If It's Tuesday It Must Be Italia

Nov 4, 2010

Hello to my friends and family on the other side of the Atlantic. This is your travelling Blogster, Matteo Weinstein, writing to you from the ancient town of Modica, in Sicily, where we arrived on, um, well, a few days ago. I beg your pardon for not knowing precisely when we arrived here - it was a long, long trip and if you read on you'll understand my confusion.

We left New York on Monday. Our dear friends, Rhonda and Jim, visiting us from Florida and watching our house as we travel, drove us to JFK at 4pm for our six o'clock flight to Milano. Italy is already on standard time so the difference is five hours instead of the usual six (that'll change this Sunday when the U.S. goes back to standard time - a little bit confusing already, no?)

We arrived in Milan the next day, Tuesday, at 7am (2am in NYC - you're getting to understand why I don't now where or when). We then spent a five hour layover at Milano's Malpensa airport so we could catch a one-and-a-half hour flight to Palermo on the isle of Sicilia. After debarking that second flight, we picked up a Renault rental (it's now 3 pm - your time 10 am!) and drove five hours to the southeast side of the island - to our rental home (and to meet our friends Ellen and Brian with whom we are sharing the house) in Modica. Tired? That doesn't begin to describe our state of mind and being.

The ride was exciting ... and challenging. The firt half, to the city of Enna, was on a modern Autostrada, Italy's wonderfully engineered version of our Interstates. Darkness, however, descended around 5:30 and the Autostrada ended along with the daylight.

The balance of our ride was on the tiniest, narrowest, curviest roads that I've ever driven upon. Of course, the car, as most all cars in Europe, is a manual shift. Italian drivers are molto, molto crazy: fast, aggeressive and, it seems, suicidal. They pass at all times: on a straight-away; on a curve; if oncoming cars are visible or not. They ride about 6 inches behind you, just waiting for the opportunity to pass. If a passing car is comingtoward you, it's your responsibility, not his, to hug your shoulder to avoid a collision! Try this sometime in a car your're not familiar with on roads your not familiar with and after having been on two flights that began a day or two ago without more than and hour or so of sleep. So, again, what day is today??!!

Fashionistas and fashion ads in the fashionable Milan airport. Remember, you can click any photo to see it larger with better detail.

Stop number two of a very long travel day(s): Palermo's airport. We're tired! We've been on the go from 3pm the day before - it's now 3 pm the next day! Not there yet. Click the pic to see it larger!

We arrived late that evening having eaten some pizza and panini at a gas station on the road. Brian and Ellen were already ensconced in the lovely apartment that would be our home for the next six days. We talked a while and then turned in to bed and a long-awaited and sweet sleep.

The next day, Wednesday, we spent exploring the town. The town of Modica is one of the reasons people should leave home behind and travel. Life in Modica is so far removed from our lives in Brooklyn that visiting here is a lesson on just how varied in habits, lifestyle and culture our world is. And, at the same time, how much we share with people of different lands and cultures; - from the little things like a sense of humor to the larger qualities of humanity and decency that seem to be part of most people throughout our small world.

Built on the two stunningingly steep sides of a narrow valley, the medievil town is perched precariously on the ledges and cliffs that overhang Modica Bassa - the lower part of the village. Through that lower part of the V that forms this city is Corso Umberto I - the main street and commercial strip with its cafes, bars, restaurants and shops. Up above live the people. Up above are the homes with their tile rooves (not red as is typical in many parts of Europe but a drab tan that, when viewed from afar makes the town look like a city of stone). The houses are ancient, the churches are ancient. The streets, such as they are, are a twisted warren of narrow lanes, passageways, ramps and stairs that, eventually, make their way down to Corso Umberto where people conduct their commercial business. It's our contention that there are no obese people living here - the amount of calories exerted in ascending and descending the steps and streets of this town sees to that.

Our house, at 9 Via Santa Lucia, is a charmingly renovated apartment with a breathtaking view of the town from above. The owner, an artist, has decorated this villa with a modern touch. There are framed photos of famous artists on the walls, a sweet little kitchen, terraces that overlook the town. It's a cozy place to return to after a walk (huff, puff) around town or a day travelling to other locales in the area.

The view from our house in Modica.  Click the picture to see it larger!  

This is our home sweet home: 9 Via Santa Lucia. - yes, this is our "street".

Modica is an ancient Sicilian town.  It's "streets" consist of endless flights of steps connecting a warren of very narrow lanes and and passageways.

Lots and lots of stairs keep Modicans slim and fit.

We set off for an exploratory walk around (and up and down) the town. We pledged to leave our cars parked for the duration as automobiles are not the way to explore this town: first, the streets are terribly clogged with traffic and second, up on the hills it's impossible (at least for us unfamiliar Americans) to venture anywhere by car - the streets are way too narrow.

In our immediate neighborhood stands the ancient church of St. Giorgio - the foundations of which were begun in 1050 A.D. In front of St. Giorgio are some 250 steps descending to the Modica Bassa - this was a really impressive church up on the hill and it stood there gleaming in its brilliant white limestone exterior.

The cathedral of St. Giorgio.

The view from the front of St. Giorgio. This is November - flowers are in full bloom. Click the pic to see it larger!

A lovely piazza on Corso Umberto I, the town's main commercial street - down in the "valley."

We returned home for cocktails and some appetizers before setting out for dinner at a restaurant down (again!) on the main street: the highly-rated Osteria dei Sapori Perduti which served hearty and inexpensive traditional fare - it was basic and very good we all agreed. Corrado, a roving accordionist played some sweet tunes and when I requested Bella Ciao, a song of the anti-fascist partisans of Word War II, he responded with a lovely and passionate rendition.

Corrado plays Bella Ciao for us.

Ellen and Brian and a bottle of Nero D'Avola - made from Sicily's famous grape.

After a bottle of that Sicilian wine, Ellen and Stacey see Corrado in a whole new light -- he's their Italian Mick Jagger. Click the pic to see it larger!

Tomorrow, we visit the Unesco World Heritage town of Caltagirone - known for its fabulous ceramic tiles and pottery. Stay tuned.


To see all of today's photos on my SmugMug site, just CLICK HERE.

Ciao ...  e amore di Matteo