May 14, 2023

May 14, 2023

We awoke in Palermo, Sicily. It is Mother’s Day and we see runners assembling in the piazza below. While packing up we hear the starter pistol and watch them begin the race to the theme of the Queen song, Don't Stop Me.

From Palermo we drove west along the coast. It is cloudy and it looks like rain. After an hour we turned inland to visit the Temple of Segesta. Once parked we notice a line of old motorcars pass by. An antique car club must be having a road rally. We then see a bunch of Ferraris parked near us.

From the parking lot we walked uphill towards the Temple. We laugh seeing Agaves lining the path. Many are in bloom. These are not native. Agaves and Prickly Pears are both transplants from the Americas but seem to have taken over Sicily.

The Temple of Segesta sits atop a small hill all by itself. It seems in very good condition. It is constructed of limestone rather than the typical marble we expect from other Greek and Roman temples. Our local guide tells us this Doric Temple is not actually Greek. Archeologists believe it was built by the local inhabitants called the Elemi, who like the Romans, enthusiastically adopted Greek culture. The Greeks expanded from their traditional homeland and built colonies all along the coast of Sicily and Southern Italy. Despite not being Greek, the locals must have been superb stonemasons. The joints are almost perfect without the use of mortar.

The temple was built around 420 BC but looks incomplete. From above it looks like a child's cradle with only the outer columns in place. There is no inner sanctuary, nor are the columns fluted. There was continual warfare for control of Sicily between the local inhabitants, the Phoenician trading ports, and the many Greek city-state colonies on the island. It is likely one of these wars stopped the construction.

From the temple we took a shuttle bus up the steep hillside to the actual town of Segesta at the top of the hill. For defense most cities were located atop an Acropolis (high city). On the drive up, we get good overviews of the temple.

The hilltop contains several ruins from history, including the Agora or marketplace. None are in good condition except for the theater, which dates to the Roman era. The lower half of the seating still exists and has a great view of the valley leading back to the coast. The theatre was an important part of Greek culture. Here plays were performed and government policies debated, whereas the Romans mostly used them for crude entertainment and mock battles. In many ways the Greeks were the philosophers, and the Romans their practical counterparts.

Along the walk, we noticed the local vegetation. Except for the invasive Prickly Pear, it was very different from our own. The most unusual was a weed that grows in the shape of a Christmas tree.

Leaving Segesta we worked our way overland to the western shore. While climbing the mountain to the hilltop town of Erice, we get great views of the northwest coastline with Monte Cofano in the distance.

In Erice we stop and begin our tour. It is a cute town. It should have great views but we are above the clouds now. Fog is a problem with western coastal regions. We stop for a lunch of the local pasta specialty, Busiate al Pesto Trapanese. Busiate is a narrow corkscrew pasta that holds sauce very well. Interestingly the Pesto here is red, not green. The basil-based Green pesto is Genovese (Genoa, Italy region). Pesto refers to the method of the paste preparation, i.e. crushing in a Mortar with a Pestle.

It seems our luck ran out today. The fog is thicker and it is starting to rain. But since we are in the clouds and not below them, it is more of a mist. Either way we cannot see anything. Since hilltop Erice is mostly about the expansive views, this visit is a bust.

We do visit the Royal Cathedral before leaving. While it is ancient the interior nave was totally reconstructed in the 19th century. It is very unique with the ceiling looking like carved ivory scrollwork, or maybe since we are in Italy, it looks like a Pasta Church. There is also a Madonna shrine that is paraded through town during times of need. An interesting plaque lists the years and what prayer the townspeople needed fulfilled from war to plague to drought. I think people today forget that there have always been crises of some kind. Life is never easy.

From Erice, we made our way down the mountainside to the coastal city of Trapani. The city sits on a narrow peninsula sticking out into the sea. Our hotel sits on the open ocean side. After checking in, we walked the very short distance to the opposite shore that is filled with cruise ships and ferries. In the distance we can see piles of salt, from the many saltpans that line the shallow western shore. The city of Trapani is mostly modern as it was bombed to smithereens in WWII during the run up to the Allied invasion of Sicily.

For dinner we walked down the street to a pizzeria. Our pizza was made with Mozzarella di Bufala, a cheese variety made from the milk of a Water Buffalo.

May 13, 2023

May 13, 2023

This morning we met our driver and local guide to begin our exploration of Palermo. We started in one of the oldest sections of the city. We walked through the old city gate, Porta Nuovo. This enormous sixteenth century stone archway is decorated with Turkish soldiers with severed arms. They were carved to celebrate the Battle of Lepanto where the forces of the Christian West finally defeated the Ottoman Turks, who up to that point had seemed invincible. This 1583 sea battle was the last great one fought with rowing vessels.

Next-door is the Royal Palace. This fortress-like structure was built by the Normans atop the Arab Alcazar. It is now used by the Sicilian Regional Congress. We start our tour with a special exhibition by the modern artist Omar Hassan. The artwork I liked best was one that resembles a fireworks display. We saw a video of how he painted it, punching the canvas with boxing gloves dipped in paint!

Our next stop is the highlight, the Palatine Chapel, which was the private church of the Norman King. Built in the 12th century, it glows with the highly reflective gold mosaics covering the nave and central apse. The Normans must have imported Greek Byzantine artists to decorate their Romanesque basilica. The central apse has a large figure of Jesus. This is what we should have seen in the Cefalu Basilica yesterday.

The nave is decorated with mosaics that retell the Bible stories for the illiterate masses. My brother-in-law and I have nice chuckles about how the artists depicted some of the events, especially those of creation in Genesis. The wooden ceiling resembles ones we have seen in Arabic palaces indicating Muslim craftsmen must have done much of the construction.

Today is Saturday and the Regional Assembly is not in session, so we have the opportunity to tour the royal apartments on the upper floors. The decorations are in a wide variety of styles. King Roger's Room dates to the Middle Ages. Another is painted in a neo-Roman style imitating the decoration found during excavation of Pompeii.

From the Norman Palace, we walked through a garden to the Cathedral of Palermo. A wedding is going on inside so we cannot enter.

Instead we walked through the Capo Market and had some street food for lunch, all fried. It included calamari, chickpea pancakes and the Arabic-derived Arancini rice balls. I washed it down with a Messina Beer.

Our next stop was Palermo’s most iconic location, the Quattro Canti, a major intersection where each of the four corners has a matched facade. Each floor of each end has related statuary, including four Spanish kings, four seasons and four saints.

Next door is the Pretoria Fountain. This has the nickname of the Fountain of Shame because of its decorative nude statues sited just below a Dominican convent. It was brought in pieces from Florence and reassembled.

We then drove up Montepellegrino Mountain overlooking the city to a great overview point. We continued on to the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia. This shrine is inside a cave on the mountain top.

Afterwards we drove out of the city to a plateau five miles southwest to visit the Cathedral of Monreale. This Norman church is a larger version of the Palatine Chapel we saw this morning. It also is filled with gold mosaics. Being substantially larger with few windows it is much dimmer. The development of the Gothic style with larger windows was just starting in northern Europe.

 

For dinner we walked a mile south to a rooftop restaurant for dinner. The ominous clouds made us think we might get rained out. Fortunately it only spit a few dusty drops. We had a Tonnarelli pasta dinner and then stopped for gelato on the walk back.

May 12, 2023

May 12, 2023

The weather is delightful here in Palermo, Sicily. I took advantage of it this morning reading on our penthouse balcony. At 7am we went down for breakfast. After bacon and eggs and a cappuccino, I dove into the many desserts available, including Pistachio cake and make-it-yourself Cannoli. A Cannoli is a crispy shell that is hand-filled with a Ricotta cheese-sugar mixture. I am going to need to go on a serious diet after we get home.

After breakfast, we met our driver in the lobby and he ferried us the forty-five miles east along the northern coast to the town of Cefalu. The coastline is very scenic and lined with mountains. Cefalu, which comes from the Greek word Cephalos meaning head, refers to the rocky mound of land that abuts the seaport town. This beach resort city has a long history.

We met our local city guide and she first gave us a review of the long history of invasion from Phoenician and Greeks to Arabs, Normans and Spanish. Sixteen different cultures according to her. She compared it humorously and appropriately to the layers of Lasagna.

Our guide was a fount of information giving us fascinating tidbits of trivia and history as we strolled down the narrow lanes of the ancient quarter. Much of Italian immigration to America came from Sicily. After Italian unification in the 1860's southern Italy lagged northern. Naples and Sicily, (the Kingdom of the two Sicilys), was mired in feudalism and fell behind the north which invented capitalism, experienced the Renaissance, and industrialized their economy, leaving their southern brothers in the dust.

One curious stop was an ancient public laundry that used a natural stream passing through some man-made rock tubs. My family loves doing laundry so my sister and Aimee had to give it a try. Nearby was also an ancient olive oil press with its many terracotta pots.

The culmination of Cefalu history was the Norman Conquest. King Roger intended to move the capital here from Palermo to balance his western Latin and eastern Greek constituents. He began the construction of a great Cathedral but died before the move could be made. This castle-like cathedral is famous for its gold mosaic altar decoration. Disappointingly it is behind scaffolding and we only can see a photo representation. Instead we concentrated on the Arab craftsman influence on the Norman design. This Arab-Norman architecture of Cefalu and Palermo is a World Heritage Site.

Leaving our guide we sat at a harbor restaurant and had a Bruschetta lunch with fresh Cannoli for dessert. We then made the ninety-minute drive back to Palermo.

We made a brief detour to the Capuchin Monastery outside Palermo. Their underground cemetery has become a popular tourist attraction. Originally intended as a crypt for monks, it became desirable for local elites who would pay to be interred here. Apparently the monks were expert morticians skilled at preservation. Today the extensive catacomb is filled with thousands of bodies hanging on walls and in niches still wearing their burial garments. The corpses and garments are in a wide range of decay. We are seeing Dust to Dust in action. This catacomb is both very unique and exceedingly creepy.

Back at our hotel, we rested before heading out for another big dinner of Artichoke appetizer, Salmon steak entree with Tiramisu for dessert. We walked back to the hotel to work off the calories.

May 10-11, 2023

May 10-11, 2023

Some friends took us to the airport early this morning to begin another visit to Italy. In Dallas we transferred to our long overnight trans-Atlantic flight. It is a mostly cloudy journey but we get glimpses of the coastal Alps separating France and Italy. We arrive in Rome early the next morning flying in over Civitavecchia, the modern cruise port for the inland Italian capital. Italy must be getting lots of rain as the terrain is bright green.

Rome, however, is not our final destination. We quickly found our next flight to Palermo, capital of the Italian island of Sicily. Today most islands are backwaters because of difficult driving and railway connections. In pre-industrial times, it was just the opposite. Islands with their ready ports and sea access were internationally connected enhancing trade. As a result Palermo at one time was likely the largest city in Europe and Sicily the wealthiest kingdom. On the flip side, this easy access meant Palermo and Sicily were probably also the most conquered city and island of Europe.

Strategically located in the passage between the western and eastern Mediterranean, Sicily was colonized by the earliest trading empires, Among the first were the Phoenicians. They were quickly followed by the Greeks and then the Romans. In the Middle Ages, came the barbarians, then the Arabs, and finally the Norman Vikings.

Outside baggage claim, we met our driver who ferried us into the city of Palermo. I think he used to be a Grand Prix driver. The coastline of Sicily is very beautiful with sheer green mountains. Our hotel room has a long balcony overlooking the Politeama Theater and its wide piazza.

To keep our jetlag at bay, Aimee and I know we need to keep moving. So we take a walk south into historic Palermo. Our first stop is the Salinas Regional Archeological Museum to learn more about ancient Sicilian history. One small room illustrates the earliest writing alphabets. The oldest is from the Phoenicians who needed it to manage their far-flung trading operations. The utility of its simple sound-based alphabet was apparent, and then adopted and modified by the Greeks who added vowels. The Romans then adopted the Greek alphabet transforming it into our Latin script.

One exhibit that ties in with a recent trip is the Palermo Stone. This is a fragment of a large hieroglyphic stele that listed all the kings of Egypt. It helped scientists uncover Egyptian Pharaoh history. Of particular interest is the three-letter cartouche of Sneferu, founder of the fourth dynasty and builder of the Bent Pyramid. Aimee and I have learned to easily identify the guitar-shaped hieroglyph ‘nefer’ meaning beautiful.

The museum has artifacts from the many Greek temples that litter Sicily. Surprisingly some of the temple fragments were found to contain color. Astounding for buildings exposed to the elements for 2500 years. Scientists have learned that Greek temples and statues were originally brightly painted. Using these small fragments the colorful temple facades have been recreated. One odd Greek temple has an enormous painted head of a Gorgon on its pediment.

We are starting to fade, so across the street, we stopped to have a Coke and a Margherita Pizza. This pizza in the three colors of the Italian flag was named after an early queen of Italy.

Refreshed, we walked into the oldest section of Palermo. Next door to the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, we visited the Oratory of San Lorenzo. This small Baroque chapel or meeting house is filled with beautiful carved reliefs illustrating the lives of St. Lawrence and St. Francis. The most interesting is one that shows the martyrdom of Lawrence by being roasted alive. The oratory used to contain a famous Caravaggio painting but it was stolen by the Mafia in 1969.

We continued through the old section with its narrow winding lanes to the original port of Palermo. A cruise ship is at dock. Mostly it is now filled with sailboats. We passed a building facade with the portrait of two judges killed by the Mafia. Their assassination sparked a public outrage that finally did in the Cosa Nostra.

Back at the hotel we took a nap and then met up with my sister and brother-in-law for dinner. We had wine, swordfish and a delicious medley of Italian desserts. Traveling with my sister means we will be eating well.

April 21, 2023

April 21, 2023

From the top of our recent hike to Picacho Peak, we saw Pinal Airpark in the distance and remembered I have been meaning to tour this commercial version of our local military boneyard. So Aimee and I and our neighbors to the north made the half-hour drive to this airport where we met the manager who gave us a private tour. He started with its history built during WWII as an Army pilot training field. It is now owned by the county and leased to middlemen who sell the space to park and store airline jets. At one time it was also the home of the CIA’s Air America fleet.

Tucson is an ideal storage area because of our dry climate and inexpensive desert land. While there are competitors around the world, this is the largest commercial boneyard. Shockingly 350 people work here every day, many of whom are highly paid skilled aircraft mechanics.

We piled in the airport manager's SUV and we drove around the large facility passing hundreds of planes. They had tail insignia from countless little known airlines. The planes were in all phases of storage, from planes being prepped to return to service tomorrow, all the way down to planes reduced to rubble being gradually stripped of all their valuable parts. Some of the first items to go are the landing gear, which leaves the plane carcass sitting atop piles of railroad ties. We are only allowed to take photos inside the fence at one location where we are given fifteen minutes to explore on foot. Humorously we left the airport along Cowling Avenue, which is the graveyard for dozens of engine cowlings.

Instead of heading home the ladies insisted we stop at the nearby Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Farm. If Aimee has her way, this may be the closest I get to this iconic African savannah ratite. I am a little surprised how crowded it is when we arrive. It seems the tourism side of this ranch has become the primary focus. It is now a popular petting zoo to feed the usual animals, plus lots of exotics.

We sign up for the full experience. We are each given two cups of food and sent out. We start hand-feeding the domesticated sheep, goats, and Sicilian donkeys. I have little interest, so I push ahead to the hundreds of ostriches kept behind a high fence. Their heads are as tall as I am. I put out my open hand full of feed. Ouch!!! Ostriches have huge sharp beaks. If these Velociraptor descendants still had real teeth, I would have lost an arm. Only afterwards did I notice the feed tubes and warning signs. Ostriches are mean, but I guess you have to be to survive in lion country.

My group catches up and we go on to feed deer, rabbits, parakeets, and ducks. We even fed an asparagus tip to some giant African tortoises. You need to watch your fingers at this zoo.

The highlight of the day was a cage full of Rainbow Lorikeets. We ran into these colorful birds many years ago on a Sydney sidewalk. These smart birds landed on my shoulder and used their beak to peel the top off my syrup container to lap up the nectar inside. This was much more fun than feeding ostriches.

The last feeding experience was back in the Visitor Center, which has a large swimming pool of stingrays. These gentle creatures vacuum up pieces of squid from your hand. This brings back good memories of our dive experience at Stingray City in the Caymans. Lastly we watched a tank of ducks diving under the water to reach released food.

We left through the gift shop where we could purchase ostrich paraphernalia. Ostriches are farmed for their leather, meat, feather, and eggs. Besides feather dusters, we could even buy an unopened egg containing the equivalent of 24 chicken eggs. Both Aimee and I were pleasantly surprised how organized and interesting this kid-friendly tourist destination was.

March 21, 2023

March 21, 2023

Winter has been unusually cold and wet this year. Shockingly we even awoke to several inches of snow a few weeks ago. Thankfully snow doesn’t last but a few hours in Tucson. While beautiful, the snow did a number on our gorgeous lime tree. It was already burdened with a bumper crop of juicy limes. The heavy wet snow was the straw that broke the camel's back. I had to remove all but a few branches. We are surely missing Global Warming.

The one advantage of a wet winter is wildflowers. They are abundant this year. Since it has been several months since our hiking adventure in New Zealand, Aimee and I decide to visit a local wildflower hotspot, Picacho Peak State Park, a half hour north. Even though it is Monday, apparently many others had the same idea. We wait in line over a half hour to get through the gate. Once in, we luckily find a parking spot on the road and begin the hike to the summit along the Hunter Trail. The base of the peak is filled with patches of blue Lupines and Mexican Gold Poppies. Not as thick as I expected, but the mountain is unusually green and verdant.

After the initial few hundred yards, I put away the camera and concentrate on the ascent. It seems to be much steeper and rugged than we remember. Have we aged that much since MacKinnon Pass just a few months ago? We persevere and make it to the summit and back without incident, but both of us are feeling it. In particular, my ankles are burning on the long descent.

Before leaving the park, we stop at the Memorial Loop that has several Interpretative Boards commemorating the Civil War battle that took place here, the only one in Arizona. Southern rebels intent on taking California were repelled in a small skirmish.

March 13, 2023

March 13, 2023

Spring is reluctantly approaching this year. And that means wildflowers and newborns. Our Screech Owl seems to be back but we face stiff competition from our neighbors who all put Owl boxes in their yard this year. We feel lucky to have one pick our box to set up a nest. Unfortunately, when I glanced out our window this evening, I noticed a large shadow by the box. Oh No, a Bobcat! In the tree, next to the Owl box! I have never seen a Bobcat off the ground. I am thinking the worst. The Bobcat mostly is sitting in the tree facing our neighbor’s yard, exactly where they release their tiny dog to do his business. We quickly warn them.

Sadly, our Screech Owls are now MIA. I can’t blame them. I wouldn’t want to nest anywhere near where a Bobcat might frequent. I just hope Owls don’t have enough meat on them to attract the attention of a hungry feline. Raising Screech Owls in a desert continues to be full of surprises.

February 2023

February 2023

The beginning of every year is citrus overload for us enjoying the bounty of our lime, lemon, and orange trees. Because my Charlie Brown grapefruit tree never grew an inch over the decade since I planted it, we rely on neighbors for Ruby Red donations.

Five years ago, I learned that one kind of citrus could be grafted on another. Since we have many more lemons than we (and our neighbors) can ever use, I got the bright idea to graft grapefruit shoots onto the lemon tree. So every Spring for the last five years, I tried grafting a dozen cuttings. I used several different methods and branch sizes, but never got more than one or two each year to take and grow.

But even the successful graftings took time to grow and lengthen. This year two of the grafts actually bloomed and one actually produced fruit. A lot of fruit. Seven large juicy softballs were too much for the slender shoot. I had to support them with one of our tall earthenware planters. I am not sure what I am going to do if I get too successful with these grafts!

December 9, 2022

December 9, 2022

We checked out of our Auckland Airport hotel to begin our journey home. New Zealand is an easy country to tour. About the size of California, it is mostly rural with friendly people and free toilets. The view is picturesque everywhere in almost every direction. No wonder Lord of the Rings was a visual feast for the eyes.

One side of my brain says we finally got unlucky with the rain, but when it really counted, we had clear skies or at least temperate weather. Unwittingly we spent most of our time on the wet side where we couldn’t have expected a rain-free multi-week holiday. After all it is a rain forest for a reason! A late Spring visit, while a tad cooler, also gave us wildflowers in great abundance.

We hiked almost every day visiting seven National Parks and tasting six of New Zealand’s ten Great Walks. We haven't done that since exploring the US in our RV many years ago. But ultimately we are now ‘sun people' and we much prefer our arid West. Unfortunately I am bringing back an unwanted souvenir of the maybe 85 miles we hiked.

At the airport we dropped off our rental car. After three weeks of left lane driving ingrained in my brain, I will probably have trouble back in the USA. Once through security, we ate breakfast in the Business Lounge. We had to share the small space with the Sydney Kings and their entourage, one of the ten professional basketball teams of this region. In the early afternoon our thirteen-hour flight to Dallas took off. I had to watch the beginning and end of The Hobbit movies to reminisce about our Hobbiton visit yesterday.

Our Tucson flight took off also on time. Finally two flights in a row without a hitch! We circled Tucson to approach the runway from the west giving us a tour of Tucson highlights, including the vast Boneyard Airforce of Davis-Monthan AFB, and ‘A Mountain' (our version of the Hollywood sign). And because we crossed the International Date Line again, we arrived before we left!