Ficuzza and Corleone

Sunday we woke up bright and early...well, early; nothing bright about it. Our tour group met up at 7:00A and we were on the Catania-Palermo highway by 7:30A. After about three hours on the road we turned off of the main drag and headed south toward Ficuzza and Corleone, our destinations for the day.

Our stop in Ficuzza was brief. We were anticipating a tour of the Royal Hunting Lodge of Ferdinand III of Burbon, but it was under construction. We took in the landscape, grabbed a caffe' and hit the road to Corleone.

The View from Ficuzza

The Road to Corleone

We arrived in Corleone around 11:00A and had about an hour and half to explore. Corleone is credited with being the home of the Mafia and was also the setting for the Godfather movies. Certain scenes were actually shot in the Central Bar in Corleone.















After our visit to the town of Corleone we made our way to the Principe Di Corleone winery for a traditional Sicilian lunch.





We finished lunch, purchased some wine and then piled back into the bus for the long drive back home.

Catania

Today, as part of our orientation to the island, we were taken on a field trip to Catania. Twas great fun!

We arrived around 9:30A and after a brief explanation of where we were to meet up with the group and later the bus we were free to explore on our own. We started at the Piazza del Duomo next to St. Agata's Cathedral. In the middle of the piazza is the Fontana dell'Elefante.

St. Agata's Cathedral

Detail on the facade of St. Agata's Cathedral

Fontana dell'Elefante

Les & I took off down Via Etnea, the main shopping throughfare in Catania. Along the way there were several beautiful buildings.

Circulorum Gymnasium

Collegiata S. Maria dell'Elemosina

There were several nice, but expensive looking shops, but we decided to walk a bit further to the open air market. This market is held daily in Catania. What an experience! Everything from produce to curtains to designer knockoff handbags for amazing prices - I came away with about 5 things and spent less than 30 Euro!

After our fun in the mercado, we met up with our group for lunch at i'Crociferi. It is located on the Piazza San Francesco.

Chiesa di San Francesco

Statue of Cardinal Dusmet in Piazza San Francesco

After our lovely lunch we made our way back to the bus and then back to base. It was a great way to get out and experience Catania and learn our way around.

My First Week In Sicily

We arrived safely in Sicily last Monday evening after three LONG days of travel. On Saturday we flew from San Diego, CA to Norfolk, VA. We stayed Saturday night at a hotel in Norfolk and were able to sleep in Sunday morning. We arrived at the airport around 1pm Sunday afternoon and finally boarded our flight somewhere around 6pm. We flew through the night to Spain.

What was supposed to be a two hour stop in Spain turned into six long hours. Unfortunately we couldn't leave the terminal and there wasn't much to see out the window. We tried to sleep on the benches, but it was hard to get comfortable with the A/C up full blast (I left my sweater on the plane). We also had to go through security several times - as in everyone out of the gate area, stand in line, check ID, go back to gate area, sit for awhile, then everyone out of the gate area, stand in line, check ID, then back to the gate area. We (everyone on the flight) decided that the Spanish must think its hilarous to make all of the Americans stand in lines and then sit down and stand in lines and sit down and stand...you get the idea.

We finally re-boarded the plane for the final leg of the trip to Sicily. We arrived around 7:00P in the dark so we really didn't have a clue about our surroundings. The only thing we could see, other than the lights of the towns was the red glow from the lava flow on Mt. Etna - amazing!

Monday night wasn't the best...something about three days of airline/airport food didn't agree with me and I was up sick most of the night and then slept it off most of Tuesday. Not my first choice of activities for my first day in Sicily. It wasn't until Tuesday evening that I got a peek at my surroundings. Wow!

We are staying in temporary housing in a little town called Motta. It is built up on a hill with a castle/fortress at the top and has majestic Mt. Etna as the backdrop - truely spectacular. At night we can see the lava flows and fountains at the top of Mt. Etna. We are hoping to take a tour up the mountain in the near future to get a closer look.

Most of the week was spent in orientation classes to get us acquainted with the culture of the island. In the evenings we did a little bit of exploring, but we didn't go very far until Friday night. We discovered the local mall which has a lot of great stores, ate at a great little restuarant in Motta and got lost in Catania.

Driving in Catania was an experience! Italian drivers certainly have a different philosophy than American drivers. One of our classes this week was for driving and they showed us this little video to illustrate the differences between Italy and the rest of Europe. Italians Vs Europeans

Yesterday I finally pulled out my camera for our tour to Nicosia and Sperlinga. Our tour left at 8:30A and took us west for about an hour and a half to Nicosia.

Nicosia from the bus



Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore

Ceiling of Cattedrale di San Nicolo

Organ in Cattedrale di San Nicolo

The next stop on our tour was Sperlinga. Sperlinga is known for its cave dwellings and Norman castle.

Sperlinga from the bus

One of many homes built into the rock

Remains of the Norman Castle





During our tour of the castle we had the opportunity to climb to the top. It was steep and perilous, but we made it! The steps were carved out of the mountain and worn down to an angle by hundreds of years of use.

The view from the castle with Mt. Etna in the distance

Looking down on Sperlinga from the top of the castle

After our trek up to the top of the castle we were famished and traveled to an agriturismo near Gangi named Casale Villa Raino. We had a fabulous meal with food that just kept coming. I think there were five courses in all! The meal took about two and a half hours - we started with antipasti, all manner of vegetables, bread, and hommade wine; then we moved on to the primi piatti of pasta, two different kinds, one with a tomato sauce and the other with a mushroom sauce; for secondi piatti we had a sausage, small thin piece of pork, lamb, and potatos; after the meat they brought out a salad; and for dessert it was fresh fruit, a cannoli and hommade limoncello.

Casale Villa Raino

Today we drove out to Mineo, the town that we will be living near. We move into our three bedroom townhome towards the end of the month. It will be amazing to have nearly three times the living space that we did in California! I can't wait for this weekend so we can get out and see more of the countryside.

The Final Stretch

Just two more full days in California and then we are on our way! Yesterday we made our way to my grandmother's house in Vista by way of the USDA Veterinary Services office in LA to get an endorsement on Pumpkin's Vet Certificate.

Today we are in San Diego taking care of some last minute details like picking up our plane tickets and my government passport and visa. Maybe its just me not being used to government travel, but I was a bit nervous that I didn't have these things in hand until today - three days before we are supposed to leave!

Now that our errands for the day are done we are sitting in one of our favorite San Diego coffee houses, Twiggs. Not only do they make good coffee and great pastries, they are right around the corner from where we used to live.

We spent the last week in SLO and really enjoyed our time there. I love that place. Hopefully, one day, I'll live there again. It is so beautiful, espcially in the fall. The air is crisp in the mornings and evenings, and the days are full of the warmth of indian summer.

In the last week we've been busy making last minute preparations to leave for Sicily, exploring SLO county and spending time with my family.

On Friday we met up with my cousin for Sushi and had a really good time.

Adam and Les enjoying Sake Bombs

Post Sake Bomb Happy Faces

Saturday evening started with a trip up to Paso Robles for an open house at a custom home that my Dad worked on. It was one of the most amazing homes I have ever seen!

The Sitting Room

Sculptures "Scaling" the Wall

Looking through the Living Room to the Terrace and the Amazing View

The View from the Terrace

After the open house we drove through the hills to the coast and went up to Hearst Castle. We took a 6:10P evening tour, which was a new side of the castle that I hadn't seen. It had been many years since I was up there and I'm glad I got the opprotunity to go again.

Sunset on the Castle

Outdoor Pool





Mr. Hearst's Study

Indoor Pool

Leaving SLO was hard, a lot harder than I expected. Saying goodbye, or rather, "see you later", to my brother, grandparents and the rest of my family was really hard to do. I'm not looking forward to the goodbyes coming on Saturday morning. I am, however, looking forward to family and friends visiting us in Sicily. You promised you would!!!

Traversing California

In the time since we left San Diego we have driven somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 miles. We left San Diego on October 4 and drove to my parents' home in San Luis Obispo. On Friday, October 6 we took a "lovely" day trip to LA to drop off my car (now "our" car since we are down to one vehicle) for shipment to Sicily. Over the weekend we just relaxed and spent time with my family. One of our sidetrips was out to See Canyon, a great place near SLO to buy apples in the fall.

Les & I at See Canyon

We left SLO on October 10 and made our way up to the Napa Valley to visit Les' family and have a mini-vacation. We stayed at the Mt. View hotel for three nights and then spent one night at the Hotel D'Amici, both in Calistoga. By my standard of a nice hotel (i.e. nice 100% cotton sheets and fluffy big towels) both hotels were LOVELY. We even got to take advantage of a couple of spa treatments while we were there.

Fall in the Napa Valley

Old Faithful Geyser, Calistoga

Bale Grist Mill, Napa Valley

We left the Napa Valley on October 15 and headed to Roseville to see a couple of our best friends. We had a great time, even though it was too short. While in Roseville we were also able to sneak in a few hours with my cousins that took the time to drive down from Placerville. It was so good to see them again and reconnect!

Cousins - Marla, Me, Malinda

I feel blessed to have this time with my friends and family. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Joy

I was reminded of a friend's Happiness Journal while I was sitting in the waiting room of the Long Beach VPC (the place that we drop our car for shipment to Sicily) yesterday reading an old copy of body + soul magazine (one of the Martha Stewart publications). There was an article by Victoria Moran entitled "Joy" that I really enjoyed.

Since I can't find a link to the article online I will retype it here:

Joy
Get more in your life...then spread it around
The summer after second grade, I went to Baptist Bible Camp with my friend, Georgia Lee. As a pre-Vatican II (and therefore, hymn deprived) Catholic, I loved when we would sing "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart." Even at the age of 7, though, it crossed my mind that this little word - joy - seemed reserved for religious contexts only, such as Bible camp and Christmas cards. You didn't really hear it used elsewhere.

That hasn't changed much since, but it ought to. We need the word because we crave what it means: the sense that all is right with the world, even when circumstances vigorously deny it. People who have joy as their foundation naturally use their energies to create more where it appears to be lacking. They can't stop themselves; it's the way joy rewires a person.

Like a regular and decaf, joy comes in two forms: surge and simmer. The first is a glorious wavelike gush ("I graduated!"..."It's a girl!"). When the wave retreats, as all waves do, a sheen of that joy remains. Simmer joy, on the other hand, comes from how you live your life. Knowing that you're here for a purpose - and setting aside the whiny wants of your ego to fulfill it - keeps the joy pot bubbling, nice and steady.

While outside events can prompt joyful feelings, keeping your personal joy level up is an inside job. Do it by staying on your path, taking pride in daily accomplishments, and noticing small delights, like the courageous dandelion making its way through the concrete. When you feel that unshakable well-being, as if your cells and soul are smiling, remind yourself, "This is joy." Then it becomes a part of your vocabulary and an ever-present aspect of your life.

My Last Weekend In San Diego

On my last weekend in San Diego I thought it would be nice to take a walk by the harbor. Right now there are all sorts of really cool sculptures. Here are a few of them that I liked....