Final Day in Prague

This is the main entrance ti the Prague Castle

Note the huge statue on the left with a man about to put a sword into a man while his big buddy on the right bludgeons another man to death. What better tone to set for visiting dignitaries back in the day!

St. Vitus Cathedral as seen from the Jewish Quarter across the Vltava River

I love a Cathedral that has an impending pig BBQ permanently displayed on it's gates!

Near the entry to the Prague Castle with the Strahov Monastery in the distance

The Municipal House is considered the pearl of Czech Art Nouveau

It is Prague's largest concert hall.

The giant metronome at the top of the hill used to be the spot where a 100 foot tall statue of Stalin once stood.

One of my best friends, Koreen FitzGerald, loves sun faces

Nerudova is the street the Czech kings would use to walk from the Cathedral to the Old Town Square after being crowned.

That is the Czech Republic's Parliament House in yellow on the left at the bottom of the hill.

A fisherman hard at work near the Charles Bridge.

On the Charles Bridge is the statue of St. John of  Nepomuk

St. John was a 14th Century priest to whom the queen confessed all of her sins. The king wanted to know her secrets but St. John honored the seal of the confessional by refusing to tell the king anything. St. John was tortured and evetually killed by being tossed off the Charles Bridge. Touching the base of St. John's statue the well worn shiny part, will make a wish come true.

I wonder if her plane will get her back here in time for the Bergamo game?

Obviously some of the Czech movers and shakers are Husky fans!

Bob's Czech Cousin

As you may recall from an earlier vlog, Bob from Syracuse, who works as a doorman in Catania is the Elephants very silent owner. I met his cousin, Emil, today. Also a doorman at a food establishment here in Prague and also very quiet!

St. George slaying the dragon

St. George slaying the dragon yet again!

I never get tired of the paintings or the statues of this story but the Italian version is still better.

Prague's entry into the Ad-of-the-Day Contest

Maybe using the Czech language accent symbols would change the meaning of all this?

Prague's Famous Atomic Clock

I hope this refers to the clock's accuracy and not to some left over nuclear device from Prague's Iron Curtain days stored inside this tower in the Old Town Square where you find the clock.

RANDOM THOUGHT: At the Milan game last Saturday, Pepe Strano, our TE and Elephant administrator, had to collect the foreign players’ and coach’s passports as well as the Italian player’s “documents”. He  had to place all of these into the individual plastic sleeves of a three ring binder.

The binder had to then be given to the referees before the game to check versus our roster. We would get the binder back after the game was over.

The Italian’s “documents” are their form of local ID similar to how we use our plastic driver’s license in the U.S.A.  Italians still need an additional passport to travel into other countries.  The “documents” look like a thin and somewhat smaller passport.

They make me think of the World War II movies where the escaped POW or the local Resistance fighter gets pulled over on the street by the Gestapo and is asked “Your papers, please”.  Now I’ve seen some of our player’s papers. Very cool!

FINAL THOUGHT ON PRAGUE: If I had it to do all over again, in 1965, I would rather have met and fallen in love with Laurie here in Prague than in La Crescenta, California. Either way, I guess we might make a go of it.

The Magical City of Prague

WARNING/DISCLAIMER: Let me start out by saying this is going to be a long post with a lot of pictures, so you may want to go to the restroom first or get some popcorn. I can't help it, Prague is just a breathtaking city.

My friend David Lassen reminded me that Prague was NOT bombed during World War II thus helping it to preserve the city as it is today. Let's hear it for both the Allies and the Axis Powers on this small oversight!

Besides the city's physical beauty, there is very good shopping for chic clothing, crystal, ceramics and beer. Every great city has a river running through it and Prague has it's Vltava River to fit the bill. You got river boats, the European red trolley cars you see in the movies, extremely polite, pleasant people and, of course the architecture.

I repeat, if you come to Europe anytime soon, go to Prague first!

This is the Czech Republic's Parliament Building near my hotel.

Wenceslas Square

O.K., it's more of a boulevard than a square but this area pictured has tremendous significance to the freedom loving Czech people. The creation of  the state of Czechslovak  was celebrated here in 1918, the Soviets put down demonstrations here in 1968 and in 1989, 300,000 Czechs rallied here to claim their freedom and bring the Communist government to it's knees.

Good shopping and ice cream too! 

Parts of Prague are very serene like this water mill near the Charles Bridge.

Inside the Spanish Synagogue

Prague has a very interesting Jewish Quarter neighborhood named Josefov after Emperor Joseph II who in the 1780's eased much of the discrimination against the Jews.

The Quarter now houses a six part Jewish Museum complex that includes the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Ceremonial Hall and four Synagogues...Pinkas, Klaus, Maisel and Spanish.

Much of the articles on display are related to the Nazi's and the Holocaust but exhibits also include Torahs and various articles of Jewish life in Prague over the centuries.

It was very impressive to say the least!

The Old Jewish Cemetery

The reason that all these 12,ooo+ headstones are all over the place is that it was the only place Jews could be buried in Prague between 1439 and 1787. Because Jews believe that the body should not be disturbed after burial, lack of space and sheer numbers, tombs were piled one on top of another. As the newly built plateau settled the tombstones got crooked.

"Wenceslas Riding an Upside-Down Horse"

You'll find this in the Lucerna Gallery, a Prague shopping center. It was created in 1999 by controversial Czech artist David Cerny. He stirred up a lot of trouble with his anti-Communist stance and just doesn't like authority in general to this day from what I've read.

Since I am traveling alone in one of a most romantic city what could be better than posing with a statue that honors Prague's own Franz Kafka.

How about a delicious lunch of chicken schnitzel, chips and apple strudl (correct Czech language spelling) topped off with a little Pilsner Urquell beer at the

Cafe Franz Kafka Delicatesse

Would my solitary meal qualify as Kafkaesque?

This may be the ONLY beer they sell in Prague, it is so good you really don't need another brand

Did you know that Czech people drink more beer per capita than any other nation on earth? Every Czech man, woman and child averages 80 gallons of beer per year! I've got some serious catching up to do!

The Czech Language

First, I love that they use accent marks, little v's, circles and sometimes the two dot umlaut (not on this sign) to help you completely NOT understand how to pronounce a word.

Then there are the multiple consonant combinations screaming to buy a vowel.

I like the sound of the language. It is not as beautiful as Italian or as harsh as German but it has a cadence that appeals to me.

Co Ad-of-the Day

What could he be wanted for? He looks perfectly harmless to me.

Co Ad-of-the-Day

I do not know.

These red trolley cars, to me, mean Europe almost as much as the unique sound of European ambulance horns.

Charles Bridge statue with the Prague Castle in the background.

The Old Town Square

This building is part of the National Gallery housing temporary art exhibits.

The Jan Hus Memorial on the Old Town Square

Hus was a Czech reform leader who was martyred by fire in 1415 A.D. He is a big symbol of freedom for the Czech people.

The Tyn Church of the Hussite movement on the Old Town Square

This is the church that I tought looked like Snow White's Castle at night in yesteday's post.

The Powder Tower

The Old Town was once the hub of the walled city of Prague. The Powder Tower was one of the original gates leading into the old city. 

The inside of St. Vitus Cathedral inside the walls of the Prague Castle 

Where else but the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague could you find a stained glass window with images of both St. Wenceslaus AND St. Wolfgang?

Who let St. Joanna in on this?

This room houses the tomb of St. Wenceslas at St. Vitus Cathedral

Why did I feel like dancing inside this church? The Czech kings were crowned in this room.

How much would it cost to build just this room in St. Vitus Cathedral today?

Another doorway into the Tomb of St. Wenceslas

Who doesn't love a great flying buttress?

The back side of the St. Vitus Cathedral

Pane Angelicus

This was at the Baroque music concert in Prague's St. Francis of Assisi church last night. The song is Cesar Franck's "Pane Angelicus", a personal favorite. 

Vlog Time

I've had a little trouble uploading these vlogs in a timely fashion, sorry.

The Italian version of the post game "2-4-6-8" cheer.

The Heralds luring me to the Concert in Prague's St. Francis of Assisi Church.

Prague Evening

Prague is quickly becoming my favorite city after only 8 hours! It is as if Disney's Fantasyland meets a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. People are out and about and I find it a very romantic city when the sun goes down. I just took a short jaunt around the historical Old City Center to get my bearings and was stunned by the physical beauty of Prague.

The famous Charles Bridge in he background spanning the Vltava River

On the Charles Bridge

They say that one must go to a concert while in Prague so I opted for this one.

It was a 15 song set of classical church music combining the fabulous interior of St. Francis of Assisi Church, a soprano, a tenor and an ancient church organ. My two favorite pieces they played were Cesar Franck's "Pane Angelicus" and, of course,  Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria"

After a concert what could be better than a sausage and a couple of Pilsner Urquell beers to relax.

No pictures inside please!

Don't forget, amongst all the beauty of the Old City, that this was an Iron Curtain country from 1948 to 1989.

As you drive in from the airport you see many grim reminders of the Communist era. Very stark, box like housing projects that are a sign of a 41 year period where being a creative architect would not have been a good idea.

Snow White's Castle?

Prague Castle at Night

Good to see that Blue's financially set off the field!

Milan Morning

Because of me need to be at the airport by 12:30 p.m. for my flight to Prague, I had very little time to see the sights of Milan Sunday morning. I limited myself to 7:00 a.m. Mass at Milan's Duomo and a stroll through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a shopping area next to the Duomo.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Very high end fashion houses have shops here.

I saw a GREAT Prada purse for Laurie in their window but unfortunately they were closed! 

The famous Belle Epoque glass ceiling of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Milan Duomo is the fourth biggest church in Europe.

It can seat 10,000 worshippers!

The Duomo is rather ornate outside

The inside of the Duomo is also very humbling.

It was very serene to be here with only 30 other people for Mass.

IFL Week #1 Results

Game Results of IFL Week #1

Catania 47 - Milan 40

Bergamo 39 - Parma 18

Bologna 33 - Palermo Corsari 14

BYES: Ancona, Bolzano, Palermo Sharks

IFL STANDINGS

Catania     1-0

Bergamo        1-0

Bologna     1-0

Ancona        0-0

Bolzano        0-0

Palermo Sharks  0-0

Milan        0-1

Palermo Corsari  0-1

Parma        0-1

Games Week #2

Both games this weekend are scheduled for Sunday, 6 April at 3:00 p.m.

Palermo Corsari (0-1) at Palermo Sharks (0-0)

Ancona (0-0) at Parma (0-1)

BYES: Bergamo (1-0), Catania (1-0), Bologna (1-0), Bolzano (0-0) and Milan (0-1)

Upon Further Review...

I realized that typing out my thoughts about the Milan game at 2:30 a.m. after the game may not be the optimum way to go. It's 1:00 a.m. in Prague right now so that's O.K.!

I have two more players to mention who did big things for us at Milan. WR Fortunato "Call me Lucky" Camarda made a GREAT, diving recovery of the Rhinos onside kick late in the game to help preserve the victory.

Alessandro Grana came off the bench and played very well at offensive tackle replacing two players.  Davide Giuliano was in Catania by his beautiful bride Daneiela's side for the birth of their first child. Franky Basting is still battling food poisoning and played very rarely in the second half.

You'll notice that I have no pictures from the game itself, I thought it would be a good idea to coach during the game itself. Go to Jason's blog for game action shot by Christie.

Coach Matteo Belfiore broke his ankle at last Monday's BBQ

Still flew to the Milan game and coached

YOU JUST CAN"T BREAK THIS MAN'S SPIRIT"

WR Claudio Mangano shows off his Spring collection!

"Isn't it time for lunch yet?"

The linebacking corps bonding during a break in our trip.

"Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

Warming up for the season opener

We Came, We Saw...

WE ESCAPED WITH OUR LIVES!

Final score Elephants 47 - Rhinos 40.

It was indeed the proverbial wild shootout.  We were down 20-6 at one point early in the second quarter but stormed back with a TD to end the half with 28-20 lead. The key was taking the opening drive of the second half in for a score to go up by 2 TD’s and never give up the lead.

Offensively, our line, led by Brandon Bennett, did a very solid job protecting our QB Jason Johnson and opening holes for our HB Enrico Lombardo. Our receivers did well also with Matt Epperson and Claudio Mangano leading the way.

I was very proud of Jason who took a couple of VERY good hits but bounced up as if nothing had happened and went on to the next play. He might actually be tougher than I give him credit!

Defensively, we kept shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties and missed a bunch of tackles but give major credit to Milan RB Steve Silva, TOUGH RUNNER! Their QB John Stocco also played very well as did their TE Manny Di Grande and WR Luca Catalano.

The big defensive play of the game for the Elephants was a great interception by CB Massimo Tribulato to seal the victory with about one minute left in the game. Back-up MLB Roberto Conti played very well after our starter had to leave with bruised ribs.

These are two very good offensive teams that played at Milan’s Veledrome Vigorelli today!

Bottom line was we won, are 1-0 and are in first place in the league by ourselves until the results of the other two games on Sunday are reported.

BYE week this week and then we fly to Bergamo for our second game of the season.

I do have some pre-game notes I want to share with you.

DAVIDE AND DANIELA ARE PARENTS: About one hour before kick-off we got the word that Alessandro finally arrived in Catania. Great day all the way around for the Elephant family.

WATER UPDATE:  Suddenly at 11:40 p.m. last night the water came on at Malibu! I woke up at 3:45 a.m. to take a much needed shower only to find out that we had no hot water and very little water pressure. When I raised the shower head above my waist, no water! At least half of me is clean.

FLIGHT TO TURIN: I know we are playing Milan but one of our team sponsors is a local airline named Wind Jet and their first flight to Milan today lands at 1:00 p.m. for our 3:00 p.m. kickoff. Thus we flew to Turin at 6:05 a.m. and after landing in Turin, boarded a nice, new recliner bus for the 90 minute to 2 hour trip to Milan. We made a pit stop along the way probably for a smoke more than for their restrooms and food.

PRE-GAME: We were at the Velodrome about 45 minutes before the gates opened, one more chance to smoke before kick-off!

POST GAME: The teams do an Italian version of “2-4-6-8…” after the game but it is a lot more interesting! 

Two pretty darn good QB's

Jason and Milan's John Stocco after the shootou

Jason and George after the first win of the season

Did you know that The Beattles played in the Milan Velodrome in 1965?

Meeting My Italian Cousin

From the left, Isabella, Dario, George and Maria Clara

My Italian Relatives

I have a cousin who is one month older than me named Evangelina. She lives in Buenos Aires and I have not seen her since her family left Castro’s Cuba in about 1961. At that time her family lived with us for about a month before moving on to Chicago and then Argentina. That was the last time I saw Evangelina.

After the game tonight I met Evangelina’s oldest child, Maria Clara, her husband, Dario and their beautiful daughter, Isabella. They are a very nice family indeed. They very graciously bought me dinner at a very nice pizzeria, Rossopomodora. I think we all had a good time and I was very happy to meet my relative.

Now, what should I call her, is she my SECOND cousin? Those of you into genealogy give me a hand on this one. Thanks in advance!

I have relatives in Milano! 

Even More Last Minute Details

After a nice walk-through for the offensive line this evening we got home relatively early to pack only to discover that our water was still turned off in the entire building at Malibu.

Since it was after 9:00 p.m. and we need to be at the airport by 5:00 a.m. to catch our flight to the game in Milan, desperate measures were called for!

We assessed all of the possibilities and decided that the best option was to drive to the Baia Verde Grand Hotel, pay the customary 3 euros for an hour of internet service and then take turns using their bathrooms to take the equivalent of a sponge bath.  Fortunately the bathrooms in this very nice hotel are individual rooms with a sinks, a toilet and ample room to bathe.  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

The nice thing is that we will all three be gone from Aci Castello until next Friday.  The reason I say this is that we have found out that things like plumbing issues do NOT get handled on weekends.  There is a very good chance that if we stayed in Aci Castello we would be without water until at least Monday.

I mentioned that I was taking advantage of the BYE week to visit Milan, Prague and Vienna.  Christie and Jason are going to Milan, Lake Como, Venice and Barcelona while Brandon and Matt are going to tour Milan, the Swiss Alps and Venice.

It should be a great week for all of us but we still have a BIG game to play first in Milan!

Last Minute Details

INTERNET UPDATE:  Day 87, still no internet at Malibu

DANIELA UPDATE:  Month 23, still no Alessandro, she went to the hospital  for the second straight day, no luck

NEW MALIBU ISSUE:  Our entire complex has been without water since 11:00 a.m. this morning after everyone worked out, we don't smell too good, the plane flight to Milan could get interesting, hope they let us on the plane

MILAN GAME:  We fly out of Catania at 6:05 a.m. Saturday to Turin and then take about a 90 minute bus ride to Milan.  Kickoff is at 3:00 p.m.

MARIA CLARA:  I'm excited to report that my Argentine cousin Evangelina's oldest daughter, Maria Clara, lives in Milan and we are going to meet for the first time ever after the game.  Should be a lot of fun.

BYE WEEK:  Next week the Elephants have a BYE week and we won't practice until next Friday.  I'm taking advantage of the time off to spend time in Milan, Prague and Vienna.  I'm not sure about internet connections on the road but I will do all I can to keep everyone posted.

Newest Elephant

DANIELA PREGNANCY UPDATE:  Davide drove her to the hospital at 4:00 a.m. where they spent about 10 hours before being sent home with the traditional first baby false labor phase of the pregnancy.  Any moment now...

NEW ELEPHANTS LINEMAN: The IFL made a slight rules change a few weeks ago that allowed each team to add one more non-Italian player to their roster.  This player could not be an American or a Canadian, i.e.,  he must have a valid European passport.  After a long search Davide Giuliano, the Elephants' Head Coach and General Manager, signed a lineman from Frankfurt, Germany with several years of experience named Franky Basting.

He arrived last night and is a big, rugged and good natured guy off the field.  I think he will be a big help to the team.

Franky Basting in the now traditional

Catania Airport arrival picture

The "Dueling Lemon"

Mascot of the 2008 World Fencing Championships

From April the 5th to the 14th, Acireale, about 5 minutes north of Malibu, will host the World Fencing Championships.  The "Dueling Lemon" mascot, currently seen at the Catania Airport, strikes fear into the hearts of any surviving French Musketeers don't you think?  We, of course, plan on buying tickets.  Who doesn't love a good sword fight!

The 2008 Italian Football League Season Kicks Off

The 2008 Italian Football League season starts this Saturday, March 29th at 3:00 p.m. when your Catania Elephants travel to Milan to play the home standing Rhinos.

To review, there are over 50 teams playing American football in Italy and the IFL is made up of the nine best teams in the country. The following nine teams are members of the IFL:

Ancona Dolphins

Bergamo Lions

Bologna Doves

Bolzano Giants

Catania Elephants

Milan Rhinos

Palermo Corsari

Palermo Sharks

Parma Panthers

During the season each team will play every other team in the league once (8 games) and then a team will play a second game with each of it's two closest league rivals for a grand total of 10 games in the regular season spread over 13 weeks due to BYE games each week.  The Elephants will play the two Palermo teams (the Corsari and the Sharks) twice each, home and home.

The dates and times of a few of our games are still up in the air due to a combination of travel and/or stadium rental issues.

The opening weekend of games stacks up thusly:

Saturday, March 29   Catania at Milan, 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 30   Ancona at Palermo Corsari, 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 30   Parma at Bergamo, 3:00 p.m.

First Week BYES:   Bologna, Bolzano and Palermo Sharks

 

The goal of all nine teams is to win the Italian Super Bowl at the end of the season. The playoffs will see the top four teams in the league, based on best overall records, open the playoffs on the last weekend in June.  On Saturday, June 28th, the 1st and 4th seeds play each other and on Sunday, June 29th the 2nd and 3rd seeds do battle.

After two weeks off to prepare, the Italian Super Bowl will take place on Saturday, July 19th.

According to the experts, the pre-season favorites to secure the four playoff spots are Bergamo, Bolzano, Milan and Parma.  Let's play some games and see how things pan out.

Mt. Etna

The forested foothills of Mt. Etna

I enjoyed a quiet housekeeping day today in Aci Castello as we prepare for our season opener in Milan against the Rhinos.  We've seen a YouTube highlight video of their scrimmage against a team from Austria.  Their QB John Stocco was an excellent player at Wisconsin and threw very accurate short passes in the scrimmage.  They have a very strong TB from Holy Cross named Steve Silva who ran the ball impressively and plays SS on defense.  Their TE Manny DiGrande from Cal Poly SLO caught several passes and also rushes hard from his DE position.  Their last standout player from these very limited highlights was an Italian LB by the name of Daniele Pezza who ran all over the field and will be a big problem for our line.  They appear to play a very aggressive brand of football.

We only have two more practices before the game and we still have a lot of work to do! 

Snow still on the slopes of  the volcano

Before going to the Elephants' offices, I took a short drive up the Mt. Etna Sud route through Viagrande (sight of yesterday's BBQ), Pedara and Nicolosi.  The wind was really blowing hard and even though it was warm in Catania, it was quite cold on the mountain.  It goes quickly from the forests in the first picture above to the very stark black lava rocks covered with the snow you see here.

Mt. Etna as seen from it's wooded foothills

Mt. Etna completely dominates the view over all of northeastern Sicily.  She is a constant reminder of Mother Nature's power and potential anger but people just deal with it, move on and live their lives like it is all good.  That's not much different from my friends in Seattle and their friendly volcano Mt. Rainier.

Easter Monday

In Italy, the Monday after Easter is a holiday.  Here in Sicily, it is a day to visit with family and friends.  We were invited to be guests of Angelo and his wife Adriana at their home for a BBQ.  Angelo is Ika's brother and her husband is, of course, Tony Call Me Pony.

If you have ever been to Italy, you know that their is an ancient Catholic church on almost every block.  The church could solve it's current shortage of priests problem if they just closed down about half of these churches and then redistributed their current roster of clerics to towns with just one church for an entire town.  Remember to vote for me the next time the office of Pope comes open, I have a whole list of improvements in mind.

The reason for all these churches in Italy is, I am told, that rich families would build them as a show of their wealth and to one up their neighbors who had just completed a church of their own.  We no longer are building churches in large numbers but the competitive nature of Italian families is still present.  It now presents itself, thankfully, in the form of highly competitive hosting of dinners and BBQ's!  Every time we are invited to someone's home to mangiar (eat) we are amazed by both the quality and quantity of the offerings and, of course, of the tremendous hospitality.

Today's BBQ may have set a new standard for greatness.  First, the setting, Angelo and Adriana have purchased a 200+ year old working vineyard and are turning it into their home.  They first took the smaller building, where the grapes were taken to be crushed into the wine, and have spent about two years completely refurbishing the inside into an incredible multi level, open space area using as much recycled material from the old vineyard as possible.  They also scoured the country side looking for recycled period materials to use where their supplys fell short.

The larger building that was used to store and age the wine will someday be their main house.  They are about a year away from moving in according to Adriana.  They are using the same attention to detail as they did in this "small" house.

I know that the book "Under the Tuscan Sun" was a big hit in the U.S.A. a few years ago and I also know we are nowhere near Tuscany but this is EXACTLY the place that would come into your mind's eye if you read the book!

After the setting, the weather was the next issue of interest.  It drizzled, it hailed HARD for about 5 minutes and finally it was sunny.  That pretty much covered the seasons of Sicily.

We met Ika's mother, brothers, sisters and all of their siblings and friends.  It was a whole new bunch of fun and caring people.  I left feeling that I had known Adriana, our fantastic hostess, since the first day I arrived in Catania.

Finally, the food...LORD HAVE MERCY!  The scary thing is knowing that somewhere in Sicily a family has heard about today and is planning to outdo Angelo and Adriana...CAN'T WAIT!!!

The entryway to the house gives you no clue of the very pleasant surprise awaiting you inside.

In the kitchen from the left, Ika, her sister Franchesca, their sister-in-law and our fantastic hostess Adriana!

Pietro, is getting a post meal cafe sugared up and ready to roll.

The driveway with the future main house under construction in the background

The patio area

The side of their home houses the BBQ pit

A bathroom using recycled wood from the vineyard days

Looking up to the kitchen, the aromas were beyond explanation

The view from the back patio with Mt. Etna in the background

The view from the kitchen into the open spaces below

Although Angelo, Adriana's husband, is an electronic maniac with every modern pushbutton gizmo imaginable, Adriana still uses old techniques to transport items between her upstairs kitchen and the dining area.

This chandelier was fashioned from the metal hoops holding the wine vats together when this house was a working vineyard.

The boys from the Dorm are never afraid to eat!

A VERY rare photo of Eduardo Gulisano, Pony and Ika's oldest boy.

Looks like a future Elefanti Wide Receiver to me.

Chocolate anyone?

Believe me, Sicilians know their BBQ!

They are not afraid to cook twice the amount needed to feed the gathered multitudes.

Another BBQ, another photo op for Federico

My interview with Tony Call Me Pony, below, at the BBQ is interrupted by the presence of Tony's brother-in-law who runs the Teatro Bellini and scored me the INCREDIBLE tickets for the opera about two months ago. I had to stop filming to take a knee and kiss his ring!

Buona Pasqua!

Buona Pasqua! Happy Easter!

Since Easter Monday is also a National Holiday, Davide cancelled Monday's practice.  We have just two more practices on Wednesday and Thursday before flying to Milan on Saturday morning for our 3:30 p.m. game.  These will be our 37th and 38th practices over 11 weeks preparing for the season opener against the Rhinos. It has been a long haul mentally as we have had only the one scrimmage vs. the Palermo Sharks a week ago.  I looked on the 2008 schedule for my school in California, Rio Mesa H.S.  At the end of our 38th practice on Oct. 6th we will have had 1 intersquad scrimmage, 1 scrimmage vs. Royal and 4 games vs. San Marcos, Newbury Park, Agoura and my alma mater St. Francis!  All this in only 7 weeks since our first practice.  The hardest part of this first phase of the season is the constant practice vs. ourselves, the Palermo scrimmage was a big mental boost.  Now that we play a game virtually every week the mental pace should quicken!

Jason and Christie took advantage of the cancelled practice and left by overnight train from Catania last night to Sorrento, the Amalfi coast, Pompeii and Rome. They will fly back on Wednesday from Rome. If you wonder about an overnight train from the island of Sicily to the mainland, it's easy!  In Messina they just load the entire train onto a ferry and cross the 2 miles long  Straights of Messina to Calabria.

Davide very graciously invited me to his mother's home for a traditional Easter Sunday Sicilian family get together. His mother, Conchetta made enough food to feed most of San Giovanni La Punta!  Two lasagnas, pork, lamb, wine, desserts, desserts, desserts and her home brew made from tangerine juice!  Mangia, mangia mangia!!!

We were joined by Daniela's (and yes, amazingly she is still pregnant) brother Pietro and parents Mauro and Appolina.  Pietro's girlfriend, Valentina joined us after eating with her family.

Our final diners were Tony "Call me Pony", his wife, Ika and their 4 children who I just love to death, Eduardo (very smart but avoids the camera), Alicia (the ballerina), Ruggerio and Federico.  Alicia and Federico are NOT camera shy.  Ruggerio is the one I really enjoy watching, he is a very much a boy!

The day was just a great family day and I felt very honored to be welcomed into Conchetta's home.  The people who make up the Elephants and their families are just a wonderful caring group!  I am so glad that I made the right decision in coming to Catania.

Again, BUONA PASQUA!

P.S. After Mass this morning I spoke with the priest about the whole Gluttony episode Saturday and showed him my pictures.  He said not to worry as he was positive that Daniele and Simone are truly innocents.  He was NOT so sure about Lucky though! 

Our hostess and incredible chef Conchetta with her proud son Davide 

Daniela (still a little pregnant) with her father Mauro, mother Appolonia and brother Pietro

Alicia and Ruggerio promising to help each other out if/when Federico attacks them again

Federico fueling up for his next adventure

Daniela's brother Pietro and his girlfriend Valentina

Fortunato and the Devil

Saturday started off with a phone call from Lucky about driving up with his two sons, Daniele and Simone, to the town of Fiumefreddo, north of Aci Castello to buy bread and cheese. I wondered why you would drive 25 minutes for these two very common items. ALLORA, as soon as we walked into the bakery the aroma told me why! The bread's taste was just as good as it's smell.

Just outside the bakery was a very small man selling very big cheeses and salamis. I bought a kilo of pepper cheese that was equally incredible.

It was at about this time as we continued driving north to Lucky's beach condo in Letojanni that I began to realize what was REALLY going on! As you may know, one of the Seven Deadly Sins is gluttony, i.e., overeating. As our trip continued I finally realized that Lucky and his two innocent looking boys were really working for the Devil in his Gluttony department!!!

I knew I would have to be strong, especially when they mentioned getting two magical foods that I had heard of in a Sicilian Fable once but had never actually seen or tasted.

The foods? Granita and brioches. Granita, in local folklore, was only eaten by the gods. It is a slushy type drink on Jose Canseco level steroids! The brioches are rumored to be the sweetest tasting bread ever made. 

I knew I could fight these demonic temptations on the day before Easter, couldn't I?

Lucky drove us to a small shop that actually said they sold these two forbidden fruits. I would be strong, I had to be for the sake of my immortal soul! All was good until he unleashed the boys on me. The said I would love it if I just took a bite of theirs. I fought it as long as I could, upwards of 5 to 10 seconds. THEY FORCED ME AGAINST MY FREE WILL! Those kids are TOUGH customers

The next thing I know, I'm eating the most incredible Sicilian dessert yet, mandorla granita chased down by brioche that no human deserves to eat. A total eating frenzy then broke out that lasted well into the night.

Needeless to say I will now spend all of eternity in damnation but it might well have been worth it!

The Cheese Maker/Salami Man in Fiumefreddo

Great mustache outside the bakery in Fiumefreddo

Simone, Lucky and Daniele

On the sea wall in front of their condo in Letojanni just north of Taormina in the distance plotting my destruction

The boys enjoying their granitas and thereby breaking me down!

My first mandorla (almond) granita with delicious brioches in the basket.

If loving this is wrong I don't want to be right!

Elephant's Presentation Party

Good Friday night the Elephants hosted a party at Angiolucci's, a very high end sun glass company that has a very nice reception area with unique statues and drawings scattered throughout. Members of the press, team sponsors and members of the Mt. Etna Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Club (long time team supporters) were all there as the team was presented to the public one week before our first game in Milan. It was a first class affair that went very smoothly and pleased everyone.

It was also great to hear the announcement that 7 of the Elephants have been nominated to try out for the Blue Team, i.e., the Italian National team that will play in the next European Championship Tournament.

The Elefanti players nominated were:

WR Gregorio Barbagallo

OL Gilberto Cocuzza

SS Renato Gargiulo

RB Enrico Lombardo

WR Claudio Mangano

LB Gianmarco Pecoraro

TE Giuseppe Strano

Two Elefanti Hall of Famers

Current coach and former LB Matteo Belfiore on the left with

WR Fortunato "Call Me Lucky" Camarda

It was a casual dress affair

From left to right, Brandon, Matt, Jason and our great LB, who lives in Palermo, Gianmarco Pecoraro

Roberta and WR Claudio "Il Naturale" Mangano

Happy Elephants

Claudio, Valeria, Salvo, Lisa, Ika and Tony "Call Me Pony"

Number 48, SS Renato Gargiulo and George

Gianmarco and George

The Two Best Things About Palermo

Franchesca and Simona

Elefanti Coaches

Matteo Belfiore, George and Head Coach Davide Giuliano

FS Christian Di Mauro

I don't think Angiolucci's sells these models.

George, Matt, Brandon, Jason and Matteo

The boys showing off their brand new, sweet jerseys

That is "Mt. Etna Molten Lava Red" you're looking at!

Three boys from Texas, you can tell by the logos on their hats.

Tony, Matt and Monte

Matt, Davide and Jason

Christie and Jason

Christie was WAY more interested in all the sun glasses on display

I couldn't help myself, she just kept staring at me all night! 

With more Pink Elephants at La Chiave after the Presentation

Elizabeth from Wales is our newest international Pink Elephant with Christian and Gustavo

The Teatro Bellini hosted a Stations of the Cross display on Good Friday 

Giulio Romano, Elefanti fashion guru, grants a rare interview

Laurie's Farewell Post

Laurel Elizabeth Contreras

Her favorite Holy Water font in St. Peter's Basilica

ALLORA (aka, "well", spoken repeately with a sigh in Italy).  George has insisted that I write a final blog, but it just isn't easy for me.  Now, instead of writing, if I could just talk . . .
 
Yes, it was a fantastic trip, as we all thought and hoped it would be, except possibly for some of the driving with Parnelli Contreras.  My travel expert/husband outdid himself this time.  Although I did think that he might be a little bored, taking me to many places he had already been, I think he enjoyed himself.  I can't thank him enough for all his planning and attention to detail.  You might consider hiring him for your travel plans in the future.
 
My trip home, as you can imagine, was very long, and it was wonderful to be met by such good and generous friends as Helen and Rod Fujita. (Not to mention help with the luggage.)  To see friendly, loving faces after that trek was such a gift AND the nine pieces of ceramics we had packed arrived with me and all my luggage in perfect condition!  (Yes, I needed an extra suitcase as you may know, but I blame part of it on George when he found the ceramic pattern he had been looking for.)
 
The best description of my experience is just to say that everything GW has said is completely accurate.  Catania is a working city, the countryside of Catania is green and beautiful, "Malibu" is a delightful beach house, the food and beverages are indescribable and varied, the cities in Italy spectacular, but above all, the people are warm and welcoming and I am also happy to call them my friends.  
 
One of the things that surprised me, not having traveled extensively, but having traveled in Europe before, was that as Americans in Catania, we were a bit of an oddity.  I am sure that because it is not the tourist season, and because it is my understanding that Catania vacationers usually don't arrive until the weather is warmer, we experienced small restaurants to sometimes become completely silent when we entered.  I was very aware of the fact that there aren't many blonds (having heard the word "Lampadina" meaning "Light bulb" murmured in my direction several times, and that George appeared to me to be bigger than most Sicilians, but after the initial quiet, we were treated warmly and graciously.  I am very greatful to have been invited into Salvo and Titiana's (and their wonderful sons) home for a lovely evening of food and discussions about homelife in Catania.  With her dictionary at her side, she answered so many questions about food, work, etc.  It was truly special evening followed the next day by the barbeque to honor the newest Surgeon on the Elephanti football team, which also was new and delightful experience.  All in all, the people ARE what makes Catania special.  (The beautiful blue sea doesn't hurt, either.)
 
I could go on and on, but I think George's pictures show the uniqueness of his (our) experience.  I have tried to express to him how much we all have enjoyed his (and Jason's) work.  And believe me, he does work at it.  Maybe he will spend a little more time now working on the blog and less eating out with young females?  Do you think?  Not!!!
 
I now look forward to George's quick visit in May and then my return trip to Catania at the end of the season.  
 
Love to all, and thank you for all of your support.
 
Laurie

Nuns of San Benedetto

As I mentioned in my last post, The Church of San Benedetto was my favorite of the Holy Thursday churches we visited last night. The main altar in all the churches were dark and only one side altar in each church was lit up. The vlog below was taken in San Benedetto. Remember that this is the convent church of a group of cloistered nuns that has little contact with the outside world. Holy Thursday is the only night of the year that the public can enter their church. The only contact with the nuns last night was hearing them sing hymns with their angelic voices. They were located in the grated balcony at the back of the church at about the equivalent of a third story. They were barely visible which really added to the effect and sanctity of the moment.

The vlog below shows the lit altar in San Benedetto only but turn up your volume so that you can hear a little bit of the nuns singing.

Buona Pasqua! 

Holy Thursday

Wednesday's lunch at Al Tubo's in Aci Castello

After dropping off Laurie for her flight to California I was somewhat depressed.

Nothing a good meal with a pretty girl and a sea view couldn't fix!

Holy Thursday Church Crawl in Catania

Our TE Pepe Strano, left, with his father, Senatore Nino Strano

Holy Thursday in Catania was very interesting. As you may know, Holy Thursday commemorates Jesus Christ's Last Supper before he was arrested and then crucified. This evening all of Catania's churches stay open until the wee hours of the morning so that the faithful can visit them during this key event of the Church year.

After our defensive meeting to review our Palermo scrimmage DVD, I met Pepe Strano, his girlfriend Valeria (the very first Pink Elephant), Jason and Christie to join thousands of people roaming the streets and visiting churches.

After starting at the Duomo, we made our way to Via Crociferi where it is literally church after church after church. We were joined there by Pepe's father, Nino, who is a member of the Italian Senate. Of the churches we saw my favorite was San Benedetto. This church houses a convent of nuns that are cloistered, i.e., they have very limited contact with the outside world. This is actually the only day of the year that their church is open to the public and it is spectacular! The nuns actually were up in a closed off balcony singing hymns with angelic voices. We could hear them clearly but they were only shadowy figures through the grating covering the balcony from our view.

We visited a total of 6 or 7 churches and then went to Nino Mannino's Tratorria for a very late dinner. Nino was the star again and the food was not far behind in it's brilliance! He also wanted me to say a big hello to Laurie for him.

To sum it up, it is GREAT to be a Catholic in Italy during Holy Week!

Laurie's Last Day in Roma

Laurie Elizabeth Contreras

At one of my favorite fountains at Piazza Navona in Roma trying to ignore the second hand smoke behind her

This morning we woke up at 4:00 a.m. to get a taxi back to Roma’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport for Laurie’s flight back to Camarillo. Everything went smoothly and I was able to walk with her all the way to the security check point/metal detectors before we had to part ways. At the last, I waved to her on the other side of the security entrance, blew her a kiss and turned to go to my terminal to catch my plane back to Catania. Suddenly I was hit by a big wave of negative emotion knowing I wouldn’t see her again for two months, it didn’t sit well. We will be together again in mid-May when I fly back to California for our youngest son Mike’s college graduation but that seems a long way away right now.

After 43 years together, the last 37 as a married couple, I guess I do really still love her!

Tuesday in Roma during Holy Week 2008

Every day in Roma SHOULD start with some gelato!

How would you like to live in this building?

Note the gelateria on the ground floor

The Colosseum

How could the Rams and the Raiders both have left this great arena in the same season?

The other J.C. who is big in Roma, Julius Caesar

Remember that this picture was taken only 3 days after the Ides of March

A small portion of the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II

"Elefanti Mai Stanchi!"

The Pantheon

My favorite building in Roma, this comment drew the ire of our friend Father Juan Jose who had a VERY strong opinion about St. Peter's Basilica.

The Pantheon's signature oculus and ceiling

Preparing the Pantheon for Holy Week services

Either the latest spring fashions for men

OR

A recreation of the 1964 Masters at Augusta with Palmer and Nicklaus walking to the 18th tee

The Tiber River looking at Vatican City in the distance

Holy Week is like Super Bowl Week for these guys!

Getting St. Peter's Square ready for His return engagement

St. Peter's Basilica at dusk

My photography guru once told me that the best time to take photos is during the last hour of sunlight, again St. Peter's Basilica

Dinner in Roma with our dear family friend Father Juan Jose

The inside of Santa Maria Maggiore's Basilica

Father Juan Jose is in charge of this Basilica

Monday’s Practice

Monday night was an interesting practice for us. The offense was all there but we were missing several defenders. Matteo, the coach who does a great job with our defense, played defensive end. In the meantime I was recruited to play middle LB, defensive end and strong safety! Matt burned me deep one time so he must be pretty good.

Monday’s Internet Update

During the day our internet connector showed up at Malibu one hour early to hook us up! After he spoke with Gustavo, we were informed that our address did NOT match up with the one on his call slip therefore he could NOT possibly set up the internet today. When asked when he would return he said it would be in about TWO MONTHS!

A Dose of Humility

Lucky’s wife, Federica, works with her parents running a VERY nice jewelry store on Corso Italiano. I drove Laurie and Christie over there before practice and Laurie really liked a pair of earrings, surprise. Good quality, good price, SOLD! Or so I thought…to my very great embarrassment my VISA card was rejected. I know we’ve spent a lot of money with trips to Rome twice, Florence and Palermo but we should not be maxed out. I was mortified. They were very nice about it knowing that Laurie was leaving for America on Wednesday and let her have the earrings saying I could pay for them later. After practice and after another very good dinner at Nino Mannino’s, we went back to Davide’s office to call the Bank of America about the VISA card problem. They told me that they knew I was in Italy through August and that I am a valued customer so they had upgraded my card from a platinum card to a signature card. In doing so they had cancelled my current card without telling me and the signature card will have new numbers! Bottom line is that they reactivated my card. Did I mention that when they were founded, in San Francisco I think, they were called the Bank of Italy?

Mugged in Catania Again!

No, not in the same way as last time but very effective in separating us from our money nonetheless. We were flying to Rome on Wind Jet and upon weighing in Laurie’s only piece of luggage were informed that it weighed 29 kilos, 14 kilos over the limit. Now remember that the two of us are allowed a total of four pieces of luggage, which means as much as 60 kilos of weight. We tried to point the fact out that her bag weighed 1 kilo less than if she had two bags and 31 kilos less than if we had the full complement of four bags. IMPOSSIBLE! The fine was 110 euros!!! Remember, her roundtrip ticket to Roma only cost 72 euros. So, in essence, we were mugged again in Catania but with a peaceful smile this time.

Roma on Tuesday of Holy Week, 2008

First order of business in Roma was to buy Laurie a second piece of luggage. We found a shop about 4 doors from our hotel and bought one for 17 euros thus solving any weight problems for Laurie’s flight home on British Air.

Then it was off to walk to our favorite sights, the Coliseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and St. Peter’s Basilica. We just love this city and can’t see enough of it. It is so easy to walk around in Roma and of course, it is quite romantic. The crowds were still small and the Vatican at dusk was incredible!

While at the Pantheon, we randomly ran into Brandon, Tony, Matt and Monte who arrived in Roma about two hours before we did. They were doing fine, enjoying the great sights and staying out of harm’s way.

Our family has a long time friend, Father Juan Jose D’Oronsorro, who has lived in Rome and worked in the Vatican for FIFTY years! He is in charge of one of the four major basilicas in Roma, Santa Maria Maggiore. After finishing his 6:00 p.m. meeting with his Cardinal, he met us at Campo di Fiori. He suggested a nice restaurant nearby for us to enjoy dinner so we all went together to Fratelli la Buffala. In the small world of gluttony, this is the same restaurant that Laurie and I enjoyed her first night in Roma three weeks ago! Jason and I discovered this chain when we visited Messina in February. Jason and Matt visited this same restaurant in Roma when they visited earlier this month. None of us have been disappointed in any of our visits. It was great to spend an evening with Father Juan Jose, he is always so positive and upbeat. When I think of what a priest should be, his face always comes to mind. By the way, the VISA card worked!

Roma is obviously one of the greatest cities in the world and I can’t think of a better place to be for one last night with Laurie.

I’ve included a vlog taken in St. Peter’s Square. You can’t really see Laurie’s face very well but I still think you’ll like the vlog.

Laurie's Last Full Day in Catania

This pretty much sums up how I feel.

Tomorrow morning we fly to Rome for a day and then Laurie returns alone to Camarillo on Wednesday.

How could three weeks have gone by so fast?

Spring has sprung at Malibu

The boys from the Dorm in a rare midweek daylight sighting at Malibu

The ONLY thing we saw today that remotely suggested it was St. Patrick's Day

Busy Social Weekend

Guglielmo, left, and Riccardo, Titziana and Salvo's boys, with the autographed Scott Fujita cards Laurie brought them.

They were still teling everyone at the BBQ the next day about these new family heirlooms! 

Titziana and Salvo are great hosts

At Sunday's BBQ, I ponder some of the martial arts tools that Salvo, the LB's, father owns

A Sicilian BBQ specialty, cipolata

Two hard core bikers crash the BBQ

The Elefanti on display

Three Pink Elephants

Laurie, Valeria and Christie

Ladies, check out these embroidered jeans for a heads up on this spring's Italian fashion scene

Daniela, our Head Coach Davide's wife, in her 23rd month of pregnancy with little Alessandro

On the left is Italy's newest Surgeon and Elefanti starting OLB, Salvo, with our QB and fellow Malibu resident, Jason

WR Matt on the left next to his baby brother Monte.

Monte's friend Tony, in the white T-shirt and Brandon on the far right round out the current Dorm roster.

Monte and Tony got into town yesterday just in time for the scrimmage.

Saturday night began a busy social weekend for us with a return dinner at the home of Titziana and Salvo, our WR. The food and hospitality were great yet again. Their two boys, Gugliemo and Riccardo, are great fun. Good family, beautiful home and better friends.

Palm Sunday brought us to a big team BBQ in honor of Salvo, our LB, who just graduated from medical school and is now a surgeon. The entire team was there and the food was incredible yet again. We must have been served a minimum of 30 different dishes today as they came out about two at a time. Sicilians don’t stand in lines at these gatherings, it is more like a defensive pursuit drill with every man for himself! If you are slow, you starve. I’m still quick enough and don’t plan on eating again until next Thursday.

The timing of the BBQ after yesterday’s effort at the scrimmage was perfect. Again, Davide has done a great job as General Manager getting a group of good, solid character players together and forming them into a family-like team.

I LOVE THIS ISLAND AND IT’S PEOPLE!

Scrimmage vs. the Palermo Sharks

Half a world away and I'm still taping ankles!

Enrico, our halfback, begging Davide for more carries before the scrimmage

Fortunato, "Call Me Lucky", one of our WR's embarking on his 23rd season playing for the Elephants

Eduardo, The future of the Elephants

This was our Italian female referee, Katrina, who worked the scrimmage.

Are all female refs named Katrina?

The Elefanti sideline always stays back for the refs to do their work!

A Sicilian down marker

Our foam filled sideline yard markers can also be used as pillows

Elefanti defense in black

Some of our players are superstitious

Four happy post-scrimmage Americanos

Player/Head Coach/General Manager Davide Giuliano and me in a giddy mood after the Sharks scrimmage

Saturday we had a scrimmage against the Palermo Sharks at the University’s grass field stadium. It turned out to be… “A BEAUTIFUL day to be playing American football!”

We each had two 15 play offensive series for a total of 60 plays plus kicking game as dictated by the down/distance/scoring situations for an additional 20 plays. Good work with a lot being accomplished and a few things being exposed as well. We gained a lot of confidence and our team really bonded as the day went on.

It was great after 33 practices over 63 days to finally go against someone different. We were pleased with the overall effort and the intensity of our play. The outcome of the scrimmage was just what we needed at this point with our opening game of the season with Milan now less than two weeks away.

On the way home we stopped at Cityper, our local supermarket for a few supplies. As I said, it was a very warm day and Christie wanted to buy some sun block because she did get a little sun burnt. As I walked into the store a lady with a fur coat buttoned to the top and a fur scarf around her neck, it is winter until this Thursday after all! Anyway, When Christie asked where to find the sun block in the store, they scoffed at her and informed her that they only sell it during the summer!!!

Tuscany - Day 2

The Santa Croce Church in Florence

Michelangelo's Tomb in Sant Croce

It faces the Tomb of Galileo

Figure atop the Memorial to Dante inside Santa Croce 

Next to the framed tunic of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Croce Church

George W. Contreras

St. Francis High School

La Canada-Flintridge, California

Class of 1965

Outside Vivoli's Gelateria

They like their art big in Florence

This fresco is in the Duomo in Florence

The very cool walled city of Lucca

Thanks to David Lassen's advice we stopped here, we were not disappointed!

So far this tower in Lucca is the only one we've seen with trees growing atop it

Pisa's famed "Field of Miracles" with the Leaning Tower in the distance

I know they did a lot of structural improvements a few years ago, but I still wonder why hasn't it fallen

Il Campo in Siena

Scene of the Palio horse race every July 2nd and August 16th

I plan on being there for the July 2nd running 

Siena's entry in the Ad of the Day contest

Day 2 of our trip to Tuscany wound up being a three city journey after some brief sight seeing in Florence in the morning.

First stop was Santa Croce in Florence. Yet another beautiful church that houses the tombs of over 200 people including Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Very ornate and a definite must see when you visit. There is a huge statue dedicated to Dante outside Santa Croce and a very large memorial to him inside yet he could not be buried in any Catholic church at the time of his death because he was excommunicated. He's not so bad now it appears.

Near Santa Croce we discovered Vivoli's Gelateria, easily the best of the several gelaterias we surveyed on this trip. I had the riso (rice) that Rick Steves recommended...horchata on steroids! Laurie described her chocolate gelato as akin to Hershey's chocolate syrup. Vivoli's is considered the best gelateria in Florence, the birthplace of gelato, we agree!

We decided to go back to the Duomo before driving into the country side. As you saw in yesterday's post the exterior of this building is spectacular but the interior is very plain and ordinary by the Renaissance church interior standards that have been set by our other church/basilica visits in Italy.

Let me say that Italian country sides at this time of year are flat out awesome! I have never seen the brilliant greens that these fields have and no camera can truly capture unless Jason play God on the computer with it. Ireland can not possibly be greener than Italy in the spring!

Lucca is a very picturesque walled city about 30 miles outside Florence. We walked part of the gigantic 2 1/2 mile wall that still rings the old city center. Good shopping can be found here but it was the afternoon siesta time while we were visiting...Laurie was sad but my wallet was very happy.

Our next stop was Pisa. The "Field of Miracles" has to be seen in person to be appreciated.  The Leaning Tower is, of course, the big draw here and it was fascinating.

Our last stop of the day was Siena. Is there a more beautiful Tuscan hilltop town? In the center of town their main Piazza is called "Il Campo". Twice a year their famous Palio races bring thousands of people to Siena to witness a 10 horse race that does 3 laps around the "Il Campo". Each horse, ridden bareback, represents one of the 17 neighborhoods or contradas  in Siena. Randomly they pick which 10 neighborhoods will race as it would be impossible to get any more than 10 horses in to the narrow raceway. They bring in orange dirt from the hillside, hence Crayola's "Burnt Siena" color, and put it over the cobblestone's and away they go. Lots of pageantry , color and history as they have been doing this racing the Palio every year since the 1300's! I bought a flag of the Torre contrada since their mascot is an elephant. Again, Siena is a must see place especially if you can be here for Palio. By the way, my wallet WAS a lot lighter after we left Siena!

Our flight back to Catania was highlighted by being on time and by nine people in first class, we were in the 5th row just behind them. They boarded the plane in the red team colored scarves and hats of the Grosseto soccer team. From the reaction of the steward and the way they carried themselves, two of them must be really good soccer players. About 20 minutes into the flight the steward took the wife of one of the player and their two young daughters, about 13 and 10 I would say INTO THE COCKPIT, closed the door and let them chit chat with the pilot for about 10 minutes! With about 20 minutes in the flight, the steward took one of the players and did the same thing only he stayed in until after we landed! So much for Italian post 911 security flying measures.

Also funny was the security guard at Florence's airport just before we entered the metal detectors. Following accepted protocol, he checked our passports vs. our boarding cards, saw we were going to Catania, looked at Laurie and warns us to be careful and vigilant while there! Too late but thanks for the thought anyway.

In one of my travel books, "Journeys of a Lifetime - 500 of he World's Greatest Trips", they mention that when in Tuscany you must eat both Bistec alla Fiorentina (a very rare T-bone steak) and Finocciona Salami, they were dead on on both counts!

Finally let me just say that Florence and the Tuscan country side are all that people have raved about to us for years. If you haven't traveled here, do it next spring.

Ciao!

Firenze, a.k.a., Florence - Day 1

This has nothing to do with Florence, but I have to post a picture of Christie's first pannino at Jonathan's the night before we flew out.

The entry way to the Hotel Accademia in Firenze.

Gypsy Boots is alive and well in Florence!

How big do you think Goliath was?

I know I'm not supposed to take pictures now but at the time this was my first picture in the Accademia Gallery and there were no signs posted, only a recorded message I heard about 30 seconds later...HONEST!

The Cathedral Duomo of Florence

More of the Cathedral Duomo in Florence

I love this Cathedral!

Sorry

Wow, I think this Cathedral will be famous some day!

Fountain outside the Palazzo Vecchio near the Uffizi Galery

The traditional crest of Firenze done in flowers again at the Palazzo Vecchio

Who doesn't love seeing the Medusa get killed?

The Ponte Vecchio Bridge

The Arno River from the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and no I didn't.

The Ponte Vecchio Bridge

A girl and a whole bridge filled with jewelry stores, can life get any better than this?

Two the Firenze Polizia protecting the jewelry shoppers on the

Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Making Laurie happy

They say gelato was invented in Florence

A romantic dinner for two at Trattoria Za' Za'

Ad of the Day

This one was a block from our hotel in Florence.

Since it was for exercise equipment I passed somehow.

Thursday, after a quick 75 minute flight, we arrived in Florence in the morning to begin our tour of Tuscany.

We checked into the very nice Hotel Accademia after driving from the airport in our rented 4 door Smart For Four car. I fit nicely thank you! The hotel is quaint, centrally located and is a big step up from our Palermo accommodations. Our room had beautiful hardwood floors throughout with a lovely garden just outside our window.

Random Thought of the Day #1: Driving in Florence is VERY strange…people rarely honk, they follow the speed limit and drive in their lanes. Dare I say that they are even courteous? What are these people thinking?

Random Thought of the Day #2: Let me just say that Renaissance art, as near as I can tell, was basically about four things: 1. Fat Babies (usually Jesus), 2. Fatter Baby Angels (The Angelic Order of Cherubim), 3. Bare Breasted Women (still a big hit today) and 4. People in the Act of Being Martyred. As soon as you understand this, all Italian art comes clearly into focus.

After a great lunch at the Trattoria Antellus next to the hotel (the bistec alla Fiorentina was incredible), we took the short walk to the Accademia Gallery (no pictures allowed), where there was no one in line, and saw Michelangelo’s David as well as his powerful and unfinished Prisoners statues. David was much bigger than I imagined. The lack of crowds allowed us to get as close as possible to David and linger as long as we wanted!

The Accademia is a very small gallery so we made our way to the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, incredible architecture. We only saw the outside today but will enter tomorrow as soon as it opens.

Travel guru Rick Steves gave us a great tip.  We made reservations for the Uffizi Gallery through the hotel. They got us two tickets for 4:00 p.m. today. It cost an extra 3 euros per ticket but it was worth it just as he said. When we arrived at the Uffizi, it took about 1 minute to buy our reserved tickets and their were only 2 people in front of us in the reserved ticket line as compared to about 400 people in the non-reserved ticket line, I’m sure in summer you could at least triple this number. WAY TO GO RICK!!!

The Uffizi Gallery (again no pictures allowed) has arguably the greatest collection Italian Renaissance paintings in the world including their signature painting, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. We were in no way disappointed! Again, once inside there were not many people in the gallery. We were able to stand as close to each painting as we were allowed and analyze each one for as long as we liked. If you come to Italy, come in the winter or spring and avoid the heat, humidity and the endless crowds.

Our final stop of he afternoon was the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s most famous bridge over the Arno River. Let me first say that Florence was the leading city of the Renaissance Era. During this period there was no country named Italy, instead we had competing city-states vying for wealth and power. Florence’s wealth came from it’s cloth industry, trade and banking. One of Florence’s main rivals was another city-state, Pisa, also located on the Arno River. The rivalry was so fierce that Florentine locals during that time would actually pee into the Arno River knowing that it would flow to Pisa downstream!

Today the Ponte Vecchio is lined with shops selling gold and silver, just what Laurie needed to see! We shopped and actually bought a few nice pieces…it’s only retirement money.

For our 10:00 p.m. dinner we followed Rick Steves’ advice for a second time and dined at Trattoria Za' Za' located at Piazza del Mercato Centrale 26 red, for those of you keeping track. As always, we had great wine and food. The Ribollita, a Tuscan soup, was very good but the Eggplant Parmesan was incredible, sweet and light! Since I had three gelatos this afternoon, we decided it would be best to forego dessert tonight.

Friday we are going to drive through the countryside of Tuscany and visit the towns of Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa and the walled city of Lucca. Food and wine are a distinct possibility. 

Of Shopping, Trattoria Casalinga di Nino Mannino and Airplanes

Jason and Christie enjoying our 71st day without internet connection at Malibu as we all pay for yet another hour of internet service (3 euros = $4.50) at the lovely Baia Verde Hotel near the heart of Aci Castello. 

Land sharks guarding the parking lot at the Etnapolis Mall.

Note the sad hat that is floating near their last attack.

A sign of the American football fever sweeping Catania.

This vending machine is located in the middle of the Etnapolis Mall!

One side of this large ceramic jug in the Mall depicts the traditional story that I grew up with about St. George slaying the dragon.

The other side depicts the WAY more interesting Italian version of the same tale that makes much more sense to me!

Fajitas at lunch Mexican/Italian style.

They were quite good actually.

Yes, I had a gelato after lunch.

With Nino after a great dinner and incredible hospitality.

Yes, I had another gelato after dinner.

This is my 71st day in Sicily, still no internet at Malibu. Christie offered to go with Gustavo to get some action out of the slackards. Now remember, Catania is the second biggest city in Sicilia (Palermo is the biggest) and it is the ninth biggest city in all of Italy. Gustavo informed us that we would have to fly to the island of SARDINIA to physically see someone from the company providing our internet service. They do not have an office anywhere on Sicilia!!! Hope is dwindling daily.

We continue with our routine at Malibu even with our two newest members. Monday we made lunch at the house consisting of breaded veal cutlets and veal cordon bleu cooked in extra virgin olive oil, add on ricotta cheese ragu sauce and sprinkle it with incredible parmesan cheese, throw in great spiced tomatoes ala Christie, some red wine that Laurie let us share with her and you have a memorable meal!

It was then on to the Elefanti War Room to review Saturday’s practice DVD. We had a very productive meeting as we made plans for the Milan game that is now less than three weeks away.

Practice last night was well attended and we saw great improvement again as we serviced each other offensively and defensively. It was a slower paced teaching practice with the emphasis on cleaning up details that needed tending. I thought the players were quite receptive and got one day better.

As always after our Monday practice we met Brandon and Matt at Jonica Pizza in Aci Castello for dinner. We were joined for dinner by two of Brandon’s friends from San Diego, Kyle and his girlfriend Renee who are visiting for a few days. The good times continue to roll!

Today we shopped at the Etnapolis Mall. We only bought a few small trinkets but we did eat in their food court's Mexican restaurant. Not bad for Mexican food in the Eastern Hemisphere, the Coronas were excellent!

For dinner we drove into the downtown area only to find our designated ristorante closed. This fortunately forced us to go exploring and we stumbled upon another great place, the Trattoria Casalinga di Nino Mannino, Via Biondi 19, Catania if you are in the neighborhood. Nino’s son, Salvo, was our waiter as they gave us the back room to ourselves since the front room was packed. Everyone’s pasta was great, the involtini meat dish was fabulous and the wine was indeed flowing.

At the end of 2 ½ hour dinner Salvo asked if we wanted dessert or an after dinner drink. After two bottles of very solid red wine and with the desire to go to our favorite gelato store, Quaranta, in Piazza Bellini just a few blocks away when we left, we said no thanks, il conto per favore.

Suddenly Nino is heatedly getting after Salvo, something is very wrong. The next thing we know, we have two different very rich desserts on the table for us to share. From nowhere four glasses of Limoncello appear. Salvo leaves the bottle of Limoncello and a bottle of another almond based after dinner drink for us to sample. We decided to just stick with the first 4 Limoncellos.

When our bill arrives, Nino has comped us the desserts and Limoncellos! Apparently he loves Americans, Christie wisely omitted the fact that she is Canadian. It was a great evening all the way around. By the way, we still had the gelato afterwards!

Met up with Brandon, Matt and Kyle as well as Gregorio and Gustavo at La Chiave for a little concert in their backroom stage area. The trio consisted of two male guitarists and a female singer. We stayed for about an hour as they were very good singing both English and Italian favorites that had everyone in the audience singing along and the obligatory one crazy girl dancing up a storm by herself in front of us.

This morning I had to drive Jason to the airport to catch a 9:20 flight to Milan for a photo shoot for an Italian sports magazine article about all the American QB’s in the league this year. Jason will get to meet all of his fellow American QB’s at the shoot. Sounds easy but in Italy it never is as easy at it should be.

The photographer wants all the QB’s to be in full game uniform and Jason has no game gear. No problem, one of the players would drop off both game jerseys, game pants, helmet decals and an Elefanti jacket at the Dorm for us to pick up either before or after dinner. We decided to go after dinner. At about 1:00 a.m. we meet up with the boys, as I said earlier on Piazza Bellini. We ask about picking up Jason’s gear only to find out it never came! We drove to the office and did find two game jerseys but that was it.

We awake at 7:00 a.m. call Davide, not happy, who gets the offending player on the phone and lets us know that we can pick it up at the Dorm as we are driving to the airport. Sounds simple, it is sort of on our way, except it is now rush hour in Catania.

When I was growing up in SoCal, we had Figure 8 Chicane Auto Races and Destruction Derbies both held at Ascot Motorway in Gardena televised on weekends on channel 5 or 11 with Dick Lane announcing. Basically it was just an event to watch cars and people get destroyed. Both of these childhood memories pale next to rush hour in Catania!!!

After many near death experiences, a few hand gestures and the complete disregard for the Italian Vehicle Code (does one really exist?) we got the gear and Jason to the airport with about 3 minutes to spare before they closed the gate!

We all just keep having a good time here and we are all usually sporting big smiles as we continue to enjoy our new home, our Sicilian friends and the quaint customs of Sicilia.

Laurie's Return to Journalism

Laurie with Castiglione di Sicilia in the background

Hello again!  I awoke this morning to a beautiful day and the sounds of the local gardeners mowing.  At least they only come once a week here. Today it is my pleasure to share some more of my thoughts.  I have now been in Italy for over a week and George reminded us that this is his 69^th day!  So much to tell, not enough time or space, but I HAVE to share some of these things now. 

GIRLY STUFF

Upon my arrival in Malibu, I FINALLY got to wash my hair and had brought a small hair dryer.  The history of American hair dryers isn’t good, having blown one up in Rome on our last trip and fellow traveler Koreen also exploded hers, I didn’t bring my good one, figuring that I might just buy one over here.  As expected, the little one ran for about one minute and then crashed.  Having discussed hair dryers, etc. with Christie prior to her leaving Canada, we agreed to buy one, which was great because we shared the cost and she didn’t have to lug one over here.  I found a good one.  It had a two-prong (round rods) male connector.  Upon attempting to plug it in, I found that the two prongs were wider in diameter than most of the outlets!!  This is THEIR country and THEIR appliance, for Pete’s sake!  We therefore found that one of our adapters worked for the dryer, my curling iron and Christie’s flat iron and the problem was solved, but why sell it here if I doesn’t work here!?!?!  It is a constant search to find the right adapter and take it from one of the multiple video cameras, telephones, and digital cameras.  But now we are both really happy, because you KNOW, a “good hair day” makes any day better, even in paradise, especially when cameras are going off every time you turn around.

DRIVING

OMG!!!! (that means Oh My God, Dad).  All I can say is that it’s like dating George again in the 60s in his MG Midget.  Here, he’s driving a 5-speed little Nissan that’s about the size of a VW bug.  He drives just like the locals.  I guess you have to or you would get squished.  Everyone drives so fast.  There are posted speed limits, but no one pays attention, but there aren’t really any accidents, only side-swipes and minor dents.  No one stops when that happens (unless it’s a Benz), they just wave.  There are obviously different rules-of-the-road here, and it has a totally different driving system.  Lines are painted but as GW said, they are merely a suggestion.  If you are on a two lane road and the right lane has actually become two rows of traffic, it is not unusual in gridlock to see a car or two or three or four just drive down the on-coming lane until someone is coming at them and then they just cut in to the correct lane to avoid the head-on and no one gets mad!?!  The main rule is you can do ANYTHING, as long as you can get away with it and as long as you honk before you do it.  As George said, honking has different meanings, which I think makes sense.  If you are passing on the right or the left and the guy in front of your is in the middle and you can’t get by, you give a little beep and the front guy moves to one side allowing you to pass.  In short, that is how George now drives.  I will never again bug him about his driving at home, as we haven’t been in an accident yet.

WINE

The four of us (the two couples) finally had a bad liter of wine at dinner the other night.  We justified the fact that is really wasn’t that bad, as earlier that evening, we had set out “munchies” to enjoy when the guys returned from football before we went to dinner.  They included spicy salami, dry salami, FANTASTIC blue cheese, parmesan cheese and a milk, semi-soft white cheese, crackers, green olives (of course), and some wine – which turned out to be really good wine.

When I arrived there were a couple bottles of white and a couple of red in the apartment.  The guys had tried a couple and found some they liked.  Everyone agreed that they were willing to “test” others.  So, at the next trip to the market (which I love, by the way), we purchased several new labels.  My point here was, that we had one white I really liked, and a pinot gregio that we all LOVED, so when we went to dinner that night and had their house wine, it was awful.  (We, of course, still drank it all, anyway.)  I promise that I will continue to assist by tasting as many as possible.  As a side note, my orthopedist, Dr. Ghilarducci (Italian, of course), should have maybe prescribed wine for my shoulder, instead of the cortisone shot as it has been more effective. 

INTERNET

Unfortunately, we have all had some trouble with the internet and its consistency.  It has been necessary to go to the nice local hotel and pay (onlysometimes, we are in Italy after all) a three euros for an hour.  Not too bad.

Yesterday we went to the hotel’s lounge area, which has about 9 couches in a lovely setting.  We paid for an hour, but nothing was downing loading (GW was REALLY happy), for the first hour.  We ended up calling lots of people on the Skpe (really cheap) as it was Sunday afternoon in California.  The fun part was that Jason and Christie (seated 20’ across the room) would call someone, and we couldn’t help but be involved with their conversation. At the same time GW was working on his blog or one of us were checking our e-mails.  We would then call someone and I am sure they listened too, as you couldn’t help it!  The best part was at the end, after being there for about 2 hours, and the guys finally getting to the end of their blogs, it turned into sort of a race, when someone said, “We’ll be done in about 10 minutes, right?”  The next line was, “I’m going to look at your blog.”  At the same time, the other guy (not sure who said it first) said, “I’m going to look at your blog.”  I know, you had to be there, but it was hilarious.  Dueling blogs.

I, of course, could go on for a long time.  This is a wonderful experience, as you all thought it would be.

Love to all, Laurie

Christie Arrives and Another Visit to Taormina

Malibu is now complete! Christie arrived Saturday and she fits right in. After getting her home to work on her jet lag issues while we went to practice we had a nice dinner in Capo Mulini, a quaint seaside cove area outside Aci Trezza.

Today we spent the day at the resort town of Taormina, good times indeed!

We had another competitive practice yesterday and open up the season at Milan vs. the Rhinos three weeks from today thank goodness. This is our 8th week of practice and we NEED to play somebody soon.

The traditional Catania Airport arrival photo.

For a second I thought Jason and Christie adopted a French orphan in Paris!

Aci Trezza's Ode to Womanhood

Christie's new flat iron for hair we bought at the Cityper market irritates me for some reason.

Spaghetti al Nero, cuddlefish ink sauce.

I like to cuddle you know.

Christie eats her  first cannollo at Ernesto's

Suddenly another snowstorm hit Ernesto's!

First they were in Randazzo, now they are in Aci Trezza!

On the patio before  the drive to Taormina.

Hell if I know!

Kids in awe watching a painter at work

Taormina cannollo has incredible slant!

The World's Biggest Cannollo

Laurie and Christie with Taormina in the background

Taormina's Greek Theater with Mt. Etna in the distance.

Outside the Greek theater in Taormina

Nice garden in Taormina

This statue in Taormina is titled "Angels in Our Times"

The Circumnavigation of Mt. Etna

We woke up this morning excited after another good defensive practice last night (special atta-boys to DE Fabio, LB Salvo and just returned from 4 weeks on the Israeli front LB Roberto...no one say "'uddle" like he does).

This euphoria led to our decision to undertake one of the greatest events in orienteering...THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF MT. ETNA!

To our knowledge this would be the first Cuban-American team to attempt this difficult and extremely dangerous exploration. We packed provisions and started early hoping to make the trip in what would surely be a record of less than one day!

Our route would take us north up the coast from our Malibu base camp in Aci Castello. We planned on turning west when we reached the town of Fiumefreddo and then work our way to the settlement of Castiglione di Sicilia. Jason and I had visited this outpost a few weeks ago and were friendly with the natives. In exchange for shinny coins, they gave us nourishment in the form of cornettos and cappuccinos.

After regrouping, we headed into uncharted land to the fabled city of Randazzo. We found it rather quickly and then pushed on to Bronte, rumored to be a city of gold! It wasn't but again the people were very friendly.

Our next stop was the village of Adrano. Although warned by the people of Bronte that he tribe inhabiting Adrano were savages, we found them to be quite charming. In fact they welcomed us into one of their communal eating places and took care of us by providing meat filled pastries and refreshing local beverages.

The people of Adrano then guided us to our next spot, Etnapolis. They said that we would find anything in our heart's desire here with incredible riches in every doorway. We were not disappointed! We found over 50 stores trading all sorts of wares to people of all tribes and nationalities. The natives call it a mall, a strange name but familiar sounding. Laurie was able to barter her way into a pair of locally made shoes, what a talker!

We then finished our trek with the final dash through Catania and on to Malibu thus completing the huge circle! Tonight a feast in our honor is planned at Al Tubo's Ristorante, reportedly big Al himself will be there to present us with an award.

All in all a very rewarding day!

Hurricane Jason and his lovely bride Christie arrive in Catania Saturday morning from Paris. I hope they can both hang with the pace of life here!

Laurie at the outskirts of Castiglione di Sicilia

Padre Pio is HUGE in Sicilia!

The Gateway to ???

A church in the middle of nowhere

The old and very interesting cemetery of Castiglione di Sicilia

A passageway in Randazzo

The Randazzo church scene

"Berlin Wall? What Berlin Wall?"

Communists of Randazzo Unite!!!

Near Bronte, English Admiral Nelson was given some land by a foreign king as a reward. Bourbon I think, the royal line not the drink. He built this villa. The Sicilians would eventually reclaim all the land.

The doorway to the Admiral's private chapel

The country side between Bronte and Adrano

Old buildings in Adrano

This mural in the Caffe Seven in Adrano, where we ate, makes me think that other Cubans may have been here before us.

Just before we entered the Etnaoplis Mall, we discovered that in the foothills of Mt. Etna lives at least one very unhappy Penn State football fan!

A Quiet, Domestic Day in Aci Castello

Laurie and I have spent a quiet day of domestic bliss at Malibu. We cleaned, we washed, we went to the market (Cityper) and we went to the top of the castle in Aci Castello.

Practice tonight at 8:00 p.m. at the University facility for OL, DL, RB's and LB's. A little rain today should make the carpet softer. 

Laurie by one of Aci Castello's lovely courtyards.

Calcio Graffiti

Let me interpret this piece of Forza Catania graffiti for you.

"CT 1946" is the year the Catania soccer team was founded.

"Roma Merda" means Rome is Crap.

"PA=AIDS" means that Palermo's team is the equal of the AIDS virus.

The rest is Greek to me!

"Top of the World Ma!"

At the top of the castle with Aci Castello behind me.

Laurie enjoying her morning cornetto (plain) and cappuccino.

Laurie enjoyed the view from the castle too!

Sicilian Advertisement of the Day, seen in Aci Castello

This ad was outside a store that sells natural aromatherapy items. I tried to buy Laurie a tube of this intensive cream but instead she bought a bottle of lemon oil extract.

Aci Castello's newest bride was taking wedding pictures at the castle.

Brides are beautiful in any language or country!

Two Day Road Trip

On Tuesday morning I woke up at 4:30 a.m., after going to bed at 1:00 a.m., to drive Jason to the airport. He was flying to Paris to meet his bride Christie. When they return to Catania on Saturday, she will be staying for the duration at Malibu.

Laurie and I decided to take a two day road trip of Sicily in their absence. Our trip is featured in the next seven posts I have added today. Our journey took us first to Caltagirone , the ceramics center for the island. Needless to say we spent some euros on their wares.

From there we were off to Piazza Armerina and it's famous mosaics in the Casale hunting lodge.

We then drove down to see the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento and finished the day by spending the night in Palermo!

There are no pictures posted of Agrigento as we just drove around the ruins and did not go into the park. The Temples are all very close to the road so Laurie was happy with the views. If you want to see the Temples, see previous posts from about 4 weeks ago on both this and Jason's blog.

Today we woke up late but still got a chance to see the Cathedral at Monreale. After St. Peter's Basilica in Roma, this is arguably my second favorite church in the northern hemisphere although Westminster Abbey is pretty good for a Protestant house of worship. More money was pumped into the Sicilian economy by Laurie's purchases of more ceramic pieces!

Then it was off to fulfill a promise to Mike D'Antuono and see his ancestral hometown of Caltanissetta.

A quick stop in Enna for a snack and it was back to Catania in time for our 8:00 p.m. film study with the WR's and DB's.

I need to mention how proud I am of the way all of our players are improving. The competition the last two practices has been much more intense! First game at Milan is now only 25 days away. 

The sunrise at Malibu Tuesday was an omen of a GREAT road trip!

Laurie by the tiled steps in Caltagirone

A close-up of the tiled steps which Laurie now plans to add to our front steps/porch in Camarillo

I just can't get enough of the Sicilian country side!

This was taken just outside of Caltagirone

Charade

If you ever saw the movie "Charade" with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, then you know why we loved this elevator in the Hotel Moderno in Palermo where we crashed late Tuesday night.

Piazza Armerina

Piazza Armerina was featured in a previous post when Matt, Jason and I visited it after church many Sundays ago. This hunting villa was buried for centuries under a mud flow from a flood. The owner had exquisite mosaic tiles in every room of this country villa. During the winter months, which is the off season for tourists, much renovation work is in progress to maintain the quality of the sight. Laurie loved this villa and now has plans to renovate our house in Camarillo.

Two happy campers on a two day road trip.

One of the best mosaics in my opinion.

We were both shocked that they would allow people to walk on this portion of the mosaics.

The country side near Piazza Armerina

The Cathedral at Monreale

The Cathedral at Monreale just outside of Palermo is spectacular to say the least! It has incredible mosaics as these photos attest.

Sicilian People

The good people of Sicilia never cease to amaze me.

You may be able to see a car parked in front of the Peugeot in front of me completely blocking traffic on our one way street. The three policemen in the picture just talked away for about 5 minutes before a fourth one finally moved the offending car. By the way, there was no emergency situation, he just parked it where he could thus blocking everyone!

The Greatest Beard in Monreale

This young fellow is refurbishing the mosaic tiles in the Cathedral at Monreale. He told me that with a little work and time, my beard could look as good as his!

Michael D'Antuono and Caltanissetta

Michael and Susan D'Antuono are very dear friends of ours who live in Pasadena, California. I have known Mike for over 40 years since our days at the University of Washington. I promised him to visit Caltanissetta. This town is the ancestral home of the Rivisto family. Mike's mother is Lucy and her maiden name is indeed Rivisto. So, for you Mike, here are some photos of the old town center of Caltanissetta. 

Caltanissetta, turn right

I have no clue exactly what this building in the town square is but I liked it's color scheme.

The Caltanissetta Duomo

Laurie in the town square proving we were really there.

Hot chicks were all over the place.

The countryside near Caltanissetta

Sicilian Ads of the Day

Today's Installments of Great Sicilian Advertising

The Sicilian Tourism Board urges you to visit the home of

Vito, Sonny and Mike

Apparently the Italian Ku Klux Klan will be in Enna during Holy Week

Come join the fun!

Special Guest Blogger

Today's Special Guest Blogger is Catania's leading Victim's Rights Advocate

Laurie Contreras

Please note the purse and strap in the picture, the last known photograph of the stolen goods!

I feel very honored to have been asked to appear in this guest blog and from the onset want to apologize for not being able to contribute at the level of my host.

I wish I had more time to write this, but it’s a beautiful, beautiful day and we need to be outside!

That being said, to sum up my feelings with a totally inaccurate word – WOW. 

First of all, my husband of almost 37 years, partner for 44 years, ceases to amaze me.  Not only did he casually start a load of laundry, while we were having conversation, but he began hanging out his previous load.  He did it with such expertise I had to sit down.  While gathering myself, he THEN proceeded to cook.  Yes, cook.  At that point I had to go to the bedroom and lay down.  It was just toooooo much for me to take in all at once.  Mind you, he did all of this in a manner, as though he had been doing it for the last 40 years.  Boy, are things going to change when he comes home.

As far as Sicily, everything that George has said when describing it is dead on but I actually think a little understated.  Of course you can’t fully comprehend it unless you are actually here, so come on down! 

Catania IS truly a unique place.  Very UNtouristy.  As GW says, “a working town.”  And George really fits in, as was shown when he took a pastry one morning to the two Marias who run the local dry cleaner.  They, in turn, gave me hangers, so I could unpack.  You would have thought he had lived here his whole life.

As I said, life here is so very different and I now understand the crazy schedules these guys have and reasons why.  With the places that sell food (the market and the restaurants) closing for “siesta” from abut 4-8:00 p.m., there isn’t anywhere to eat.  All of the guys have actually lost weight.  Although we readers of their blogs have seen countless “goodies” and fattening looking foods, they are not being consumed as often as you might think.  There are no three-meals-a-day.  They may have a cappuccino and gooey pastry in the morning, but then nothing until about 3:00 or 4:00, and then sometimes it’s only like an apple, a banana or may be a little slice of cheese.  Dinner will then be only a bowl of pasta or thin crust pizza at about 10:00.  That’s all!!  No lunch and no real munchies!!!  Quite an adjustment for me.  I admit to being hungry more often than I am used to.  Probably a GOOD thing!!!  I have never seen George each so healthy.  There are no cookies or chips in the apartment!  They tell me there will be times, like we had in Rome, when we will have the whole spread with multiple courses, but I haven’t seen that yet.  I am waiting with great anticipation.

As I said, Sicily is a very different kind of Italy.  I am particularly fascinated by their dress.  All the “young” people dress almost exactly alike and in dark clothes, mostly all black (imagine, no color!), with the exception of maybe a plaid or striped scarf.  They ALL wear boots, as George said, and even when it’s warm, they are bundled up because the calendar says it’s winter.  Yesterday we did see a few young ladies in very short skirts and no leggngs, so we assume that spring is close.  The “older” people on Sunday, put on their best, but appear to wear clothes from the 50s, complete with lots of furs.  It’s like a time warp.  The other strange thing, is that there don’t seem to be people who are in the age group between young and old (75+); like George and me.

The weather has been wonderful.  I hope it continues, as George and I are going to take a day (or two) trip tomorrow after we take Jason to the airport.  I have requested that we go to Caltanissetta (on our way to Agrigento), just to prove it’s not as bad as everyone says, and because we promised Michael D’Antuono, whose family came from there.  Jason is flying to Paris to meet his wife and will come back a day or two later.  It turns out that his wife, Christie, has been able to arrange it so she can live here for the remainder of time Jason is here.  I am happy to report that the apartment is much larger than I had expected and I don’t think the four or us will have any problem, with the exception of only one bathroom.

As you can tell, I could go on for a long time, because as usual, I have lots to say.  Maybe I will be allowed to post another entry, later in my stay so I can write about all the things I can’t think of right now.

To close, I will say that I am quite proud of both of us for the way we are handling yesterday’s “incident.”  Remember, the glass is always half full, not half empty.  Also though I am sure it will not soon be forgotten.  Thanks for all the good thoughts.  Miss you all – well, okay, not too much, yet.

Love, Laurie

Film at Eleven...

At Laurie's request, her signature Brighton heart charm remnant

The weather today is simply beautiful but life isn’t. While driving in Catania on a very busy street with lots of people around at about 1:00 p.m., we were mugged in our car!

It was a classic move by the thieves. The two lane road had a bus coming at us that stopped to let off a passenger. A motorcyclist, who I believe now was part of the team, attempted a U-turn in front of me that he could not complete because of the bus thus blocking me from moving forward.

The next team member then opened Laurie’s door and grabbed her small purse that was over her shoulder. We struggled for a few seconds, the strap broke and he was off, disappearing with the third member of the crew into the streets. Leaving Laurie with only the Brighton signature heart charm rolling on the floor of the Nissan Micra.

Fortunately, no one was hurt and the purse only had her ATM card and the 200 euros she had taken out about 45 minutes earlier. Shaken yes but hurt no.

We drove straight to Davide’s office to Skype call the Bank of America and cancel the ATM card since my cell phone could not get through to any B. of A. phone numbers.

Thank God my old lady is a pretty tough old broad with a good outlook on life!!!

Laurie's First Impressions

Laurie has agreed to answer some questions

about her POSITIVE experiences in Italy.

Laurie's First Day in Catania

Laurie enjoying a gelato from the Quaranta at Piazza Bellini.

All of Aci Castello comes out to welcome Laurie to town.

Her first night in the Piazza Duomo in front of the Elefanti fountain.

Another beautiful day on the Ionian Sea coast.

Elefanti Coordinators discussing where to eat after practice.

An Elefanti practice is colorful if nothing else.

More Scenes From Roma

Las Vegas Oddsmakers Stunned

If you take out my black backpack, on the ground left, and my light colored jacket on top of the suitcase, this is all that Laurie brought for her three weeks in Sicilia!

Even in downtown Roma, Cuba's influence is felt!

Ad of the Day in Roma

I was with Laurie when we saw this ad near the Termini Station.

I didn't order any.

Yet.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

Notice the lack of tourists.

A random pilgrim from St. Mary Magdalene Church in Camarillo, California

I wanted so much to ask them about the Da Vinci Code.

Laurie resting her bones at Piazza Navona

We are standing inside the wall of the Vatican City State.

Pagan Roma can be seen outside of the wall.

A Swiss Guard on duty outside St. Peter's Basilica

The Swiss Guards usually work in pairs.

If you read Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" he says that the Swiss Guards are trained as the equivalent of U.S. Army Green Berets. What do you think?

The Pieta

The Swiss Guards are protecting it from potential attacks.

I can't get enough of the Trevi Fountain

The blond taking the picture was cute too.

I have a weakness for fountains.

Piazza Bernini near our hotel.