Sogni di Sicilia

A little surprise greeted me in the apartment this morning: Crepes! Rachi had prepared them before school, and left a plate for me on the coffee table. Rachi 's crepes At first, I thought they were Elena's flat pancakes, so I went down to thank her. The boys were getting ready for school. Matteo made pretend caffe, for both Mariella and me. On the way out, Mariella told me to join them for lunch today; she's preparing pasta seppia. Back upstairs, I ate my crepes with sugar and my own coffee, "sparing" me a trip to Artigiana. But I'm promising myself a caffe and cornetto there tomorrow, along with a walk afterwards to the Wednesday open-air market on via Europa. The Italian clothes dryer I cleaned up the kitchen, did a quick hand washing of socks and delicates, and hung them to dry. Now off to the "Chinese Store," as everyone calls it, to get a few affordable diversions for the kids. As I walked around the store a bit, I thought I heard, "Kahrren...

As today is Memorial Day, and Elena works for a US company, she had the day off. I went to her apartment, where she was finishing getting ready. But as always, first a "Karen, you want a caffe? Did you sleep well? Did you eat breakfast?" No, yes, yes, thank you. As I waited, I had a call from John. Being a slight bit sleepy yet, I hadn't done the math. "You're at work?" I asked. "Mom! It's 2:00 am here!" Ahhh duhhhh. Good Lord; I'm turning into my mother. John had just arrived home from Peru (PAYru here), and found an all-night grocery to pick up something to eat before he went to sleep, and used the time to call me. Together with Mariella and, at first, the boys, we all piled into the Cleo. Elena brought the boys into the school (Matteo, now constantly stopping to stick out his hand, wave, smile, and say "Ciao," be it in the middle of the street or not) as Mariella and I waited until she returned. Elena is taking over the driving...

SATURDAY As much as I tried to employ logic in getting myself to sleep, it didn't happen. At all. I gave up and showered around 4. But man; today hurts. As I walked into Mariella's kitchen, she whispered that she hardly got any sleep; Vincenzo coughed up a storm all night. I'm pretty sure I also have a bug. Not from him; he's been careful. I blame it on the three groups of wedding Texans on my flight. Why do I always catch a cold when I'm traveling! All that aside, we are off to Calabria! The day started with a light drizzle, but the skies brightened, and in no time, the sun was out. Ferry stop Snacking first We took the "Pullman" to Messina, to catch the ferry. On it are a joyous group of a few people who know each other, and many who don't. No matter. Cheery greetings and hugs filed into the autobus. Once in Messina, the bus driver pointed out the lounge, and said we had 20 minutes to go there then get back on the bus. I've since learned that rea...