10/11  My Mom's 91st birthday.  So sad I couldn't call and wish her a Happy Birthday.  Mom, you will be the first one I call when we get into the States (probably from the DC airport).

10/12 and 10/13

We spent 2 days in Erice, a town high up on a plateau with the description "the Assisi of the south, full of churches, convents, silent streets and mythological memories".  We didn't see any convents but there were many churches in this little area.  Walking past one, I heard singing and when I popped my head in to look at the church saw that a Mass was in progress.  So, since it was Saturday night, I stayed for Sunday Mass.

Driving up the serpentine road, to an elevation of 2600+ ft, gave beautiful views of the valley and ocean below.  The first night we walked through the town.  It was wonderful with little alleys connecting all the different roads.  And it was especially nice because of the lack of tourists, who usually get back on their buses and move on (those darn tourists ruin it for "us tourists").  Dinner was at a lovely little upstairs restaurant and was grand.  The next day we went back for lunch and more strolling and met with many "tour bus" people.  This is a beautiful little area.  It reminded me of a smaller version of Taormina, which we described in an earlier post.

10/14

We are now in a superb B&B in Segesta after a walk through one of the best preserved Greek (Doric) temples.  Dale loves Greek architecture and got carried away with pictures of the temple as well as the theater.  While the temple was only 6 columns by 13 columns and thus far smaller and far less decorative than the Parthenon in Athens, it was better preserved and mostly intact.  One of the strange things about it was that it was never completed and yet is more intact than any other we have seen.  Why it was not completed is one of the mysteries of Sicily -- all the way from the 5th Century BC.

For dinner we decided to keep it simple.  We stopped at a Pizza place.  But we ordered the antipasti rustico, which basically means samples of many local products.  We have had many of these, all different and all delightful.  We split this and then ordered the mixed grilled meat and the grilled vegetables.  Superb and delicious.   The previous night we were delighted by veal scallopini which did not just have a little lemon and olive oil on it, but was swimming in it.  I think I have learned a few new things about Italian cooking.

Tomorrow we drive to our last B&B and destination: Terrasini.  We leave early from there the next day for the Palermo Airport to fly to Rome.  From Rome we go to DC and then to San Diego!!

It has been a wonderful trip.  Arrivederci, Sicilia...

Peggy and Dale

P.S. We are anxious to be home.

10/7

Leaving the nunnery, we went to see the Greek and Roman ruins in Siracusa.  The Roman gladiator pit was first.  Leaving it, Dale saw a tour guide speaking excellent English to a group of 6 people.   He asked the guide if we could pay and join them.  "If my guests approve," the guide replied.

Dale immediately faced the group, raised his fist with his thump pointing sideways, and struck a defiant posture...​.(pause)​  Two men in the group ​turned their thumbs down and everyone broke into laughter.  We went on to the Greek ruins without a guide. 

​

We ​then drove a short way to Noto, the "finest Baroque town in Sicily".  Conveniently, all the finest buildings were on the main thoroughfare.  We avoided some of the crowds with our early start and walking down the street felt like we were walking on an opera stage.  Dale really liked the Baroque architecture of the Santa Chiara church -- I favor Gothic but this church was very pretty.  We then went on to Modica and viewed the Catte​drale di San Pietro (do you s​ee the theme of church visits??).  One after another is so beautiful but many of them are no longer places of worship.  The Osteria Sapporti Perduti was recommended as a good place to eat and we agreed.  So much ​good food -- I will be living at the gym when I get home!!

10/8

On our way to Agrigento, we drove through Vittoria where a dear friend is from and even got a picture for her.  Another friend is from Gela but we didn't stop (sorry Max...).  We found a nice B&B in Porto Empedocle (Agrigento) and decided to stay 2 nights to give Dale a little reprieve from driving and a chance to nurse a cold.  The following day we toured the Valley of the Temples, one of the highlights of Sicily for us.  The Valley consists of three temples on a path of a cliff overlooking the Mediteranean.

The Temple of Hercules was designed in the Archaic Doric style in 520 BC (!) and amazingly 

​h​as eight columns (of the original 38) still standing.  Again, we got there before the crowds and were able to walk so close to the temple and got some really good pictures.  Dale and I could imagine walking the paths as the ancients did.  We have both been to the Acropolis in Athens and agreed that while the Parthenon is the single best Greek temple, the Valley of Temples here was just as impressive.  

After resting in our B&B for a couple hours, we returned to the same area and went through the Archological Museum.  Again, the artifacts dating from centuries BC were so plentiful and in such beautiful shape.  I wish I knew something about medieval history!  There is a modern 5 star hotel close to the temples and Dale suggested we drive in there and get glass of wine.  It was sunset and the outdoor eating area faced the most complete of the temples.  We sat at the best table, ordered wine and watched the golden structure through sundown and into the night as the flood lights came on.

The proprietors of our B&B were such a darling couple.  Neither spoke any English, and forced to communicate a little, I picked up about a dozen new words in Italian :).  They really seemed to like having company and we both wished that we could have conversed better.

10/10

Today we mostly drove (driving in Sicily is a chapter of its own).  We are now in a B&B in Marsala, near Trapani on the northwest coast.  We are getting closer to the airport and closer to our departure date (10/16).  

Tomorrow is my Mom's 91st birthday.  Sorry I won't be calling her to wish her a happy birthday but soon, Mom...We will call as soon as we get back. 

Peggy

10/6

Our Sunday night dinner in Taormina was fabulous!  Dale had saved an article by Bay Area wine merchant Kermit Lynch raving about a dinner that Kermit and Alice Waters had in Nero D'Avola here and its chef.  We ordered and then asked to see the chef.  When he appeared, Dale gave him the article and he became very excited and started talking about the evening with them.  When he heard that Dale made wine, he insisted on getting his email address (Dale had no winery card with him).  I quickly inserted that Dale was only a home wine-maker and the chef replied "good, that makes the wine better because it is handled more carefully".   "The smaller the winery, the better the wine", replied Dale in something short of modesty. 

Oh, yes, dinner -- it was fabulous.  Because of all the rain in the area the mushrooms are prolific and we took advantage of this by having a mushroom appetizer and mushroom pasta.  The recommended wine from the regional Riofavara Winery was fantastic -- fruity and spicy.  We were stuffed, but a complimentary dessert of Tiramisu arrived.  

After dinner, the rain continued and flushed out the crowds so strolling Taormina eased.  It was a beautiful evening and we loved Taormina!  If you have never heard of this city, please, please google it until you get a picture of it on a plateau above  the Ionian sea.

This morning I went to Mass at the Chiesa Madre Madonna delle Grazie in Linguaglossa ("a big tongue of lava"), the small village where we were staying.  It is amazing that such a beautiful church is in such a small village.  Even more amazing was the minimal attendance. (The US Mass attendance is to be commended...).  

It was raining today so we buzzed passed Catania and arrived in Ortygia, a small island off Siracusa.  The sun came out and we got a nice place to stay--the Domus Mariae -- run by nuns.  Dale refers to it as "the nunnery".  We walked to the majestic Duomo and the Piazza di Duomo joining the beautiful, warm Sunday evening stroll along the waterfront.

We have gotten half way around the island of Sicily.  We are starting to tire of the driving and packing and unpacking and are anxious to find a place for two nights but also anxious to see more sites.

10/6

Our Sunday night dinner in Taormina was fabulous!  Dale had saved an article by Bay Area wine merchant Kermit Lynch raving about a dinner that Kermit and Alice Waters had in Nero D'Avola here and its chef.  We ordered and then asked to see the chef.  When he appeared, Dale gave him the article and he became very excited and started talking about the evening with them.  When he heard that Dale made wine, he insisted on getting his email address (Dale had no winery card with him).  I quickly inserted that Dale was only a home wine-maker and the chef replied "good, that makes the wine better because it is handled more carefully".   "The smaller the winery, the better the wine", replied Dale in something short of modesty. 

Oh, yes, dinner -- it was fabulous.  Because of all the rain in the area the mushrooms are prolific and we took advantage of this by having a mushroom appetizer and mushroom pasta.  The recommended wine from the regional Riofavara Winery was fantastic -- fruity and spicy.  We were stuffed, but a complimentary dessert of Tiramisu arrived.  

After dinner, the rain continued and flushed out the crowds so strolling Taormina eased.  It was a beautiful evening and we loved Taormina!  If you have never heard of this city, please, please google it until you get a picture of it on a plateau above  the Ionian sea.

This morning I went to Mass at the Chiesa Madre Madonna delle Grazie in Linguaglossa ("a big tongue of lava"), the small village where we were staying.  It is amazing that such a beautiful church is in such a small village.  Even more amazing was the minimal attendance. (The US Mass attendance is to be commended...).  

It was raining today so we buzzed passed Catania and arrived in Ortygia, a small island off Siracusa.  The sun came out and we got a nice place to stay--the Domus Mariae -- run by nuns.  Dale refers to it as "the nunnery".  We walked to the majestic Duomo and the Piazza di Duomo joining the beautiful, warm Sunday evening stroll along the waterfront.

We have gotten half way around the island of Sicily.  We are starting to tire of the drving and packing and unpacking and are anxious to find a place for two nights but also anxious to see more sites.

10/1 and 10/2

We flew from Istanbul to Palermo, picked up our car, and arrived at 9:00 P.M. in Altavilla Milicia, Sicily, the home village of my grandfather; which he left at age 16 in 1906.   The beautiful English speaking daughter of the hotel proprietors, Allesandra, was out front to meet us.  Her mother, Roseanna, fixed a great dinner for us and a big carafe of wine was set on outr table.  Dale liked the wine -- Nero D'Avelo.

The next morning we set out for the church, Santaurio della Madonna Milicia, to attend Mass and look for records of my grandfather: Pietro Scianna.  Due to our language barriers, we were only able to locate the baptismal date written in Latin.  Soon the book was put away and that was the end.  I then went to the city hall and, charitably speaking, got nowhere.  The next day, Allesandra returned to the church with us and skillfully got an elderly priest to decipher the Latin and write out an official baptismal certificate for my grandfather -- with his official seal!  My grandfather was baptized one day after his birth.  I then met with an English speaking lady (Cristiana) at city hall, pre-arranged by Allesandra.  While waiting for her to arrive a very nice-looking gentleman met with me in his office.  He gave me 4 books on Altavilla (AV): one on its history, 2 by local poets and one on the Museum beneath the church with paintings depicting all the miracles of AV.  All are in Italian, of course, so I will be calling on my friends to help read them.  (I also plan to take some Italian classes).

This kindly gentleman presented me with a certificate of welcome to their village.  Upon reading it I saw that he was the mayor!!  Cristina wasn't able to take me to the archive room because the ceiling was being repaired.  We exchanged email addresses and she will do the research and send me the info.  Without Allesandra, the trip would have been in vain, as far as ancestry information.  But, it was a pleasant experience to be in Grandpa's place of origin.  I felt a little emotional as we were leaving.  In the meantime Dale managed to find a bottle of wine made by the ALTAVILLA winery!

10/3

We moved on to Enna, a rather uninviting place except for the the Castello di Lombardi and the Duomo.  Dale found the Duomo fascinating and recorded this with pictures on his new Samsung mini-pad.  We were fortunate to see a Castello caretaker who unlocked the gate to the tower (La Pisana) and took us up the MANY steps to the top (he was older than us and almost sprinted up).  The elevation of Enna is 3,000ft+ -- I was winded when we got to the top.  Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day so we couldn't see the mountain ranges of Mt. Etna and Calascibetta.  We were able to see, though, the Rocca di Cerere, a fortressed temple dedicated to the fertility goddess.

10/4

Thanks to the European maps Devin loaded onto our GPS we found a wonderful Agriturismo in Bronte, which included a 5 course dinner -- the best food we've had in Sicily (I think the whole trip...).  The antipasti plate and caponata with bread and wine would have been enough for me.  But Maria, the chef, kept bringing out more and more stuff. We had the traditional Primi course of pasta, followed by Secondi -- sausage, breaded and fried mozzarella and some beef stuffed with prosciutto and pistacchio.  Then the fruit, then the cannoli and grappa.  Plus, refills on the wine.  We slept very well last night.  On a backroad shortcut Dale learned that automobile brakes do not work when you are airborn.  And when you land they do not work immediately.  In spite of hitting bottom and loud scraping the car has continued to work as before.

10/5

Today we are in a beautiful B&B apartment in Linguaglossa, close to Taormina where we will go for dinner tonight.  The restaurant, Nero D'Avola, got an exceptional review from Kermit Lynch who is a wine importer in Berkeely (Alice Waters just happened to be dining with him that night).  We will let you know how we fare on dinner and Dale has promised to stay on earth.

Mass is at 10 am tomorrow and is a 30 second walk from our apartment.  I previewed the church awhile ago and is beautiful: 3 naves leading to gorgeous altars.

Tomorrow we head to Catania and Siracusa. We have 10 more days and much more to see!

Love to all,

Dale and Peggy