Day 3 (Oct 27)

**just a reminder, click any image to get a enlarged view**

Before I went to bed the night before, Ciro explained he would get home from work around 2, and then we were heading to Ventimiglia.

Here are some shots of the elevator in his building. It was pretty cool, but really tiny inside. The sign in the box says max capacity 3 people, but it was crowded with 2.

You pressed the call button to bring the car to your floor.








Once it arrives, you open the metal door, then the wooden doors.


Then you open the double wooden doors and close everything before pressing and holding the button for the floor you want.






Ventimiglia is a small town maybe 20-30 minutes from Palermo. We were going there to see my friend Gino. I met Gino on the last trip, he is a good friend of Ciro, and when Ciro had to go back to Palermo on the last trip sick. Gino met us in Alia, and played tour guide for the last couple days. He introduced me to limoncello the first night I met him. When we got to Taormina, everyone went their separate ways, but I walked around with Gino and he showed me a few off the beaten path spots in town, like a private tour. He lives in Ventimiglia and is an electrician by trade. Ciro owns his childhood home in town, and he and Francesca's father (Rosario) keep a few olive trees there to make their own olive oil. I recently found out Gino is moving to Chicago to live with his old girlfriend. She moved there years ago, from Sicily. The plan is once I am back, my parents and I will meet them halfway in St Louis to have dinner, which should be fun.

Anyway, before we leave Palermo, we have to wait for Ciro's wife to get home with the car. We will then drive over and pick up Rosario. I watched some CNN International (in English) and got adjusted to being there.


I took a walk later in the morning and took this picture under a bridge. The moss was hanging down over the path and I thought it looked pretty cool.

One of my concerns prior to the trip was how picky of an eater I am. I didn't want to be rude if I was a guest at someone else's table, and was served something I despised. I am allergic to mushrooms, but otherwise it's just not liking certain things. I decided to just smile and eat whatever was in front of me. For dinner the night before I had risotto with spinach. Today I had fresh fish on the bone, and zucchini and eggplant!

I will be staying in Ventimiglia for a night so I packed a small bag. When Ciro got home and we were on our way to pick up Rosario, he dropped a bomb. First off, Francesca's father is a state bodyguard for a living. Technically, he is a policeman, but his assignment is as a bodyguard. Over in Sicily, judges need bodyguards. We drove to the over side of Palermo, and a few minutes later I met Rosario. Ciro and Rosario grew up together in Ventimiglia, and are only 6 months apart in age. The second bomb then dropped. Rosario will be staying with me at Ciro's place while I am there. Rosario didn't really speak English, and I wasn't sure what he thought of me, since I have been talking to his daughter for the last year online.

When we arrived in town, it was like a reunion. Every person we passed got a honk and a ciao! It's not a large town, so everyone knows everybody. We drove through town to the outskirts where Gino was working. He was finishing up a job before he moved to Chicago at an Olive Mill. We said our hello's and I got a brief tour. It was a brand new facility, not completely finished. he had to get back to work, so we agreed to meet for dinner at his place, and went our way. We went to Ciro's house and dropped off our things. When we got to the bedroom, I was told the sleeping arrangements. It was a 4 story building, and I was going to sleep in the bed, and Rosario on a cot in a closet! I tried to argue, but they both said there was no way I would fit on the cot, so I gave in. A few minutes later we left again, to get groceries for the dinner. We went to probably every grocer, butcher, fruit market in town. We found everything they needed except Ricotta cheese. On the way to Gino's we stopped at a friend of theirs market, it was called 'The American Market". The owner lived in Brooklyn for 15 years. As we were talking, they took a chance and asked if he had any Ricotta. What do you know, the only grocery store in town that had it, was the American Market! It was literally the last Ricotta cheese left in town.

We drove to a garage, and got Rosario's grandfathers Fiat (I'll show a picture next post) and took both cars to Gino's. Since after dinner Ciro would be driving back to Palermo. We got there a few minutes after Gino, because he was still cleaning up from work, and I met his girlfriend Linda. Come to find out, she is actually his fiance! I'm not sure what age she moved to Chicago, but you'd have no idea when she spoke English she was born in another country. We chatted for awhile until Gino's sister showed up, and started dinner. After we ate, they got me to try fresh persimmons, and something called prickly pear.

I didn't take that picture, but wanted to share what they look like. These grow all over the place, on cactus. Gino also broke out some homemade sangria. He takes peaches and soaks them in wine, and some other type of liquor. The sangria was quite powerful, I think you could have used it to run a small car, woweee. Dinner wrapped up, and a few more people knocked on the door. Gino's place is like the party house, because all of a sudden, 4 more people showed up. We sat around talking, and listening to music. Mostly classic rock bands, like Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, The Doors. When we went outside to smoke, Rosario, Gino's sister (Leena), and another girl there would hum songs, and see if I could tell them the name. I felt like I was on a game show. It was a great time, as I spent more and more time with Rosario, he became one of the highlights of the whole trip. He was hilarious. I have no idea what time the party ended, Ciro had left hours ago, but it finally ended. Rosario and I drove back to the house to call it a night.


ciao!