What do I see?

We have been staying close to home waiting for the hot weather to get here.  It has been in the mid-teens, but cloudy and rainy. It seems colder as the humidity is high.  It is so much more enjoyable to be out on a hot day.

I thought I would share some photos of what I see on any given day.

Church Doors

These beautiful doors are on the Floridia church.  My nephew was married in this church. The doors are made of brass.  The interior is beautiful as well but I always feel I shouldn't take photos inside especially if people are inside.






What do I see when I go for a walk?  I see many orange, lemon and olive groves.

Orange Grove

My sister buys her olive oil
from her neighbour for 5€ a litre.  Today it takes $1.51 Cdn. to make 1€.  Of course this is pure olive oil.  They buy the stone ground oil.  It is preferable to the machine ground. Olives she picks from her friend's place.  She puts them in a saline brine and they keep for a long time.  She often mixes them with hot red peppers, oregano, garlic cloves, and mint leaves and covers them with oil to serve.

What do they cook in olive oil?  EVERYTHING!  There is olive oil on green salads, sauces, meat, and vegetables. About the only things without oil are desserts.  How much oil do they use?  LOTS!  I find it is too much for me.  The other day my nephew and family were here for supper.  Marco had a thin slice of beef and poured the oil on.  They are accustomed to this diet.  One tbsp. of olive oil is 150 calories and about 92% fat.  It is good for you though.

Pasta is served at least once a day.  Here pasta is served every lunch followed with meat and vegetables. I don't like to be a fussy eater but generally forego the pasta.

Prices in store (vary by store):
White flour:     .49€/kg
Brown flour:    .59€/kg
Tomatoes:         .30€/kg. summer
                            1-1.50€/kg winter
Eggs(10):            1.49€
Milk:                   .49€/litre
Sugar:                 .99€/kg
Beer:                    2.19€ for 6 small imported from
                            Germany
Wine:                  2.19€/one and a half litres

Wild asparagas and wild spinach grow here and we eat a lot of it.  Both are delicious. My sister is a good cook so everything tastes good.  She cooks and I do the cleanup.

Next posting I will cover other costs.

Aciteale

On Sunday we went to Acireale to the carnival.  Acireale has the third largest carnival in Italy and lasts for two weeks.  The children and some adults wear costumes or wigs and masks.  Confetti is thrown at each other as is liquid streamers.

The floats are a sight to behold.  Once darkness falls they have flashing lights and various parts of the float are raised and move.  They were about 5 stories high.

This dragon float was my favourite.  It was really awesome when lit up.  I took some videos but they don't seem to work on my blog.

We arrived in the afternoon and by the evening the streets were packed.  Even the pope was there!

Pope

Of course there were beautiful churches.

St. Marco

It got a lot cooler as the evening wore on and we left when Roma and I could no longer feel our feet!

Cemetery

We went to the cemetery in Solarino.  Here most everyone in interred above ground.  Some families spend $100,000 or more on their family crypt, but they hold many family members.

These are some of the older plots.

They are the same as those in Panajachel. They are also similar in that family continues to bring flowers and visit the site.  Most every unit has a photo of the deceased.

Those with more financial resources build a family crypt.

Family Crypt

This is the City Hall in Floridia.

There is a nice big courtyard with benches all around.

We're Surrounded

My sister, Roma, lives on an acreage 3 km from Floridia and 3 km from Solarina.  The other day we were going to town but had to stop and let the sheep go by!

Through front windshield

Nice sheep!

Enna

We went to Enna. For those of you who do crossword puzzles, "Enna" is the 4 letter word for "Sicilian town". From there we could see Mt. Etna, the 4 letter word for volcano in Sicily.

Enna consists of two parts, high Enna and low Enna.  There is a 3 degree difference in temperature between the two.  Upper Enna is the oldest part and is home to 70 churches. It is the highest point in Sicily.

We went to the highest peak to see the castle.  This castle is also known as The Lombardy Castle.

Lombardy Castle

From here you could see for miles around.

In the distance you can see another town. There is an absence of colour in these towns and cities as all is built of stone.  As you can see the castle was built in a strategic place.

I have to thank my nephew, Tiziano, who took time from his studies to drive us to see the sights.

Excavation

Here is one of the excavation sites we visited this week.  We arrived after driving 140 km an hour!  I was pretty nervous as the highway was narrow with a shoulder on one side only.

There is info on the net.  The excavation was begun in 1929. This is a home from the Holy Roman Empire and it is huge.  It is famous for the floors made out of very small mosiac tiles.  There were many rooms and hallways and each room had a floor of a different design.  Whoever owned this home was obviously wealthy.

The room you see through the doorway is called the bikini room as it shows women in bikinis involved in various sports.

Now, this place is OLD!

Floridia

I have been in Sicily just over a week now.  The days are getting gradually warmer.

I have gone on a couple of orange, mandarin and grapefruit picking excursions.  The fruit here is very sweet and juicy.  Nothing like you buy in the stores back home.

Yesterday my sister and I went to Siracusa, a city that is 2700 years old.  We went to an art museum and saw paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries.  There were also pillars from the 11th and 12th centuries.

Fountain of Diana

We did a lot of walking about.  The buildings of the old section are very tall and the streets are very narrow.
Here is my sister walking before me.

I think the height of the buildings is to keep the street cool as it does get over +40C in the summer.  People still inhabit these buildings and we saw laundry hanging from upper floors and businesses on street level.

This cathedral is the oldest and largest one in Siracusa.

Siracusa cathedral

You can only see a small part of it here.  There are so many beautiful structures. There is a large courtyard in front of this cathedral.

The Mediterranean

We went to a big market a couple of streets over from here.  They sold all kinds of seafood.  There were some interesting trees along the sea wall.

More to follow!