Fall in New Westminster

We have arrived home and have been busy getting back to our "normal" life.

Last week our friends Doug and Nancy from Vancouver Island stayed with us for a few days. Too bad they could not stay longer as we both enjoy their company.

Here is a picture of Danna, Nancy and Doug walking next to the Fraser River. A bright sunny fall afternoon has now turned into a series of dark, rainy and windy days.




Now that things are getting back to "normal" I will have time to post some more pictures and stories about our adventure.

There are lots of people that we miss from our adventure and we think of them all the time.

Palermo After Dark

Sicily - last night

Our last night in Sicily proved to be very exciting. This adventure started when we left our lunchtime restaurant. There were several three wheeled taxis called "Ape" parked on the street.

While waiting for our bus to return one of the fellows struck up a
conversation with the drivers. We got on the bus and did not think anything more about it until we were having dinner. Romeo asked if we were interested in going for a tour of Palermo after dinner. Rather than the bus we were going to get nine "Ape" scooters to ride in. Each "Ape" can hold 4 passengers plus the driver.
We heard the buzzing of the "Ape" scooters before we saw them. Everyone got into a scooter, three in the back seat and one beside the driver.





Danna and I were lucky to ride in our own private scooter.

The quiet sedated ride we were expecting never happened. From the moment we left the hotel everyone knew that you had to hold on and say the occasional prayer. The scooters travelled down the roads in typical Italian formation, all of the drivers wanted to lead.

Here you see all the passengers smiling or is that just fear on their face?



One of the scooters had a very loud sound system that was blasting out the music.
Several times the scooters came in close contact with one another. Our driver said they had lots of room and not worry. I now know that Sicilian's definition of lots of room is 25mm or less!

We must have been quite as sight as even a local bike rider made a video of our parade of noisy scooters.

This couple on the bike just looked at us and did not want to make eye contact with these crazy tourists.

Our ride took us through some back streets of Palermo that tourists do not see even in the daytime. The scooters bounced over cobblestone roads, kicking up dust on the gravel sections and as people on the sidewalks cheered. Is this how it felt to be riding a chariot in the Roman times?



It was a bit difficult taking pictures with all the bouncing around but you can get an idea from this picture of the narrow streets we were on.
How many moving violations did I notice? Here is a list, no turn signal, driving on the wrong side of the street, passing on the right, tailgating, speeding, driving on the shoulder of the road, blocking the street.

All of this in only three blocks!!!

Stopped at a red light ahead of us were two motorcycle police, I guessed that we would all be thrown in jail when they started yelling at one of the drivers. The only thing they warned him about was his loud music.
All the scooters stopped in front of the opera house for a short break. We walked across the piazza to a small shop were we had a chance to taste some gelato or granita.




After our treats some of drivers started dancing with the ladies. The Sicilians will take every opportunity to have a good time.


With everyone in the scooters, horns honking we raced across the piazza in front of the opera house with people jumping out of our way.

Our tour lasted about 90 minutes and happily we made it back to the hotel without anyone being injured.

What a way to end our Sicilian adventure!
Everyone walked into the hotel laughing about our "sedate" tour of Palermo Italy.

"Take only memories, Leave only footprints!"

Sicily Tour

Sicily treated us to many new sights and tastes. From the ancient ruins to a simple treat called a Granita. So many things to tell you about but with the WiFi service being limited here is a condensed view of our trip. Later when we have better WiFi more info will be added.

Ancient temples and ruins were scattered throughout Sicily. These ruins have been rebuilt as a large earthquake toppled the columns.

My friend and I in front of the Temple Della Concordia.

Sicily has a wide range of plants growing in the fertile soil. One of the local treats are "Indian Figs" or prickly pears. Must be an acquired taste because they did not appeal to me.



A bronze statue was placed here in 2011 in memory of Icarus who flew too close to the sun. Here Is Danna's reaction when one of the men on our tour suggested she touch "a private part".


One day we travelled up Mt. Etna to view the craters. When we got there the mountain was in the clouds and it was pouring. Not much to do except get a cup of coffee. After an hour the sun came out and Danna went for a walk with our friends to view the lower crater while I climbed up to the next crater. The view was fantastic from both craters. I did not get tired climbing up the steep hill, but had to stop a couple of times just to take pictures.




We also had a chance to see the beautiful sandy beaches. Here is Danna with our tour guide Roberta, Josephine and Carmen.



The locals relaxing on a bench beside a church? Only two were locals the ones on the right are Nobert and Christian from our tour.



One one of our walks we saw a man fishing, his dog was sitting there watching us walk by. Danna went to say hello to the dog and the quiet little thing wanted to bite her head off. Danna decided to leave without giving the dog a pat on the head.



Forget about the ruins, churches and mountains....the reason we are in Sicily are these little guys. Sicily is the home of Cannoli and you cannot leave without having one or two of them. Some are just with a plain filling and others are made with chocolate chips or topped off with pistachios.



At one of the ruins you could view history and sip a fresh coffee.

The ladies took great enjoyment in seeing their husbands singing while they did the laundry at this ancient laundromat.



One night we went out for a Sicilian specialty Granita. It is available in many flavors but the most popular one is lemon. Do you think these guys are enjoying theirs?


The trip was fantastic and it ended with a wild tour through the back streets of Palermo which I will tell you about on the next blog.
After our week or touring we were dog tired. I think the next week on the ship I will be looking like this.

"Take only memories, Leave only footprints!"

Sicily

We have just returned from a one week bus tour around Sicily.
Introduced to many new sights, sounds and flavors.
The only thing that could have been improved was the wifi at the hotels. One hotel had great wifi, all you had to do was find the spot that was about 4 square feet outside next to the pool. Problem was it changed every day and was very slow.
We are going to have lots of time to write our blogs on the ship. Leaving Treviso early Monday morning for the drive to the port that is about 70 km North of Rome.
We have lots of stories and are looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Here are a couple of picture from Sicily.
Do you thing this guy is enjoying his cannoli? Nothing like the real thing.

There were lots of nice people on the tour and here are two of them. There will be more pictures and stories to follow.

Do you know whooooooo this is?

"Take only memories, Leave only footprints!"

The Italian Wedding

Some days things go well and other days even better. Saturday was one of the best days we have had on our adventure in Italy. We were lucky to be in Treviso to attend my cousin, Valentina and her husband Alessandro's wedding. First the ceremony was held in the Duomo in Mogliano which is very impressive. Then we had a choir singing and a string quartet playing which sounded fantastic.



After the ceremony we went to a medieval castle for the reception. The Castello Di Stigliano a medieval castle, is almost 1000 years old. We could almost visualize the knights in shinning armor riding up to the front gates.
I could tell you about the food we had to eat but it would take up most of this blog. What can you say about perfection? Lunch took several hours that included a short walk to make room for another course.

At 19:00 more guests arrived and there was a buffet set up. Lunch was so good I did not leave room for the buffet but it also looked very tasty.

A lot of pictures were taken but we only have room for a few.
Here are some pictures from the wedding day.

Elisabetta and Nicola going over the final details with the organist.

Alessandro and his Mother having a quiet time prior to the wedding.

Family photos were done in front of the church.


Adriano and Nerina taking time to relax during their busy day.


The bride and groom with their attendants.


Valentina and Alessandro

Alessandro's Mother and Father


Alessandro's brother


Nerina with her new hat.


Here we have Valentina's very proud Grandmother (Nona) on the left and her sister.


As a general rule Italians appreciate the taste of their food. The reason is that they start at an early age with a wide selection of fresh ingredients. These two sat down and did not move until their plates were empty.


Adriano with Elisabetta and Nicola. To me it looks as if Adriano is describing todays lunch, yes the food was perfect.



The newly weds in training?







I forgot to tell you how beautiful Valentina looked as she entered the church. Her dress was elegant and suited her perfectly.


After lunch we moved to the tents set up in the gardens where the celebration continued into the evening.


We had a band that played a wide variety of songs to everyone's enjoyment. Songs were also sung by Valentina and her cousin
Maria Chiara, aunt Elisabetta and close friends.


In the church my cousin Agnese played the violin.



Of course there was dancing and here Adriano is leading the group in the Conga Line.


While I was taking pictures Nerina was teaching Danna some dance steps. They were taking a short rest when this picture was taken.


The wedding cake.



This has been a long and exciting day for Valentina and Alessandro. Looking at this picture no further words are required.
Have a happy honeymoon!

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"Take only memories, Leave only footprints!"