Sogni di Sicilia

Today started with a morning focused on self improvement: hair coloring, nail trimming and filing, head massage. Joe and I enjoyed some of yesterday's purchase; many lemon biscotti di morti,  with our coffee this morning. They certainly hit the spot. I spent time studying information on some of the areas we're visiting this week, and by that, I mean which foods am I going to try! This is a quest for me; getting a rough outline on the history, culture, and cuisine of an area before I visit. Otherwise, as I said to Joe, it's just a bunch of stone buildings.  Italy has a multi-layered history, so much more than gladiators, pizza, soccer, and pasta. The silk and salt histories alone are fascinating, but I'll save commentary on those until Vincenzo weighs in. They are two of his favorite topics. And of course, there are all of the miracles of the saints. My personal patron saint, for whom I am named (Caterina), is St. Catherine of Siena. It was believed she had the ability t

We popped up and out of bed, and out the door to the market. We didn't take a coffee at home, so we popped into A Maidda on the way there, right on viale di Europa, across from the market. We each got a cappuccino and for Joe, a cornetto con crema . Cappuccino at A Maidda I'll look up this house for sale that we saw along the way. It seems renovated, as does much of via Umberto; a good sign. **Edited to note: it's commercial use only.** Renovations in progress on via Umberto. Renovations complete, from what I saw in progress this past spring. This fixer-upper on via Umberto is for sale. My strong hunch is that Joe, as with most guys, does not love this market. I, however, love this market. Yes; there are vendors with cheap, low quality clothes, but there are also great deals on many nice things. Large bolts of upholstery fabric, thick cushions to create benches and window seats, fashionable sunglasses (my pair got two thumbs up from my friend Noel, who reps Tom Ford eyewea