Sicily: Opening Hours

It's another country. That is what you must remember. Whenever you think you've got it sorted out,  new exception arises. Take the local Sisa - the grocery store. It is generally open from 8:30 until 1pm, then closes until 4pm and remains open until 8pm. But not on Wednesdays. On Wednesday it is only open in the morning. Or, how about the tobacconist, which has been reliably open every time I stop by. Nope. Closed on Sunday. All day. Sigh.  Last Sunday... was it closed you ask?  No it was not.

Remember... do not get frustrated... it is just not possible that day or at that particular time of day.  A RULE OF THUMB... very little is open from 1300hrs to 1500hrs.  The Sicilians are at home working or going for a bike ride or cooking or cleaning... or, they just went to the beach for the day if it is a hot day.  There no point getting worked up about it... just accept that it is not possible right now and move on.  LEARN SOME FRIGGIN PATIENCE!!!

I must admit to getting a little frustrated with Italians while Christopher was gone.  This may have built to a bit of a stress crescendo when he did not come back as quickly as expected.  Christopher brought back a bit of a chest cold from his time on the germ tube... Now I have a brutal chest cold... have pity for me gentle readers...

Nappitude with cocoon

Journeys

Christopher is still in Belgium as I write. He reports he's been 'adopted' by a lovely Belgian couple who were on their way to Palermo as well. They are planning to travel together tomorrow to a different airport, perhaps Antwerp? Amsterdam? At any rate, all's well. There are good people every where.

Christopher's Savior's Anne and Walter Hens from Belgium

It seems as though because of these wonderful people... Belgium has made it to our list of places we should travel to... maybe by train this time ;-)

1.5 extra days of travel and Christopher made it back to Sicilia thanks to the generosity of others... he is exhausted and getting sick (of course)... but we imagine that colds, even chest colds are easier to take under the sun, looking out at our beautiful view.

Embuggeration in Brussels

So, at around 9:15am the entire electrical grid of Belgium was disrupted. You, gentle readers, are asking why we should care? Well, Christopher's flight to Palermo from Brussels didn't get off the ground. As a general rule, we both try to see these things as opportunity rather than disaster. Its not as if he were fleeing Syria. He's in a safe place with the chance to see the town. Sadly, this does mean he won't be home today, which also means we won't be able to make our appointment with the Questura tomorrow for his 'permission to sojourn'. Plus, I just miss him. In an odd way, I wish I was there with him. We are much better dealing with these sorts of set-backs together.

Christopher tells me that the lines for getting your flights charged are interminable, and apparently because it was a national issue with electricity the airlines are taking no responsibility for getting passengers to their destinations... On the up side, their French is very good!

Sicily Food: Culinary Quirks

Now I have no doubt loyal readers, that you will find this insane, but I'm craving Mexican cuisine, or maybe a nice scrimp curry, or Sichuan beans?

It is a quirk of nature as far as I am concerned that in Mexico one cannot purchase a lemon for love nor money. Here in Sicily limes are just as scarce. I know that I should embrace this, indicative as it is of the local nature of food and the rejection of globalization... but my GOD! What I wouldn't give for a few good limes to make a mojito... thinking about it, I guess that is a sign of the hegemony of global food. I crave a drink made from lime juice, mint and rum, (Carribean in origin due to the low cost of sugar/molasses due to the slave trade) but made famous by Hemingway, or perhaps James Bond, depending on your perspective.

Let me instead embrace the Sicilian equivalent, when I find it it will undoubtedly include lemons, probably grappa made from left over crushed wine grapes and mint... Note to self, acquire some grappa...

P.S. I've just finished listening to a book on tape called "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" by Tom Standage which covers the Caribbean rum trade very well. If I tell you I just recently finished listening to "Consider the Fork" by Bee Wilson you may sense a trend. Never fear, a few Andrea Camilleri murder mysteries were interspersed too. Next up? "The Second World War" by Sir Winston Churchill - it was on sale, at Audible and English language books are impossible to find here so I'm not in favour of brevity...

Sicily: Our House

Here's a photo from a while back of our house, so you can see it in the context of the landscape.

And here's 'the girls', the neighbour's guard dogs. They HATE the horses. There's one horse in particular, Mr. One Sock I call him, who shares their emnity and curls his lip each time he passes as if to say; "you come out here and see how much breath you have left to bark after I crush you under my hooves".

Sicily: Slow Farming

I've seen this fellow a number of times chugging along. I always have plenty of time to grab my camera because his 'tractor' has a top speed, whether uphill or down, of around 2km/hr.

Sicily: Palermo Part II, Marketo dei Pulci

After we finished at the palazzo, we wandered off in search of coffee and stumbled on an area of antiques shops and a street of stalls with the same. We entered from the back side of the market, so it wasn't until we were at the other end that I saw the sign;

Then, when I told Sheila that we were in the marketo dei Pulci, she said; 'that can't be, pulci are fleas!' The funniest parts I didn't catch on camera because I was laughing so hard, this fellow who has a stall in the merkato dei pulci explained how all the little trinkets were like fleas. An almost direct translation of the North American 'flea market'.

Some of the objects were really something. Lots of old venetian glass, pottery, antique tiles, photos, paintings, furniture, china, the works! By the way, each of the antique tiles cost 10 Euros, imagine how much a floor would cost?

Some of the venetian light fixtures. Other stores were littered with them, but none were lit up, so these photographed well...

Some of the "fleas".

A tile painting of a lovely Italian piazza - I'd almost say that it is some where in Palermo or Ragusa...

A tile centre piece that caught my attention for the characters including a woman warrior?

Some of the tiles in this one shop.

The flea market alley, just around the corner from Palazzo Normanni, just off Corso Alberto I think. If you go, go in the morning, the vendors pack everything into ramshackle sheds at around 12:30.

I thought this bike might be a nice acquisition...

More tiles in an art deco/Italian Liberty style.

Something to do with the pieces when your venetian light shatters... put the floral parts in a vase!

The Marketo dei Pulci is a lot of fun to just wander around. While a number of tour buses drove through, none stopped. It seems to be an attraction best seen in person so you can touch and feel and dive into the backs of the shacks.