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Before we target our Tuesday goings on, let us go back and give you an important travel tip for those of you thinking about traveling to Europe in the near future. We must give blog follower David P. Lassen full credit for this VERY IMPORTANT travel tidbit.
What the heck is this thing?
Whether or not you know what this is, this article will give you vital tips on how to best use this facility without further damage to your travel psyche. To access this important information go to
If Taber had only known...
Elephants' Offense vs. Bergamo's Defense
Kickoff Action
Thanks to Jason Johnson for taking these pictures Sunday while Laurie was busy yapping away instead of taking pictures with my camera!
Two Traffic Policewomen discussing the new, succesful crackdown on all forms of law breakers driving cars.
Hey, how about a "Girls of SOStare Calendar" as a fund raiser?
On Mt. Etna's slope as we travel to the Gambino Winery
Laurie and I drove up through Fiumefreddo to Linguaglossa to the Gambino Winery for their excellent wine tasting experience.
The first of five excellent Gambino wines.
Their snack food was excellent!
A filling feast consisting of fresh bread, three different cheeses, pork salami, mushrooms, eggplant, artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes.
Oh yes, the little white strips down the middle of the nearest plate were pork lard, I felt a little cannibalistic on this one.
Laurie is now the proud owner of three bottles of Gambino wine.
Two bottles of red and a white, she should be finished with them by tonight.
The sight of future wine grapes
Grape growing, dormant but still happening
They grow all sorts of things in this rich volcanic soil!
Terracing is a must on Mt. Etna's slopes
The Gateway to the Villa Nicolosi
A lichen covered vineyard wall
More Terracing
A Guardian Angel in the Linguaglossa Cemetary
We stopped at this old town cemetary on our way down the mountain. Italian culture really honors their dead family members with the very fancy cemetary statues being a perfect example.
A Baron perhaps?
This man passed away in the early 1900's. I like how most of the graves have either a staute, etching or actual photograph of the person interred. I like how this visual effect gives life to their final resting places.
Their were several large family mausoleums.
Looking through a missing glass portal into a family crypt.
The burial plot of the Mangano family
If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you will be better able to see the battle scene carving on the large marble slab.
Five people are honored here, Concetto Mangano, his wife Concetta Pagano Mangano and their three sons, Nino, Concetto and Salvatore.
I am curently reading a book by Rick Atkinson titled "The Day of Battle - The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944". I mention this because the three photogrphs at the base of the marble slab are of the three Mangano sons who all died fighting for Italy in World War II. In the book I have read about thousands of "casualties", just numbers really, but this grave sight gave meaning by actually seeing the faces of these three young men and to know that their parents would live into the 1960's with only the memories of their lost loved ones.
Concetto died first at the age of 25 on May 26, 1943. He was followed by Nino, age 30, on January 3, 1945 and then finally by 25 year old Nino on July 1, 1945.
It made me think and mourn a bit for this war torn family of long ago...
3 comments:
Does it strike you that wearing U of W clothing when you're 0-2 might not bring the karma you're looking for?
Damn, what am I thinking?
Just add wardrobe consultant to my many titles.
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