Eating our way across Palermo.
Palermo is stunning, especially if you approach it from the mountains to the West, where you can see th ecity drip down into the port. Then you arrive, and it's completely crazy driving, confusing street signs, hard to orient yourself.
We figured it out, dropped the packs off at the hostel, figured out where to drop off the car in the nick of time, and relaxed with a cappucino. or two.
We went back to the hostel (Casa di Amici), changed, and went out to find the mummies of the Catacombs of Capucinni (a nice family outing!). THen we relaxed with a capucinno, a fried rice ball stuffed with cheese (Arancio?), a slice of pizza, and a panini. Then we went into the cathedral, saw another amazing church, and then a puppet theatre, which Palermo is famous for (Thanks, Ronni!) - fighting, romance, great voices, amazing puppets (weighing like 25lbs each).
Then we strolled around looking at fountains, markets, people watching, and we stopped for fried eggplant and a tiny pizza. Just after that we stumbled on a walking street lined with cafes all hawking their anitpasto plates for 5 Euros - all you could pile up. So we did that with some beer. And we went a little farther and did a kebab with some beer. Now itàs 10:44 and Iàm too full to go to bed!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Slow Food movement
Apparently born in Italia by people who loathed fast food, and loved locally-grown, fresh, sustainable food, the Slow Food movement is moving across the planet, although probably not fast enough to save us from our wild cravings for strawberries and kiwi out of season.....
We ate (so far) at three places marked iwth the sticker: Il Buongustaio in Matera, Da Peppe in Rotunda, and Vittorio in PortoPalo. Great food, wine. Tried truffles. Wild boar. Pecorino (cheese) and Sopressatto (salami), Marinated Onions, fritatta, prawns, sesame bread.
We ate (so far) at three places marked iwth the sticker: Il Buongustaio in Matera, Da Peppe in Rotunda, and Vittorio in PortoPalo. Great food, wine. Tried truffles. Wild boar. Pecorino (cheese) and Sopressatto (salami), Marinated Onions, fritatta, prawns, sesame bread.
The most amazingly nice people in Italia, really. Not hyperbole.
Evo - from Naples, married a girl from Agropoli, runs the hostel there. An English teacher during the school year. Great directions, very helpful, assisted with renting a car, making to the early am train.
Mariateresa - runs Agritourismo Civarria (B&B) in the stunning National Park of Pollino, outside of quaint Rotunda. Lots of hand gestures, loved Mary, when I went to pay, didn't charge for her. Great breakfast. Funny. Wanted to sit around and chat. Got married 8 years ago to Carlo, in her tennis shoes. Doesn't dress like fashionable Italian women, which made me feel right at home.
Nameless guy in Citroen in Recalmudo - only one (1) hotel in tiny town on the way to Agrigento. We got there at sunset, he heard me asking two young ladies at a mobile phone store about a pensione or B&B, and he said follow me (or, at least that's what I imagined I heard) and like 10 minutes and 6 kilometers later, winding thru desperately dry ag land, we found the Hotel Paradiso, which I promise you, is nothing more than clever marketing. ALL the hostels weàve stayed in were 10x cleaner than this place. Still, he was very nice.
Flavio - tour guide for th eYuma Youth Choir - helped us secure lodging for the first 2 nights after the tour, has purchased concert tix for us to see Dr. John in Sardina, is meeting us Monday morning when we get off Sicily-Sardinia ferry.
Emilia - Our guide in Matera - can you count people you pay? Well, of course you can! She broke her high-heeled shoes like 10 minutes into our 2 hour tour and didn't flinch. Up and down hills, stairs, she was funny and smart and very kind.
Car rental guy - drew us an eloborate map (like 3 people did this at various stops) to get back on the Autostrade or state highway safely. Also, when we went around the first block, and realized we didnàt know how to put th ecar in reverse, didnàt ridicule us for asking.
there are more. I'll add as I remember.
Mariateresa - runs Agritourismo Civarria (B&B) in the stunning National Park of Pollino, outside of quaint Rotunda. Lots of hand gestures, loved Mary, when I went to pay, didn't charge for her. Great breakfast. Funny. Wanted to sit around and chat. Got married 8 years ago to Carlo, in her tennis shoes. Doesn't dress like fashionable Italian women, which made me feel right at home.
Nameless guy in Citroen in Recalmudo - only one (1) hotel in tiny town on the way to Agrigento. We got there at sunset, he heard me asking two young ladies at a mobile phone store about a pensione or B&B, and he said follow me (or, at least that's what I imagined I heard) and like 10 minutes and 6 kilometers later, winding thru desperately dry ag land, we found the Hotel Paradiso, which I promise you, is nothing more than clever marketing. ALL the hostels weàve stayed in were 10x cleaner than this place. Still, he was very nice.
Flavio - tour guide for th eYuma Youth Choir - helped us secure lodging for the first 2 nights after the tour, has purchased concert tix for us to see Dr. John in Sardina, is meeting us Monday morning when we get off Sicily-Sardinia ferry.
Emilia - Our guide in Matera - can you count people you pay? Well, of course you can! She broke her high-heeled shoes like 10 minutes into our 2 hour tour and didn't flinch. Up and down hills, stairs, she was funny and smart and very kind.
Car rental guy - drew us an eloborate map (like 3 people did this at various stops) to get back on the Autostrade or state highway safely. Also, when we went around the first block, and realized we didnàt know how to put th ecar in reverse, didnàt ridicule us for asking.
there are more. I'll add as I remember.
Amalfi by Ferry and When In Rome, Drive like the Romans
We left Sorrento by ferry after two nights. It was a beautiful cruise (2 hrs) down the surprisingly short but stunning Amalfi coast. Fun to hear the different languages on the ferry. We're wearing too many clothes, that's for sure, and I tried to remedy that tonight at the markets of Palermo, but they don't offer linen sun dresses in size 14 american. Time to pick up a mediterranian diet, for sure. Karma will be happy. no more butter. Grandpa will be happy. no more sugar in my coffee.
Got off the ferry in Salerno, and caught a bus to Agropoli, which is at the southern tip of the pay of Salerno. We were there to see Paestum (yes, you say PASTE-uhm), the most stunning greek ruins imaginable. We walked this huge park just before dusk and the sandstone glowed yellow, like it was capturing the sun. We spent the next entire day on the beach, meeting young chatty Julia, from Naples, digging in the sand, swimming, eating pizza, reading the guidebook. For two nights we climbed the hill, thru the throngs of the passigiata (sp?) (families out strolling) to the castello district for the most amazing pizza - and gelato - and mussels with lemon - and to watch the World Cup finals on a tv with 30 other people outside at a sidewalk cafe. great fun.
On Monday we took a slow, hot train (so crowded we stood with our packs in the entry way) back up to Salerno to do something we'd ruled out earlier: rent a car.
Fiat love. Fiat tiny. Fiat fast. Fiat five speed. Fiat four door with hatch back. Fiat fun fun fun. Fiat fits anywhere. With Fiat, we could go places buses couldnà't. We didnàt have to wait for trains. We could cram our backpacks in the hatchback. we controlled the airconditioner. After getting out of crowded Salerno, we were in FIat heaven.
Got off the ferry in Salerno, and caught a bus to Agropoli, which is at the southern tip of the pay of Salerno. We were there to see Paestum (yes, you say PASTE-uhm), the most stunning greek ruins imaginable. We walked this huge park just before dusk and the sandstone glowed yellow, like it was capturing the sun. We spent the next entire day on the beach, meeting young chatty Julia, from Naples, digging in the sand, swimming, eating pizza, reading the guidebook. For two nights we climbed the hill, thru the throngs of the passigiata (sp?) (families out strolling) to the castello district for the most amazing pizza - and gelato - and mussels with lemon - and to watch the World Cup finals on a tv with 30 other people outside at a sidewalk cafe. great fun.
On Monday we took a slow, hot train (so crowded we stood with our packs in the entry way) back up to Salerno to do something we'd ruled out earlier: rent a car.
Fiat love. Fiat tiny. Fiat fast. Fiat five speed. Fiat four door with hatch back. Fiat fun fun fun. Fiat fits anywhere. With Fiat, we could go places buses couldnà't. We didnàt have to wait for trains. We could cram our backpacks in the hatchback. we controlled the airconditioner. After getting out of crowded Salerno, we were in FIat heaven.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Surprising Sorrento
Sorrento lies at one end of the Bay of Naples - opposite of the giant city of Naples. Mt. Vesuvius is sort of in the middle of the crescent-shaped bay. We are in our 2nd night in the lovely Hotel Astoria, which is a far cry from our hostel (or hovel, as some family said) of tomorrow night.
The Lonely Planet guidebook (backpackers travel guide) does not favor Sorrento. But our Yuma Youth Choir guide Flavio did. And he was right. There are the narrow, cobblestone streets, the street performers, the great cafes, the flags, the lights, the people, the chiante, the gelato and the granata to please any traveller.
Thursday we had wakeup call at 5:30, breakfast at 6:30 and boarded the bus for Pompeii (with our packs) by 7:15. Our guide for Pompeii was amazing. first, she was in a red dress with a red sun hat, so we could find her in the big crowds. Second, she was funny. Third, totally well-informed. the guide industry in Italy is well-regulated. You have to be certified as an expert in an area to guide. She was.
We spent almost 2 hours with the chior in Pompeii. The exhibit in San Diego had more explanations, and personal artifacts, but walking around the town gave a totally different feeling. People decorated their sidewalks. They had steep sidewalks so the sewage could run down hill and people could walk out of it. They collected urine to soften the wool (and to soften ladies hair). they had sliding wooden pocket doors for large stores. They had like 7 brothels, and the one we toured had frescoes over each door describing what you could have done in each room. Yikes!
We had a bus tour of downtown Naples, and I was totally charmed. We stopped to tour the atrium (thereàs a better word for this) and for a cafe professor (cappuciino with hazelnut cream). We sadly left the choir group, hailed a cab to the train station and negiotiated signs, kiosks, and ticket agents for 30 minutes to discover where to buy a train ticket to Sorrento (good-bye, pre-arranged tour!). Our train ride was the equivalent of $10 total (for 3) around the bay to Sorrento. About one hour. I almost died as we sat down- it was crowded, adn I was trying to sit by Mary, with my pack on my back, and the train came shooting out of the station and took an immediate left bank that thru me into the window. I nearly snapped my neck and crushed my 9 year old. The Italians around me watched, slightly amused. I think Michael was taking pictures out the other window. Mary thought it was a stunt.
Today, we walked around Sorrento, took a ferry to Capri for the afternoon. I think we walked 6 kilometers today, half of it straight up hill. Saw two amazing gardens, and the famous coast where they shot most of Mama Mia! Did I mention we ate gelato? Then, we barely made it back to the Capri main port (Marina Grande) for the last ferry of the evening (6:30p) and found out we were in line for the wrong one, and had to run out on the dock to catch the right one. But we made it. The story of my life. Late, and then in the wrong line. Sorry Cynthia. Sorry Dad. But I'm sure Laurel's done that!
Back in Sorrento, lovin' our fancy balcony room, over a very quaint, very active square, with musical quartets, an amazing vocalist, shoppers and cafe tables.
Tonight at dinner, ate: homemade pasta noodles with clams and mussels, cannelloni with ricotta, spinach and local sausage, and linguini with creme sauce and zucchini. And, melon, prosciutto and mozarella salad. Did I menion chiante, lemocello and gelato? Good. Well, I did, again.
tomorrow: Boat cruise down the Amalfi coast, a hostel in Agropoli, the ruins of Pasteum, and hopefully some beach time. Or else Mary's trading us in on better parents.
The Lonely Planet guidebook (backpackers travel guide) does not favor Sorrento. But our Yuma Youth Choir guide Flavio did. And he was right. There are the narrow, cobblestone streets, the street performers, the great cafes, the flags, the lights, the people, the chiante, the gelato and the granata to please any traveller.
Thursday we had wakeup call at 5:30, breakfast at 6:30 and boarded the bus for Pompeii (with our packs) by 7:15. Our guide for Pompeii was amazing. first, she was in a red dress with a red sun hat, so we could find her in the big crowds. Second, she was funny. Third, totally well-informed. the guide industry in Italy is well-regulated. You have to be certified as an expert in an area to guide. She was.
We spent almost 2 hours with the chior in Pompeii. The exhibit in San Diego had more explanations, and personal artifacts, but walking around the town gave a totally different feeling. People decorated their sidewalks. They had steep sidewalks so the sewage could run down hill and people could walk out of it. They collected urine to soften the wool (and to soften ladies hair). they had sliding wooden pocket doors for large stores. They had like 7 brothels, and the one we toured had frescoes over each door describing what you could have done in each room. Yikes!
We had a bus tour of downtown Naples, and I was totally charmed. We stopped to tour the atrium (thereàs a better word for this) and for a cafe professor (cappuciino with hazelnut cream). We sadly left the choir group, hailed a cab to the train station and negiotiated signs, kiosks, and ticket agents for 30 minutes to discover where to buy a train ticket to Sorrento (good-bye, pre-arranged tour!). Our train ride was the equivalent of $10 total (for 3) around the bay to Sorrento. About one hour. I almost died as we sat down- it was crowded, adn I was trying to sit by Mary, with my pack on my back, and the train came shooting out of the station and took an immediate left bank that thru me into the window. I nearly snapped my neck and crushed my 9 year old. The Italians around me watched, slightly amused. I think Michael was taking pictures out the other window. Mary thought it was a stunt.
Today, we walked around Sorrento, took a ferry to Capri for the afternoon. I think we walked 6 kilometers today, half of it straight up hill. Saw two amazing gardens, and the famous coast where they shot most of Mama Mia! Did I mention we ate gelato? Then, we barely made it back to the Capri main port (Marina Grande) for the last ferry of the evening (6:30p) and found out we were in line for the wrong one, and had to run out on the dock to catch the right one. But we made it. The story of my life. Late, and then in the wrong line. Sorry Cynthia. Sorry Dad. But I'm sure Laurel's done that!
Back in Sorrento, lovin' our fancy balcony room, over a very quaint, very active square, with musical quartets, an amazing vocalist, shoppers and cafe tables.
Tonight at dinner, ate: homemade pasta noodles with clams and mussels, cannelloni with ricotta, spinach and local sausage, and linguini with creme sauce and zucchini. And, melon, prosciutto and mozarella salad. Did I menion chiante, lemocello and gelato? Good. Well, I did, again.
tomorrow: Boat cruise down the Amalfi coast, a hostel in Agropoli, the ruins of Pasteum, and hopefully some beach time. Or else Mary's trading us in on better parents.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
planes, trains, metros, cabs and busses
All in one day.
I landed in Rome at 10.25am, and took a train to the center. Then I took the metro to the Spanish Steps to meet the tour group. By the time I got there, they'd moved to Piazza Nuovo, so I waited for a cab, and took the E/ticket ride of the day, thru tiny cobbled streets, past Mopeds and doubleparked cars, almost nicking both riders and cafe tables. The driver even had to pull in his right mirror a few times.
It was mobbed when I got there, due to tourists and a big demostration against the government about an area of Italy that was struck by an earthquake last year, and nothing's been done to fix or improve the area, and they're tired of being taxed with no results. Lots of banners, busses, marchers, and TV reporters on hand.
I found Mary and Michael right away, which was lucky. Got lunch, some cold liquids , very hot and humid here, ate gelato. Then we met the bus for two concerts tonight, St. Peter's Basilica and St. Eustacio Church.
Now it's midnight, and we're back at the hotel.
I landed in Rome at 10.25am, and took a train to the center. Then I took the metro to the Spanish Steps to meet the tour group. By the time I got there, they'd moved to Piazza Nuovo, so I waited for a cab, and took the E/ticket ride of the day, thru tiny cobbled streets, past Mopeds and doubleparked cars, almost nicking both riders and cafe tables. The driver even had to pull in his right mirror a few times.
It was mobbed when I got there, due to tourists and a big demostration against the government about an area of Italy that was struck by an earthquake last year, and nothing's been done to fix or improve the area, and they're tired of being taxed with no results. Lots of banners, busses, marchers, and TV reporters on hand.
I found Mary and Michael right away, which was lucky. Got lunch, some cold liquids , very hot and humid here, ate gelato. Then we met the bus for two concerts tonight, St. Peter's Basilica and St. Eustacio Church.
Now it's midnight, and we're back at the hotel.
Everything is BIG in Rome
Busses. Statues. Columns. Parks. Bridges. Crowds.
A few things are small. Cars. Cokes. Cups of Capuccino.
Today's highlight was listening to the choir perform in St. Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City, for a mass. They did 5 sacred pieces. The pure voices echoed off the marble and moved me to tears. The holy man leading the service thanked them by name, and they received applause at the end. It's a stunning place to visit, but those kids know they gave their gift to the space and the ceremony and the people who were there for a spiritual ceremony. It was amazing.
A few things are small. Cars. Cokes. Cups of Capuccino.
Today's highlight was listening to the choir perform in St. Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City, for a mass. They did 5 sacred pieces. The pure voices echoed off the marble and moved me to tears. The holy man leading the service thanked them by name, and they received applause at the end. It's a stunning place to visit, but those kids know they gave their gift to the space and the ceremony and the people who were there for a spiritual ceremony. It was amazing.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Bad Fruit, shoes and respectable clothing
Lots of super important things run thru your mind as you're preparing to leave for three weeks for a foreign country:
Will my housesitter thing I"m a total slob if I don't dust the bed side table?
Will the tomatoes and eggplant ferment in the chiller drawer before August?
Will I be scorned in cathedrals for baring too much skin in my casual summer clothes?
And most critically: How will I carry all these shoes?
Will my housesitter thing I"m a total slob if I don't dust the bed side table?
Will the tomatoes and eggplant ferment in the chiller drawer before August?
Will I be scorned in cathedrals for baring too much skin in my casual summer clothes?
And most critically: How will I carry all these shoes?
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