Liberation Day Fun

View of surrounding mountains

Yesterday we all went up to the mountains to have a cookout.
It was Liberation Day (WWII).
It was a warm day, a little breezy but you didn't have to wear a jacket.

More mountains.

The fire.

Pippa, Frank and me

Food!
We had homemade bread, antipasto, pasta,
sausage, potatoes, steak and fish.
I ate my first artichoke yesterday.
It had been roasted in the fire.
Yummy! Could used some butter though!

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary!

And the 14th anniversary of my friends Stacey and Brad!

And now for something completely different....

Has anyone heard about the website that the actress Janine Turner has started? http://www.constitutingamerica.org/
Constituting America’s mission is to reach, educate and inform America's youth and her citizens about the importance of the U.S. Constitution and the foundation it sets forth regarding our freedoms and rights.

Today's reading is Article 1 of the Constitution.


http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
Check it out.

Beautiful Things in S. Stefano di Camastra

On Saturday we decided to take a drive. What else can we do! We started driving on SS 113 toward Palermo. Most of the time when we drive towards Palermo we drive on the autostrada. SS 113 for the most part hugs the coastline. We drove throught a few nice towns with interesting buildings. Then we got to S. Stefano. We didn't know anything about this town. A friend that Frank had in Pennsylvania came from there in the 70's to Berks County like Frank came from Falcone. Then we started seeing this beautiful pottery.

Look at these tables!

Artwork from HANDPAINTED tiles.

Platters

Look at this wall!

I knew that this was the city that I

would find the platter I wanted!



All different kinds of items here.

Cool buildings too!

More tile artwork.

You could buy sinks and matching vanities, decorated the same.

Light fixtures, dishes, ashtrays, things to hang on the walls, fountains, etc!!

We even saw a fireplace.

A nice way to spend an afternoon.

We even went into to a stroe and bought sandwiches for lunch.

That's a rarity here!

Pecans

When we were in Taormina, we saw a guy selling fruits and vegetables out of the back of his truck. That is very common here in Sicily. At first we were attracted by all of the beautiful fruit he had. We told him we would buy something when we were ready to leave the city.
When we got back to him after we had lunch, more on that later! He was sleeping in the cab. An African man helped us instead. We wanted some grapes but he told us they were €7/kilo AND they were from China. No thanks, buddy. We got these pecans (I didn't ask where they came from) and a head of fresh garlic.
This morning I sat outside for a long while cracking the nuts and picking the meat out. Yummy! I haven't had pecans in over 6 months! They aren't sold in the stores here. I made some chocolate chip cookie bars with most of them! It's divine!

Lunch: We ate at "Panoramic" Bella Blu http://www.bellablutaormina.com/index.php It was delicious!! Frank had Eggplant Parmagiana, Lasagna, Veal Cutlet and Insalata Misto. I had Gnocchi, Veal Cutlet and Insalata Verde. Sophia has Shrimp Cocktail (not the same as AMerican Shrimp Cocktail), Steak and French Fries and Insalata Verde. We got Dreher beer (Italian), our favorite! Sophia had a coke! It was so good. The service was great. Most of them spoke English.
The place was pretty and clean.

Taormina Part 2

This building was very impressive!

It's a museum but we didn't go inside.

The tower with Latin written on it.

The church door.
This was the only church we entered.
There was another further into the city but they had just
finished services and I didn't wish to intrude.


Beautiful painting!

The inside.

See the couple peering down. They

are looking at a small "dig". Someone uncovered

some Roman ruins under the church.

It was too dark to get a good photo.

Aren't these beautiful?

Another gorgeous alleyway.

Look at the ornate wares for sale.

An old building

A look ahead

Taormina

Approaching Taormina

Taormina is a about a hour and a half's drive down the east

coast away from where we live. It was a beautiful day for a drive.

Entering the city.


Taormina is located on a mountain so you have to drive up!

Getting closer.

We are here. It so pretty!

The sidewalk.

Up an alleyway.

Look down at the beach.

The colors of the water were so vivid.

This picture does not do it justice.
There were about tens shades of green near the shore.

A mural. It's cool!

An old church

There were tons of tourists in the town.

Lots of Germans and some Americans.

We heard a couple of people speaking French.

More tomorrow!

Tunnel video

When we go towards Palermo we encounter more tunnels than when we travel toward Messina. So I thought I would make a video of one of the tunnels. This is a medium sized one.

Bridges

There are some really high bridges here. When you are on the autostrada sometimes you do not realize how high up you are because of the fences on either side of the bridge.

What a work of art!

Right into the mountain...

Flowers

Color is starting to pop out everywhere.

Gorgeous irises!

I have seen poppies everywhere!

I tried to grow these in my flowerbeds in PA, they died everytime!

I took this up in the mountains where we went

on Easter Monday. You can see my BIL's onion patch!

And a baby nespole tree on the right.

Some of the nespole have yellow fruit on them.

I don't know that tree so I don't know if they are ripe when yellow.

Look at all the tiny flowers in this shot!

Easter/Pasqua

I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Check out Little P's blog for her Easter surprise! www.litlep.blogspot.com

The islands

It was such a clear day (remember that song and movie??) and you could see some of the islands.

Hopefully we will be able to take a boat over there and see them. But nothing is running right now...

http://www.aeolischeinseln.ch/english/indexuk.html For some info..