Acireale Lunch

After our nice Sunday night passeggiata in Acireale, we decided to go back and have a nice, relaxing pasta lunch there Wednesday.

Will all these April showers indeed

bring May flowers?

Ristorante L'Oste Scuro di Vicenzo Fazio

Paul and I discovered this nice little place back in February before Laurie and I got here.  We tried to eat dinner here last Sunday but they were closed.  They specialize in all sorts of seafood pasta.

Here you see Laurie just before her first ever plate of Spaghetti al Nero, my personal favorite that I went against for once by ordering Spaghetti alla Vongole.

Spaghetti al Nero is made from the black ink of the Cuttlefish.  The Cuttlefish is a sea creature that looks halfway between a squid and a tiny octopus.  Marinate pieces of the Cuttlefish in a little olive oil with garlic and add some white wine, then add the black ink at the end and VOILÁ you get a delicious sweet sauce.

There is one minor problem with this fabulous dish...

It is NOT a good choice on your first date!!!

You can obviously see that Laurie made a great choice by wearing a basic black outfit to lunch.

On the other hand, one should never smile for a photo while eating Spaghetti al Nero.

Fortunately our first date happened in July, 1965.  44 years of dating is a long time, so her smile here is OK for me.

Benito, is that you?

Hey look, a rare old Catholic Church!

What set this one apart is that it was the ONLY one on this block.

Acireale even has something for people who are Disneyholics

They even have a Carabinieri Office in Acireale

I love their symbol under this statue's feet.  On a Carabinieri's hat it is huge.  It looks heavy enough to be considered a weapon.

The entrance to a very interesting

private villa.

The Villa Belvedere is a public park

The Villa Belvedere offers a nice view of the Ionian Sea.

That's not a bad shot of a cute lampadina too.

Sicily, a land of myths and legends

Most people are not aware that much of Greek mythology centers around the island of Sicily which during the Golden Age of Greece was a very important Greek outpost.

Much of Homer's "Odyssey", written ca. 800 B.C., relates to life in Sicily.

At this statue and fountain in Villa Belvedere, you see the death of Acis with his love Galatea in shock and disbelief.

Now, according to Ovid's "Metamorphoses" written in ca. 1 A.D., Acis was a 16 year old mortal lad who was a shepherd that tended a flock on the side of Mt. Etna.  Acis had a torrid love affair with the older Galatea who was and probably still is a Nereid sea goddess.  This makes Galatea one of the earliest recorded "Cougars".

Unfortunately for the two of them, Polyphemus, better known in mythology as the Cyclops who ruled the Ionian Sea coast of Sicily, was passionately in love with Galatea as well.  Unforunately for the Cyclops, Galatea hated him.  With this many unfortunates in one paragraph something bad has to happen and sure enough, when Polyphemus discovers this verboten, oops München beer flashback, forbidden love between a mortal and a goddess he does the only thing a self respecting Cyclops can do and kills Acis by hitting him with a rock!

Galatea takes pity on Acis and turns him into a gushing river that runs all the way from Mt. Etna to the Ionian Sea where the two lovers will be forever reunited.

Today Sicily, though having dropped the "s" from Acis' name, still boasts of the River Aci and several towns that honor his memory like Acireale, Aci Trezza, Aci Catena, Aci San Amtonio, Aci Bonaccorsi and our very own Aci Castello where Malibu overlooks the Ionian Sea.

We had very turbulent waves here two night ago.  You don't think that Acis and Galatea were... 

My little Ray of Sunshine!

"HEY, DAMN IT!  Who just threw that rock at me!  You almost hit me!"

The Joys of IFL Travel

"Italy's Never On Time Airline"

This coming Saturday night we play the Doves at their home field in the very liberal city of Bologna at 8:30 p.m.

The Elephants travel via Wind Jet for all of our off island experiences since they are one of our team sponsors.  This arrangement at times rivals another great sports deal from 50 years ago...

"Damn Yankees!"

... the day Joe Hardy sold his soul to the Devil to help the old Washington Senators (now the Minnesota Twins) win the 1956 American League championship!

Point in case, the only flight we can catch out of Catania to get to Bologna in time for the game leaves our fair city at 6:40 a.m. and arrives in Forlí at 8:10 a.m. a full TWELVE HOURS and TWENTY MINUTES before kickoff!

After the one hour bus ride to Bologna we will eat lunch in one of the best eating cities in all of Italy and take in some of the downtown sights all thanks to our partners, Wind Jet!

Sometimes a great deal costs more than you think.

A Rare Tuesday in Palermo

Because this Friday, May 1st is the Labor Day National Holiday in Italy, we will not practice on Friday for our Saturday night game in Bologna against the Doves.  Instead we will work on Wednesday and Thursday nights in Catania thus necessitating that we meet with the West Coast Elephants in Palermo on Tuesday.

Rookie Linebacker Davide Leotta

Davide has drawn a 24 hour shift this Wednesday at work so he asked to come with us to Palermo on Tuesday to get in some work.  We got to find out a lot about him during our day together.

Davide is 30 years old and has been married for almost three years to Alessandra, a lovely Roman girl.  He is a sargeant in the Italian Air Force who works security at the U.S. Naval Air Station in nearby Sigonella.  A Catania native, this is his 12th year in the Air Force, having previously been stationed in Pisa and Rome where he met Alessandra.  As a teen-ager he played water polo at a very high level in Catania for six years.

Although he had never seen an Elephants' game until this season, he had heard about the team and decided to give American football a try.  He got into his first game last Saturday against the IFL's top team at the moment, the 5-1 Bolzano Giants.  On his first play ever, he actually made the tackle!  Of course he had to use the running back's face mask to do it, earning a 15 yard penalty.

Al Davis heard about it and picked Davide in the last round of the NFL draft for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.  Al reportedly said "The one thing you can't coach is cheating! This Davide kid is a natural!"

Davide told us that he is still weighing his options.

Palermo Architecture

It ranges from the very old...

... to the recent old...

... to the Mussolini era style of the Poste e Telegrafi Building...

... to God knows what in the modern era...

Spinnato Pasticcheria

Spinnato's is one of Palermo's oldest and best eating spots, it first opened it's doors in 1860!  The mandorla and ananas gelato REALLY hit the spot after a nice sausage pasta and swordfish steak lunch at Trattoria Basile, one of my favorite eating places in Palermo for a hearty lunch.

Cruise Ship Girls from Austria

These two youngsters from Salzburg are on a one week cruise of the Mediterranian sailing out of Genoa and were enjoying a caffe' and the sun at Spinnato's.

Paul struck up a conversation with them, weaved his magic and eventually got them to pose for this picture.

He also got my elbow.

I wonder if he used his famous "cuisine" setting on his new camera?

1 on 1 Blitz Pick-Up Drill

LB Davide Leotta about to use one of his dirty Raider tricks on unsuspecting OT Andrea Specchiarello.

Two Blurs out of the Chutes

RB/WR and newly recruited DB Roberto Paderni in the white jersey and DB Emanuele "Manolo" Gariffo racing each other during their conditioning at the end of practice.

Another good day in Palermo for food, friendship and football!

Becoming a Peri Longo

A Peri Longo, I was informed by my softball friends, is a person who travels around a lot discovering all that is around him.  They think that we fit the definition, I think they might be right!

On Sunday morning we drove Paul to the small fishing village of Pozzillo for his latest round of exploration and hiking.  According to our Garmin GPS, Pozzillo is only 7 miles from Malibu as the crow flys.  Paul is not a crow.  The drive out to Pozzillo was probably closer to 12 miles away by winding and steep country roads.  He made it back by late afternoon safe and sound.

Our goal for the day was to catch the 12:30 softball doubleheader in Messina between the home team and the squad from Rome.  If you recall, at our Wednesday/Friday practice facility, IV Novembre Softball Field, we have become friends with Valeria and Adele, pitcher and first base respectively and their trainer Alberto who practice there as well.  They too have had a rough start to their season and Valeria is out for a few weeks with a pulled quadricep muscle. 

The Messina Baseball/Basketball Complex was built in 1996.

Messina Manager Nino Sacca', Valeria, the home plate umpire, Adele and Alberto

We got there about 10 minutes late but no problem, the Rome team missed their plane and would be much later than expected.  This worked out really well for us because we got to meet two of the Messina team's coaches and tour the facilities.

With Messina Coaches Roberto Montero and Jesus Echarte

Roberto is from Camagüey, Cuba and Jesus is from Ciego de Avila, Cuba.

What a small world yet again, my father's hometown was Camagüey!  They both spend about half the year in Sicily coaching both baseball and softball teams in Messina before returning to Cuba.  Roberto has been doing this for nine years, I'm not sure how long Jesus has been at it.

While Jesus was quiet and reserved, Roberto is ALL Cuban.  Both are good guys enjoying what they do.

Roberto giving us a tour of the

multi-purpose gym.

Softball, Sun and a litle Havana Club Rum

Roberto and Jesus have a very nice apartment inside the baseball stadium behind the first base line that includes a bottle of Havana Club rum that Roberto shared with us.

All I need is a Radar Gun and a Cuban Cigar

Our seats at ground level behind home plate right next to Roberto and Jesus' apertment.  Roberto had Cuban music playing in the background during the first half of the game that eventually morphed into The Beatles Greatest Hits.

CONTROVERSY!

The Romans finally showed up and the doubleheader finally started about 90 minutes late.  The girls were very apologetic about the delay, as if after two years I still expected things to start on time in Italy.

The start would not be easy as the Roman mamager complained first about the pitching rubber being too close to the plate and then as you see here, he demanded that the coaching boxes be properly marked.

Scoreboard

Click on this picture, I liked that the innings are marked in Roman Numerals.

"Now batting for Messina, Number 19,

Adele Castorina, First Base"

A Very Spacious Park Indeed

325 feet down the lines for baseball, they bring in the orange fencing as a backstop for softball and notice the cones in the outfield.  The cones are the home run lines.  If a batted ball rolls through the cones it is a ground rule double.  If a batted ball first lands past the cones it is a home run.  I sensed more controversy around the corner.

Sure enough, in the bottom of the sixth inning a Messina player blasted a 3 run home run which landed at least ten feet past the cones.  Never let it be said that an Roman will shy away from an argument!  The fireworks only lasted for about 3 minutes but is was fun to watch both managers go off!

MESSINA WINS!  MESSINA WINS!  6-2 was the final score.  It was the team's first win of the season and everyone was happy and excited in a shared way that only a victorious sports team can understand.  We had a GREAT day watching their victory!

Because of the late start, we opted to start our long trek back to Aci Castello and skip game two but we decided to take Alberto's advice and stop in Savoca on the way home.

A Moorish Style Church in Messina

Laurie had never been to Messina so we stopped to take in a few of the downtown highlights.

A Fascist Era Man Hole Cover still working 72 years later.

Messina's Cathedral

Messina's Cathedral's Ornate Ceiling

Savoca's Bar Vitelli

In the movie "The Godfather" this is the exact spot where Michael Corleone asks Apollonia's father for permission to court his daughter.

The Bar Vitelli's owner is a Rotarian!

A glass of the Bar Viteeli's Vino Rosso

In case you are confused, the Bar Vitelli proudly displays the Corleone's Family Tree

Savoca's answer to the shortage of construction materials...

RECYCLING!

The Hills surrounding Savoca

Che... the day's Cuban Connection continues

We stopped in Acireale for dinner and found this movie poster.

Acireale's Basilica Collegiata

San Sebastiano Martire

It was 8:30 in the evening and for some reason this Basilica's doors were open so we had to investigate.

Choir Concert

They were open for a very nice choir concert celebrating traditional Gregorian Chant music.

Kono Pizza

A new taste treat, our trattoria of choice was closed so we tried a nearby Tavola Calda and found this interesting cuisine choice.

"Gloria"

Here is a small taste of the Choir Concert we experienced at the Basilica.

IFL Week #8 Results

WEEK #8 RESULTS:

Bolzano 54 - Catania 9

Milan 20 - Parma 14

Ancona 32 - Bologna Doves 28

Bergamo 35 - Reggio Emilia 24

Lazio 31 - Bologna Warriors 0

IFL STANDINGS AFTER WEEK #8 GAMES:

Bolzano Giants 5-1

Lazio Marines 4-1

Parma Panthers 5-2

Ancona Dolphins 3-2

Bergamo Lions 3-3

Reggio Emilia Hogs 3-3

Milan Rhinos 2-3

Bologna Warriors 1-3

Bologna Doves 1-4

Catania Elephants 0-5

NOTE:  The top four teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the 2009 IFL playoffs in June.

WEEK #9 GAMES:

Saturday, May 2

Catania (0-5) at Bologna Doves (1-4)

Milan (2-3) at Lazio (4-1)

Bologna Warriors (1-3) at Reggio Emilia (3-3)

BYES:  Ancona (3-2), Bergamo (3-3), Bolzano (5-1) and Parma (5-2)

The Bolzano Giants Game

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Bolzano Giants (4-1)

at

Catania Elephants (0-4)

The weather cooperated giving us what at home we would call a "beautiful Fall day", unfortunately it is Spring.

The big news of the day was that the Giants would be without their incredible tailback Reggie Greene who has a severly pulled hamstring and could be out for several games.  Unfortunately for the Elephants, the Giants defense did suit up for the game.

Laurie trying to drum up support for a new Cronies Europe!

Optimism ran high for the Elephants as the 2:30 kickoff time approached.

"Captains Out!"

Elephant Supporters from nearby

U.S. Naval Air Station Sigonella

Laurie Says:  Thanks to my new friends who are only at Signella for a few weeks this depl0yment for their support of the Elefanti, and especially to Erik from Jacksonville, Florida (second from the right) for the burger and Bud Lites!

Game action from afar

THE GAME

FIRST QUARTER:

Catania receives the opening kickoff and completes a pass on the first play of the game, but the receiver is stripped of the ball and the Giants recover deep in Catania territory.

Bolzano ends their short drive with a 1 yard QB sneak to take a 7-0 lead.

The Elephants are forced to punt but the snap sails over our punter's head.  He falls on the ball and the Giants once again have great field position.

The Giants new tailback scores from 2 yards out to give Bolzano a 14-0 advantage.

Catania punts.

Bolzano punts to end the First Quarter still leading 14-0.

SECOND QUARTER:

The Elephants get on the board with a 3 yard pass from Arturo Sanchez to Taber LeMarr.  Andrea Mannino adds the PAT and Catania cuts Bolzano's lead to 14-7.

The Giants respond with a long drive ending in a 2 yard TD pass to extend their lead to 21-7.

The Elephants drive down the field with great efficiency setting up a third and goal at the 4 yard line.  An option pitch is batted to the ground by the Giants' defensive end and returned 90 yards for a Bolzano TD.  Giants now lead 28-7.

Catania turns the ball over on downs.

Bolzano's drive ends when Larry Atkinson makes a spectacular leaping interception near the Catania goal line.

The Bolzano cornerback picks off a Catania hitch pass and returns it 10 yards for a Giants TD.  Bolzano is starting to go to cruise control leading 34-7 after missing the PAT.

The Elephants try to rally through the air again but a screen pass is intercepted by Giants star lineman Edwin Reed who returns it 20 yards for another Giants TD.  The Giants now lead 41-7.

Catania runs out the clock trailing 41-7 at the half.

THIRD QUARTER:

Bolzano is forced to punt.

An Elephant pass is picked off again and returned 30 yards for Bolzano's fourth consecutive defensive TD of the game, Giants lead is now 48-7.

Catania punts.

Bolzano punts.

Catania turns the ball over on downs.

Bolzano's punter drops the snap and is smothered by linebacker Roberto Conti for a safety, Giants are now ahead 48-9.

Catania turns the ball over on our first play via a fumble as the Third Quarter ends with the Giants in command 48-9.

FOURTH QUARTER:

Bolzano makes a time consuming drive that ends with a 15 yard TD pass.  With time running out in the game, now leading by only 45 points and knowing that the Las Vegas line had favored the Giants by 46 1/2 point at kickoff, Bolzano decides to go for the two point conversion to "beat the spread" with a called fake PAT kick.  The Elephants pressure the holder who is trying to pass and the ball falls to the ground.  In Nevada casinos, thousands of bettors who took the overs groan as they see their hard earned wages starting to slip away.  Giants lead 54-9.

Catania punts.

Bolzano runs a couple of plays to end the game.

Final Score

Bolzano (5-1) 54 - Catania (0-5) 9

Despite the long afternoon, our cheerleaders still love us.

SMALL WORLD CONTINUED:  After the game we spoke with the Giants DE Edwin Reed who is a nice guy off the field and, for the last two years in our three games against the Giants, has been a royal pain in the rear end on the field.  He can flat out play!

As it turns out he played his college football in the San Fernando Valley at Cal State Northridge which has since dropped football.  At Lancaster, California's Highland High School he played for one of my favorite guys and a legend in the coaching fraternity, Linn "Bearcat" Parker.

In a situation like this, their is only one thing to do to battle the depression as the losses mount...

MANGIA, MANGIA, MANGIA!

We drove into Aci Castello to eat a pizza forgetting the Prime Directive:

"Ristoranti do not open for dinner until 7:30 p.m. at the earliest!"

We found a Tavola Calda that we like open so we had something to drink, a small hot dish and a little dessert.  I was still depressed so we searched out to find another place for a pizzeria.

 

Y2K???

As we roamed the streets in search of sustenance, we ran into the childrens amusement center set up at this time of year in the piazza near Aci Castello's Norman Castle.  I understand that the owner got a GREAT deal on these decorative banners.

Love on a scooter/motorcycle will NEVER be out of style!

Protect that "Love Nest" at all costs!

What weighs more, this Vespa or the lock and chain protecting it from the Gypsies?

Grassroots Calcio

While we waited 20 minutes for the pizzeria to open we waited in the piazza across the way to witness calcio at its finest.  About four games were going on at the same time with eight different imaginary "goals" being established at strategic parts of the piazza.

One lady, in her 50's I would guess, decided to take the shorter diagonal route across the piazza rather than going around all the hubbub.  Predictably she got hit in the head by one of the ball for her efforts.  She was angry but for goodness sake what was she thinking?

The Pizzeria La Piazzetta finally opened its doors at 7:30 p.m. after tempting us with some incredible aromas for nearly a half hour.  We were greeted by our waitress, the delightful Irma, and proceeded to devour an Aci pizza which is designed with a carnivore in mind!  Add a little vino rosso and some friendly conversation with Laurie, Paul and Denver to the mix and life seems a little brighter.

"Smile Not To Cry"

Caffe' Europa

On Friday morning we took advantage of one of Europe's best features, eating at a sidewalk caffe'.

The Caffe' Europa

Because of the continued unseasonable rainy weather the Caffe' Europa still had a covering over their sidewalk area but the "Tavola Calda" food they served us was still delicious.

My favorite thing here is their hot chocolate which has the consistency of liquid pudding and the taste of the richest dark chocolate you've ever had.

I forgot to take a picture of it, probably Freudian slip to force me to go back for another cup soon.

Laurie seemed to like The Caffe' Europa...

... or maybe it was the wine.

Castelmola and the Turrisi Bar

We had a break in the weather this morning so Paul went to the gym for one of his four hour workouts.  He IS incredibly fit and active for being 69 years old.  We decided to drive north up the Cyclops Riviera to the town of Castelmola that overlooks the resort town of Taormina.

Guys having lunch

It was April 23rd, the Feast of St. George, a.k.a. San Giorgio as he is known in these parts, is the Patron Saint of Castelmola!  Let the games begin!

These workers actually invited us to join them for lunch but we said no as we were trying to find the theme related Turrisi Bar that friends had recommended.  It was difficult to say no because their food gave off a GREAT aroma of barbequed meat.

San Giorgio himself, Star-of-the-Day

The Green Hills Below Castlemola

Laurie in the entryway of the Turrisi Bar

See if you can guess what their theme is.

My Chair

The Drink Menu

Two Hungry Patrons

At last the place mats and package of silverware arrive with some red wine!

Have you figured the theme out yet?

Ann and Donald Lawrie

This funny and fun couple hail from Glasgow, Scotland and joined us for lunch with an eclectic group of international fellow avid hikers who were trekking their way through Sicily on holiday.

One of their three sons, they also have a daughter, is getting married in a few weeks so we had a lot to talk about.  They even invited us to stay at their house if we visit that far north in July.

Laurie and I shared a good pizza and a great antipasto plate for lunch before deciding to check out some more of this quaint mountaintop village.

Laurie almost forgot her purse that she had left on the purse rack

Of course, we availed ourselves of their restroom facilities before we left.

High atop the Turrisi Bar with the Castelmola Duomo in the background

Yes, you guessed it correctly if you said that the Turrisi Bar's theme is "Beautiful Panoramic Sicily"!

The glass fronts and outdoor eating spots on their four story building affords you incredible views of the Cyclops Riviera!

For more info on the Turrisi Bar go to www.turrisibar.it

The Castelmola Duomo Piazza as seen from the Turrisi Bar

The Duomo was built in 1934, maybe the only church erected in the last 300 years in all of Europe.

Taormina

Note their famous Greek Amphitheater at the top of this picture.

Denver and Tony discussing offensive strategies

Paul hard at work with our defensive linemen and linebackers.

We had a good individual technique practice tonight for both the offense and the defense in preparation for Saturday's game at home against the 4-1 Bolzano Giants.

Denver chowing down a Mustafa's Kebob after practice.

Mustafa's needs a theme.

Catania's Bellini Opera House

Mustafa's is located just around the corner from the Opera House.  We are standing in front of the Quaranta Gelateria as I take this picture.  I may have had a coconut and DEEP RICH DARK chocolate cone of gelato for 1.80 Euros, but I'm not sure.

 

Rain, Rain Go Away...

AD-OF-THE-DAY ALERT:

By 6:00 p.m. tonight, ALL 20+ of yesterday's New River Club Ad-of-the-Day posters on Via Africale were missing.  I am not sure if A. Catania's city fathers were so outraged that they had them taken down for public morals issues or B. if they are hanging in the bedrooms of many of the young men of Catania.

My guess is B, but maybe the Anti-Fascists took them down.

Wednesday started off as a nice, sunny day so Laurie and I decided to do the "EEMPOSSIBLE" and go for a walk into nearby Aci Castello.

Via dei Malovoglia

strada privata

Our street is a private street as it turns out, as a result we may have the biggest street sign in all of Sicily!  I'm going to have to do some trimming to make sure people can read it.

Rich Colors, Old Home

A World War I Memorial

We found this on the wall of Aci Castello's old church, Chiesa San Giuseppe.  We were on our way to the old Norman castle that gives Aci Castello it's name.

Why you ask?  Because I had decided to take a BIG step forward in my relationship with Laurie that would pretty much make her my steady date for many months to come...

The Chain of Love

Tradition has it that when a young couple like us wants to make a permanent commitment to each other, they place a lock here with, in our case, our intials (GWC + LEG) in blue on it.

Her response?

I gave her the keys to the lock and here she is throwing them into the Ionian Sea so as to never open the lock again... good stuff, eh?

The keys are down there somewhere

Right after all this fun and games foolishness, the weather started to get foul once again.  It rained hard all afternoon and we had to reschedule tonight's practice to Thursday night meaning no trip to Palermo this week.

We did have a very productive meeting to try to iron out some of the wrinkles in our game plan for the very tough Bolzano Giants (4-1) this Saturday.

The Murgo Winery

Tuesday was another rainy day in Catania so the we decided to go with Paul for a short drive into the Mt. Etna foothills for some indoor recreation.

But first...

Monday night after practice Larry and Arturo came over to Malibu to take a warm shower as their water heater has died and the new one will be here any Italian day now.

The Ivy Covered Chiesa San Vito

You run into small buildings like this all over the many little villages that dot Mt. Etna's base.  They never cease to interest me.

The Murgo Winery

I first discovered this delightful winery in the town of Santa Venerina last June with Mark and Susie Johnson.

WHAT A LUNCH!

For a very reasonable price we were served a complete lunch consisting of the antipasto plates you see here, two large plates of pasta, a platter of meats that we could not finish, some of Murgo's fine prosecco, two bottles of Murgo Etna Rosso wine, caffe´ and a great combination dessert and fresh fruit plate.  WOW!

The future of the Murgo Winery

Cool guys hard at work processing new bottles of

Murgo Prosecco

On our way down the mountain to the sea, we were suddenly caught up in Santa Venerina's World Famous...

 

... Running of the Goats!!!

It was touch and go there for awhile!

Their horns looked razor sharp and they seemed to be in a foul mood indeed!!!

Fortunately for all of us their friendly goat herder had the situation under control.

NO HUMAN LIVES WERE LOST!

Paul's Campsite at Santa Maria La Scala

When the weather is a little better, Paul is going to use this campground overlooking the Ionian Sea coast as his base station for his hike up the eastern slope of Mt. Etna.  Again, this is a just a warm-up exercise for his real goal, Spain's Camino de Santiago later this summer.

Heather Linderman Ad of the Day

Is this subtle or what!?

This ad was found next to Catania's American Express office.

There were several of them in a two block, dare I say, strip of Via Africale.  It is good to see that they share billboard space with an anti-Fascist group announcing a planned demonstration the day after Tia Carrera performs at the New River Club.

IFL Week #7 Results

ITALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

WEEK #7 RESULTS:

Reggio Emilia 49 - Catania 14

Milan 21 - Bologna Warriors 14

Lazio 55 - Ancona 26

BYES:  Bergamo, Bologna Doves, Bolzano and Parma

IFL STANDINGS AFTER WEEK #7 GAMES:

Parma Panthers 5-1

Bolzano Giants 4-1

Lazio Marines 3-1

Reggio Emilia Hogs 3-2

Ancona Dolphins 2-2

Bergamo Lions 2-3

Bologna Warriors 1-2

Bologna Doves 1-3

Milan Rhinos 1-3

Catania Elephants 0-4

Note:  The top four teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the 2009 IFL playoffs in June.

WEEK #8 GAMES:

Saturday, April 25

Bolzano (4-1) at Catania (0-4)

Milan (1-3) at Parma (5-1)

Bergamo (2-3) at Reggio Emilia (3-2)

Ancona (2-2) at Bologna Doves (1-3)

Sunday, April 26

Bologna Warriors (1-2) at Lazio (3-1)

Reggio Emilia Hogs Game

Week #7 of the 2009 IFL season saw the 0-3 Elephants playing at home against the 2-2 Hogs.

The Hogs were the undefeated champions of the NFLI circuit last year running the Delaware Wing-T.  This offense has always given Catania problems and today would prove no different.

New Catania QB Arturo Sanchez at work

Before the game we met the two visiting American referees, Dan Romeo from the Mountain West Conference and Carl Paganelli from the Mid-American Conference. In the small world that is the IFL, Dan hails from San Francisco like our own Denver Wade and had actually worked Lowell H.S. (Denver's alma mater) games in years past.

Also before the game one of the Reggio Emilia American players, Manny Diaz, took the time to introduce himself to me and thank me for helping him find a job playing in Europe this season.  I had the opportunity to talk to several American players last fall who were looking to come over and wanted my advise.  I'm glad it worked out for Manny.

FIRST QUARTER:

The Hogs broke a 45 yard run for their first TD of the game, Hogs lead 7-0.

Catania turned the ball over on downs.

Another 20 yard TD run extends the Hogs margin to 14-0.

The Elephants are forced to punt.

Reggio Emilia scores again, this time on a 15 yard run, advantage Hogs 21-0.

An Elephants pass is tipped in the air by a Hogs defensive end who then intercepts it and rumbles his way 60 yards for another Hogs TD, 28-0 Hogs as the first quarter ends.

SECOND QUARTER:

Catania is forced to punt again.

Hogs score again, this time on a 20 yard run, Reggio Emilia in control 35-0.

Arturo Sanchez finds Taber LeMarr in the corner of the end zone from a yard out for a TD and Andrea Mannino adds the PAT, Hogs 35-7.

Hogs go right back to work and answer the Catania TD with a 15 yard run to make it 42-7 Hogs.

The Elephants run out the end of the first half trailing 42-7.

THIRD QUARTER:

We are informed by the officials that IFL rules state that if a team is trailing by 35+ points at the half, the second half MUST be played with a running clock even if we get the score back under 35 points.

The Elephants have to punt for a third time.

The Elephants' defense responds and forces the Hogs to turn the ball over on downs for the first time in the game.

FOURTH QUARTER:

Sanchez hits Claudio Mangano on a 51 yard TD strike, Mannino kicks the PAT, Hogs still lead 42-14.

Reggio Emilia gets yet another rushing TD from 8 yards out to go up 49-14.

Catania is driving again but gets intercepted inside the 10 yard line.

The Hogs take a knee once and the game is over with the Hogs winning by a final score of 49-14.

This was a VERY disappointing day to be an Elephant.  Our defense which played so well the first three games was completly dominated by the Hogs.  On the plus side, our offense did show some signs of life in our final four drives of the day. 

The Small World Continues

On the left is Dwaine Hatch and his lovely bride Karen.  Dwaine as been coaching Wing-T football at Reggio Emilia for several years now and used to be the head coach at Bellvue H.S. just across Lake Washington from Seattle.

I first met Dwaine when he came down to scout his KingCo league rival Interlake H.S. who was playing our Westlake H.S. team in 1983 in southern California.  We were big on the Wing-T back then as well.  We corresponded about the Wing-T on several occasions and I visited him one time at his home in Washington when we were on a family vacation.  I had lost track of him and was pleasantly surprised to see him again today.

We are now 0-4 on the season and have a very tough home game next Saturday against the 4-1 Bolzano Giants.  We need a great week of improvement.

Heather Linderman Ad of the Day

Ever wonder why so many young Italain men are so very interested in riding a scooter?

Now you know the rest of the story...

Happy Birthday!

Another good weather day in Aci Castello allowed Laurie to continue her labor of love on her "Hanging Gardens of Malibu".

Laurie had this to start with, typical potted plants that I completely neglected last year. 

The end of her first go around in the Garden.

Her roses will be in full bloom soon. 

The things you can find in the 99 Euro cent store to spruce up a Garden.

This jasmine already gives the Garden a very sweet aroma.

 

She may need a manicure after her attempt to become Mother Earth.

The Boot

The yellow boot you see on this car is being used just before a car is towed away.  We are seeing more and more of these all over town.  Our master parking plan for Catania is taking root.

My hat's off to SOStare for the GREAT job they are doing fighting crime in Sicily!

Claudio Mangano cut a dashing figure at practice Friday night.

Post Practice Birthday Party

We ambled our way up the foothills of Mt. Etna to the town of Viagrande to this former winery to celebrate the birthdays of Peppe and Valeria.  Above is a HUGE grape press, a remnant of the building former days.

The West Coast Elephants Plus One

Andrea, Alessio, Gianmarco, Francesca and Roberto

Laurie fighting the urge to guzzle wine straight from the cask.

The wine MUST be protected at all costs!

The Malibu crew with Peppe and Valeria

Gustavo is wild-eyed at the return of Elena from her studies in London!

Girl Talk

Tiziana Persano, Ika Gulisano and Laurie talked and laughed for a long time at the party. Tiziana's husband, Salvo, is one of our Wide Receivers while Ika's husband is Tony "The Pony" plays Falcon.

The Birthday Couple

They were unusually happy tonight and had a GREAT time from all I could see!

If it's Thursday, This MUST be Palermo

Our weekly Thursday morning trip to Palermo to meet with the West Coast Elephants turned out to be a very busy day.

Mt. Etna looming over a vineyard as we leave Catania.

The Monreale Cathedral

Our first stop was the city of Monreale located about 10 kilometers outside of Palermo. I consider their Cathedral to be the most beautiful one in Sicily by far!

The Cathedral was built in 1172 by William II and is a combination of Arab and Norman architectural styles.  The front that you see here is done in the Norman style. 

While the back of the Casthedral is of

Arab influence.

This HUGE statue greets you as you are about to pay the 1.50 Euro entry fee.

Not to be outdone, an equally HUGE statue of Mary is located at the other end of the exterior entry hall.

Gold Mosaics

It is the interior of the Cathderal that has made it famous.  The marble and mosaics are great but it is the gold mosaics that set the Monreale Cathedral apart.

An apparition?

Christ Pantocrator

This mosaic in the middle apse dominates the Cathedral.  How did they do this 800 years ago?

Exquisite Marble

Easter Vestments still on display.

Wall reliefs on a side chapel.

One of many Norman Castle symbols on the marble floor.

A new art lover hard at work recording the awe with his Dad's help.

One of many Confessionals

Marble Holy Water Fount

The Ceiling is incredible as well.

Cross and Portal

After spending a good hour touring the Cathedral and taking some time for an adult beverage on one of the Cathedral Piazza's many small outdoor eateries, we decided to head to north edge of Palermo to the beach at Mondello.

All last year I was told that Mondello was one of the very best beaches in all of Sicily.

They may be right!

Over 100 years old, the beautiful Kursaal Bathhouse is the centerpiece of

Mondello's beachfront.

The lower part of the Jursaal Bathhouse is the home of the very upscale

Charleston Restaurant.

Beach Boy

Mondello's Water... WOW!

Mondello was once a small village of

tuna fisherman.

All in all, I can't wait to get back to Mondello when it heats up to really take advantage of the scene at this great Sicilian beach. 

Now it was time to meet with the West Coast Elephants.  We use this workout to get them up to speed on any adjustments or additions we are making to the playbook for our upcoming game on Sunday against the Reggio Emilia Hogs.  We went over the plan, answered questions, ran through some drills and ran some conditioning.

Calcio/Soccer players' interest was peeked watching us work out.

DB Manolo Gariffo tries to catch his breath during conditioning while players from the team scheduled to take over our field next look on in wonder.

"GO LONG!"

The calcio kids were fascinated to find out that their hands actually have value as sports tools, something that seemed "eeempossible" just moments before.

Newborn WR Domenico (One name only, PLEASE!) wanted to go one-on-one vs. Manolo who was up for the extra work.  I gave him my intricate hand signal that he recognized as meanning beat him deep!

Domenico is a NATURAL!

Domenico made a GREAT sight adjustment as Manolo used a last second bail technique to take away the streak route.  He instantly converted his route into a 5 yard hitch, I saw it too and we clicked for an easy FIRST DOWN!  We were like Montana and Rice!

Hey, if we can get Domenico's Mom to say yes, maybe I could be the Elephants' new QB and he could be my go to receiver.

 

Domenico holding his first ever Game Ball

Although he was a run-away choice for MVP of the game, we actually found three other excellent receivers who all bring skills to the field.

Though "toasted" tonight by my stable of young receivers, Manolo shows the mental resiliency that all good DB's must have after a bad night against a high flying offense like the one he saw tonight.

Meanwhile, we raced back to Catania to catch the tail end of our emergency practice for Wide Receivers and Defensive Backs only so they could work out with...

Our NEW Quarterback who arrived in Catania at 11:00 a.m.

Davide, our new QB Arturo Sanchez, me, Paul and the Olive Oil King Gregorio

Arturo was the starting QB for the Palermo Sharks last season and was second in the league in passing yards behind our own Jason Johnson.

He threw NINE TD passes against us in our two games last season.

Heather Linderman Ad of the Day

They don't look Sicilian to me!

World War II in Sicily and Italy

Our son Andy gave me a book to read when I last saw him in Mexico at his wedding.  He thought it was a natural read for me and he was absolutely correct.  This very interesting book is titled "THE DAY OF BATTLE - The War in Sicily and Italy 1943-1944" by Rick Atkinson.

This book does a fantastic job depicting the bravery, determination and, unfortunately, the various blunders on both sides of the battlefield that cost many unnecessary "friendly fire" deaths.

I was intrigued in the fact that he even made a distinction between Sicily and Italy in the title which I believe most Sicilians would find perfectly O.K.

This is a MUST read book for anyone remotely interested World War II history, a fascinating and very thorough work.  It was, I must admit, a little creepy flying into Germany last week after finishing this book on the flight into Munich.

Road Sign

We saw this sign out near the airport and had to investigate.

It led us to Catania's British World War II Cemetery

1,219 fallen soldiers from various parts of His Majesty's Royal Empire are buried here.

The nearest American World War II Cemetery is located at Nettuno near, appropriately, Anzio.  Anzio was the scene of much misery for the Allied Forces during the Italian campaign.

When I first started teaching in 1970 at Thousand Oaks High School one of our older teachers was a man named Easy Hellerstein who prided himself at having served at Anzio during World War II.  I really had no idea what "being at Anzio" meant at the time but after reading this book I wish I could go back and speak with Easy about his ordeal.

A Very Serene Location

Laurie's maiden name was Gardner

A member of Brian's family?

We have good friends named Murphy too.

The Cemetery's Huge Center Piece

After reading this book, walking this cemetery certainly made me reflect on the sacrifices that so many people made to allow me the opportunity to live in Sicily 65 years later.

Shopping Day

Wednesday was shopping day for us.  Our first stop was the old Catania Pescheria.

As always, some of the guys were just hanging out.

The Pescheria was not very busy for once.

Old School scales to weigh your purchase.

The always have produce on sale as well as the fish.

Are these onions pre-roasted?

The meat and cheese part of the Pescheria is always colorful.

Anatomy 101

Anatomy 102

Anatomy Doctorate Level Course

After some serious shopping, a stop at the Etoile d'Or is a MUST!

At the IPerSimply, a vintage Fiat 500

The Fiat 500's answer to "The Club"

Flowers

In the afternoon, Claudio took us shopping at his favorite nursery to help Laurie plan her new roof top garden at Malibu.

Mother-in-Law's Pillow

Loved the name but decided not to buy it.

Planning the Sicilian answer to the

Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Sigonella NAS Football Clinic

Tuesday was the First Ever Catania Elephants - Sigonella Naval Air Station Football Camp.

Elephant's coach Paul Pertrich Jr. and players Larry Atkinson, Gustavo Bonanno, Christian DiMauro and Taber LeMarr joined me in a two part session with the U.S. Naval Air Station's children who are interested in learning more about American football.

From 3:00 to 4:00 we worked with the 10-14 year olds and from 4:15 to 6:15 we instructed the high school aged athletes.  We had a GREAT time and they learned a little bit of football to boot!

Larry leading the Youth group in warm-ups

In the last half of the Youth camp, a touch football game mysteriously broke out.

The best moment of the day for me is when a youngster for one team caught the ball carrier from behind and his two hand touch knocked the ball carrier down to the grass.  The defender's older brother who played for the offensive team had a, shall we say "sassy", remark for his brother.

The next thing I hear the defender say is

"I'm going to tell Mom!"

A classic moment in youth sports.

Youth Campers Team Picture

They all said they were going to come to our home game next Sunday against the Reggio Emilia Hogs.

At the high school level the turnout was not quite as good due to a soccer game scheduled at the same time.  Most of the athletes at the Base's high school play three or four sports as it is so time is an issue for them in a clinic like this one.

All in all, it was a BEAUTIFUL day to practice American football!

Here is my kind of Ad of the Day!

Posters like this one are all over the Base thanks to the GREAT people at Sigonella.  Special thanks to Bill, Bob, Zina, Micki and Tara for all they do for the Elephants and our fighting men on duty and their families!

An Easy Walk in Catania

Pasquetta Monday was a pleasant easy going day for us.  Paul went on yet another of his hard core  Camino de Santiago training sessions, about six hours this time.

We decided to DRIVE to Catania and walk around a quiet and somewhat deserted town on this Italian National Holiday to see things we normally don't.

Talk about "Old School"

The Eagle Has Landed

St. Jacob guarding the Duomo

Commie Bastardos!

After walking a grueling 800 meters it was time for a break!

The bar at the Agora Hotel was the perfect spot.

The Greco-Roman Odeon, ca. 415 B.C.

Laurie by the Odeon's outer wall.

Are all of these construction materials

up to code?

Moss on church steps

 

How dirty was this dish towel BEFORE they washed it?

Statues at the entrance to the

Villa Bellini Gardens

The Villa Bellini Gardens

They were closed all last season for restoration, the Gardens turned out to be a great place for a stroll with a cute girl on your arm.

Say again?

I now know where to go to complain if I have a bad experience in a Thai restaurant.

Queen Anne's Lace

The Fountain by the Train Station

Sant' Agata Statue erected in 1744

Men playing cards

Big Surf at the Baia Verde Hotel

Cool Lava Rock Formation

It is so nice to be able to drive into Catania, find a parking spot and walk around without any crowds.  It was very relaxing walking around town at a leisurely pace today.

Heather Linderman Ad of the Day Contest

Two options for you today, enjoy!

A new hotel opened near the Cafe' de Paris with it's own Daily SPA.

I may have to go in and check out their cutting edge hydratherapy programs.

My lifestyle in a nutshell!

Easter Sunday in Aci Castello

Easter Sunday in Aci Castello was greeted by the worst rain storm I've experienced in my two seasons in Sicily.  Thunder, lightening, downpour, heavy rain, steady rain and just plain rain.

It turned out to be perfect weather for Paul to take one of his four hour walks and test the water-proofness of his new camera.  We opted to stay dry.

This brings us to an interesting Elephant team bonding decision that we came to after practice on Saturday at the Etoil d'Or.  The Elephants want to sponsor Paul on a trip to Spain to walk the famous Camino de Santiago.  It is considered to be Europe's best pilgrimage route and runs from east to west through northern Spain from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela.  This walk covers 780 kilometers which equals 485 miles.  Traditionally, a pilgrim did this walk barefoot but that is a very rare occurence now.  On foot, the average pilgrim makes it in about 32 days.  The Elephants believe that with encouragement and continued training Paul can do it in 21 days or less!  What do you think?

Wild Flowers for Easter

Wisteria blooming everywhere

Both of these sunny flower shots were taken on Saturday when the sun was shining.

Easter Egg Tree

I did venture out onto Via dei Malavoglia, our street, looking for some wild flowers for Laurie's Easter Egg Tree.  Yellow flowers were at a premium, rain was not, it was the best I could do.

Our Easter Feast is now ready for consumption.

Dessert Table

What's in the bright colored tin foil that Paul bought?

Why it's a chocolate Easter Egg the size of a football!

It is hollow, delicious and has a prize inside.  They sell these by the thousands at Easter time in Italy and give them insead of baskets.

Paul's Surprise

A World Wrestling Entertainment figure of Rob van Dam.  It wouldn't be Easter without one of these!

Pound Cake, Strawberries and Paul's Chocolate Egg 

The dessert topped off the GREAT dinner that Laurie prepared for us.  We enjoyed the day but really missed our family and friends back home on this special day.

Today is a National Holiday in Italy, another day to be with family and friends.

BUONA PASQUETTA!!!

The Strange Case of the New American Quarterback

As you may recall, we lost our QB, Luke Tracy, for the season with a separated shoulder and had to play our last game against the Bologna Warriors with our WR Taber LeMarr playing as our emergency QB.

Easter week was our first BYE week which gave us some time to come up with a good replacement and have time to give him a crash course in our offense before our game against the Reggio Emilia Hogs next Sunday.

The problem was that Laurie and I were in Germany and Austria while Davide was searching for a QB.  We communicated and agreed on a highly recommended QB out of a Division III school.  In 2006 he had passed for over 2,900 yards in leading his team to an 8-2 record and a share of their conference title.  During the 2006 season he had thrown five TD passes in a game twice and threw for 477 yards and four TDs in another game!  His exploits had earned him both first team all-conference honors as well as his team's MVP award.  Have we ever lucked out in a tough situation!

He arrived in Catania on Friday with his father at about 4:00 p.m. and met with Davide until 6:00 p.m. going over the playbook.  Gustavo, our team liason, checked on them at 8:00 p.m. to see if they needed anything and they said they were OK but tired after a 30 hour trip that was complicated by a missed connection in Chicago.

At 10:00 p.m., Gustavo picked us up at the airport as we returned from Munich.  I wanted to go meet the new QB but after Gus told us about their travel problems we decided to wait until the morning to connect.

Laurie and I hit the market at 9:00 a.m. when they opened to buy supplies for a good Easter dinner for us, Paul and our new QB and his father.

We had a staff meeting scheduled for noon and a practice at 3:00 p.m.  I called the QB's apartment at about 10:30 a.m. to tell him we would pick him up 11:30 a.m. to drive to the meeting.  No answer.  I called twice more, still no answer.

We drove over to the apartment and rang their loud doorbell, no answer.  We thought that maybe they were walking around Aci Trezza checking out the QB's new home town for the next few months.  No luck.

We waited for two hours outside of his apartment, thank goodness for Mythos Coffee Bar!  Nobody showed.

Finally at 1:30 p.m., Davide showed up with the spare key to the apartment to find only a hand written note on the table that said:

"Had family emergency & had to get back home to states. Trully sorry for any trouble. Thank you"

Time for an old Sicilian saying:

"If you were not smiling you would be crying."

After just spending three hours at the Dachau Concentration Camp Friday, I knew that in the grand scheme of things life could actually be a whole lot worse than this.  Time to be a Positologist!

We had a good defensive practice and probably shared the first team bonding moment we've had this season as every tried to rally.

Personally, I think the ONLY answer to the situation is a Toga Party at Club Zo with Renato as DJ, I'll bring the Augustiner beer!

After practice at the Etoile d'Or

As Giulio always says, and I FULLY agree, food IS the answer!

With Falcon Renato and Free Safety Christian

A little chocolate and mandorla granite plus a brioche made me feel MUCH better after an aranchino ball and a cafe.

An old American saying:

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

THE PLOT THICKENS!!!!

Last Day in Austria and Germany

As I write this last blog post about our week in Germany and Austria it is Easter Sunday.

BUONA PASCUA!  AUGURI a TUTTI!

Good Friday was our last day on this vacation and it tirned out to be a full one. 

Götzen View Yet Again Out of the Johnson's Bathroom Window

Thank goodness I need to go to the bathroom every morning!  This view is like the one off of Malibu's front balconey, I would NEVER tire of it either!

In Götzen, a Memorial to World War II Dead

Götzen's Main Church

As we bid "Guten Tag" to Austria, we started a 90 minute drive back to München to visit two more sights of interset before taking an evening flight back to Catania.

This tranquil spot leads you into our first stop back in Germany...

... The Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial

Located only a 15 minute drive today from downtown München.

Years of Operation

"NEVER AGAIN"

It was the first of the many horrific Nazi concentration camps.  No matter how much you watch the History Channel or maybe because you do watch the History Channel, this place is still very unsettling 64 years after it was liberated by American forces of the 20th Armored Division and the 42nd Rainbow Division.  At one point I really had to stop and take a deep breath as a wave of emotion really made me wonder about my fellow man.  My life has been so simple and easy. 

This sculpture tries to capture the agony that people experienced here.

During it's gruesome 12 years of existence, 200,000 people were sent to Dachau and an estimated 43,000 died here.

Dachau also served as the training camp for all the people who ran the entire concentration camp system throughout Nazi held territories.

SS Camp Commandant's Headquarters.

200,000 souls passed through this foreboding gate.

In the nearby Jourhaus, they would be registered, classified as to type of prisoner, all of their personal possesions would be taken away and they would be assigned a barrack.

"Work Will Set You Free"

On the gate as you enter Dachau with the Jourhaus in the background.  Dachau was a slave labor camp.

Laurie entering the Roll Call Grounds

Twice a day every prisoner had to assemble here and stand at attention for Roll Call until every prisoner, dead or alive, was accounted for.

Stones on a Grave

A Jewish Ritual of Rememberance

I saw these next to a monument to the "Ashes of the Unknown Concentration Camp Prisoner".  This is where the wave of emotion hit me when I saw these rocks.

A memorial to those who suffered and died at Dachau

Prisoners would wear a piece of cloth on their uniforms to identify what type of prisoner they were.

A Yellow Star of David identified the Jewish prisoners.

Triangles were used to identify other "undesirable" prisoners:

Red for political prisoners

Green for habitual prisoners

Blue for emigrants

Pink for homosexuals

Purple for religious dissidents

Black for "Asocial" prisoners such as the mentally ill, alcoholics, intellectuals, aristocrats, beggars, draft resisters, etc. and finally

Brown for Gypsies.

A better view of the Memorial to the Suffering

Original foundations where the Barracks once stood

Most people do not know that Dachau was in use longer after the end of World War II than the 12 years the Nazis ran it.  First, after the fences were taken down, it housed Dachau survivors who had no where to go after being liberated.  Later it became a prison once again but this time for convicted camp officials in the Dachau Trials.  Later on it would house refugees from Eastern Europe.  Until the 1960's, the camp was was like a small town with its own shops and entertainment.

Innocence

This young German lad would not leave this re-created barrack.  He seemed so innocent of the horrors that went on on these grounds.  Today, EVERY student in the German school system is required to go on a class field trip to a concetration camp near where their school is located.  We saw several junior high school aged students with their teachers on our tour.

"NEVER AGAIN"

Laurie, a Guard Tower, the Barracks Grounds and an Orthodox Church

The Sight of the Notorious Barrack #3

Barrack 3 is where Nazi doctors conducted some of the most hideous experiments of the war.

View from the Jewish Memorial to a Guard Tower

The view inside the Jewish Memorial

The Killing Field

Stepping onto the grass was taken as a sign of an attepted escape over the wall or fence and meant instantly being shot to death by the SS Guards.

The Crematorium Marker

The Crematorium Building, the nortorious Barrack X

The Ovens

There were many more of these and they could burn two or three bodies at a time.

The Blood Ditch

Thousands were simply shot here, their blood collecting in the ditch and then their bodies were taken to the Crematorium only a 100 meters away.

Nazi pre-World War II propaganda to justify their beliefs.

The German Democratic Party

A left wing party, they opposed the Nazis in this 1928 election poster.  They lost.

All in all a very sobering and interesting visit especially if you are interested in history.

From Dachau we figured we had time for one last stop in München before we had to get to the airport.

The Augustiner Beer Garden

It was a beautiful, warm spring afternoon so we decided to lighten up our mood with a trip to this outdoor beer garden that is away from the main tourist beat.

It serves what most Münchners believe is the best beer in the best beer garden in town.  The Augustiner Brewery was founded in 1328 by Augutine monks and is the oldest of München's many local beers.

Marien was our server, only two of these were ours.

Spring time in Germany in a Beer Garden

We could have spent all six days here and been happy.

Augustiner Beer is VERY good indeed!

Spring time in Germany also means new flowers blooming.

The 1972 Munich Olpmpic Park

If you were alive in 1972 then you know all about the massacre at these games...

"NEVER AGAIN"

We had a GREAT time in both Germany and Austria.  The people were friendly and courteous.  The architecture and the incredible natural scenes will not be forgotten any time soon.  The food was good but how many more days could I have survived on bratwurst, potatoes and beer?  No more than a few years under the best of circumstances I'm sure.

The southern end of Germany, i.e., Bavaria and neighboring Austria are MUST SEES when you visit Europe.  You will love the cleanliness, organization, people and romantic history all about you.

My Top Ten Off-Beat reasons to visit Austria and Germany would include:

1.  Public toilets with both seats AND toilet paper.  The ones at the Munich airport automatically flip up when you stand up in some sort of funny tribute to Andy Griffith's character in the movie "No Time for Sargeants"!

2.  No double parking.

3.  No parking on the sidewalks

4.  No laundry visible on anybody's clothes lines.

5.  Courteous drivers

6.  An actual Garmin alert about snarled traffic ahead.  She doesn't even bother in Catania, the traffic is always snarled . . . you know it, she knows it, EVERYBODY knows it!

7.  A shocking lack of grafitti

8.  Super efficient post offices

9.  The lack of tourists at this time of the year

10.  People who are actually happy to serve, thus making money for their business and who are not afraid to break a 50 Euro note because, again, if they do, they will MAKE MONEY!

Laurie Says:  Words cannot . . . It was truly a wonderful week of spectacular scenery, sites, sounds, foods and friends.  Thank you again, Jason and Christie for being our tour guides.  

We do miss all of you very much on this rainy Easter Sunday (and every day) halfway across the world, and appreciate your communications.   We are now settling in again at Malibu and not traveling again until mid-May.  We hope you enjoyed our 'vacation'. We enjoyed putting the blog together and reliving the last week.

Heather Linderman Ad of the Day Contest

Two entries today from our recent trip to central Europe.

I enter this ad from Innsbruck, Austria for your perusal.

While Laurie nominates this one from the München Airport

IFL Week #6 Results

WEEK #6 RESULTS:

Reggio Emilia 31 - Lazio 27

Bergamo 42 - Bologna Doves 14

Parma 38 - Bolzano 36

BYES: Ancona, Bologna Warriors, Catania and Milan

IFL STANDINGS AFTER WEEK #6 GAMES:

Parma Panthers 5-1

Bolzano Giants 4-1

Ancona Dolphins 2-1

Lazio Marines 2-1

Reggio Emilia Hogs 2-2

Bologna Warriors 1-1

Bergamo Lions 2-3

Bologna Doves 1-3

Catania Elephants 0-3

Milan Rhinos 0-3

NOTE: The top four teams at the end of the regular season will advance to the 2009 playoffs in June.

WEEK #7 GAMES:

Sunday, April 19

Reggio Emilia (2-2) at Catania (0-3)

Lazio (2-1) at Ancona (2-1)

Bologna Warriors (1-1) at Milan (0-3)

BYES:  Bergamo (2-3), Bologna Doves (1-3), Bolzano (4-1) and Parma (5-1)

Innsbruck, Austria... OH MY!

Thursday was a VERY full day in Innsbruck!  The weather phenomenon known as "Hurricane Johnson" blew into Austria's  Tirolian Alps and the devastation is still being counted by Red Cross workers!

You are about to witness one of the longest blog posts in history but it is necessary to record as much as possible for posterity whenever you spend a day chasing the Hurricane!

Bathroom Window View of Götzens, Austria

We were all awakened by the pounding of hammers nearby at 7:00 a.m.  I went straight to the bathroom to see this view out the window behind the toilet.

If I was a lady I would learn how to pee standing up so as NOT to miss this view EVER!

Old Town Innsbruck

Housing on the Inn River

They like their buildings a little on the ornate side.

The Golden Roof

I originally called this the Golden Dome but have since been corrected by an Innsbruckian, it is the Golden Roof.

Easter Eggs

These are very beautifully hand painted and it is "VERBOTEN!" to use them ala Fiesta in Santa Barbara!!!

"SPECK FOR SALE!"...

... "PRETZELS TOO!"

How about a delicious pretzel dough Easter Bunny?

Gingerbread Hearts with LOVE literally written all over them

Innsbruck's Number 1 Baker Man

Laurie is holding one of our man's dark Tirolean chocolate covered bananas.  It was DAMN good!  I felt my potassium levels rising as I ate part of  it.

A girl can NEVER have enough jewelry.

It sometimes seems that I spend most of our vacations watching Laurie buy trinkets like these.

Easter Flowers

Horse Drawn Carriage

We have seen so many of these rigs this week which leads me to the only possible conclusion.  These barbarians DON'T EAT HORSE MEAT! 

Pink Building

A splash of color never hurt anybody's downtown.

Those pesky Alps are EVERYWHERE you turn!

Just another VERY COOL sign!

A nice, bright shopping straße

Do you like the "ß"?  It is German for our letters "ss".  Don't ask questions, just go with it.

I would look SO GOOD in his cool outfit.

How to properly accessorize when you are riding your new red Vespa.

The Johnsons

Two high energy, non-stop, fun loving people.  We love them both!

Swarovski Crystal

Did I mention that the team that Matt, Jason and Christie work for, the Swarco Raiders, are owned by the same people that own the Swarovski Crystal Company?

We saw a great elephant crytal about the size of the swan you see here on sale for a paltry 4,000 Euros.  

Behind me is Innsbruck's City Tower

Built in 1450, it is ONLY a short climb up 148 steps to reach the viewing platform 31 meters above the Old Town.

The view was WELL WORTH the climb...

 

... Don't you think?

Sidewalk cafe' business was brisk on this warm spring day.

Just a fun view of the Platz below

With the Hurricane himself atop the City Tower

Axamer Lizum

The base of the Axamer Lizum Ski Resort

If this looks remotely familiar it may be because it served as the scene of the slalom races when Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1964 and again in 1976.

What could be better that a ride on a Funicular Railway up a steep mountain in the Tirolean Alps?

It was kind of like Angel's Flight in Los Angeles on steroids.

"TOP OF THE WORLD MA!"

Snow Angels or Sun Bathing?  You decide.

Lunch in the spacious Hoadlhaus

Elevation 2,340 meters which equals 7,677 feet above sea level!  I hope you are not afraid of heights.

Two snow bunnies basking in the sun.

It's never too early to learn how to play strip poker.

"Damn It!  When am I going to learn to NEVER draw to an inside straight!!!"

Off with the chonies big boy!

The word "Majestic" comes to mind.

Three old friends

George, Matt and Jason

How about the phrase "Awe Inspiring"?

Works for me.

"Incredible" would suffice as well

I know this is almost the same shot as the one three pictures above but DAMN, isn't it just flat out a GREAT scene?

For Pete's sake, DON'T FALL OFF THE BACK OF THE MOUNTAIN!

This great picture of the youngsters was taken by...

... MY right index finger!!!

Hall in Tirol

The Hurricane suddenly changed directions and it's eye centered on the village of Hall in Tirol.

 

We found this church, the Stadtpfarrkirche on the Pfarrplatz

The Stadtpfarrkirche has a cool entry way

It is also very interesting inside.

I love how the old building all tell you when they were built.

This one will be ONLY 453 years old on Tuesday.

One final night all out together

The four of us gathered for dinner Thursday night, our last one in Austria for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant run by a very engaging and energetic young Turkish man.  I had what may have been the best pasta dish I've ever had!  Who would have guessed it?

The Future of Austria!

This picture of a passerby outside the restaurant was taken by one of Matt and Jason's teammates, Gonzalo.  He is originally from Chile who grew up in Canada, is VERY funny and is in his fourth season with the Raiders as a defensive lineman.

He could not resist taking this picture of one of the political bright lights on the Austrian Republic's horizon.

PROST!

A toast to friendship!

The View from the Innsbruck City Tower

The Drive to Innsbruck

After we finished our tour of "Mad" King Ludwig's Castles on Wednesday afternoon, we started to work our way south into Austria towards Innsbruck where Jason Johnson (our '08 Catania QB), his wife Christie and Matt Epperson (our '08 Elephant "Do EVERYTHING Player") are living.  The boys are playing for the defending Euro Bowl Champion Swarco Raiders this season in the top-notch Austrian League.

It was only about 90 minutes away but on what wonderous things we saw!

The Bavarian Alps...

... with the occasional Alpine Village

The Alps getting closer and closer

 Yet another village on the Bavarian side of the Alps

Austria's Tirolian Alps

Just like the Matterhorn at Disneyland only a whole lot bigger!

"The Hills are Alive..." 

The Tirolian Alps have their own level of cuteness to match their Bavarian neighbors.

Postcard anyone?

The Swarco Raiders hard at practice.

They looked sharp and practiced with great effort.  Good turnout, the players are fined over 100 Euros for missing either a game or a practice.  If Davide did this in Catania, he would be a multi-millionaire by now.

In America we call this a

"One Man Tackling Sled"

In Italy we call this "EEMPOSSIBLE"!

Considered by Müncheners to be the best German beer

Augustiner was originally made by Bavarian Augustinian monks, hence their name.

Who were we to dare argue?

We had dinner and beer with Chritie, Jason and Matt in Innsbruck's Old Town.  It is ALWAYS a fun time for us when we get together with these three great friends!!!

The Bavarian Castle's of "Mad" King Ludwig

Organized

If you have to pick only one word to describe the German people it would have to be ORGANIZED.  Here you see the two tickets to visit today's two castles with exactly two hours between reserved entry times!  At the gate to enter each castle their was no fuss or muss as German ingenuity made everything run as slick as snot!  How refreshing...

Königsschlösser

Königsschlösser means the King's Castles  They are located in southern Bavaria and consist of two incredible castles both inside and out.  The older Hohenschwangau Castle was King Luwig's boyhood home.  The castle that he was building for himself, Neuschwanstein Castle, is set up on a hill for a very dramatic view.  This second castle was Walt Disney's inspiration for the castle as you enter Fantasy Land at the original Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California.

Ludwig ruled Bavaria for 22 years until his death in 1886 at the age of 40.  At that time Bavaria was reduced to a puppet state of Prussia and Ludwig spent most of his time at his family's hunting lodge, Hohenschwangau.  It was during this time that he started construction on his castle Neuschwanstein which was under construction for the last 17 years of his life.  Construction on this new castle stopped when Ludwig died.  He only spent a grand total of 172 days actually living in Neuschwanstein!

His closest friend was probably the composer Richard Wagner and the interior of both castles reflect a Wagnerian view of the epic medieval history of Bavaria.

Ludwig would eventually be declared mentally unfit to rule and was deposed as King of Bavaria.  Two days later Ludwig was found dead in a lake.  To this day their is debate over whether he was murdered or committed suicide.