Next trip - more memories

The very grand and baroque, Pallazo Biscari, that I didn't get to see the interior. It is now converted into a hotel. Other Pallazos remain in private hands and one can only view them from books. There are still reasons to return to Sicily, if only just to see the grand interior of Pallazo Biscari.

Compare with this crumbling Pallazo which was our base while visiting Catania. This ruin is now a hostel, run by a Dutchman and his Sicilian family. It's dirt cheap and always full of young Europeans. I love this place, I've stayed here during both trips to Sicily. (Search this blog for detailed accounts of my 2 trips to Sicily).

Lots of beautiful mosaics in churches, some of the oldest in Europe, Sicily was part of the Byzantine Empire and an important part, wars were fought over it throughout it's 2600 years of recorded history. Some of the most beautiful and extensive mosaics can be found in Monreale, just outside of Palermo, in the Palatine chapel in Palermo, in the duomo in Cefalu and many others, too numerous to mention.

The fabled, Vucciria market in Palermo. Artists like Renato Guttuso has painted it, many travel writers has written about it, it hasn't changed in hundreds of years, 'the red plastic covering over the market, the naked light bulb, illuminating the whole place, the sale of huge chunks of tuna caught off the coasts of the island, besides poultry, beef and pork, the sale of dead rabbits etc...Fish mongers singing about how fresh their stuff is to entice housewives to buy from them.

I'm among them, buying some Alpine strawberries for 2 euros. I remember this so clearly. It was consumed within minutes.

The quatro canti or four corners, in Palermo, a very beautiful and again baroque area, lots of beautiful churches are found within yards of each other. Palermo is actually pretty compact. It was raining the whole time during both trips to Sicily, in March and in October, but it didn't dampen our will or our spirit, we forged on and had a great time.

The Oratory of Santa Zita, a small chapel, richly decorated by the famed Palermitano and Sculptor, Giacomo Serpotta, whose prolific works can be seen all over Sicilian but principally in Palermo. One can spend whole days just going around examining his work, there is a 'Serpotta' itinerary that takes you to see all his work. He has a way with putty, he can make it look like marble, but marble it is not. His whimsical christian caricature decorates the four walls of this chapel and it is the most delightful thing to behold.

Noto, another absolutely baroque city, 'whose baroque out-baroque all baroque' Frances Mayes wrote this about Noto. It is true, it is so pretty.

View of Ragusa Ibla, we had to navigate a little lane to get down to it and get lost in its windy and narrow streets, an absolutely delightful experience.

Noto, with its Unesco World Heritage site designation.

March in Sicily is wet and rainy. While along the coasts, the palm trees sway and the bougainvillea are in bloom, up in the mountains, they can hardly be called mountains, more like hills, up where Mt Etna is, there is snow and skiing. There are villages and farmlands all around the foot of Mt Etna, which has spewed its lava very often over the centuries. There are lots of evidence still littering the area around it. These are lava rock from the lava flow which was at the time of this picture covered in snow, a very unusual sight. We took the little train, the Circumetna, around the foothill of Mt Etna.

The wet streets of Taormina, an extremely pretty resort town. It was here I had sea urchins with my pasta. I'd love to return and eat it again.

Here am I fighting with the wind in Cefalu, I lost 2 umbrellas due to the fierce winds.

The lush hill top in Taormina, right next to the ruins, this view is towards the sea. On clear days, one can see Mt Etna from Taormina but not on the day we were there.

'Dionysius ear' in Siracusa. Another ultra friendly town, where are the fierce mafia?

The valley of the temples in Agrigento, the biggest Greek ruin outside of Greece. The ancient Greeks were among the first to conquer Sicily, resulting in a series of other conquerors, the ancient Romans, the Saracens, the Normans, the Spanish and the list goes on, each leaving their mark on the island and makes what Sicily is today, a land of contrasts, a land of enigma, one can forget that it is just a tiny island.

Valley of the temples, Agrigento, Sicily. It stretched for miles and miles and is so beautiful.

Agrigento

Sicily, my beloved Sicily. There are many more that delight the senses here on this tiny island. Forget about other islands, forget about Hawaii, Tahiti, Fuji and everywhere else. One can spend a lifetime on Sicily and not uncover everything. The food is so incredible and the people so friendly. We got into strangers' cars a couple of times.

While traveling to Italy this March with my 2 teenage nieces, I warned them about getting into cars with strangers. When I recounted the 2 incidents where Sophie and I got into cars with strangers, Ashley, being so observant said, 'you got into strangers' cars?' The first time was at the train station in Caltagirone, we were hustled by some old Sicilian when we asked how to get to the historic area of town. He was hustling for a fare, we refused him, saying we will walk. We hadn't gotten very far when he came after us and gave us a lift which we accepted. There were 2 of us and we were adults, what could happen? The second time was in Erice, a few days later. It was raining so hard and we couldn't see our way back to the bus stop. We asked everyone but was ignored, they were trying to get out of the rain too. Then this nice Sicilian tried to explain to us where it was but he didn't speak English, he motioned us to get into his brand new BMW and drove us to the bus stop. We were soaked to the bone and must have made a big puddle in his car.

Why Sicily? Who goes to Sicily? It was a previous trip to Southern Italy where we discovered Baroque. It was a chance visit to the little baroque city of Lecce that I fell in love with baroque and was on a quest for more. I read that there is an abundance of baroque in Sicily and that Sicilian Baroque was in a class of its own. I wasn't disappointed, not at all. Sicily is not all about the baroque, there's so much more.

When I think back on my peregrinations, it is not Paris or Rome that I remember most, it is Sicily. It is Sicily that thrilled and enthralled me the most.

Next trip - memories of trips past

Just outside the Blue Grotto, off the isle of Capri in Italy. The Blue Grotto is just some cave where the water is blue, it was expensive getting there, the cave itself is nothing to write home about but the trip is recommended because getting there was the fun part. We arrived the night before in Naples and upon getting into the cab, was already hustled by the cab driver. He wanted to charge us 100 euros to take us sightseeing the next day. I was tired and jet lagged and seeing the chaos in Naples agreed. That's how they get you, at your most vulnerable. He later raised the price to 120 euros seeing we were such easy targets. He was going to pick us up the next day but we ditched him. It shows what a good night sleep can do, made us come to our senses. At this grimy hostel we were staying in next to the Naples train station, we met 2 Japanese girls, they were going to take the ferry to the isle of Capri to go to the Blue Grotto. We went with them. We took the hydrofoil to Capri, from there we were transferred into a bigger boat to the cave. At the Blue Grotto we were transferred into small boats which then took us into a tiny hole in the rock surface and into the cave. It was a lot of fun, I do recommend it.
When I think back to previous trips, it is not of Paris or Rome I remember. It is the little small places that gives me the most pleasure and are the most memorable.

Alberobello, in Southern Italy is this cute and quaint village of 'trulli' buildings. These were built hundred of years ago, supposedly, the roofs are detachable. When the 'tax' man came, the villages would remove the roofs making these places uninhabitable and not liable for building taxes. After the 'IRS' had left, they would put the roofs back on again. Today this place is a Unesco World Heritage site and much visited by tourists. They dot the countryside around Alberobello but there is a concentration of them in the town of Alberobello. I watched an old 'Globetrekkers's program on Southern Italy years ago and saw these 'trulli' settlement. Little did I know at that time I would actually visit and see them in person.

The Cinque terre trail in the Italian Riviera, we walked the whole 7 mile trail. It was a lot of fun. I love the Cinque terre, I love those pretty villages, all 5 of them, I love the food, the people and everything about it. Our next trip will take us to Camogli which is a few miles away from the Cinque terre and still on the Italian Riviera.

Matera, in Southern Italy, is an amazing place. The 'sassi' is so gorgeous, bar none. I, first, found out about the 'Sassi' from the movie, 'The passion of Christ'. It looked so incredible in the movie that I had to find out where it was filmed. Matera, it was and the next year, I was on my way there. There was no easy way to get there. I decided, we'll fly into Naples, take the train to Bari, from Bari, another train will take us to Matera. Upon arriving, we stepped into the new part of town which is very ordinary. I was disappointed, thinking I came so far only to see this concrete jungle. We later learned that the 'Sassi' is actually down the ravine. We went down some stone steps, must be thousands of years old and came upon the 'Sassi' caves. Gosh, I was blown away, they were so beautiful. Our hotel was a converted 'Sassi' cave, or a few caves joined together to make up a hotel. It is an amazing place. There were a lot of Japanese tourists there. The strange thing about Southern Italy is the abundance of Japanese tourists. People mistook us for being Japanese.

Lecce, in Southern Italy is another gorgeous place. Unfortunately my camera ran out of power and I don't have any decent picture of Lecce but it is one of my most favorite places. I need to return to retake my photographs. Lecce is a very beautiful Baroque city and it is here I fell in love with Baroque architecture and this led me to 2 trips to Sicily in search of Baroque buildings. I love Sicilian Baroque and would make a third trip just to experience it again.

An artist's impression of Alberobello.

The itinerary for the next trip is ready, the plane ticket has been purchased. This trip will incorporate a lot of little places, quaint and pretty places. When I think back on my trips, it is not Paris, Venice, Rome or London, that I remember. They're OK. When I think back, it is the little places that still hold sway profoundly in my mind.

The little places, next trip, include,

Camogli

Ventimiglia

San Remo

Dolceacqua

Triora

Sospel

Perpignan

Collioure

I can't wait.

Next trip - saving

The rationale for still visiting Europe is being questioned every day, not by me. Well, I was there in March, why am I going again in September? With the exorbitant airfares and the value of the US dollar in the toilet, it would seem going to South America or Asia would make more sense. Well, not for me, I just have to save more, I just have to find more drastic ways to cut back and save more. I don't want to work more. I'm getting there, I'm 'feeding the pig' big time!
The Europeans and the English are visiting the US in droves. Their currencies are so strong, they're buying up everything. Good for them. This September is going to be interesting, I'm bracing myself, I'm telling myself not to skimp on experiences. Things are not going to get better and turn in our favor any time soon, if ever. So I'll have to bite the bullet and just go and enjoy myself.
The first shock - I've already felt, was the price of the airfare. I decided to buy it now (I should have bought it 3 month's ago and saved $300). It will only go up closer to September. Yesterday I received an email from Cheapo Air where I bought my ticket, they warned me to check before I leave because even as we speak, some airlines have cancelled certain flights and cut back on services. I hope they don't slap on another fuel surcharge. We've never seen a time such as this. I've travelled soon after 911 but this is something different.
Now I have to find some dirt cheap accommodations. Even Let's Go is not cheap enough anymore. I used to use Rick Steves' recommendations but they've become too rich for my pocketbook. Maybe I can write a new guidebook with dirt cheap accommodations. That's an idea! I can find some cute and small villages to visit, have the same fun for much less than the cost of visiting the big cities like Rome, London, Paris or Madrid. This trip will include a lot of tiny and less known places.
Do I have to enumerate the many ways to save again? I will.
- sack lunches, I'm a leftover queen, never throw away good food, I save even the food left over on my guests' plates.
- no shopping (except for food) I'm lucky that I don't need to custom for work, I wear a white smock over T-shirts.
- no sodas, candy or bottled water, it's tap water all the way even in Europe.
- no CD's or DVD's.
- no eating out
- no movies
- no gym membership
- use the old car less, walk more and take the bus
- save water, use less water, take baths instead of showers, turn off sprinkler system, water lawn with hose once a week.
- turn off lights
- do laundry every 10 days instead of every week!
I still buy books and foreign magazines, more for inspiration, to encourage myself to continue in this ultra frugal life. I need that and also to get inspiration for the upkeep of this blog.

Next trip- safety tips

If a few countries are involved in a trip, this usually means different currencies. I keep them separate by using little zip bags. Once I'm off the ground and leaving the USA, I quarantine all my US money into a plastic bag. I keep the bulk of my cash in the money belt and take some out for daily use which I keep in these zip bags. The loose change are kept in these bags too. I've handed some English coins to a French vendor once and he was really mad. There wasn't any need to be angry, just point it out and I will hand over the right currency. Now I make sure all the different currencies are separate and there's no chance of using the wrong one.

I love this canvas messenger bag, it's sturdy and can resist being cut off, I was told they grab and do cut off purse straps. The buckles are sturdy and are not easy to be pried open, it's deep and can be tough for any pickpocket. The whole idea is deter them and not be an easy target. Let them find other easy targets.

The proverbial money belt, the passport, the credit card, the ATM card and the bulk of the cash goes in here. It is not the most comfortable but it is safe. I remember we wore our money belt to an opera in Milan one year. That was our first trip to Italy and my sister and I were completely paranoid. While I'm not so paranoid now, I still take precautions.

It does happen, not just to tourists but also to locals, case in point, our trip last October to Provence (read about it in this blog). our tour van had the window smashed in and the driver's purse was stolen, the rest of our party had their bags in the back seat, we were coming back to the van and the thieves didn't have time to ransack the whole van. My messenger bag never leaves my body (only when I sleep), it hangs around my neck at all times even in fancy restaurants. If I had left it on the front seat of the van, it would have been taken.

Before each trip, I review these safety tips again and again. Msadventuresinitaly.com (http://msadventuresinitaly.com) has excellent tips on 'how to avoid a pickpocket' click here to read the article. If it doesn't open, click on her website to read the article. Even the comments are informative and valuable.

Don't be afraid to scowl or look angry at people who are suspect, especially when gypsy kids come at you asking you for the time or to have you read something. I usually wave them away, I don't even want them near me. With these precautions you can enjoy yourself even in crowded metro rides or on bus 64 in Rome which is so crowded and has a reputation of the worse pickpocketing anywhere in the world.

My next trip is in September this year and I'll be reviewing these safety tips again.

Movable feast

I picked a bouquet from the garden.

The groceries are being unpacked, let's cook.

We had lamb, steak and fish, all grilled on the BBQ,mmmm. I have a BBQ rub that I use all the time, it is very simple, salt, pepper, a little soya sauce and lots of cumin. The cumin makes all the difference, do not skimp on it. Marinate overnight.

The making of the Coulis de Framboise or raspberry sauce. It is simply raspberries, with some sugar, processed in a cuisinart and then strained to remove the seeds. It can be used as a sauce for anything, ice cream or Panna cotta (see previous blog for recipe). I love the color of the raspberries.

Lemons being squeezed for the gel al limone.

Gel al limone, it's just lemon jelly, a Sicilian dessert that blogger, Sicilyscene loves, she writes about it constantly that I decided to find out for myself. Nothing becomes more Sicilian than to sprinkle it all over with chopped pistachios.

The beginnings of the Blanc-manger, a French dessert, it's just ground almonds, soaked in milk, strained and add gelatin and whipped cream to it to make a mold, serve it with the coulis de framboise.

et voila, Blanc-manger et Coulis de Framboise!

Peaches and blueberries for the buckle.

Andiamo, let's eat!

The dessert buffet.

It was worth all the effort. You should try this at home. We had a great time. I had a great time doing the cooking. I'm looking forward to the next celebration.

I love to see big feasts being portrayed in movies, especially those shot in foreign locales and about foreign celebrations. Restaurant scenes are not that exciting but family feasts are a real turn on. Always when I read of expats accounts of life abroad, I love the descriptions of the food in their feastings- roast lamb, rabbit stew, all kinds of pizzas, all kinds of pastas, sausages, roast pork, steaks, the lists goes on and on. Just looking and reading about food is always so interesting.

I grew up in a large family and meal times was a boisterous affair, one has to be prompt or there won't be any left. Being prompt was no problem because we were always hungry and can't wait till meal times. Though there wasn't much on the table, we were never hungry and were always grateful.

Now that we're grown and all of us are much more affluent, meal times and feast times are still important. There's definitely more food on the table.

So this July 4th, I decided, I'm going to match my European rivals, have as much food on the table. It was an enjoyable assignment that I gave myself. I'd do it again.

bloggers who lunch

We were having dinner in a Paris restaurant, I started taking pictures of our food when it came. The Frenchman in the next table looked at us, perturbed, he leaned close to us and offered his food to be photographed. We had a good laugh.

The Frenchman in the next table, we obliged him by taking a picture of his food.

At a restaurant in Catania, it must a be new cook, we were at this restaurant during our first trip and this was our second trip. She made us order this dish, it's Spaghetti ala vongole except it's baked in foil. It was OK.

Where ever we went, what ever we were doing, the camera was close at hand. We started to take bites out of these arancini when I suddenly remembered I needed to take a picture of it. So we put them down and took this picture. You can tell we've already taken bites out of them. We first tried Arancini in Naples and upon realizing that they are actually a Sicilian dish, we made sure we ate them while in Sicily.

I was over at Dorie Greenspan's blog and borrowed the title. She went to lunch with a few bloggers and both of them had their cameras out.

Today is July 4th and I'm cooking up a storm. The camera is close at hand to document my every move in the kitchen (almost).

Happy 4th of July.

Wild boar

In Orvieto, while I ordered the panino con porchetta for lunch, the girls were asked if they wanted the same thing. Ashley ordered prosciutto, she was asked whether she wanted prosciutto crudo or cinghiale? I said, crudo, thinking she might be gross out about cinghiale. As we were biting into our sandwiches, she asked, 'what is cinghiale?' I said, 'wild boar'. She said she would have loved to try wild boar, that I should have let her ordered it. I guess, thinking back, I should have told her what it is and let her decide. We might be gross out about wild boar but the Europeans love their wild boar. I have eaten wild boar before in Malaysia. It not bad at all. Thinking back, I should have also ordered wild boar together with my porchetta. Oh well, maybe next time.
A visit to my brother's house in Toronto means eating venison among other game animals. He is a hunter and every year he and his buddies spent a week in the wild hunting game. There's always a slice of venison in his freezer among other game. He's an avid hunter, always been even when we were still living in Malaysia. He is the only one of us who own guns, hunting rifles. Our father owned a hunting rifle while we were growing up. We, girls were never taught how to use it but all my brothers were, they learned how to shoot and how to clean the gun. Thinking back, I would have loved to know how to handle a gun even if it's just a hunting rifle.
In Elizabeth David's book, 'Italian Food', she gives a few recipes on how to cook wild boar. "Marinate a leg of boar for 24 hours in a marinade composed of......." "Sardinian wild boar, although a little dry, certainly has a most excellent flavour"
I will certainly try cinghiale the next time I'm in Italy.

The week that was

I entered the front door, picked up my mail and started to go through it. I have just finished a 10 and 1/2 hour shift, all done on my feet which is now all numb and tingly. There was a dreaded letter from the IRS, an entry on line 10 of Schedule A was left out which resulted in a charge back and a demand for almost $3600. OK, I said, let's fix this. I picked up the phone to call them, there's no dial tone, the Verizon people were in my backyard stringing new cables, they must left something unplugged. So at nine at night, I was on hold, first with the phone company and then with the IRS. They're both experiencing high call volume, at nine at night, you'd think it was 9 in the morning. It must be all those pesky people who had to work during the daytime and thought they could eat dinner (at 9 pm, yes?) and watch some TV and go to bed, wake up the next morning to do it all over again!
I was able to schedule service with the phone company. It was a different matter with the IRS, not only were they experiencing high call volume, they were having technical difficulties and couldn't pull up my records. I am happy to announce (yeah!) after 2 more calls the next day, I was able to place a hold on the extra payment while I file a 1040X, which, at the moment of writing has been completed and is on its way to the IRS.
These and many other irritants are very much a part of life and living. I've learned, over the years, (I've lived a pretty long time) to expect things to not go smoothly all the time. It's been a good life, filled with hard work, heart ache and heart break and disappointments.
I was on the phone, during the week, with 2 recruiters about some jobs they were trying to fill. I told them, they couldn't afford to hire me. As the conversation progressed, they came to realize it too. It's a great feeling, I've never felt this good about myself before. This is the first time I feel accomplished. I've been through enough to know how to handle every situation. I know where every cent of my money is. When I read the IRS complaint, I knew exactly where the problem was. Years ago, when I didn't do my own taxes, these letters from the IRS may as well be Greek to me. A colleague celebrated her 30th year working at this store. Wow! That's an incredible achievement. I bought her a cake to celebrate, she was almost in tears.
It's the weekend, I've brought some work home, I have to mail a package (medicines) to a home bound patient, I have to make a delivery to a Department of Corrections facility, all unpaid work for my job. I am happy to do it. It makes me feel real good about myself and that is good.....