Visitors!!!! ....continued

Continuing with Carole's and Tony's adventures in Sicily, I must note that the newly completed Siracusa highway was a complete surprise. After the build up of it being in the Guiness Book of World Records for one of the most dangerous highways in the world, it's now four lane and looks like a regular autostrada/interstate highway.

While waiting to visit Casa del Nespolo, a girl opening a shop across the steps recognized me. She asked why she hadn't seen me lately. I said that we now live in Motta.

She replied, "I'm sorry."

The day spent in Acitrezza ended in fireworks as it was the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist, Acitrezza's patron. We watched the Fishermen and the Sea reenactment that has been part of the celebration for a couple or three centuries, visited Casa del Nespolo, sipped caffe with Alfio, ate gelato, watched the beginning of the procession with fireworks blasting over the water.

Music adds to the drama

Watching fireworks as the saint is placed in the carriage

Knitting...with Group Support

Although knitting is rather solitary, comfort and confidence come when knitting with others. Dear friend, DJRM, taught me basic knitting last summer. Since then, I've completed a few scarves and dish cloths.

Navy Marine Corp Relief Society provides baby seabags for new borns in the hospital here. I took the 'lesson' and started on the baby afghan for the future son (it's blue) of a navy person. After ripping and restarting several times (hours upon hours and I learned early never to knit while watching soccer), I attended a knitting/crochet session this morning. Knowing I had made an error, it was so much easier to rip, count 157 stitches, knit, count again with guidance from a patient volunteer and in the presence of others who were in various stages of learning.

Visitors!!!!

What fun to have guests! Flint and I look at it as a huge gift to us when people are willing to take the time and make the arrangements to visit us. These guests happen to be living in Germany now, but the story goes back many years to another continent.

Carole and I met when I moved to Taegu, South Korea, my first year with DoDDS. We hadn't seen each other in eighteen years  when she and Tony visited us. What fun it was to pick up after those years and show them a portion of our bella Sicilia! Flint and I look forward to more visits with not as much time in between.

(BTW, this blog is driving me crazy. I can't get the pics where I would like them to be. This is just a small part of our adventure.)

Small portion of the presepi in Caltagirone...movement, lighting, detail

Sampling caffe gelato (Catania)

Entering Caltagirone

Don't the New Yorkers look at home in Siracusa, sister city of Syracuse in their home state?

I

Vespa (Siracusa)

Carole, the artist, points out an architectural detail to Tony (Siracusa)

A bit breezy, but perfect for laundry

Our day ended at the new mall near the airport. We dined at the Old Wild West.

The Rice Cone

In the last post, I mentioned the cones of rice thrown at the bride and groom. Here is the picture of the couple being pelted with wonderful wishes!

"Let it be for the love of God"

We made this trip a few weeks ago, but as one of my sixth graders said years ago, things have been "hectical"; therefore, I'm behind on the blog. It was a lovely trip to Nicosia, a town perched on the top of a hill. The road leading there winds and twists with occasional washouts. We picked up our dear Pina, then proceeded to Nicosia with the main objective of seeing the small house of San Felice (St. Felix) after we met our guide, Luigi. Not only did we see the humble house of the saint who carried a bag for collecting for the poor and the distribution of goods, but we received an invitation into a palazzo on the town square (now an old folk's home) so we could get a view from upstairs along with a tour of the building. Certain months are better luck for weddings, and we witnessed the cones of rice pelting a lucky couple. People continue to live in the rocks in this town as they do in the next hill town of Sperlinga. The views from this town are spectacular, the air fresh, the people friendly, churches beautiful, and the food delicious! It may just be one of my Sicilian favorites.

Mt. Etna (right)Bird count on the corner of a church

Beauty Shop Story Time....Again!

I returned to Pietro for a trim....as I especially needed it in the back. I mentioned, "a bob," as he had done a great job the first time he cut my hair, and he had even used that exact word. When I paid, the girl at the cash register said, "Oh, your summer cut." There isn't a hair on my head over two inches long.

Pilgrimage to Lourdes, France

"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."

We attended the 52nd International Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, with members of our base chapel community including our Padre. Flint and I had ridden a bus for 28 hours from Hohenfels, Germany, to 36th PMI in 1994. Fortunately this time, we flew directly on Mistral Air, on a bright yellow plane with 'posta Italia' written in blue.

I remember watching the old movie Song of Bernadette when I was growing up, and I remember how I felt watching it. That we would make a second pilgrimage to the grotto where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette thrilled us. Through the Knights of Columbus, we met the North American Volunteers whose service to those with both visible and invisible afflictions is invaluable. Their good work includes caring for our wounded warriors some of whom we were honored to meet. Wounded Warrior Project 

As this was a military (Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA) pilgrimage, we watched uniforms from all over the world in several processions with our U.S.A. troops making us feel so proud. (The history of the military pilgrimages dates back to the years after World War 2 when the Germans and French wanted to reestablish positive relations between the two countries.) One of the happiest moments was seeing the Italians in formation, stopped in the middle of a street, singing their national anthem. Of course, everyone cheered, then traffic (largely pedestrian) moved along.

Lourdes Lourdes, France lies at the foot of the Pyrenees

Mountains. Although cluttered with shops containing medals, rosaries, and empty bottles for the holy water and hundreds of hotels that provide lodging for the thousands of pilgrims each

week, the sweet, tranquil spirit of this place of miracles, is like that of no other place I have ever visited.