Where is Kari

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  • Sunny Selinunte!

    April 13

    I left Sciacca this morning and headed west – ultimately for Trapani, but I planned to make a few stops along the way.  First up, the temples & ruins of Selinunte.  The guide books & websites praise this place and many say it’s better than the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.  I don’t agree – while it’s pretty cool to be able to actually walk inside most of these ruins (rather than around them), they have for the most part been reconstructed by dedicated & well-intentioned archeologists (the Agrigento Temples persevered on their own).  Regardless, very worth seeing AND the views of the Mediterranean from this site are MAGNIFICIENT!  I would have chosen to build here as well!!

    I arrived a little after 10am and the sun was already heating up.  I park, buy a ticket & walk into the park.  I follow the small crowd up to the first temple, which is you can actually see upon entering, and start to snap pictures galore.  As I mentioned above, it’s pretty cool to be able to go inside the temple & walk around to see scale and detail.  These suckers were huge!!! 

    I see another temple far off in the distance and start to walk down the path.  I see a piles of ruins (apparently an earthquake wiped out this place, rather than a conquering nation as previously thought) and continue walking.  I start to realize that this place I want to go to is pretty far away and I’m already getting pretty warm and really don’t want to spend 2 or 3 hours in the sun.

    So . . I turn back to the entrance and pay the fee for the electric golf cart tour.  Best 12 Euro I’ve spent so far.  I luck out to get – Massimo the driver!  He speaks enough English to tell me what’s what & where’s where and I actually start enjoying this place even more.  He takes me out way past that temple I saw (which is actually the acropolis- the main city with what was the most beautiful temple of them all) and to some other sites as well.  At each, he asks how long I want to explore so he can shuttle others back & forth.  Rest assured, he’s back when we agree and we move along at a pretty good pace.

    After I spend about a half hour at the Acropolis, I return to the parking lot and no Massimo.  It’s OK – there’s a very well dressed man selling granite (like sorbetto, but better!) and I am going to have to have one.  And guess what, he’s got the brioche buns, so I have lemon granite in a brioche and wait for Massimo.  When he arrives soon afterwards, he sees my granite and just smiles.  Typical tourist . . I’m sure he’s thinking!!!

    This is the ONLY way to see this huge park.  If you go, don’t hesitate to go the cart route.  Trust me – there were so many people attempting to hitchhike on the trails, that I’m sure they wish they’d done the same.  I told Massimo if he stopped & picked them up, he could make a lot of money.  He laughed!

    I left the park and drove down to the waterfront to find some lunch before heading to my next stop of Partanna.  I found a bunch of little spots and picked the cutest one with yellow tablecloths.  Nice staff and I finally got some spaghetti vongole (clams) and finished with an insalata mista (fresh salad of the day).  I have to say, this salad was the strangest thing I’ve eaten in Italy thus far.  It was butter lettuce, tomatoes, olives (all OK so far) – and corn . .yeah, corn!  I couldn’t quite believe my eyes.  I tasted a couple of kernels and I’m pretty sure they were fresh, not from a can – but still, strange, right?  Where do you even get fresh corn at this time of year and since when is corn Italian?? 

    I head up to Partanna to take a few quick shots of “our castle”.  Remember, Pippo had told me that the Graffeo’s have a castle in Partanna.  It’s actually called Castello Grifeo, but Pippo insists it belonged to the Graffeo’s.  It’s a pretty impressive place – or at least it was in its day.  Nice views, nice architecture, pretty commanding presence in a nice neighborhood.  Apparently, this is where the Graffeo Family Reunion will be held.  The GPS puts me onto a wild goose chase for my next stop – Castelvetrano.

    Really, I have no real reason to go to Castelvetrano, except it’s close and I want to be able to say I’ve been there once.  I’m sort of a maniac for Castelvetrano olives and this is where they come from.  I once ate close to 50 Castelvetrano olives (no judgment please) in a single sitting! I drove through the countryside after leaving Partanna and saw olive groves galore!  Task completed!

    Another 1 ½ hours and I’m in Trapani.  I’ll be here for Pasqua (Easter) and I’m told by the owner of the B&B to be prepared with my camera – cause the crazy is about to begin.  The car is parked by the waterfront – it’s staying there for the next 4 days – and, I’m taking the bus!


    Click Here for Great Pictures
  • Two Days at the Beach

    Two Days at the Beach

    April 11 & 12

    Before I leave “downtown” Sciacca, I do a little grocery shopping, as my next accommodation will have a kitchen.  I go to this salumeria that I’ve been walking by for the past few days and make a total haul: mortadella, prosciutto, provolone cheese, olives & fresh ricotta . . total: 12 Euros!  I pick up a few pastries and then decide to wait to see how equipped this kitchen is before I go crazy.  I haven’t done a real food shop in 3 weeks and I could definitely go crazy!!

    I drive out of town (just 10 minutes away) and find my way to this cute little place called Le Cupole Case Vacanze.  I’m checked in by Adriana’s father who speaks little English, but he manages to impart lots of info on me nonetheless.  However, it turns out there is no shopping around there and I’ll have to go back to “the city” – so I do.  It’s after 3pm now and all the shops are closed for afternoon nap time (I swear, I don’t know how these places stay in business they are closed so much) and I’m starving.  Mom – this is the one time, I had to opt for tasteless, lousy pizza-focaccia thing for lunch and downed it with a lemon soda.  Then I go back to veggie shop a couple of blocks down from the salumeria and actually find I like what’s there.  The “older” man that runs the place is so sweet and he keeps suggesting things . . I don’t have enough Italian to explain it will only be for 2 days & I have limited kitchen tools.  I pick up some big bottles of water at the bar and some olive oil & salt from the Tipiche Prodici of Sicily and I’m set!

    I return to Le Cupole and that’s where I stay for the next 36 hours – why leave – really?  I befriend a little kitty – who is literally starving – by feeding him some of my haul.  Honestly, this cat ate as well as I did for the next 2 days – prosciutto, mortadella & plates of fresh ricotta.  When I left, he followed me to the car, looking at me as if he was saying, “please don’t leave me, I’ll starve without you”.  I hope that’s not the case.

    I have this great little table on the patio that looks out onto the ocean so the next day I write almost all day and move pictures around to get them ready for postings.  I decide I need to talk a walk at least, so I decide to go down to the beach.  It’s deserted except for a family of 4 that are just about to leave.  As I start to climb down the little hill, the man comes over & offers his hand to help me down.  Sicilian men are so gracious! 

    I do a nice, long meditation looking out on the Mediterranean and just smile at the blue sky & blue water – magnificent.  Two guys come down and start to set up their equipment for wind surfing.  I’ve only seen this from afar, so I decide it’s pretty interesting to watch, so I stay & watch for about an hour.  Heck, what else do I have to do?

    On the way down & on the way back, I spot this cool villa that’s closed up & obviously vacant.It had a great rooftop deck that I’m sure an incredible view of the coast leading up to Sciacca & the turquoise Mediterranean sea.  I can’t help but snap a few pictures, thinking it would make a fine little renovation project for Scott & me to have in Sicily.  Yeah, right!  Check it out anyway – I think it has potential.

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    I think about going into Sciacca for dinner, but I have stuff I can make and besides, who wants to shower & get dressed when you can stay here on the patio??  I make some sausage that I bought but it’s really salty so the cat gets most of that.  I settle for veggies, bread and more salumi – works for me!  I unwrap a pastry parcel that Adriana & her family brought to me earlier.  They are Easter treats and very colorful – and very delicious!  Check out the pictures and you’ll see this confetti sprinkle covered thing was like a big block of good sugar cookie (and I come to find out about 4 days later that it has a hard boiled egg in the middle – so out it goes!).  There were also these two egg shaped “cakes” covered in a sort of fondant.  One was almond, one was pistachio, both were molto deliciosa!!  Sorry you weren’t here Mom – these were YOUR type of goodies. 

    I write until the sun goes down, the wind’s whipping up & it’s getting cold on my litle patio.  I turn in early.  Tomorrow will start with a visit to the temples at Selinunte – but tonight, I’m re-charging my batteries at the beach! 


    Click Here for Pictures
  • Lazy Saturday in Sciacca . .

    Lazy Saturday in Sciacca . .

    . . . well . . . kind of!

     April 8

    This morning I wake up to the coo of doves and a little street noise – and it’s Saturday in Sciacca.  I don’t have much planned today – EXCEPT a visit with Guiseppe Graffeo (who we believe to be a close relative) and I’ve decided to take it a bit easy.  Truth be told, I’m finding I need to pace myself.  Travel for this long is exhausting and I am sure that I didn’t really think about that when I set up my itinerary . . so I’m forcing myself “to pace”.

    I take my time getting out of bed & turn on the news.  I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but it’s really hard to get English speaking channels here – so I’ve been without TV (which is fine) and news (a little less tolerable since the election when I became an absolute news junky).  Besides, I wanted an update on the terror attack in Sweden which broke while I was buying deodorant (10 Euro deodorant!) in the farmacia yesterday.  So my choices are BBC Worldwide (but it’s morning so they’re doing fluff pieces on the artificial intelligence devices like Amazon’s Alexis) and Fox News (now, this if painful, but it’s still Friday night in the US and I’m getting the evening feed live).  So, I got my news peppered with conservative commentary – but heck, I can do my own interpretation!!

    I get out of bed & take my time primping in the bathroom (Scott would love how long I took – really) and get dressed.  I go downstairs to have some breakfast.  I find a tray of yummy baked goods and two things filled with pistachio curd or cream (not sure what the technical term is, but I could swim in this stuff).  I opt for the cornetto (croissant) because I had the donut looking one yesterday – and some pineapple, kiwi & strawberries that are all sprinkled with (you guessed it) pistachios!  The nice gal makes me some English breakfast tea and I finish up with a carton of yogurt & some more fruit.  Pretty happy indeed! (Honestly, I would have had another cornetto, but I’m going to hit the pasticceria this afternoon to stock up on biscuits (cookies).

    I go back to my room, brush my teeth and try to get onto ancestry.com to attempt to find a little more about Graffeo family – but find the internet is not cooperating (what a surprise)!  I decide to just relax on my balcony in the sun, as it’s about 66 degrees already and the sky is clear.

    **Note – it’s 1:20pm now and I’m writing this sitting on my balcony and I just heard (and saw) a horse pulling a cart down the “marble & cobblestoney” street.  Funny!  It is Palm Sunday tomorrow – and the town is in prep mode for this big Catholic celebration.  I’m pretty sure the horse & cart had something to do with that!

    About 10:20, I go downstairs to find Rosy & Michele (my ancestry peeps) waiting for me & Senore Graffeo – who arrives promptly at 10:30 and he is a cutey (reminds me SO much of my grandpa Rafello).

    The next hour is wild!!  This Guiseppe Graffeo goes by the nickname of Pippo.  Pippo is talking a mile a minute in Sicilian and he’s got all kinds of family lore.  Rosy is translating as fast as she can for me!  We show Pippo the family tree and he gets excited to see the Graffeo’s and the Sclafani’s and says “they are all cousins”!  Rosy focuses him on the Graffeo side and he starts to make notations.  It sounds like there’s a good possibility that this guy is closely related.  His grandfather Accursio may have been a brother of Antonino (my great grandfather) or at the very least a first cousin.  Accursio lived on the same street that both of my great grandparents did as well (Vicino San Lorenzo).  He knows about some of the relatives going to America and even remembers stories of some . . he wants to know the names of the children of Antonino (Tony) & Calogera (Linda) and starts to laugh at all the “Americanized names” . . . even the “Rafello” change makes him smile & laugh!   

    Next he talks about the great Graffeo’s – and the fact that they were Greek.  We all apparently come from this Graffeo patriarch (can’t remember his nickname, but it translated close to “Papa of All”) and he built a castle in Partanna in the province of Trapani (I’ll go next week to see it).  According to Pippo, Graffeo’s are all short, ARTISTIC, smart & important.  The ones that went to American became very successful – the fisherman that stayed here are no longer poor – and most have gone on to be great artists & doctors.  While a huge majority of those still in Sicily live in Sciacca, there are Graffeos spread all over the island.  He’s added me to a facebook page called “Graffeos Around the World”.  And get this – they are having a big Graffeo Family Reunion this August at Partanna Castle – to meet each other & EAT!  So Rafello’s – who wants to come???????

    Rosy told Pippo we had some challenges with the lady at city hall records yesterday and it turns out that he works kind of with city hall – so he has connections.  He’s picking me up on Monday morning on his way to work to take me in there to ask for some favors.  Hopefully, I’ll get a little farther with Senora Ventimiglia!!   

    How exciting – Pippo –  a new family member in Sicily!!  Here’s a picture of Pippo & me . . .

    I return upstairs and do a little email & just laze in the sun – as I wait for the noon hour to pick up my laundry.  I walk to the Lavanderia and a little girl greets me.  I say “Ciao” and ask if Lina is here?  She runs back to find her Mom; her name is Sara.  Lina tells me that Sara is just starting to study English in school – but everything I say to Sara just makes her stare at me like I’m some sort of alien.  I ask her if English is hard and she just looks at me – like “why are you talking to me in English”.  I say “grazi mille” to Lina, grab my 11 Euro laundry (great deal!) and I’m off.

    As I walk up the stairs, I’m thinking I’m a bit hungry.  There’s cold pizza from last night in the fridge but I see a little shop that has fresh fruits & veggies.  I need water – so I go in.  They have cheese & bread too – why not?  I grab a .255 kilo piece of prima sale with pepperoncino (a young cheese – pressed but made only 6 days ago – with red pepper flakes) and a loaf of really good sesame bread & two 2 liter bottles of water – TOTAL: 4.10 Euro.  When I return to the B&B, I hit the balcony and eat about 1/3 of the cheese & bread and a cold piece of last night’s pizza.  I think about opening a bottle of wine – but I’m going to write – so I’ll hold off until tonight.  Besides, I’m going to need to hit the pasticceria for those sweets and more than likely will need an afternoon gelato – so I’ll hold off eating more.  **The post picture is my lunch buffet!

    Back to writing .  . .

    3:55pm and I’m still writing – but I have gotten 2 messages from Pippo.  He says on Monday evening he’s presenting the Nobel Family of Graffeo’s coat of arms at the Rotary . . very important indeed.  He adds – he’s set up a meeting for me for Monday morning with the Minister of Culture who will help me with the family search – this guy’s got connections – he can even set up meetings on Saturday!  I’ve just spent the last 20 minutes downloading & configuring Google Translator for offline use so I can communicate with this important minister, not waste his time, and really find out more about the family.  All GREAT!

    Time for a break. . . off to pastry shop for afternoon treats!

    A 6 minute walk through the old streets of Sciacca and I find Pasticceria Gelateria Dolci Sapori . . damn, it’s closer than I thought (too easy to go back every day!).  They don’t really have biscuits, but do have all these gorgeous treats and . . well, I did say I wanted to load up.  I go for a piece of cassata cake, two canoli, a pistachio thing & another tart looking thing.  Of course, the gelato is calling & it’s after 4pm – so it’s OK to have one before dinner.  I go for strawberry (I usually am a nut woman -but heck, gotta go with the pink today) and I wonder why I’ve stayed away from my favorite childhood flavor (used to eat JUST the strawberry in the neopolitan ice cream) for so long.  It is INCREDIBLE.  I walk back to the hotel slowly (but trying to avoid fast cars coming at me on the narrow streets) completely enjoying my cone.  I decide to take the long way back, winding through old streets & alleys to “work off” the gelato and the pastries I’m sure to be eating later.  All that cost me a mere 6 Euro . . don’t you love the food prices in Sicily??  I do!

    I come back & call Scott on Viber.  We do some book work, catch up on what he’s been doing at the house, and talk about my visit with Pippo this morning.  I turn the camera on my gorgeous hotel room, balcony AND the sweets – and decide to enjoy one of the canoli on his behalf (with him watching).  He’s jealous and says it’s time to eat some breakfast.  Then I Viber with Amy and share the Pippo story with her too.

    Around 7pm, I’m thinking about, “thinking about dinner” – but I’m just not hungry.  Maybe that canolo filled me up?  I know I need some vegetables – but I just can’t bring myself to eat dinner.

    I decide to meditate on the balcony with the sun setting and find it one of the best I’ve had on my trip.

    I come back in & do a little more writing and realize it’s close to 9pm and determine, I’m just not going to go out this evening to eat or do anything else.

    Mom checks in on my message earlier regarding Pippo – and I give Mom & Dad a quick call (using real cell phone minutes) and give them an update about this morning & the update about the minister of culture and they are thrilled!  They also are flabbergasted at how much Pippo looks like my Dad’s father and his brothers.  Family indeed!

    So – I’m going to sign off now and watch the Tonight Show.  Yes, finally found something in English and it’s got Jay Leno co-starring or guest-starring or whatever.  He & Jimmy together will quench my thirst for English. 

    I think I’ll put on some pajamas, watch the boys, and eat the piece of cassata for dinner!  Why not?  I watched a 6 year old kid eat an entire Nutella pizza for dinner last night.  Dessert for dinner?  If it’s good enough for the kid, it’s good enough for me!

    **Note to Alex & Sienna: I know what sugar addicts you both are – and I’m sorry you’re not here to share all these treats with me.  We’d be eating gelato & pastries all day – every day!  Miss you guys 😊

  • Meet Cugino Pippo!

    Meet Cugino Pippo!

    Also known as: Ancestry Day

    April 7

    One of the website’s I came across while planning this trip had a great section on family ancestry.  Turns out Sicily has the BEST ancestry records of any country in the world.  It claimed that most countries can go back to the mid 1700s – Sicily to the early 1600s and in many cases, earlier than that.

    I found this lady named Rosy Bartolotta and she does these ancestry field trips for clients.  Basically, she does research on the family using any information you have and then sets up a day taking you through the famiglia town.  I was interested and called Dad to tell him about it – and kind of extorted the $400 fee out of him! 

    I sent Rosy a big old summary of the family history, as I know it.  She was interested in the children born in American and asked for all their names and birthdates.  Apparently, Italian immigrants used to send this info back home to complete the very thorough history that they keep on everyone.  Unfortunately, I never found any evidence that this happened with our family.

    Rosy and her husband, Michele (Michael), pick me up bright & early and our first stop is to hit the City Hall and the Department of Birth Records.  (Let me pause here to tell you that Rosy is originally from Detroit, an American and has been living in Sicily {outside Palermo} for 38 years.  Her husband, Michele, is Sicilian and while he doesn’t speak English, he understands all of it!  These two are like the Bickersons – kind of a common theme that I’ve observed in Sicilian relationships.  The woman nags and then thehusband snaps back and then he just does what his wife says anyway.  It’s their way and it works!)

    Senora Ventimiglia at birth records knows we’re coming, as Rosy has both written to her & called her to let her know we are coming.  She has already pulled birth certificates for both Antonino & Calogera using the birthdates that I sent.  While I already have Antonino’s from my parents trip to Sciacca 20+ years ago, the one for Calogera is new & kind of a gold mine!  First piece of news, her father was Accursio Sclafani and her mother was Francesca Sabella.  Exciting for Dad to hear – as he now knows we’re related to the Sabella’s – which he’s always heard but never knew any details.  Mystery solved there.

    Rosy asks to see “the books” so we go to the back.  VERY COOL BOOKS!  These are OLD – and include details (rich, long, documented details) about the birth of every child.  They describe the parents: how old they were at birth, where they lived when the baby was born, their occupations, their parents (baby’s grandparents) and other cool stuff.  They write the name of the baby and its birthdate in themargin and fill in the details in the big column.  When someone gets married and/or dies, the margin is updated with the spouse & date of marriage info AND date & place of death.  I saw these books and both Antonino & Calogera’s margins only showed births – no other details – apparently that’s what you find when people immigrated . . the trail kind of goes cold.

    BUT – and this is a big but – these details answered a whole bunch of questions and give us a whole bunch of information that we haven’t had up to this point. 

    So – here’s what I found out!

    Antonino . . born to Vincenzo Graffeo & Accursia Fauci.  Vincenzo was 32 years old and Accursia was 30 years old when he was born.  Puts them born about 1840 & 1842 respectively.  Vincenzo was a fisherman and so was his father.  Vincenzo’s father: Calogero Graffeo.  Accursia’s father was Antonino Fauci; by the way, he was a fisherman too!  We’d have to pull Vincenzo & Accursia’s birth records to find out their mothers – but we’ve got a confirmed generation back!  And more details to go on for the next generation back if we want to go there.

    Calogera . . born to Accursio Sclafani & Francesca Sabella.  Accursio was 48 years old and Francesca was 37 years old when she was born – quite old in those days – and more than guarantees that Calogera had many brothers & sisters.  She was probably a “whoops” baby!  I’m taking some poetic license here 😊.  Puts them born about 1825 & 1836 respectively.  Accursio’s father was Calogero and Francesca’s father was Stefano.  Again, another generation back confirmed – and we could go another by pulling some birth records to get the mothers. 

    Get this – all these men were fishermen TOO!!!  Confirmed – fishing came down in the blood to my grandfather, Vincent Sr. and Carl & Tony’s dad (Vincent’s brother) Augutus (aka Cuci) from many generations back.

    Interesting to see so many Calogero(a) and Accursio(a) names throughout the family tree.  And Pippo (see other Sciacca posts for reference) says that Augusto was “Americanized” for Accursio. 

    But here’s what may be the most interesting find!  Vincenzo & Calogera were born & lived on the SAME STREET – and it’s a small street – I’ve been there multiple times!  The locals call this section of town the the “Fisherman’s Area” and you can wind down little streets to the wharf in about 5 minutes.  Antonino’s family lived in 17 Vicolo San Lorenzo and Calogera’s family lived in 11 Vicolo San Lorenzo.  These families knew each other, they fished together, their kids would have played together.  Antonino & Calogera KNEW EACH OTHER before they came to America.  This is new, NEWS . . we always thought they had met in San Francisco – but it’s clear that’s not the case. 

    This of course, opens up a lot of new questions.  Like why did each of them leave Sicily (even though everyone over here claims that everyone was leaving) there may be more to it – if you want to speculate.

    Rosy says it’s very interesting that Antonino would marry Calogera because she already had a child – and that just WASN’T done.  There is no record of Calogera ever being married, so was this baby illegitimate?  Family lore is that she was married to a man that died and had the baby with him (we know he exists, he was my Dad’s Uncle Red and he came into the country on his mom’s immigration record under the name Ignazio Marino).  We did some searching under Marino & Marinello and the names Ignazio & Emilio (the name he used in the States) and could find NO birth record for him in 1898, 1899, 1900 or 1901.  (Strangely, his death and naturalization records show different birthdates, both which would make him about 2 or 3 years old at immigration but the immigration record lists him as a 10 month old baby upon entry).  Strange indeed.  We never did look for him as Ignazio Sclafani, which would have been how he was listed if he was born illegitimately – so that could lead us to a real answer.  Matters not – we will probably never have that answer.

    What is interesting is a couple of things.  Family lore says that Calogera kept a picture of Red’s father on the mantle her whole life & that she called this man the love of her life.  Did she leave to get away from scandal?  Was this man already married?   Also interesting that is Antonino & Calogera knew each other – could their families have arranged this marriage?  Antonino was already in the States and maybe Calogera was sent to him.  Maybe they met in New York and moved to San Francisco to start anew.  Maybe Antonino was just a nice guy and wanted to help out an old friend.  Maybe living in the new world would erase any worries about what people thought.  Again, matters not – chances are we will never know.  But . . it’s interesting to think about.

    A couple of years ago, we found out that there’s a lot of scandal in my Mom’s father’s family.  It was fun & interesting to learn, but left us with lots of unanswered questions.  And while we knew about some of the family scandals in my Dad’s father’s generation, it’s interesting to see that there were probably some doozies in the previous generation as well.  Sad to know . . . we’ll never know. 

    Rosy’s request for the names of brothers & sisters gets Senora Ventimiglia riled up and we’re turned away.  Books slammed shut!

    We head out on our tour of the city.  First up, the “mother church” – a grand place in the center of town that Rosy claims all children would have been baptized at.  I took a picture of the altar – quite grand!  We swing by Vicolo San Lorenzo, a little tiny street not far from the waterfront.  Michele takes my picture in front of the street sign and Rosy & I walk down to check out the addresses.  Antonino’s #17 is clearly there and I snapped a couple of pics for you.  #11 – Calogera’s place is missing.  I see a renovation in motion that looks to be two places brought together and decide that must have been it since the numbers around it work.  **Note: On a subsequent visit, I realize #11 has been combined with #13 into a little B&B.  There’s a church that’s locked up right by the B&B called “Ex Chiesa San Lorenzo” – the church of San Lorenzo – and I’m sure IT IS where the kids were baptized!


    Vicolo San Lorenzo Neighborhood

    Next stop – the harbor.  I need Rosy to be able to communicate with the fisherman and ask them questions for me.  They are more than obliging.  When they find out that I come from Graffeo & Sclafani roots, they send someone to “get a Sclafani” – he comes back & talks fast Sicilian for about 15 minutes.  Turns out there are still lots of Sclafani’s in the fishing industry, but they are out fishing right now.  I should come back about 3:30 or 4:00 because I look exactly like someone that’s on this boat that will come in to this spot later today.  Unfortunately, I didn’t make it back and missed that opportunity.   No matter, this was great fun and I enjoyed getting pictures with the helpful chaps!

    Rosy wants to take me to a couple of tourist attractions – the thermal baths, the church of San Calogero (way up on the hill) and this museum that has cool statues (it was closed).  I want to go to the cemetery – so we go.  **Getting to the cemetery is a story in itself.  Suffice to say, we probably stopped and asked directions 8 times.  When I asked Michele why he didn’t just put it into the GPS, he said in Sicilian “because my wife will get mad at me” and Rosy translates for me . . Michele smiles & rolls his eyes!

    The “clerk” at the cemetery just rolls his eyes & waves his hand when Rosy asks if there are any Graffeo’s or Sclafani’s buried there.  It’s as if he’s saying, “Yeah right – where else would they all be?” I ask if I can just wander for a while and Rosy says, “take all the time you need”.  I try to go into Amy mode – talking to Calogera / Linda / Nonna and asking for her to guide me in.  Then I start talking to the whole family, saying “show me where they are” and I continue to walk up & down rows.  I see LOTS of Graffeo’s and even more Sclafani’s – but they are all the wrong time period – too current.  Finally, I come to this very large cement slab and realize it’s a crypt.  (Rosy’s told me that Sicilian’s don’t like to be buried under the ground which is why all the crypts are above ground – even the single graves look like sarcophagi {Scott – that is one of those weird plurals for words that end in S – gotta use the I that you like so much!!}.  This is the burial place for six members of the Fauci Family and I’m sure I’ve found the grave of Antonino’s maternal family.  Unfortunately, as I return to the car, I realize that I found Accursio Fauci, the male version of the name, when what I thought I had found was Accursia Fauci, his mother.  Darn!

    A few minutes later, Michele is calling loudly to me to come to where he’s standing.  I thought they were ready to leave, but instead, Rosy says “I think I’ve found the baby’s father”.  Now, I should mention that Rosy has been kind of obsessed with “finding that baby” since our search for Uncle Red’s birth certificate has turned up nothing.  So, when she finds a grave for Ignazio Marino, born the year after Calogero (1874), she is over the moon.  There’s a picture, clear as day, and she asks me if Red looked like him.  Well, I’ve maybe seen Red’s picture once or twice and certainly don’t remember what he looks like, so I’ll have to send it to my parents.  I don’t have internet and they are asleep, so it will have to wait.  Cemetery visit is over!

    We’re driving around town and come across the Graffeo Palace but can’t pull over so Michele goes up a couple of blocks & stops traffic while I get out, run back & snap a few shots.  After that we decide to get some lunch and they ask me what I like.  I say I eat anything and Rosy says she has this restaurant that they love here in Sciacca (actually she had pointed it out earlier when we went to City Hall) but says it’s gotten expensive.  I say that I don’t mind, if they want to go there, let’s go.  We do and when the menu comes, she says again, how expensive this place has gotten.  I decide I’m buying lunch either way.  I order a salad and risotto and they order a pasta dish to share.  And then she mentions that they know the owner but that she’s sure he’s not here at lunch time.  About that time, the owner notices them and comes over to say hello.  He greets them & then me- and Rosy tells him I don’t really speak Italian and that I’m looking for my family.  He asks the name and she tells him Graffeo & Sclafani.  He says he knows a Graffeo and calls him on the phone.  They get to talking and it turns out that he just might be related because he knows Vicolo San Lorenzo, his grandfather lived on that street.  We ask if he can come over and I’ll buy him lunch – but he’s out of town today and can’t.  He asks where I’m staying and says he’ll come by to meet me at 10:30am the next morning.  Bingo – we may have a hit!

    The restaurant owner mentions that this Graffeo guy really doesn’t speak English, so I’m a little concerned that we won’t get very far, as is Rosy.  She says a few times, maybe we should come back tomorrow.  I say, I would love that and if I pay for their gas, she’ll come.  I ask if 50 Euro will do it – and it works, they come back the next morning.  And that’s how we found cousin, Pippo!

    The next morning, Guiseppe Graffeo walks into the lobby of the B&B and I get goose bumps.  I know he’s family, he reminds me so much of my grandfather and his brother Cuci.  He’s got my Dad’s smile & his friendliness and he’s so excited to meet me.  He begins talking so fast, with lots of facts, and Rosy is working hard to translate . . even Michele has gotten into the act and is translating some stuff to English for me (seems he can speak English when he wants to!).  Pippo’s looking at the family tree we’ve drawn with all the new information we got yesterday and draws his own branch on the picture.  He’s pretty sure his grandfather, Accursio, was Antonino’s brother which would put him on the same generational level as my Dad.  I never did ask how old he is, but I’d put Pippo at late 60s, early 70s, and my Dad was born to the oldest son of Antonino & Calogera – so very possible they ARE of the same generation.

    He asks for my contact info and we take a few pictures.  He’s smiling and hugging me and giving me those famous air-kisses and I’m so excited that we may have found a real family connection – one of the main reasons I made this trip. 

    Within an hour, I have a wonderful email from him – all in Italian – so I plug it into Google Translator only to find that he’s set up this meeting for Monday with the Minister of Culture and they will help me further with the search. 

    Wonderful, sweet messages continue for the next couple of days and he gets into the Google Translator mode and we’re sending real messages back & forth.  One says – “you have the smile, the joy of the GRAFFEO family”.  Another sends hugs to all my beautiful family and “hopes I will return one day so he can introduce me to the history, the art, the beauty of our city Sciacca”.  A dear man for sure!

    Just for the record and according to Pippo . . . Graffeo’s are Greek, originally from Pratanna (province of Trapani), SHORT, very smart, important and ARTISTIC!   The ones that went to America did well for themselves and the fisherman that stayed are no longer poor!

    Finding Guiseppe (Pippo) Graffeo, PRICELESS! 

    Meeting Rosy & Michele . . worth every bit of that $400, Dad!! 


    Click Here for More Pictures
  • Sciacca . . oh Sciacca!

    Sciacca . . oh Sciacca!

    April 6 – 11

    This post is for my Dad . . and my Aunt Shirley, my Uncle Nino, mia Tia Em-meh (aka: Auntie M), Cousin Carl, Dean, Amy, my cousin Nick (who kind of kick-started this journey for me when he gave me custody of his ancestry.com account) and all the rest of my “Rafello” cousins.

    I truly wish you could have all been with me for the 6 days I spent in Sciacca.  It was an amazing exploration of this beautiful city and a look into how Nonno & Nonna (aka: Antonino Graffeo & Calogera Sclafani– aka: Tony Rafello & Linda Rafello), and their families, may have lived before they immigrated to the United States.   I walked & photographed the town for days.  I talked to so many people, who when I told I had family that came from Sciacca, became super friendly and wanted details.  I focused on the old town, as that would have been all that was here when Antonino & Calogera lived here.  The outskirts grew up, I’m sure, after they left – as is evidenced by the 4 & 5 story apartments homes that scatter the hills around the old city.

    You’ll have to read my post “Meet Cugino Pippo” for more details on what I found out about the family, but this post is really about getting you familiar with the city itself.  Sciacca is beautiful: architecturally, culturally, artistically & gastronomically.  In hindsight, I wish I had spent the entire trip here just learning as much Italian as I could, making friends & exploring the workings of the city.

    I know many of you will never make it to Sciacca – so I hope this will give you a strong sense of what it looks like.  Walking around was one awe-inspiring, surprise after another.  And while I know many Italian (and for that matter European) towns are full of amazing surprises of great architecture, phenomenal churches and beautiful piazzas at every turn – THIS Sicilian town has a history that includes all of us – and it did not disappoint.

    You will be pleased to know that Sciacca has great respect from its Sicilian neighbors & cousins.  Whenever I mention it to other Sicilians the common response is. . “Oh . . Sciacca” – said with a sort of sign, like they’re remembering it fondly.  I will as well.

    Coming into town that first day was pretty thrilling.  I had built this place up in my mind and was anxious to see how it would play out.  The sights, the colors, the sounds, the smells, the air, the history, the people – all fun to experience. 

    Once I’d parked & checked into my very nice B&B, I went out for my first dinner.  The gal at the B&B had made a reservation for me at La Trattoria Vecchia Conza for 8pm; it was still empty and I was the only one in the place.  The host (I actually think he was the owner) didn’t speak much English, but he was charming.  A half hour later a family came in and as the host went to seat them, he smiled at me and motioned as if to say “see, others are here too – OK?”.  All OK with me!  I had a big plate of mixed grilled seafood for dinner – in honor of my grandpa!

    The next morning & afternoon, I spent with Rosy, the ancestry lady.  See post titled “Meet Cugino Pippo”.   When I finish with Rosy, I decide to take my dirty laundry to a lavanderia that the B&B owner recommended.  I find it with some help from a guy near the steps that I needed to go down (I got lost, because I was looking for steps that went up)!  I say in my best Italian “I’d like to get these clothes washed” and the girls turns around and goes in the back to get someone else.  I’m not offended . . well, maybe I am!  This women comes out and we have a nice English / Italian conversation and decide that yes, they will wash & dry but not iron the clothes.  She tells me it will be 3 Euro per kilo and I think that sounds like a pretty good price.  I ask when it will be ready and she says tomorrow at noon.  I ask if she will give me a ticket and she says, no, I’ve got it!  In my less than American trust, I ask her name, because if you know someone’s name, they won’t screw you, right?  She says Lina and we get to talking about why I’m in Sciacca.  She’s excited I’m from California and that I’ve come to find family.  By the time, I leave, we’re on pretty good terms.  I walk out hoping that I will see again the 2/3 of the clothes I’ve brought to Italy and now left with Lina.  Here’s to trusting the nice Sicilians!!

    The day after that was a Saturday and I decided to take the day off.  You can see how that went in post called “Lazy Saturday in Sciacca”.  During that day I talked to Amy and she sensed I was a little down.  Between the heavy physical load of traveling this long and being on my own with no to have a real conversation with – her sense was correct.  She gave me a great pep talk and told me to watch for signs.

    The next day, I went to the Harbor. . and the signs . . well, the signs were everywhere!!

    This harbor, wharf, waterfront – call it what you like – is HUGE!  I’d say it spans about 1 ½ miles, maybe 2 and I walked around it for over 3 hours.  Every inch of it!  I started on the pleasure side with the yachts and sailboats, checked out the little “yacht clubs” (kind of male social clubs if you ask me) and watched a few people fishing from the pier.

    I started over to the commercial side and passed a ton of old buildings that are no longer in use.  I’m sure they all supported the fishermen & fishing trade at one time, as they line the streets right at the harbor.  I also found a little church that was pretty humble and just the place I think the fishermen would go each Sunday.  (It was Palm Sunday and the place was packed with everyone in their Sunday best – so I couldn’t really tell what these people did for a living – but I’m sure they all have something to do with the sea).  And then I start to walk along the pier where all the commercial boats are parked.

    The first boat I come to is . . the ANTONINO!  I’m not kidding you – the hair stood up on my arms and I got a huge smile across my face.  “They” were here and they were guiding me in!  As I walked along, the signs just kept coming.  Calogero (Calogera & Antonino’s grandfathers / and the male version of Calogera); Accursio (Linda’s father / Accursia was Antonino’s mother’s name as well),;Salvatore (Calogero’s brother); Stefano (Antonino & Linda’s son that drowned at Montara Beach), Francesca (Calogera’s mother); and even a boat called Stati Uniti painted red, white & blue (Stati Uniti is what the Italians call the United States).  I gotta say – it was fantastic, amazing, mind blowing!!  I walked the entire length of all 3 piers and looked at EVERY boat.  It was awesome! 

    These pictures are for my Dad . .and his sisters & brother.  I hope they trigger happy memories of the wharf & your own Dad.


    Pictures of the Waterfront

    I told Amy the next day about a restaurant that I passed a couple of times as I was checking out the waterfront.  It was called Italia and something kept drawing me to it.  Was it cute?  Was it the building? The color?  I wasn’t sure. I stopped and looked it up on Google to see if there were any reviews and guess what?  It was actually called “Ristorante Italia da Nino”.  Really? had to go now!!!  Unfortunately, being Palm Sunday, they couldn’t accommodate me with a table.  No matter – point was made & not lost on me! 

    I head back up the long hill (decide to take the hill instead of the big old staircase thinking it would be easier – wrong) and reach the top – sweaty & hot!  I return to my B&B and take a little break before venturing out to find something to eat.  Now, keep in mind that it’s both Palm Sunday and close to 3pm (and 3 or 3:30 is the bewitching hour for food in Sicily – as the restaurants close & don’t reopen until about 7:30 or 8 – so you better EAT when they are OPEN).  I’m not having a lot of luck and then I come to this little place called Osteria Il Commensale that’s down this little alley.  They have tables outside and they have plenty of room for me.  They also have meat!!!  I order this pistachio pesto pasta for a starter and ask for lamb for my main course.  Sorry, they’re out – so I settle for a ribeye steak.  No disappointment here – it was delicious.  They served a delicious bread & olives/peppers/onions for antipasti and I had a big old glass of red wine.  I waddled out of there very happy indeed!  **Sorry, I forgot to charge my phone that afternoon (too many pics at the harbor) or I would have gotten some pics of that meal.  Interesting that right across the alley from my table was a construction worksite with a posting of the work to be done.  It was sort of a permit application with the owner, construction company, foreman, date work could start, time & days of week they could work, etc – and reminded me of Scott & made me miss him.  I know working in Italy with all their regulations would make him nuts. 

    Keep this little restaurant in mind, as I will come back to it!

    I skip dinner that night and just have a big gelato.  I go down to the main square – Piazza Scandaliato – and watch the passeggiata serale (evening stroll).  It’s Palm Sunday, so I’m not sure this is typical Sunday evening or not, but it’s pretty relaxing to just be there amongst all these family & friends.  The pace is slow and it matters not that I’m eating gelato for dinner.  No one cares, they’ve all just come from church and big family dinners.  People are smiling, greeting each and air-kissing the heck out of each other.  It’s just a big old social occasion and I’m the only one observing, rather than participating.  I decide to stroll a bit – and find myself saying “slow down”.  It must be all that mindfulness meditation!

    The next day, I’m to rendezvous with Pippo and he’s going to take me to see the Minister of Culture.  He picks me up & we go to his office.  I meet his boss, a lovely woman by the name of Daniela Portera.  She speaks some English, so we have a very nice broken English & Italian conversation and I learn more about Pippo and what they do.  She heads up the province of Agrigento’s “restoration of art” group and Pippo heads up the Sciacca division.  Pippo restores art!  His office has this amazing fresco on the ceiling that needs to be restored – but the border is made up of Nobile Famiglia of Sicily – and the Graffeo coat of arms is right up there with them all!  VERY cool!!!

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    We go to City Hall and meet the Minister of Culture and he assigns one of his bulldogs to me.  I say this as a complete term of endearment because this lady did everything she could to cut through the BS that the other departments were dumping on her.  I had taken the time the night before, using Google Translator (which I’ve fallen in love with), to put together a little synopsis of what I was looking for – namely the names & birthdates of Antonino & Calogera’s brothers & sisters.  Senora Ventimiglia in the department of birth records was having none of that.  Even in my very minimal Italian, I knew she was saying “impossible, too much work, there’s no way I can do that”!  I agreed, with her attitude, there’s no way she could / would do it.  I said grazie mille & we moved on to immigration.  Now, since my bulldog wasn’t interested much in my “synopsis” she didn’t realize that I actually wasn’t looking for the immigration records to the United States.  We have those – clear as day – no doubt we have the right ones from ancestry.com.  However, for some reason, I think she thought we should check those and the lady in that department was very put out as well.  She made us wait and then rifled through some old record books & then came up with a story about a department called A.I.R.E. (basically translate to Italians Residents Living Abroad) and that A.I.R.E. had had a fire that destroyed all records prior to 1990.  BS – I saw the records on the shelf.  I think she felt this would deter the bulldog and it did!  Again, I thanked her and moved on.

    Let me just take a moment to say – the coolest thing about the morning was that I got to see all these old record books.  When you have a name like Kari Rafello – it’s pretty rare indeed to see your name in print, let alone on the binding of a book – and see I did!  Graffeo, Sclafani, Fauci, Sabella, Marino, Marinello, etc . . there were old books from the turn of the century with these pink immigration records that would have confirmed, I’m sure, what I already know – which is when they both left Sicily.  Nevertheless, it would have been cool to see their records and maybe see why they left . . good probability that they would have had their signatures too.

    I thank the bulldog & give her two air-cheek kisses and she sends me on my way.  I send Pippo a message (using Google Translator) that the morning didn’t really turn up any more stuff and he’s pretty disappointed.  I tell him – NO WORRIES – because we found him and that’s all that counts!!

    I decide to climb about 100 stairs to the higher part of the old city.  I’ve seen on the tourist map that there’s a Palazzo Graffeo up there (another palace folks) and I must get pictures.  Plus there’s a couple of big, old churches up there.  I climb & climb & climb and reach the Piazza Gerado Noceto where I find the two churches, take a couple of pictures and then search crazily for Palazzo Graffeo.  I walk around the block looking for the red oval sign that is always in place for historical landmarks and I can’t find one.  I ask this guy going into Pizzeria Conte Luna if he knows where it is – and he says no (a few minutes later he comes running after me with a map) and then I move onto a few guys talking on the corner.  “Dove, Palazzo Graffeo?” I ask.  “No”, he says – and points down as he says “E ‘nel centro della città” – meaning it’s in the city center.  I think we both must be confused.  I continue to look at the map and decide that I must have found it – it’s the prettiest building on the block and must have been a palace.  I take a bunch of pictures of the building, the rotary sign, the beautiful ceramic sign of Pizzeria Conte Luna.  See, I was in the right place all the time!

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    I see a cute little Ristorante Mediterraneo across the street and decide it’s more than time for lunch.  I am the only one in there – but I have a marvelous little lunch of salumi for antipasti, shrimp & linguine, and an insalata mista.  I’m also studying this map to see where I will go next – WHEN – it happens!  I realize that Palazzo Graffeo IS INDEED in the center of town – and I’ve been there TWICE.  Not only did Rosy & Michele take me by on Friday (but it was a hasty stop in that Michele spotted it, pulled over about 2 blocks up from it, I jumped out of car, ran back & snapped shots) AND it is right next door to Osteria Communale – the place I had lunch the previous day!  Now really, I should say the Osteria is not really next door, it’s in the “basement” of Palazzo Graffeo.  The alley actually gives you access to the basement of this old palace and I’ve been there – sitting there – eating steak & pistachio pasta and drinking wine  – and not even realizing where I am!  So, another sign.  But then I realize that there had already been a sign, the address of the Osteria is 23 and 23 is a very big number in my life and was going to be the name of the restaurant that Tim & I were going to open.  Signs – they’re everywhere! 

    But then the day goes downhill.  I’m feeling good about my lunch & the fact that I have already been to the family palace when I spot a bancomat (ATM) across the piazza.  I think, sure, I could use to get some cash – and the bancomat EATS MY CARD!  What???  At that point, I notice that it’s 2pm and the bank will not re-open until 2:45 so I have a few minutes to kill.  I sit in the sun and start my wait.  A few minutes later I notice this kind of creepy guy coming towards me.  He’s kind of slow and he comes up to me and puts out his hand and mumbles something.  I think he wants to see my map, but then realize that he’s trying to grab my hand & pull me towards him – I say “NO” and get up and move quickly across the street to one of the bars (these are more like 7/11’s in the States).  I order a lemon soda and sit down after telling the gal at the counter & the old man in there (I think he was the owner) about the card eating bancomat and they take pity on me.  I notice then that the weird guy is kind of hanging around outside and I look at him and again say “NO”.  The old guy in the bar walks out to and scolds him in Italian and he leaves.  I told you all the old men in this country love me!!!

    The bank finally re-opens and I go in and tell the guy at the counter “Il bancomat mangiato mia carta”.  He scowls & goes to the back – I’m assuming to retrieve my card.  He comes back and starts speaking to me in really fast Italian and I’m getting none of it.  I’m trying to get some questions in via Google Translator but that’s not really working as he keeps speaking over me and confusing the whole situation.  Basically, I get out of him that I have to talk to my bank in America and I’m shit out of luck with him!  Thanks dude – way to help the tourists.  The rest of the afternoon I spend talking to Bank of America and figuring out how to get a new card to me.  Thank God I plan for contingencies and brought along the ATM card from my & Scott’s joint account – so I transfer some money into that account & withdraw $300 to get me through until the new card comes.  Crisis over – kind of . . .

    I talk to Amy and she tells me to go out and have some limoncello; she also says, it will all be OK.  Just as we’re about to hang up, I hear this singing and wonder where it’s coming from.  I mention it to Amy and say good-bye.  When I go to the edge of my balcony, I see a procession going down the street towards the local church.  The people are all carrying palms decorated for the occasion and singing in harmony.  I tried to get you a video – but it took me awhile to figure out how to do that, so what I have may be a little lame!

    The night gets much better when I venture out for dinner.  I’m on my way to this little restaurant that I found online, but I’m not finding it.  But I do see this little hole in the wall and decide to give it a try.  People always say, find a little hole in the wall . . and boy, did I.  La Buona Forchetta by Chef Nicola; this place is the bomb!  The chef was amazing – even came & greeted everyone and personally took my order.  His father (I’m sure) was manning the door and could not have been more charming; I wanted to bring him home & have him tell me stories about the old country!  Suffice to say – the day was saved & I had my best meal of the trip!  Here’s the review I wrote on tripadvisor.com and some pictures of my food. 

    Don’t Miss This Place!

    I spent 5 nights in the historical center of Sciacca and found this place on my last night. If I had found it earlier, I would have eaten there EVERY night of my trip – just to taste as many of Chef Nicolo’s dishes as possible! Since I was traveling alone, I ordered 2 dishes and a salad. The caponata was some of the best I’ve eaten and was served with lovely, thick slices of prosciutto! The linguine & scampi WAS the BEST scampi dish I’ve ever eaten and I come from a long line of commercial fisherman! After seeing so many other guests getting fresh melon for dessert, I canceled my salad and went for the fruit. You might not get excited about fruit – but this was the most succulent, sweet, perfectly ripe melon I’ve had in a long time. It’s clear Chef Nicolo serves only quality ingredients. The grilled meat at another table had me thinking about ordering another dish – but I had to settle for the amazing aroma of the huge offering across the room. The chef (who came out to greet EVERY guest) and his staff are welcoming & friendly and obviously love delighting customers. This is where the locals eat – you should too!

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    The following day is my last day in the city, I will be moving to the beach this afternoon.  I check-oult and spend about 2 hours walking around doing a little food shopping because for the first time on this trip, I will have a kitchen. 

    I go back to Vicolo San Lorenzo to see the old neighborhood one more time and take a few more photographs.  I really look at the “Ex Chiesa San Lorenzo” (the little church in the neighborhood) and wonder if it were open, what stories would it tell?  Rosy insisted that that both Antonino & Calogera would have all been baptized at the “mother church” but I’m pretty sure these humble fishermen would have kept it all in the neighborhood.

    I finish my time in Sciacca not really having answered any questions – but with possible links to continue my ancestry work.  5 days was not enough.  I will be back – I know it.  **And Dad, I hope you’ll be with me.


    Click Here for Pictures
  • Cooking School Splurge!

    Cooking School Splurge!

    April 4 – 6

    The Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School was to be my big splurge.  When I planned this trip, it amazed me at how inexpensive lodging would be – and I figured the food would be cheaper (and definitely better) than what it costs us in the US.  So, a $1500 venture for 3 ½ days was a pretty big splurge indeed!

    Before I left, most everyone asked me if I would be taking any cooking lessons while I was in Sicily.  Truth be told, I’m not sure I need them, as I really like the way I cook now.  But heck, a few days at a school was bound to teach me something!  I particularly liked that this one was founded by a well known “home cook” in Sicily.  Anna Tasca passed away a few years back, but her daughter Fabrizia runs the school now.  It’s based in the hills outside of Palermo in a town called Vallelunga Pratenema – but actually a bit outside of town on one of the family’s many vineyards.  The Tasca Family is a pretty big deal in Sicily. 

    Check them out at http://www.tascadalmerita.it/en/ if you’re interested. 

    Tasca D’Almerita is their original vineyard and happens to be Fabrizia’s grandparents country home – and from what I hear, it’s a VERY grand home even today.  It’s used by the family for vacations, but it’s also a 4-star resort that hosts wine aficionados from around the world.  Fabrizia restored one of the old farm houses on the property and has built a pretty grand place for herself . . full of beautiful gardens, a commercial kitchen, her villa, apartments & guest rooms!  I took a lot of pictures of her gorgeous smelling garden which is full of special spots for relaxing, yoga, swimming & sunning . . the picture with the hammock that I posted last week actually has been my favorite meditation spot of the trip thus far. 

    I arrive after a 3+ hour drive – should have been 1 ½ hours – but the damn GPS put me back on that road full of construction that we’d taken to Palermo a couple of days earlier & I couldn’t turn around.  No worries, it feels like I’ve found my nirvana!  I love this place . . it’s the little farm that I’ve always wanted.  Then again, maybe the one I thought I wanted – because boy does this place look like a lot of work (and Fabrizia’s got quite a large team to run it!).

    I’m shown to my lovely room in the main villa (I was downstairs in Fabrizia’s house) and am told class won’t start for about an hour.  There’s still breakfast left in the kitchen, so I go in and have some tea &  a slice of delicious lemon cake.   Chef Michael comes in & introduces himself and asks if I’m Renee?  “No, I’m Kari”.  Oh, you’re the one that didn’t make it down last night.  Yep, that’s me!   So to start, Chef Michael is Irish – and he’s spent the last 10 years in Sicily (yes, he fell in love with a Sicilian woman & they have a 2 ½ year old son – but according to Michael, he would have stayed anyway).  He speaks beautiful Italian, but it is funny that he has this little Irish lilt when he speaks it and his Irish is a little “polluted” with his Italian.  All good!  He & Fabrizia have this wonderful comraderie (she tells me later, she’s getting up there in years and thinks she’s found the right person to take over in Michael) but Michael does have this little playful “not following all of Fabrizia’s traditions” thing when she’s not looking.  Seems he’s quite opinionated and doesn’t agree entirely with some of the cooking traditions of these locals (Fabrizia has these 2 woman that are the prep & sback-up cooks that were raised in this region & they don’t speak any Italian – but they are also opinionated & very bossy about how things should be done).  All in all – quite entertaining environment to observe! 

    The rest of the students start to arrive and there will be just 6 of us.  First up, this guy named Chris.  He’s from Seattle, works for UW Medicine and is traveling through Europe on his own for 5 weeks.  Then these 2 couples – Renee & Dan and Jeremy & Meredith.   Dan’s really friendly and the self-appointed ambassador of the group, as far as I can tell.  I keep looking at Renee and she just looks really familiar.  I go up to her and ask, “are you a chef”?  She says, “yes” and I ask if she’s been on any of the cooking competitions because she looks really familiar and she says, “yes, but Jeremy & I own 4 restaurants in Seattle”.  Bingo – I know who she is and say, “you’re Renee xxxxxxxxxxx, I’ve been to your restaurants”.  She says that’s always really nice to hear – and that’s about the last thing she says to me for the next 24 hours because I don’t think she’s thrilled that I’ve recognized her.  I’m assuming she’s just shy! (by the way, I’m not mentioning her name, as I’m sure someone with a James Beard Award probably as a social media group searching for posts about her and I don’t need to add anymore angst to my recognition of her).  Enough said!  Mostly I thought it was cool that everyone there was from Seattle!!

    Chef Michael says we’re going to make 4 kinds of pasta.  Two are with just water & flour; two others with eggs.  We learn all about different flours and milling.  By the way, according to Michael, Barilla is shit – so if you buy that stuff – STOP!   Chris & I team up and we make both types of dough – then it’s time for shaping. (The pasta did have to rest, so during that time, we also made 3 sauces & a filling for the tortellini).  Two of the shapes were making me nuts – and I just couldn’t get the hang of it.  One was kind of like making gnocchi, but was rolled off a board to form a little divet for sauce.  Another was this twisty thing that you rolled out by hand like a length of spaghetti and then twisted it around a skewer and then pushed it off (amazing the thing stayed roughly curly – and it did in the water too!).  That’s when I meet Fabrizia for the first time.  She notices that I’m really struggling with this twisty shape and comes to help me.  Not only does she get me up to speed, but she stays and finishes the rest of the dough with me so we’ll actually eat today!  

    The tortellini was my favorite shape – not too hard to get the hang of – and the filling was awesome.  Dad, I will have to make this for you someday.  It had ground pork & ground mortadella and it was REALLY, REALLY yummy!  They served it as soup in a homemade chicken broth.  Yum!

    The twisty shape got this pesto from Trapani Region – a tomato, almond, mint concoction that actually was my favorite.  I’ll have to see if I can find more of that when I’m in Trapani later this week.  The small gnocchi-like shape got a simple tomato sauce (this is one of the dishes Michael got chastised for making since tomatoes are NOT in season according to Fabrizia – but he used a jar of homemade tomato sauce put up last season by the 2 women in the kitchen) – really good!  The last pasta was hand cut linguine and it got a Bolognese sauce which Michael said was a really fast one – but trust me, no lack of flavor here.  He used this tomato paste made with sun dried tomatoes & wine called “estratto”.  This is the holy grail, the secret sauce, the answer to why food in Sicily tastes SO GOOD.  Dad, I will bring a jar home for you – it will make everything you cook taste better than it should.  The process to make this stuff is time-consuming and done with love.  Sicilian grandmothers know what they are doing!

    By the way, wine is flowing the whole time!

    We get a few hours off to relax & I do the meditation in the garden thing.  We return to the kitchen around 5:30 and I find only Chris and Chef Michael.  Apparently, the others are at the BIG HOUSE – having dinner & wine with the other side of the family!  Good for us – cooking lesson for two!  We get a lot of hands on work and make a bunch of vegetable dishes.  I learned all about cardoons (lots of work, but so delicious) and some other interesting stuff about how vegetables are supposed to be prepared.  It ends of being Chef Michael, Fabrizia, two of the interns (Hannah – who’s been sick for 2 days already and Natalie – who lives in Rome with her Irish husband and is from San Diego), Chris & myself.  The wine is flowing and so is the conversation.  Fabrizia is very well traveled in the US and knows a lot about a lot.  She’s also from a privileged, wealthy Sicilian family and boy, does she have a lot to say about Sicilians.  She truly wants to help them – but they don’t want help.  They don’t trust anyone and they’re stuck in their old ways.  She talks about how hard it’s been to get support for her business from the locals.  Eye opening for me who keeps thinking I want to start a business in Sicily.  She’s generous with her time & perspective.  Thank you Fabrizia!  We have yummy almond cookies for dessert that Chris & I made.

    We get up early and Fabrizia drives us to a sheep farm; the restaurant group follows in a separate car.  We’re going to meet the sheep, the cheese maker Filippo Privitera, learn how to make pecorino & ricotta, and taste a bunch of cheese.  There’s a bunch of pictures for you to look at.  If you’ve never seen cheese being made, it’s both fascinating & back-breaking.  While we’re waiting for milk to come up to temperature, Filippo takes us to meet some sheep that have been separated from the herd.  These are males that have pulled out and won’t be allowed to breed.  Why we ask, what’s wrong with them?  Apparently, they have nipples that are too small!  Now, why would too small nipples on a male be bad?  Well, if they breed, they could pass these along to the next generation and too small nipples are bad when sheep need to be milked twice a day.  Good to know!

    We taste 2-day old cheese, fresh cheese & ricotta at various stages of their process.  I love sheep milk & sheep’s milk cheese – gotta say, it’s ruined me for cow milk ricotta and fresh pecorino (they don’t age it past 2 weeks like they do in the north) is pretty nice indeed.  Cool experience, cool dog too!

    By the way, the guy in the red shirt in the pictures just wouldn’t cooperate with my photography.  I was trying to get him face on so you could see how much he looks like my brother, Dean.  Check out the hairline at least – but trust me, he looked like Dean.

    We return to the farm and have some elderberry cooler (spiked with elderberry liqueur) and start a 9 cheese, cheese tasting . . cheeses from all over Sicily.  I ate up every bit of them with a couple of glasses of wine!  Then we had a light, vegetable lunch with really yummy salad and some other stuff the kitchen women had made.  Then, it’s time for a break.  I hang with the interns and get their stories and then do a little meditating in the garden (I love this place).  We return to the kitchen prepared to get bloody – as Chef Michael told me to be prepared because we were working with carnage (I love this guy!).

    The restaurant team is gone now and it’s just Chris & me again.  We do ALL the prep work and most of the cooking – perfect to me – not so much for Chris.  We gut, de-head & fillet about 4 dozen sardines for Pasta with Sardines and roll veal into involtini skewers.  I got really excited that we were having some meat, as it’s the first real protein I’m going to have in a few days, and I tell Chef Michael that I’m going to eat more than my fair share of these.   He assures me, there will be leftovers. (He was right, I was too full to consume more than 1 ½).

    We make some side dishes and this great almond pudding.  To start the pudding, Chef pulls out a jar of almonds.  I grab one and he says, “wait, we have to see if these are bitter or sweet almonds . . so just have a small amount”.  I break off a corner and discover, yes, they are the bitter ones.  Good he says, because they’re poisonous and I didn’t want you to get too sick.  Thanks Michael . . . apparently you have to eat about 12 to die!   Also, good to know!!  The pudding is a definite make again – Mom, I’ll make this just for you – since you love almonds as much as I love pistachios!

    Dinner is the same 6 of us from the night before and the wine is flowing heavy tonight.  Fabrizia starts to tell us all about her childhood and her British Nanny.  Seems her grandfather & uncle were kidnapped by the Mafia at some point and it’s an interesting family story (though for her grandmother, it was less than interesting and more a scary thing).  She starts dropping names of famous American chefs – all good friends – and I’m loving her stories.  Again, I’ll refrain from posting them here, since the social media gurus would be all over this stuff.  I go to bed, stuffed!

    In the morning, it’s time for our last breakfast and good-byes.  But not before we dig into about a dozen different kinds of jam.  This farm grows everything and they can everything too!  Orange marmalade, better than anything I ever tasted from England.  Mandarin, fig, cherry, stone fruit, apple, you name it – you got it .. and honey from the farm too.  I don’t know how they do it, but those women in the kitchen make THE BEST yogurt that I have ever eaten.  Move over Greek yogurt – I love you – but this stuff’s got you beat!!!  I dish up a big bowl and top it with honey & cherry jam.  DELICIOSA!!!

    I pack up the car and have decided to alter my original plans to visit a couple of “family origin” towns: Sclafani Bagna and Chiusa Sclafani.  According to Fabrizia, the road to Sclafani Bagna is “broken” and I won’t be able to get through.  Enough of these broken roads!  I alter my plans & plan to head east to see Piazza Armerina, a UNESCO site.  I can’t check in to my place in Sciacca until 4:30pm so I might as well see something amazing.

    I give everyone a big hug good-bye, thank them for their hospitality and head out. 

    My splurge . . worth every penny!

     


    Click Here to See Pictures
  • Tourist Trots

    Tourist Trots

    April 3

    I’m pretty sure it was the huge balls . . . of rice & meat!  But this morning, I’m not feeling good at all.  It’s Sherine’s last day and I’m dropping her off at the airport this afternoon.  I’ve spent a good portion of the night in the bathroom and Sherine’s taken pity on me and says we really don’t have to do anything this morning.  So we take advantage of the late, noontime check-out and sit tight in the hotel.  Truth be told, it’s raining, so not the most pleasant day to go out sight-seeing anyway.

    I’m supposed to drive 1 ½ hours south after the airport drop to Vallelunga Pratanema, a little town in the mountains east of Palermo for my cooking school class.  I decide, with Sherine’s support, that maybe this isn’t the best idea and get onto booking.com and find a little place near the airport where I can rest & be close to a bathroom!

    We check-out and decide to head over for an early check-in at the “Tourist Trots Crash Pad” before heading to the airport to drop Sherine & exchange cars (I’ve been driving a mini-SUV / crossover thing that’s just too big for the narrow, small town streets so I’ve arranged to exchange it at the Palermo airport).  The GPS does its usual – “I think I’ll take you off the beaten path and onto a side road that the ocean has washed up on” thing – and the airport trip takes about twice as long as it should have.

    We pull into the lot and find out that I actually have to go into the terminal to get the paperwork from the “inside” guy!  So Sherine & I walk over there, say our goodbyes, and I find the EuropeCar counter (except I’ve found the wrong one) and am directed to the “right” one.  Finally – someone that knows I’m coming!  I give him my song & dance (in English, because I’m just not thinking in Italian when I feel like I really want to be in bed) and he says that this VW Golf that I asked for is really about the same size.  I’ve been seeing these things all over Italy and I think it’s smaller, so I sign the paperwork & go back to the lot.  He’s right – it’s about the small size – length & width wise – but it is shorter.  Big deal, shorter is NOT the problem when you’re dealing with narrow streets.  I consider changing it.  Then I notice that the plate ends in VR and I know it’s sign that Vince Rafello is watching over me & I decide to be on my way.

    I spend the rest of the day & evening in a nice, but isolated apartment (no other guests & the host was VERY quick to give me the keys & run . . they do a lot of that in Italy . . very trusting indeed!).  I’m eating yogurt, bananas and these fiber crackers that Sherine bought and trying to drink lots of water.  I can’t find any English channels on TV and the WiFi (you guessed it) is not sufficient to watch Netflix – so I just hang out & think. 

    What am I doing in Italy, all by myself, in a strange town (that I didn’t plan for), feeling like crap??  I come to my senses – all good.  I’m in Italy and I wanted to do this – it will be fine.

    About that time, all hell breaks loose next door.  First, it sounds like a guy is teasing this little kid and the kid is laughing and doing that fake, short scream thing,  But – it doesn’t stop.  And then – it escalates.  And I’m thinking – what’s that number again, the one to call the police in Italy?  Now the guy sounds like he’s chasing the kid around the house & terrorizing him.  The kid is screaming, crying, yelling & pleading for the guy to stop and he just keeps going.  It REALLY sounded like he was abusing the kid and that he wasn’t just doing it for fun anymore.  This went on for over an hour and I really didn’t know what to do.  FINALLY – it stops and they seem to settle into normal family noises & dinner time comes and it’s just talking & some clanking dishes.  Thank GOD it didn’t start back up – but I did put ear plugs in that night.  Thankfully, I slept pretty well, even with the thoughts of terror on the other side of the wall.

    I set my alarm for 6am and plan to get out of there before 7am.  I do – and leave the keys in the room and exit before the sun comes up and without seeing a soul since I’ve said good-bye to Sherine at the airport. 

    Weird night – but it’s a new day – and I’m on my way to cooking class at Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School in the hills of Vallelunga Pratanemo!

  • What I Know About Italy / Sicily!

    What I Know About Italy / Sicily!

    **Note to Readers: I’m going to add to this one, as often as observed, so check back . .

     1.       Driving is not about rules – because if there are some (which I highly doubt) – Italian’s ignore them all.  It is OK to:

    a.       drive next to a car in the same lane

    b.       ignore the line and straddle it (a little bit or a lot – totally discretionary)

    c.       to pass on the right (yes, Dad, the right!)

    d.       to pass when a car is coming towards you in the opposite lane

    e.       to pass when there’s a double line

    f.        to pass when the line is solid

    g.       to pass after the broken line ends

    h.       to pass on a blind curve . . . really, the OK applies to “whenever you feel like passing”!!

    2.       When the GPS tells you a road is closed – assume it’s lying.  There may be construction cones, orange tape & dirt paths – but the Italian road crews WILL HAVE found & created a path for you to use – complete with lots of one way stretches that are controlled by hard to see traffic lights that are propped up on the side of the road (usually below eye level).

    3.       There really is NO speed limit in Italy – but you better know what it is anyway – because there are speed monitoring cameras everywhere to catch you speeding.  Most confusing (I finally asked someone) are the speed limit signs that you are supposed to follow ONLY when you are exiting a highway ramp.  The mafia must be manufacture & profit from speed limit signs, because there is one (on average) about every 200 feet that conflict with the last one you saw.  Personally, the speed limit signs make me a little psychotic!

    4.       All the highways are under construction – and my assessment is that they will be for a VERY LONG TIME.  Note – if you’re coming to Italy in the next 10 years – expect BROKEN roads (broken is what the Italian’s call them).

    5.       Toilets – really, don’t even get me started.  How does a country that values clean bums (by installing a duvet in every home & hotel bathroom) NOT put toilet seats on EVERY toilet? (**Sue, you would be so proud of me – I actually have learned to squat and not get pee all over myself.  This of course will come in very handy for hiking this summer!!)  Sometimes, they have toilet paper, sometimes not.  Soap & paper towels for hand washing are rare.  And you better have a big stash of coin – because most public bathrooms (and they are scarce) will charge you!  Opt to buy a bottle of water or a gelato and use theirs instead – still no promise of a toilet seat.

    6.       It’s OK to let your 5 year old eat Nutella pizza for dinner!

    7.       Sicilians are VERY helpful! . . but they really don’t speak Italian.

    8.       Way too many Italians smoke!

    9.       The evening walk is a favorite past time – but I’m not sure if it’s motivated by social connection OR exercise.  Regardless, far too many Italians walk & smoke, and far too many women wear uncomfortable shoes while doing it.

    10.   Older women walk in pairs – with their arms entwined.  Sherine & I tried this out a couple of times and found it really is a good system – especially when you’re walking down a narrow road and have to pull your friend out of the car’s trajectory so it won’t hit her!

    11.   It’s OK to let you teenager have french fries & ketchup for dinner – while you suck down a big, old plate of steamed mussels!

    12.   Italian women wear a LOT of perfume – and I like the smell of all of it!

    13.   Italians use the word “allora” way too much – it’s like “um” in American – but technically translates to “then”.  They know they use it way too much!!

    14.  The place is filled with ancient ruins, statues, paintings, palaces, gorgeous villas, small quaint streets, and even some pretty run down places.  And you NEVER, EVER get tired of seeing them all!

    15.   It’s OK to park – ANYWHERE!  It doesn’t matter if:

    a.       You’re parked where there are NO PARKING signs (and I mean lots of them)

    b.       You’re double or triple parked

    c.       You’re double parked and facing the opposite direction that the traffic is coming

    d.       You want to put two wheels up on the curb while you park

    e.       You block the traffic for a little while or a long while . . if you want to park there, everyone else can find a way around you!

    **NOTE – the streets are filled with no parking signs & tow away signs & resident only signs and NO ONE observes them.  Of course, if I dared to do any of these things, THEY WOULD KNOW I WAS A TOURIST & A BIG OLD, PARKING TICKET WOULD ARRIVE IN THE MAIL 6 MONTHS AFTER I GET HOME, COSTING $150.  I’m just saying!

    16. EVERYONE in Sicily owns a puffy, down coat and they wear them ALL THE TIME! They say it’s still winter here, think I’m crazy for walking around in sleeveless shirts & sandals, and believe until it gets to be 25 degrees (that’s 77 to you & me) it’s not even warm!! It hit 23.5 (74.3) here the other day and I swear, they were all still wearing their puffy coats (and most had sweaters on under those)! Go figure!

    17. The kids NEVER seem to be in school – despite my being told they go 6 days a week. They are ALWAYS out playing soccer on the street and /or sitting at pasticceria’s eating gelato & pastries.

  • Yep, We’ve Got a Palace!

    Yep, We’ve Got a Palace!

    April 2

    When I was reading about Palermo, I found that there’s actually a PALACE built by the Sclafani family in Palermo.  (For those of you not completely up to date on my family tree – my Dad’s paternal grandmother was a Sclafani.)  I did some studying on the Sclafani family and found that they were actually pretty important in the 1300s – and very powerful.  They were in bed – so to speak – with the Chiramonte family, and the two dynasties kind of dominated Sicily in the 1300 & 1400s.  Of course, power changed hands quite frequently in Sicily due to all that conquering – so the Chiramonte & Sclafani  reigns “withered”.  Nevertheless, there IS a palace and I have the pictures to prove it.

    We exited the red, hop-on, hop-off bus at Palazzo Reale.  This is the real deal!  Biggest palace I’ve ever seen (except for Buckingham in London) and beautiful gardens.  It’s Sunday – so unfortunately tours have already closed for the day – but we can walk the gardens.  We check the map & find that the Sclafani place is really close & start to walk to it.  We discover that it’s just across the street!

    I had read that the Sclafani place is now used by the Italian Military should I wasn’t sure what to expect.  There were flags above the front door, but no other identification, and it was boarded up and looked like it wasn’t in use.  Sherine took a couple of pictures of me standing in front of the door and we started to walk around the side to see how large it was.

    I’m snapping pictures of the whole block – since the side of the palace is spanning the whole block – when Sherine calls me over.  She’s found the “motherlode” – the actual, historical market that this is Palazzo Sclafani.  There’s two young guys sitting on the threshold and they’re not at all interesting in why we’re there or why we’re taking pictures (and since I don’t know any Italian for: “this is my family’s place, so could you get out of the way” – we just work around them.

    So Rafello’s – here’s another piece of the family puzzle!!  Check out the pictures – this place really could have been something in its day.  For one, it’s surrounded by prominent villas (and of course, the Palazzo Reale) and their views were of immaculate, well-designed gardens.  Check out the crest above the “real” front door – pretty cool!

    We walk around the back & realize this place really was huge!  The back borders a small, run down alley called “Via Matteo Sclafani” – which means at some point, this street was a really big deal too!!  (By the way, Matteo Sclafani is the guy you’ll read about in the history books if you’re ever interested.)  We keep walking and at the end of the alley we return to Via Vittorio Emanuele (a major street – EVERY town in Italy has one!) and a huge plaza with what looks like a big old church.  That big old church turns out to be the Palermo Cathedral (see Palermo post for more details).  At that moment, I decide that the Sclafani’s have had to have been a VERY BIG DEAL indeed – because to be in the company of the city’s religious leaders and all the prominent families that lived in that neighborhood – was a VERY BIG DEAL.

    Pretty cool indeed!!


    Click Here to See Pictures
  • Palermo: Full of Surprises

    Palermo: Full of Surprises

    April 2 & 3

    We’ve just left Hotel Villa Athena, it’s Saturday afternoon, April 1st(Happy Birthday to my brother, Dean) and we make the 2 hour drive to Palermo.  Unfortunately, it takes over 3 hours – partly due to rain – more due to the road construction on SS121 (the main route between Agrigento & Palermo . . BAD GPS!  Really, you couldn’t find a different route?).

    We have great difficulty finding our hotel and of course, the Saturday evening drivers are revved up and are lacking all patience & decorum!  It’s not as bad as Napoli – but it’s not a town I would choose to drive in again.  We settle into the hotel & decide to find something to eat.  The hotel clerk suggests a couple of restaurants down by the water.  We start walking & find a little Trattoria a block down & decide to forego the walk & the rain.  The food is good; the service is better and they serve us wine on the street as we wait for a table.  All in all – good experience.  We turn in early.

    Sunday Morning- Good Morning Sherine & Happy Birthday!!  We decide to take the red Hop-On, Hop-Off bus (which has a convenient pick up RIGHT IN FRONT of our hotel.  We make a full loop to get oriented and decide on the next round, we’ll get off first at Teatro Massimo (the Opera House).  This place is incredible and once again, the pictures don’t so it justice.  This place is called one of the World’s great opera houses & they did not spare any detail in design.  It even has a domed roof with 6 or 8 frescos that OPEN UP and provide venting (because opera singers cannot sing with air conditioning, as it dries out the vocal cords).  They took us up to the Grand Box and it was very grand indeed.  Apparently anyone can buy seats to sit in here – as long as they are available – and they’re priced the same as the seats on the main floor.

    We move on to the recently restored & re-opened Museo Regionale Archeologico.  Even after seeing the Valley of the Temples Museum at Argriento 2 days earlier – this place does not disappoint.  It is filled with tremendous treasures showcasing both the history of the city of Palermo, and the other major areas of Sicily.  We only wish we could have seen the 2nd & 3rd floors of exhibits which were not yet open.

    We’re hungry & we find this great little “bar” (bars are small, casual restaurants here) with a great buffet.  Buffet is not a good description, as they do these amazing antipasti spreads here.  This one is full of fresh vegetables, grilled calamari, legume dishes, olives, and even fresh ripe strawberries.  It’s 6 Euro for all you can eat and the nice waiter from Sri Lanka tells us it’s fresh every day and what we don’t eat will just get thrown out at the end of the day.  With bread, water & 2 glasses of Prosecco (it is Sherine’s birthday after all, so we’re celebrating) the bill comes to just under 20 Euro (and that’s with a tip).

    Back on the bus and our next stop is Villa Giulia – a beautiful garden which has been converted to a city park.  In the pictures, you will see this great shot of a picture window that is in one of the kiosks.  I took a picture through it that looked at onto the gardens – so cool.  Being April, everything’s in bloom and the last of the citrus is still heavy on the trees.  Since I’m so tired of seeing citrus going uneaten and falling on the ground, I pick up an orange that has already fallen, but looks pretty pristine & new.  I peel it to eat.  BAD move . . it’s sour & bitter and completely inedible.  I throw it back to the ground!

    One more trip on the bus and we arrive at the stop for Palazzo Reale (Palazzo = Palace).  It’s Sunday, so it’s closed – but that’s OK, we’ve really come here looking for Palazzo Sclafani (see the post on our Family Palace).  We find the palace, snap all our pictures and walk down the Matteo Sclafani “alley” and come out upon this grand courtyard and a very grand building.  Turns out – we have happened upon is the Palermo Cathedral.  What a GRAND find indeed.  I know I keep saying this – but the pictures DO NOT DO IT JUSTICE.  These historical artisans were AMAZING – their talent, craftsmanship & imaginations were limitless and these places are filled with priceless, beautiful pieces of art.  I think I said OMG (but the real words) like 50 times as I walked though this place.   Spectacular – truly spectacular!

    We top it off with a birthday gelato for Sherine – she enjoys this almond parfait thing (really tasty), while I decide on cassata gelato (really, really tasty).  Cassata is a very traditional cake here in Sicily – it’s made with ricotta & candied fruit and usually has marzipan covering it . . TASTY!  For those of you that know & understand my love of spumoni (incidentally a totally American invention – and one that’s rarely done really well) – I have found my Sicilian spumoni in cassata gelato!!!  Heaven in a bowl and I haven’t found it since – but I WILL!

    Back on the bus to return to the hotel.  When we exit the bus, I notice this arancini (rice ball) shop a few doors down.  Palermo is known for its street food (arancini being one of them) and we must try them.  There are about 20 flavors at this shop.  They are huge – but we decide on three different flavors – one with tuna, one with veggies and the last with pork & BBQ sauce (yes, that’s what they called it).  We go back & enjoy a few bites but can’t begin to finish these huge balls!  The pork is by far our favorite – but within 2 hours I’m not sure I like them at all (see Tourist Trots post). ☹

    Palermo – I said I could take it or leave it!  I should have said, I’d only do again with a local.  It’s a city filled with history and beautiful art & architecture – but like any big city, it feels impersonal.  I heard from a local a few days later (the chef at my cooking school who lives there) that it’s really a great place.  I wish I had met him BEFORE rather than AFTER my visit . . he was sharing dozens of Palermo haunts & eateries with a few people that were going on to Palermo after class.

    By the way – Palermo is the home to the Mafia (which of course, you’re not supposed to mention while you’re there – so we didn’t).   I don’t know what they look like OR how they act OR what their influence is any longer . . BUT, I felt completely safe the whole time I was there.  Maybe I had a “godfather” looking out for me after all!


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