Siracusa

Today it was gloomy and we decided it would be a great day to take the entire family, including the dogs, to the original city of Sicily.    This was ok with me as horseback riding was cancelled.

Siracusa is a UNESCO heritage site, founded by the Greeks over 2500 years ago.    We went to the archaeological ruins and in particular the The Roman amphitheatre, of Roman Imperial age. It was partly carved out from the rock.   In the centre of the area is a rectangular space which was used for the scenic machinery.     The boys were enthralled by the fact that humans had fought to the death in this ring of stone and spent their time searching for the bones "of dead people."    I told them that dead people became flowers.   Unfortunately I was not expecting them to ask me exactly how they became flowers and so what could have been an educational opportunity to teach photosynthesis, became instead another lie that Mommy told.   Oh well.


We got home latish and I made pasta pomodoro with ricotta that the farmer whose cows will soon be coming to graze the pasture at our home, made.     I tell, you - unbelievable.   One of the  things that I have learned in Sicily is that while I thought I understood the meaning of "fresh" in fact I did not.   In Scicli, the produce varies daily.   While there might be strawberries on Monday, that cost 4Euros a basket, by the following Monday they cost 4Euros for a crate.   The artichokes have gone from a spring electric green to a deep purple color.  The milk is unpasteurized and replenished at the milk stand daily.    The "fresh" ricotta was warm when I got it.   Speaking of which, next week we are going to go to the farmer's farm to meet the cows.   I am so psyched.   I love cows.   We also had a tomato, basil, buffalata mozarella salad; a fennel and tomato salad; and lots of bread soaked in oil.


Finally, I found myself singing "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Karnes repeatedly today.   I think it is a sign that I need to go to Rome and buy a new outfit.


No pics today - forgot my tripod, the three lenses, the filters, and the camera.    I also forgot the tennis lessons that I had organized for the kids and Serina.  It must be that time of the month.


I am exhausted again -- and off to bed I go.    More tomorrow.

Pasqua

Easter was good fun.   As Oscar put it, "This is the best day ever.   Lemonade, fireworks and meat.   I love how the Italians celebrate Easter."   We hung out in a piazza and watched as Jesus was paraded around the streets, followed by a marching band and hordes of people.    Fireworks blasted from the top of the mountain and literally reverberated throughout our bodies.   (For some reason my pictures of the actual celebration won't upload.   It is very odd but I am assuming there may have been some Divine Intervention.    It is a sacred holiday afterall.

  We returned to our car only to find that I had managed to get it towed.    After all of my careful manouevering to get me right onto the curb in between two light posts.   I thought I deserved a medal.    I did assume  the buses wouldn't be running on this day because it was such an enormous celebration.    In the end it was a pain in the butt but a solvable problem.   Ellen's husband's cousin is the Chief of Police and Ellen worked her magic on the car pound guy and the car pound was opened for us so that we could get the truck back right away.    What I hadn't counted on was my near celebrity status in Scicli.   It seems, not surprisingly, that this event was witnessed by more than one person.   But only one family in Scicli drives a beast such as ours.

That was humiliation number 1.

Humiliation number 2 was when Serina and I decided to delay our gym experience and watch a soccer game instead.   The players kicked the ball over the fence.   We thought we would retrieve it for them.   It did not even remotely occur to me that I wouldn't be able to kick the ball back over the fence.   Anyone who knows me can likely imagine how enraged I was at my repeated inability to kick the ball back over the fence.    The soccer team stopped laughing after the second try.   Fortunately Serina got it over on her first try.   Then she said, "I bet you are glad I'm the one teaching the kids how to drop kick."  Ha ha ha hilarious.

Later that day it got really windy and we thought it would be a perfect time for a beach adventure so off we went.   It was very moody and ominous.   In fact, that night the roof of our outdoor eating area, blew away.    It is exhausting just remembering the crazy storm that blew over our house for the last couple of days.   I have to go to bed immediately.   More blog later.

 

Buona Pasqua

                                        

Horseback Riding and Italian Lessons

OK - this is Mecca.   I went on an hour long ride with Guglielmo aka "Memmo" while the kids had their lesson.   It was terrific.   I rode a white Arabian dressage horse.   She was anti-walking and insisted on prancing the entire way which was fun (although my butt already hurts).    Memmo doesn't speak English, and I don't speak Italian which made for a fantastic Italian lesson for me.   Instead of learning relevant phrases that might help me out in Italy, I learned the names of all of the wildflowers, trees and animals that we passed along the way.

Here is a Sample of the Sara Dictionary of Italian

Fig               fico
Poppy          papavero
Aster           astro
Grapes        uva
Artichoke    carciofo
Geese          oche
Donkey       asino
Carob          carruba
Walnut        noce
Horse          cavallo
Rain           pioggia

And Now, Pasqua, aka Easter (in a non-chronological order)

Tomorrow is Easter.     The town of Scicli has been on holiday since Thursday.    It has been impossible for me to park the beast legally anywhere and as a result, I think I have become a real Siclian (apart from the fact that I drive a beast that is literally the size of 3-4 Siclian cars).   I parked perpendicular to the sidewalk last night.   But I was at an "enoteca" so it was ok.   And I bought a case of wine from the wine guy we met at the crazy swank Modica party (see earlier post).   Sean will be happy as he really liked this wine.

I miss Sean.   He returns tomorrow  from a four day trip back to Toronto.   He changed his flight so that he would be able to join us at Ellen's aunt's place to watch the Easter festivities from her balcony.   The town is already lit up with giant arches and decorations.  But tomorrow, apparently the Madonna comes out of one church, and Baby J out of another, and they circle the city looking for each other until they meet in a crescendo of joy and chaos.   I am told there will be no room to park anywhere as the people from Scicli and beyond, swarm the streets and participate in this epic reunification.  Easter is the most important holiday on the island.   It is bigger than Christmas.    Serina, Ellen and I took the kids' to three churches on Friday evening at 7.00 (it was a party in Scicli to celebrate "The Last Supper").   The churches were filled with flowers and, as it turns out, people.   We got past the door in only one of them.   But in that one, St. Bartolomeo, we did manage to see a fourteen hundred year old nativity which was pretty cool.

Naturally, tomorrow, we will eat.   I am told the feast begins at 2.30 and will likely take us into the wee hours of the morning.   My poor little bambinis.   Although they are thrilled about the party prospects now, (plus the fact that I will bring their DSI's), they are going to be zonked.   As I am right now.

Bueno notte.

The Semi-Centurion In Rome

This post is dedicated to Sean's birthday weekend in Rome plus a little more.    Thanks to everyone who sent him birthday wishes!

It began with a question on the way to the airport - one worth repeating.

"Do you ever get a fake vibration in your bum?   It happens to me all the time now."    Helllloooo fifty!

But this does require a little explanation...As a masochistic gift to himself, Sean now uses a smart phone that vibrates whenever he gets an email or text (and apparently sometimes just for fun too).

A Tender Moment.

We went out to dinner on Saturday night to the Sotto Sotto of Roma.   By that I mean it was dark, shishi and every Hollywood superstar had a photo on the wall with the owner.   Unlike Sotto Sotto however, the owner was  present for more than just the photo-op.   He took us to the dining room and checked in on us periodically.   We felt very well looked after.    The room itself is worth mentioning because it was actually green - an outdoor patio that was entirely covered and heated.    The walls were "living" and dripping with greenery.   The food was good and at midnight we ordered champagne and toasted the new era.

Sunday, Sean's real birthday, we spent shopping around the Spanish steps.   He bought almost six new outfits including a straw hat and some snappy new shoes.   Objectively speaking, he looked smashing!   On the other hand, I looked like a ragamuffin who just got off of a train from somewhere far away.    Nothing in Rome appealed to me except for a lovely sweater that I found for a cool 13,800 Euros!   Yeah.  Who knew.  Needless to say, I remained "comfortable" if somewhat unstylish!

We had massages and then went to dinner at Giovanni's.   (The owner of the home that we rented in Sicily, whom we met just once, barely knew, but really liked).    It was a blast.

Giovanni's apartment was across from Vatican City in a pedestrian only street.   I'd say the ceilings were twenty feet, with dark exposed wooden beams, and twenty five years worth of art, books, and sculpture. The art was right up my alley.   There were abstract expressionist oil paitings of rural Sicily in the spring and the summer.   A quintet of contemporary serigraphs of primary colours and geometric shapes; an etching of a dog/human looking beast; water color portraits, oily city scapes.   It was just beautiful.

A decade ago, he had purchased an apartment on the same floor as his own but in the next building over.   Giovanni's best friend is a talented architect from Modica (he designed the house we are renting in Scicli), and they blasted through the stone walls and connected the two separate apartments WITH a sliding wall of course - just in case the wrong person showed up at the door!

The meal was the best I have had in Italy yet.   We sat down in the small dining room with Flora, Giulia, (his two daughters 17 and 24 respectively) and his wife LaLa (real name Octavia).   Giovanni was once a trained chef and  sommelier.

1st Course - the best tomatoes that I have ever had in my life, with the best buffalata di mozzarella that I have ever had in my life.   it makes the stuff that I purchase from my local Italian deli, the day that it arrives from Italy, taste like rubber balls.

2nd.  Raw fava beans in their husks with a honking piece of pecorino cheese.    You peel the beans out of their pods, and eat them with a small piece of the cheese.  YUMMY!

3rd.  A small portion of a stew of fava beans, cipolla, peas, and I think a contrencato di pomodoro.

4th.  A plate of lightly sauteed artichoke hearts.   Heaven.   Giovanni told me that if you don't add small quantities of water at a time (a couple of tablespoons) and wait until it is absorbed, the artichokes will lose their flavor.

5th. Zuchinni flower risotto.   It was creamy in colour and texture with delicate yellow strips of zuchinni.

6th. Eggplant parmesean although nothing like the kind that I make.   I make an eggplant parmesean that is "light" because it has not very much cheese - just four tablespoons of parmesean.   But G's was primarily thinly sliced eggplant, and tomatoes.   Uber light but flavourful.

Finally, we had a not very sweet, very light limone cake with a fluffy, creamy limone mousse like something on top.   I hate cake but had a few bites and it too was delicious.   Overall - a fantastic night!

La Dolce Vita and The Abscess

I am so far behind in my posts that these next few paragraphs (if you can call them that) will be more poorly written than the preceding ones (if you can imagine that) but then I am planning to step up to the plate.


I had rose pistachio granita (the first of a three course dessert and that was after the seven course dinner).   It was a heavy, seductive scent of rose with a subtle pistachio flavour  and it was SOO GOOD.   I also had truffle granita and a lemon-celery granita both of which were out of this world.  I am a new fan of the savory ice.




The kids started cooking classes and they were a hit.   They charged up 50 of the 80 steps to the school, and were ready to sit down and cook for 90minutes by the time they got to the top.   They made, stratta which is a Sicilian specialty sort of a cross between pizza and a calzone.   Naturally I ate it but nobody else did.    I am eager to have them start preparing meals for me.



We also went on a driving tour with Giovanni (villa owner) and had a blast.   He quickly understood that I was a fan of the rugged and the wild and we went to a relatively isolated spot in all of six cities in addition to hitting the "centro" of each.     We decided he was so much fun that we are going to Rome on Saturday to celebrate Sean's big birthday with Giovanni and his wife.

We thought we were going out to dinner with Giovanni that night but instead we went to his brother-in-law's place - which was yet another palace.   The ceilings were all painted, as were the walls, the ceilings were at least forty feet high, it was just breathtaking.  But the people!  What a bunch of wonky swank Italians.   There was the architect, his wife, her lover, the owner of the villa, his good girlfriend, her special friend from Milan who just started a vineyard in Scicli and a couple of squares from Canada.   

The antipasti was blood orange and tangerine chunks, with fennel, salt and olive oil in addition to three marinated raw sardines.     We ate and drank for almost five hours, left at 12.30 and the streets of Modica were PACKED with people.   It was a zoo.   Just a regular night for the Sicilians who by the way, don't typically eat dinner until 10, with the kids, and rarely go to bed before midnight.  

We went to Ellen's beach house, rode some horses, and built sand castles on the beach.


Now I have an abscessed tooth.   I went to a dentist who didn't speak any English, cried in his chair for ten minutes before I let him poke around in there, he said I had to have the tooth yanked, gave me some drugs, and sent me on my way.   Lucky for me, I have Dana.   We sent her a digital picture of my lump in my mouth, and she quickly insisted that I take the drugs and have some fun and we will deal with it when I return.   So there it is.   Life in Scicli goes on...

My Abscessed Tooth
(that has already gone through three root canals)

Sean Arrives.

Modica

Yesterday, Giuseppe took us to Modica where we met his "carne" people, his "panne" people, his "spiritual father" and Saint Giuseppe.   Leo told me that he met God in this church.     Then we went to Giuseppe's friend's candle lit bar nextdoor where he had arranged a small surprise party for Serena's birthday.   There was cake, prosecco, and brachetto - a sweet sparkling wine.   The kids even got to taste some and then while we tasted more, they ran up and down the nearby Church stairs.

Today we met Giovanni Modica the owner of the villa.   He described to us in great detail the "restoration" of the villa which was almost entirely, a rebuild of the outdoor garden.  His brother-in-law and he did the entire thing.    From mowing down a cactus field, to finding stone that matched the existing to make the courtyard, to raising the pool area, the different material selections they had to make etc.   It may sound dull but Sean and I spent a good three hours  speaking with him about the process.   As many of you know, we are in the midst of another restoration!    

Dinner was freshly shucked peas sauteed in pomodoro concentrato, garlic and cipolla and tossed with bowtie pasta.   We were out of parmesean and so it was sprinkled with Grano Padano (which I preferred).    My kids ate peas and loved them for the first time and then happily declared that they would miss Giuseppe's cooking a lot because it was better than mine!

Today, Sean and I picked up the dogs from the groomer and then decided to parade them around town while the kids were sleeping which was fun.    We went to our favourite bar (also the only place we have been able to find that is open between the hours of 1-3 ).   I sipped straight vodka with a lemon twist and chased it with a big bottle of water while Sean drank Morettis.    (I tried to ask for a vodka soda with some limonata but my Italian SUCKS)!      Salvatore is the bartender.    He is a  26year old skinny, metro, punk rocker, Italian, receptionist/bartender who wants to one day own a bar with loud music on the beach.   He gave me a paper rose today (the dogs attracted quite a bit of a crowd to the tiny place) and Sean gave him a nice contribution for his future beach bar.

Dinner last night was excellent.   We started with his mother's Sicilian specialty which was gnocci shaped pasta in a pomodoro and cipolla sauce sprinkled with fresh dill from the herb garden.   In and of itself this was delicious but surprisingly he sprinkled whole wheat bread crumbs over it in the same way that one would sprinkle parmesean.   It was an interesting texture and overall a fabulous taste.    This was followed by a green salad and steak Florentine which was a rare slab of cow soaked in red wine and drizzled in olive oil.  All of the carnivores had a taste, while Sean savoured the bulk of the cow. 

Tomorrow, Giovanni is taking Sean and I to a "wild" place for a hike.   It sounds like a canyon where the river empties into the sea - I can't wait.   The dogs will get to come with us on this adventure but not the kids (which is good with me)!

More To Come

Ahhhh, internet is back up and running - will post more later today (although still no big camera pics) ...