Sixties and Almost Seventies in Sicily
With many Facebook and family reports of blizzard conditions and sub-zero windchills back home, my gratitude for being in Sicily is exponential. These days, 45F feels chilly to us! We may successfully skirt the entire "winter" as we usually know it, an idea I could certainly live with from now on.
Elena came up today with Ettore... and a potty training seat. There have been a couple of successes at home, but he wanted nothing to do with continuing it here, and he may have been a little ticked off with me for mentioning it several times, because I got "the look". As I told Elena later, it's hard being two years old. Ettore directed his attention to Giuseppe (Joe), to the point where, after he asked for a cookie, he broke it in half and said "This one for Giuseppe". I didn't get any. I told Joe, if he starts with the roughhousing and jostling, he has to finish it through! The most Ettore will get from me is a brief knee ride while I hum this tune (anyone remember it)? [As before, you have to cut and paste the link into your browser]. I figured out how to activate a link! It'll ask if you want to redirect, because it will open a new tab for you:
When he heard it on YouTube, his eyes lit up and he hummed along.
Today was such a bright, sunny, warm, and lovely day! The laundry is hanging outside. I just wanted to be out in the sun, although we end up traipsing the usual streets. I'm sure the group of five old men smoking cigarettes in front of Bar Europa every single day (they take up the whole sidewalk, so we have to cut through them) see the Americans coming and can nearly set their watches to our passiegiata.
Etna is quietly smoking as well.
There is a stretch of sidewalk, which has had half of the stones/bricks missing from it since our arrival. Just yesterday, I said to Joe, I wonder if they are removing the bricks and this will all be concrete or asphalt, or if they are adding on to the pattern of bricks that stop at the dirt's edge. Then, overnight, the sidewalk bricks were almost finished. They mix all of the concrete or bonding agent from scratch.
We saw a soccer game at the stadium and stopped to watch for a bit. I thought the players looked older than high school age, but Joe thought they were students. It was pretty quiet for an Italian soccer game, nonetheless.
It was sunniest along the belvedere, since there are no buildings to obstruct and throw shadows. The olive trees below lined up into the distance, where I noticed for the first time that we could see Paternò. It is an identifiable hill, with the Norman castle sprouting up one of its sides. That's a pretty long view!
A quick stop at the supermarket (the small one), a caffe at the bar, and home to do some deep cleaning and call my sister. Nikos has been released from captivity and is now visiting his dad's side of the family. Thank you again, Lori and Doug. For as rotten a deal that was dealt, it sounds as if you all made the best of it, and had a little fun in the process! I also want to thank all of you who sent good thoughts and/or prayers for his friends who were in the terrible accident right before Joe and I came here. Dante was able to leave the hospital in a wheelchair, and is living with his parents until things get figured out, as he cannot manage on his own right now. The fact that I'm writing "able to leave the hospital" is truly a miracle.
Tonight we talked about going to Berso, where the pizzas are reputedly fantastic, but since we just had pizza last night, I may opt for a Sicilian hamburger (which they are also known for). And tomorrow, New Year's Eve, may be a small crowd of all the usual suspects. Because of Covid's ugly stepchild, Omnicron. I was really looking forward to meeting the Napoletana godmother, but the usual crowd is 14 of us, so it won't be boring!
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Another late night, but a fun one. We made it to Bersò! The chef is Fr. Giuseppe’s nephew. The wine and beer list are beyond respectable! My burger will keep me full for several days, but I’m sure I’ll eat a lot tomorrow for the cenone ‘grand dinner’. We enjoyed our time with Elena, Giuseppe, and Ettore; they’re a fun family. Giuseppe’s wit is incomparable (although reminiscent of our friend Stefano), and Elena is hilarious. Ettore is a combination of all that, in a 2-year-old body.
I ate too much, and need to crash.
For those who read Italian, check out the burger menu. I think you could roughly translate also if you don’t speak much Italian.
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