Somebody Get Me An Elephant

"What is the fatal charm of Italy? What do we find there that can be found nowhere else? I believe it is a certain permission to be human, which other places, other countries, lost long ago." --Erica Jong

     Jim's passport went missing and this street sign is a close approximation of our reaction:

     So we left quaint, crumbling, magnificient Sicily a little earlier than we planned in order to get his passport replaced in Rome.  Next time we'll invade and conquer Palermo and Corleone.  Meanwhile before I tell you about another Roman adventure, I wanted you to see a little more of Sicily, the island that has had around 10 different ruling bodies.  (The Normans, the North Africans, the Aragonese, the Bourbons, the Greeks, the Romans, Hannibal, just to name a few.)

     Noto, where we had that incredible multi-seafood lunch, is famous for its architecture.  In the 1600's a mega earthquake destroyed the original buildings so it was decided to Baroque everything. (I'm reaching for humor here; is anyone getting it? Never mind.) Compared to this town the rest of us live in unadorned shoe boxes.  Wedding cakes don't get any fancier than this place.

     And out in the middle of nowhere was Ragusa.

Bigger and steeper than we expected, Ragusa, was the setting for Marcello Mastriani's Divorce Italian Style.  Here's Jim at Marcello's doorstep.

     Taormina turned out to be a sparkling little jewel of a town - Barry and June, you agree, I'm sure.  It's known as Sicily's most popular seaside resort.

  The view of Mt. Etna took our breath away - that vapor trail lazily escaping from its top never stops telling us that it is Europe's most active volcano.

Moving along quickly now...

     So much to see here, the Greek amphitheatre (later renovated by the Romans to better display the talents of their gladiators)

   The beautiful fruits and vegetables depicted in ceramic, the views of the sea hundreds of feet below (we explored the upper part of town since January is not bathing suit season) and still there are enough churches alone to keep any die-hard traveller happy.

     One of the most awe-inspiring places in all of Italy is Agrigento.  On the southern coast of Sicily, around the 7th century B.C. the Greeks came ashore and
did what they usually do.  Built things.  And now we call it Valley of the Temples. Here are some burial niches.

  Many people (and whoever they are, we believe them because we've been to Greece) say that the "ruins" here are in better shape than in Greece itself.

  If you like history read about this place and how the Carthaginians conquered it and then the Romans, and then..., etc etc etc.  Meanwhile, next to a sweeping green valley that leads to the sea, a grove of blossoming almond trees (that smelled like heaven)

and the oldest olive trees we've ever seen,

(one's trunk is about 15 feet around) are a mind blowing set of three temples.

  They are a deep sandy brown (guess all that beautiful marble is decorating someone else's place now) and as regal as the day they opened their doors for the ever-popular, always colorful, never disappointing animal sacrifices.

   Agrigentro, what a show stopper.  And, now, in the days of 21st century A.D. terrorism, Agrigento's Valley of the Temples, with its cool sea breezes and sunny blue skies, is a perfect place to sit and ponder just how far we've all come on life's journey.

Peace, Susan