." Sweetie did not approve of my dessert choice, but I thought it would be good to try a purin that didn't come out of a plastic container.

We had some issues getting the check. They just didn't bring the darn thing no matter how many times or who we asked. We finally got up and started walking...thinking that might get them into action (it did). I decided that the only time Italians are in a hurry is when they're in a vehicle.

June 17 in Sicily

We have been enjoying gorgeous scenery over breakfast at Calanica. It doesn't get any better! We drove into town and saw the Duomo cathedral -- dating back to the 12th century. It is famous for stunning mosaics. The cathedral was mobbed with tourists in tour groups and some power-that-be at the church basically started yelling at them to shut up. As we walked out, I realized that my tank top was probably not appropriate attire as there was a table of shawls with a collection box next to it. Oh well. I snuck out before being busted.

We stopped for coffee near the water and happened to catch an air show right before our eyes with 4 stunt planes. We had lunch at a restaurant called Kentia (it turned out to be our favorite meal during the trip). I ordered pineapple for dessert and a few minutes later saw the waiter walking back up the street toward the restaurant, carrying a pineapple. It was fresh!

We've been eating our dinners at Calanica, as we're on half-board. I'm always looking forward to the ever-changing buffet of appetizer/salads. But, having two courses and dessert on top of that is A LOT of food for me. At least the walk up the hill from the restaurant to our bungalow helps a little bit.