Thursday, June 28, 2007

Einstein Lived in Italy too!


Young Einstein lived outside of Milan as a teenager.

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. - Albert Einstein

Things you miss when you live so far from home...



While I was escaping Sicily's heat holed up in my bedroom with the shutters closed snuggling with my portable air-conditioner all day...One of my dearest friends in the world got married this week in Hawaii.

She and I met at 16--both misfits who ended up in an alternative high school for our various sins. We were never friends. She was loud, dressed like Madonna and behaved like a feral cat. It was in college that we reunited thru my inebriated housemate Casey and her ex-flame (and equally inebriated) Greg, both lifelong friends since high school.

We were both skinny, young and wild--working as waitresses and cocktail servers by night and partying in clubs 'til dawn. I blame Jen entirely for the length it took to get my undergraduate degree--6 years in total with a full load every summer and one semester of academic probation. I failed just about every class once--except for Journalistic style and grammar. I failed that 3 times. It was only offered at 7:30 am.



My mom is my favorite mom of all times. Jen's mom Suzanne(pictured here) is my second favorite mom of all times.

She raised three amazing children--pretty much on her own. She was a mom and a dad and a friend and a mentor and a role model to her kids. And she was still able to run her own tourism business empire, be an active advocate for women's issues, see the world and maintain a rich circle of friendships.

I adore Suzanne, her choices and the sacrifices she had to make to have a well-balanced life.

I often wondered what she thought of us in our wild child days--when we slinked off to the nightclubs to tease boys in very little clothes. Or our slutty Halloween costumes! Suzanne is the embodiment and fulfillment of the women's lib movement only to win the war for equality so it could be usurped by her daughter and Gen X entourage galavanting out into the night in heels and fishnets.



This reception site is the family backyard...It was perfect to have this celebration in the presence of the many memorable celebrations that came before it.

I think the best party we had in this yard was when Suzanne was out of town and....



This is a very special woman to me--spiritualist and life adventurer Alice Inoue. I met Alice when I first started my career in public relations as she was a broadcaster for JTVN. We become closer acquainted when I retained her as a festival spokesperson for a client.

Alice married Rob and me in 2005. And a few years back I gave Jen and Tod a gift...a life coach counseling session with Alice...and the seed was planted.

Alice is not only intellectually (she speaks several languages including Japanese, Mandarin and English fluently) and physically beautiful (Chinese, Irish and German heritage)...she's a brave and creative spirit who has transcended many careers and many lives in just this one lifetime. You can learn more about her here--http://www.astrology-fengshui.com/about_personal.htm

It always makes me laugh when I think of her story of how her mom would make her drink snake's blood to cure her poor eyesight in Taiwan. She didn't wear glasses after that!



I sometimes hear Sigonellans talk about the cute blonde blue-eyed toddlers that abound on base. But children in Hawaii are so beautiful. Like Alice, they are often a melting pot of ethnicities...caucasian, asian, polynesian...you name it!

I miss that warm, easy energy of Hawaii--where the light is a little softer, the tradewinds are a little cooler, the land is a little lusher, and the people live and love with aloha. You can feel Hawaii through these photos!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Dog Days of Summer Suck in Sizzling Sicily!



Come on. It's June 26th. It's only the first week of summer. And it's damn hot in sizzling Sicily. Four heat-related deaths in Greece and two in Catania, according to Lisa Balboni who translates the news and share it with us. The elderly and children are warned to stay indoors. On a positive note, there was a breeze today. But as Lisa says, "it's like standing in front of the hair dryer."

The Arnolds who also live in Nicolosi were over for dinner and tv tonite and they've run out of water. Apparently, city water gets cut off in order to conserve. I can hear the pump going on in our backyard so I guess we've switched to well water, which may run out too says Matt.

We have a government-issued portable air con in the bedroom and one in the tv room. They are huge and they put out a pathetically small amount of air.

But just when I feel like I could pitch a fit worthy of Paris Hilton...I realize it could always be worse. I could be a 13-year old Siberian husky with a generous overcoat and an undercoat as thick as thieves.



I'm worried about my elderly dog and so we took her to our Italian groomer today. He kept trying to calm her with a deep, low voice, which she didn't like...and I wanted to tell him that studies have shown that dogs respond to higher pitched voices better...but now was not the time to be a know-it-all to an Italian man with a very large power tool.



She was so ornery we had to muzzle her. Rob held her down. The technician gave her a buzz cut. And I wet her ears and gave her a good dose of reiki, and some telepathic images of waterfalls to keep her chill.



Aaaahhh...Life is good for her now!!! And whenever I think I have something to complain about...I don't really need to look to far to see it could always be worse!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

A Sight to See in Sicily!


Sightseeing in Sicily takes many forms. Here's a typical roadway attraction...That'd be two hands serving as rooftop tie downs for this table. And one hand from the backseat through the trunk holding the chairs in place.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Let's get lost in SW Sicily!

It was June 2007 and Rob and I reflected on our first year and half in Sicily. We'd been to Germany, Paris, Malta and even Pompei and Rome but not seen much of Sicily...outside of eastern Sicily.

It was time to explore Sicily's wild west and all the right stars were in alignment. Our friends Mike and Ann agreed to join us. Our friend Maryellen connected us with her friend Steve, a former New Yorker who retired in southwestern Sicily town of Sciacca, along the coast.

So off we went on a two-night, three day journey through the interior of Sicily to its western side!



Our 3-hour trip to Sciacca from Nicolosi took 5. We were lost and that's easy to do in Sicily!



Nothing like local champagne to celebrate the weekend on Steve's patio overlooking the Mediterranean!



It was here that we enjoyed our first forray into the Mediterranean....just steps from Steve's hale. Our very first swim at sea....and it was good! Not as good as the Pacific but good enough!

Sciacca knows how to eat!

We had fabulous seafood in the port town of Sciacca (pronounced shaka). Shaka Steve took us to all his favorite haunts!

Sciacca is best known for its ceramics shops, seafood, famous Carnevale, thermal/curative sulphur hot baths and beautiful beaches!

...The city also claims two famous fellows...Jon Bon Jovi's (born as Bongoivi) dad was a Sciaccatini hair dresser who migrated to the US (thus the great hair of little Jon) and baseball player Mike Piazza's family also hail from Sciacca.

For this trip, our time in Sciacca was all about ceramics, seafood and the beach!



That's Steve playing with his food -- puppeting a shrimp for the camera!


Carbo-loading never tasted so good! Eggplant pasta. Shrimp pasta. And risotto!

Caltabelotta!

A trip to Caltabelotta feels like a step back in time. As we navigated the Jeep thru the narrow and windy cobblestone streets on Sunday morning, I enjoyed watching a young, sturdy woman gingerly help an old Sicilian man out the front door. I assumed it was her grandfather. She placed a battered old wooden chair in the shade for him alongside the curb opposite their house. I imagine that this was his Sunday ritual to sit on that chair all day and watch those passing by – friends, neighbors and the occasional tourist.



The sweeping views, the handful of medieval structures still standing and even the ancient burial caves alongside the modern road signs made this such a worthwhile adventure!


Where the hell are you taking us?

When Steve invited us to experience an authentic Siclian ricotta Sunday brunch, I was expecting a typical Sicilian restaurant...nestled in a typical Sicilian piazza...in the heart of Caltebelotta.

Instead, we drove for miles…into literally nowhere….except what seemed farther back in time…over farm lands…across dusty prairies…and more rolling hills….past an unoccupied light house….and even an ancient Sicilian hut that looked like a displaced Polynesian hale!





This is when I started to have those wretched fantasies that our new found friend was a serial killer taking us to some artichoke field in the middle of Nowhere Sicily to have a handful of stupid Americans for breakfast!

….And then we arrived at what looked like a outpost from a wild west movie…only to arrive to our most authentic Sicilian dining experience to date! You haven't eaten ricotta until you've eaten at La Montagna Fattoria del Vento.

It's so good...it makes you want to buy a goat!



Meet our breakfast sponsors...the goats of Caltabelotta. From these very goats came our breakfast--within hours of being milked.



If cheese making is an art and science, meet the mad scientist of Caltabelotta. This Sicilian is more dynamic than any celebrity chef of the Food Network. He was passionate to get us in the kitchen! The Sunday regulars gathered in the kitchen doorway to watch as he entertainingly introduced us to the art of making breakfast!



Tell me where else will the chef milk a goat, prepare a handful of incarnations of fresh cheese for you and then spoon feed you as well. Now that's udderly devoted!

Cheesmaking is an art and science!



Welcome to his kitchen cauldrons!







What's that? It's sheep stomach. It's what make authentic ricotta...authentic!

Bloated in Caltabelotta!



According to Steve, ricotta has 24 properties, which break down at a rate of 1 property every two hours.

This is why fresh ricotta is coveted by Sicilians. It tastes like nothin' you ain't ever eaten before. It's creamy, pillowy, delicious morsels of warm fresh heaven!

While the rest of the gang was underwhelmed, I found fresh ricotta to be so delicious it was almost heartbreaking.


We could barely eat a few spoonfuls...while the Sicilians went back for a whole 'nother fresh bowl!




This iteration of ricotta has the texture of the softest buffalo mozzarella and the consistency of tofu. It's relatively tasteless to me.



And this is pecorino - a very firm cheese - with a strong salted flavor.

Wow! What a meal. Home-made bread, fresh wine, cheese and olives. All you can eat for 7 euro (about $10).

Welcome to Erice!

Up in the clouds and carved out of a cliffside is the fortress, medieval town of Erice. With its handful of windy, narrow streets right out of a King Arthur flick --this is perhaps my all time favorite destination in Sicily so far!







Views from Erice!




The Other Woman!

While I was contemplating ceramics, Rob was following his nose down the narrow cobblestone streets. I found him admiring the cookies of another woman. This ricotta filled cookie was fresh out of the oven and quite possibly better than cannoli!


Rustic, Beautiful Things & Places!