Vintage Collage & Quilts

Italy - Part V

Today we are going to the La Scala ceramic steps, Caltagirone, Sicily

Shirley & some other friends made it all the way to the top but my arthritic knees only made it part way up so I stopped & went into a shop on the left.  Here are some other really cool pictures. 

Time for a snack.  I think I'll eat here ...
rather than here

I love the old architecture & touches.  Balconies, tiles, ironwork. 

 

 

 

At long last it is time to check into our  room.  It wouldn't be Europe without a bidet : )  Mmmm, heated towel racks too. 

 


 
This was the nicest hotel so far I think.  Below is a bathroom off the lobby with more pretty tiles.  My mind sees quilt patterns again.

 

Next day

Around the corner, behind the hotel was the outdoor market.  Lots to see.   We were instructed to hold our purses close as pick pockets look for tourists in big crowds like this. There is Shirley in front of me in her fortune telling scarf : ) 

Lots of colorful fresh fruits & veggies 

I smelled this display coming.

Mmmmm, I love olives!

 

Fromage anyone?  Every kind you can immagine.

I skipped taking a photo of the whole skinned animals such as lamb in the glass cases as it grossed me out but here goes a man carrying two of them on his shoulders.  Ewwww!

Now, on to another beautiful church & sightseeing.

 

Guido thinks it's time for a group photo

  Here we are, the Fratellanza group & guests with Paul, our guide.

  
 
 
 The natives are getting restless, time to eat.

 

I thought the lighting was interesting.  Instead of lamp shades they were covered with lace.  


In the kitchen they gave us a few cooking demonstrations.  Mmmm, freshly made cannoli!

 
 Last day in Sicily

First we boarded the bus & headed to Mt. Etna in Catania. 

Did someone say jewelry!  It seems we are next going to a mansion that sells expensive jewelry.  Can't hurt to look.  They are even giving us lunch. 

There are Patti & Paul with her purchase. 

Now we are leaving Italy & boarding our ship for the cruise to Greece & Turkey.  Time to put on the seasick patch. 

My side is messier than Shirleys.

We took off during the night.  We were sitting in the dining room & all of the sudden felt the movement.  Most of the trip the water was not bad but we did have one rocky day & I was bouncing off the walls.   

Since this post finishes my trip you can find the whole series to the left under categories, travel in Italy, Turkey & Greece in that order. 

Italy - Part IV

Oct 25  

Today we journeyed to Caltagirone, famous for it's beautiful handmade pottery.  We watched a pottery making demonstration, did some shopping & had a mini cannoli.   

 

The pottery is BEAUTIFUL!  My favorite part of the day. 

 These pieces reminded me of quilt of half square triangles.  Inspiration everywhere.
 
Later we drove to Catania & took a walking tour of the historic district.  This is Sicily,s second largest city.

  Another cute shop.

 We checked into our new hotel - the Una Palace Hotel , the most beautiful one so far.  There was another tour of the cart museum but some of us were just too tired for another tour.  We had a few hours to rest our feet & then went to dinner in the hotel.  

Italy - Part III

Oct 24 

 Another continental breakfast in Agrigento.  

 
We gathered together for another day long bus tour.

 
  We visited the Valley of the Temples, Unesco World Heritage site.  We saw Juno , Concordia , Hercules & Jupiter .  

This is what the highways look like  heading out to the countryside. 

 Gianfranco climbs up higher for a better shot.

  The cutouts in the rock were tombs at one time.

I can't believe I'm really here!  Now where did Shirley take off to? 

 There she goes.

More tombs

 
 This reminds me of the wheels on Fred Flintstone's car : ) 

We also saw a 1000 yr old olive tree (carbon dated) & others centuries old.  

 
 Following this we visited the Archaeological Museum known for it's vast collection of Greek vases, statues & artifacts.

 Vessels made in 420 B C.    Just beautiful!
 

 Last but not least we visited the Mandranova olive farm, way out in the country of Palermo where we learned about the production of olive oil.  They served slices of French bread with 4 differant oils, as well as pizza, jams, tapanades, pesto & juices.  

 We had a wonderful dinner  later on @ (can't find my notes)  of pasta tiny shells with sauce, cheese & eggplant pieces. Then a course of chicken, two different wines, & a sort of mocha ice cream.   Yummy.

Additional photos of Sicily can be seen here. 

Next post - Pottery, etc.

Italy - Part II

Geez, I've taken such a break on my trip pics that I've almost forgotten which photo goes to which town : ) 

Oct 23

Same wonderful breakfast this morning.      At 8am we climbed into our tour bus & headed for the seaside town of Cefalu. (pronounced Chef-a-loo)

 After we got close we parked the bus & walked up the hill to the town square with an  ancient church & little shops.

There is Ann & Robin.  Look at those cliffs!

Frances, Vera, etc.

Okay Vera, control yourself!  They had the most wonderful pottery.

Popular mode of transportation.

Lots of little outdoor cafes in the square.

This was a beautiful old church, The Cathedral of Cefalu. 

Oops,  I must have been taking a nap when I took this one. 

 

 

I'm getting tired just remembering how many things we did this day.  We had lots of LOOOONG DAYS to fit everything in. 

  Next we drove a long ways in the countryside to a farm area for lunch.

 Olive trees everywhere you look. 

 They grew all their own food for themselves & their rustic restaurant.  They make ricotta cheese with the milk from their sheep, meats from their pigs & lamb, grow eggplant, artichokes, make fresh homemade sausage, risotto , other cheeses, eggplant wrapped around pesto, fresh canolli, rice balls, eggplant parmesan.  We spent hours eating! Yummm, I had some of the best Italian food of my life on this trip(aside from my mom & Italian grandmother)

 

After lunch we drove down through the island to Agrigento .  It was a long drive & most of us napped along the way .  The weather was very windy & pouring rain .  We checked into our new hotel here. Some went for a walk but since I was so tired & it was wet I stayed in to rest up for tomorrow.  The hotel here is the Hotel Della Valle .  

The next Italy post will be the Greek Ruins & some of the most beautiful pottery I've ever seen... 

Travel in Italy - Part I

Oct 20th

The first leg of our trip was from San Francisco to Washington D.C. which took 4 1/2 hours. The next connection was to Rome, another 8 hrs, and then Rome to Palermo, another 1 hour. Almost 14 hrs flying including numerous hours, waiting for planes, running to connecting flights, being sent to the wrong location then dragging our luggage to another place so all in all it ended up being about 24 hrs from Calif to our hotel in Palermo. . This was not the fun part of the trip.  

Oct21

It is the next morning in Palermo, 9 hrs later than California  when we arrive.   All I want to do is go to bed & sleep but the day is young.   We were met by our guide Paul at the airport & took our tour bus to the hotel in dowtown historical Palermo, the city my great grandparents came from.   

 I just couldn't get over all the beatiful statues everywhere.  The buildings all looked like they could use a good cleaning though. 

Oct 22

Today we started the morning with  a continental breakfast @ 7 am in our  hotel .  The weather is off & on rain but warm.  The breakfast was wonderful. Lots of pastries, fruit such as peaches,  pineapple, cereals,  many fresh juices such as reg orange, red blood orange, lemonaide, milk, chocolate croissants, eggs, bacon, cookies.   

After breakfast we met our guide Paul & driver Antonio & another  local Palermo woman guide.  We first took a walking tour to the four corners area across the street & local church.

 There were protestors on the rooftop which is why the police & fire are here.  The locals say every day they are up there protesting something else.  

Now it's Shirley's turn.

I think every residence in Sicily has shutters & balconies.

 We then boarded our bus to Monreale.  While there we hiked up 96 steps to a beautiful church with shops along the way, souveniers, foods & mosaic shops. I purchased a mosaic crusafix for 19 euro, a bottled water for 1 euro & a banana for 30 cents.  I'm starting to figure out the money situation.  1 euro is about $1.50 American. 

 This is Patty P.  The city if full of tiny cards & scooters just darting all over the place.  Watch your step or you might get mowed down.  They don't seem to drive on the right or the left just where ever they want. 

 Shirley, Patti & John P.

The three of us heading back down hill.

  
 
The churches inside were just amazing but without being able to use a flash the photos didn't turn out so well.  

The beautiful ceiling

  There is Paul, Patti's husband. 

Gold in the mosaics


 
 
 
One  lady in our group, Patti, had to use the restroom & so did I.  It is 50 cents for that privledge.  There were long lines  at the women's restroom & none at the mens.  Patty talked the young handsome Italian door monitor in to letting us use the men's as we had to catch our bus & couldn't wait. The stalls have actual full doors, not the see through, peek under USA doors. The toilets have a push button on the wall. The sink had no faucet handle but a pedal on the floor.  Then 96 steps down to our bus .

Next we took an hour and a half drive to Marsala .  The countryside was green & beautiful with lots of fruit & olive orchards, old stone roofless buildings  along the way.  We took the Marsala winery tour &  had lunch there - garlic  bread, olives in olive oil, parsley & garlic,  3 different wines, sparkling (frizzante) water, round pasta noodles with sauce & meat cooked in some type of mold, a rice ball of white rice, pasta sauce & meat with dough fried covering & salad.  Eggplant is used a lot in Sicily & is in their pasta sauces which is very good.    

The old wine barrels

 

Here is great grandmother, first generation.  

Four generations of the same family owned this winery.  We had music & dancing & just a wonderful first day. 

Ciao for Now : )   

More later ....  

It's been a while

Hi folksies,  After my mom's illness & passing I wasn't really in the mood to post. I'm starting to feel like myself again so plan to get back to my travel posts.  I haven't covered Sicily yet so that will most likely be next.  What a fun place that was.  See you soon ...