Closer and Clothier
Today is a nice day, but there’s a small chill in the air. We hung out for a bit in the morning, then decided to go to Etnapolis to shop. It’s quieter there on weekdays.
Taking SS284, we saw Adrano from afar, and lots of fresh snow atop Etna in the other direction. No photo of that, since Joe’s big ol’ head took up the frame. But what caught our eye was straight ahead—a murmuration of starlings. They shifted form, pattern, and speed; they swooped and appeared to be sewing the sky with black velvet buttons. I haven’t witnessed this in person until now, I’ve only seen it on videos. I understand the starlings innately know to flock this way as a method to confuse their predators. They also do it, contrary as their constant movement may suggest, to conserve energy during a flight. It’s beautiful and eerie all at once. We also saw them 3 hours later, upon our return trip.
So, Etnapolis. It seems pretty silly, but I’ve been searching for short boots with chunky heels, dressy enough to wear with skirts, but casual enough to wear with jeans, and I want real leather. I have a pair I love, but with TSA tribulations, New York streets, and lots of wear, I have worn them into retirement. After checking a few towns, Elena suggested Etnapolis to have more choices under one roof. I found a ‘consolation’ pair. They’re close enough. People dress up when they leave the house here; it’s bad form to do otherwise. And we’re included in so many plans. So speed is more important than the perfect pair at this juncture. Close will have to do.
Joe, on the other hand, stopped in to look at a shirt, in what appeared to be a quality haberdashery. The salesman was not only a good clothier, but quite the salesman. We started by finding a shirt, but they’re so luxurious, Joe got three. He and I talked about the “gilet” we’ve seen Italian men wear (on this, and previous journeys to Italy), and soon that was added to the pile. Next, a bespoke-looking sport coat; such quality material and craftsmanship! Ok, ok—done! But then their are pants, yes? So Joe chose a nice pair of dressy casual pants in gray, although the blue pair that were suggested were quite nice. But enough. At checkout, our new friend Giovanni suggested socks. Yes; I do need some socks!, said Joe. Add 3 pair. As Giovanni headed toward the outerwear, I said (in Italian) No, but huge compliments to you; you’re great at your job. While Joe settled up, I went next door to try to find a dress. He caught up with me, we walked through a few more stores, when Joe decided to go back to the clothier and also get the blue pants. I guess we pick up his tailored items next week. Let’s see if he gets out without that nice wool coat Giovanni waved in front of him today.
On to the mega world that is Dèco, the supermarket at Etnapolis (btw, it’s EtnaPOlis, not EtNOPolis, as I was pronouncing) I indulged in a favorite snack, taralli, which was €0.79 instead of $4-5 back home. There was a special of porchetta from Ariccia at the butcher counter, and I couldn’t resist getting a thick slice.
Back to Biancavilla, passing the starlings again, did some laundry, ate some porchetta, went to put groceries away and noticed, as Rachela would say around stinky baby things, “puzza!” What the heck? Nothing was that old! But then again, between the weekend eating marathon at Mariella’s and Alessandro’s, then last night’s birthday party feast, we hadn’t opened the fridge. It was the milk that stunk—honestly; someone’s trying to tell me Don’t Eat Cereal—and I noticed the ice melted in the freezer. Sure enough, after crawling into/behind the cabinets, I saw the fridge cord was unplugged. My guess is that this all happened during the oven debacle. This is a time I’m thankful for these little refrigerators! It was a 10-minute clean up and restocking. Hopefully we’re finished with utility issues for a while!
Mariella called for me to look at more Christmasing she’s doing in the building’s entrance. Alessandro heard us and came down. Remember the post about some ritual we saw when visiting the Ponte dei Saraceni? People were photographing part of it, which made me wonder if it were some sort of marriage. I had asked Vincenzo and Alessandro that same evening, but they thought it was some brotherhood thing. “Niente di negativo,” nothing bad, Alessandro had guessed. It turns out, his friend who works in filming, sent him similar shots of the people in this “ritual” at Ponte dei Saraceni. They are making a film called ‘Dante Alighieri’!!! We were in the midst of it! That explains it; the vaping women in white are actresses who were taking a smoke break!
I asked Alessandro when the film is to be released. In the most quintessential of Italian expressions, he shrugged his shoulders, splayed his hands, and:
“Boh”.
I watched Ettore at Elena’s today, and had the pleasure of seeing Cestina (Giuseppe’s mom), and later, Carmela, the super friendly woman from Como who sat next to me Sunday night at friends’ pizza night. She’s a retired professor of poetry; a serene woman. It was nice to be where I could hear her better, as the restaurant (Antica Grana in Nicolosi) was loud! Mariella said she can’t believe my courage; to pluck myself out of my regular life (at my age) and travel all this way, to stay a long time, and to be with people I hardly knew. I said, I can’t believe I wished for this all my regular life; it was always a dream, and I can’t believe it came true.
I came upstairs and told Joe he was getting a little ass tonight. That’s right; we ate donkey. And horse (meatballs). They were each delicate tasting, and a bit sweeter/milder than other meats. We ate them, and we’re living to tell the tale… or is it ‘tail’?
As we wrapped up the night, Elena explained “Tomorrow there is fish. This is a special week; every night there is something.” Being the first week of advent, I began to ask about tomorrow. She laughed and said I didn’t know she’s joking. Then Fr. Giuseppe walked up to us to say goodbye, and she told him the same thing. He too, looked puzzled. Elena asked, “What is it? Nobody gets this joke!” And I said, “Maybe it’s not that good of a joke!” (laughing too, of course).
It was a really fun night. I’m already a million times fond of this entire Italian family and their friends.
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