Thursday, February 26, 2004

CIAO TUTTI

Just so you'll have something cool to look at-here are 2 great pictures of the kids. Click on the picture to enlarge it and get the FULL story.

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

CARNAVALONE


The carnival fever is done. Yesterday we decided that we had enough. Angelo from Istanbul was sick; Marco had some black work (under the table), so they did not come from Palermo for the last night, the burning of Peppe ‘Nappa. Giusy and Claudio are still in England. Amy and Sara did not come from Florence this year. So we had no enthusiastic, party loving young folks to force our sorry selves out after midnight to watch a bunch of out-of-town drunks burn a float. We did watch parts of the final theatrical performance on TV in between gasping over the deadly dinosaur antics of Jurassic Park III, the network TV special. It did not matter that it was dubbed in awful Italian when you see William Macy and Tea Leoni constantly running away from deadly raptors. Schlock at its best!
Anyway, the final show on the huge stage at Piazza Scandaliato was a long story and dance about Peppe ‘Nappa and the origins of Carnavale in Sciacca. It was in old Sicilian, the sound of which Italians find hysterical, sort of like a country hick in the states. That those dancers can still dance after going non-stop for almost a week is a mystery to me. But today everyone in Sciacca has a day off and they gather with family for a post-Carnavale party. Hey, it’s Lent (Quaresima), but one more party first. Last year we were at the snail farm with Claudio and Giusy for a cook out.
We leave for Rome tomorrow, where we plan to return to the Forum area and really see the historic center this time. Reading Angels and Demons and DaVinci Code has made us anxious to re-visit some of the places we saw before, and to seek out some of Bernini’s masterpieces, like the painting “The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.” On the 29th we fly to Madrid and then Miami, then Cancun. Mexico, here we come!!! So “ciao” for 2 weeks.

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

UPDATE: Pilfered Wallet, Sandstorm, Carnavale Exhibit, Floats

The wallet was found by a Palmeritano (guy from Palermo) and given to the police. No money or credit cards, but who expected it? This does a bit to restore our faith in Sicilians. But the clean-up after the sandstorm takes all day, and we are lucky, as the sun comes out and a gorgeous day follows. The Barchetta was easy, as it is so little. But the chairs and terraces and every outdoor surface has a fine layer of sand on them.

We stop to see a display of the work of school children in an exhibition hall, and they are something! The kids are practicing for future participation in Carnavale-smart move on the part of civic and school leaders. I think a perfect job would be coordinating curriculum between the classes and Carnavale. Today’s paper had a group of essays and pictures of the school children in their costumes and what the experience meant to them. On the other side of the exhibit is an old timer that explains some of the historic figures of Carnavale that the school children have constructed. Peppe ‘Nappa is not the only mythic figure! The old guy is happy to get a crowd and to have his picture taken.

We get to the floats just about sunset, and almost all of them are working-that is, their parts move, so that you will see one picture one minute, and a different one the next. So you can stop and stare at each float for several minutes, as there is so much detail, and then all the detail changes. And Janet Jackson has nothing on the bare breasts of these floats! Wherever they can figure to stick one in, they will do it.

Another huge difference is that the crowds are not forced to stay back. You can see how narrow the streets get, and the crowd thickens each time they narrow until it gets very claustrophobic. And the floats are so huge it is impossible to stop them quickly. But people are all around and all over the floats all of the time, dancing, drinking, applauding, or just walking and gawking. Dancers change, people scramble on and off, hand on and off supplies. And, yes, the poor dancers are still dancing! I took a picture of the girl in the huge white feathered tail earlier in the week in the wind of the port, and she was still in one piece, miraculously held together.

The floats are not all allegorical or satirical, but many of them have layers of meaning which we are just beginning to fathom. You can see the two pictures of the chess players (of course the female is bare) in different positions, as the chess pieces constantly move. Also my arty shot of the moon on the float and last nights’ lovely moon. And last of all Peppe ‘Nappa approaches the crowded piazza, and Fran and Steve head home for another day of Carnavale. It’s like the State Fair in Syracuse-how much confusion do you really need to see? Tonight they burn Peppe ‘Nappa and Carnavale will end for another year.

Sunday, February 22, 2004

CARNAVALE 2-THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY

Steve's experiences make news today, as well as the Sirocco winds that came in and dumped sand all over. They are worst than any I have ever seen, and have given me my worse dizzy migraine yet. These are also Steve's Peppe and Mascot from Brazil photos.

Carnevale II
lessons (Hopefully) learned

Ah yes, the wonders of Carnevale. The extreme joy we felt going to the dance with Paolo and Ignatzia and Giusy. The wonder at watching them cobble together the floats. I will tell you right now, I would not ride in one of them, and I had second thoughts about standing near them. I should have had third thoughts (more on that later).

Anyway, Via Cappuccini was closed for two days, as wagons materialized, with huge paper mache figures on them. The wagons were really just wheels and axles, with thick boards fixed in place to give what looked like a flat bed trailer. Although these beds were higher than most flat beds. And the Carnivale floats were even huger this year. Imagine looking out a fifth floor window and seeing Peppe Nappa’s huge green smiling face looking at you as you drink your morning espresso. The thought scares me.

Really, these figures were five stories high at times. And they kept adding on and adding on. I think they all went to Paolo and Marco’s school of Industrial Arts, as it was commonplace to see them adding an inch to a metal rod here, and taking it away there, so that everything could more or less fit. And the boat hoists brought up from the dry dock were going all over lifting heads and breasts and musical instruments and putting them in place on top of the floats.

The parade was scheduled to start at three o’clock, so Fran and I hurried down town to be there for by six o’clock. We found the world’s best parking spot for Carnevale, and will probably never be as lucky again. We visited a ceramics show that had ceramics from all of the Italian “Cities of Ceramics”, who are trying to establish DOCs. Everything was lovely, and of course the Saccense ceramics were THE BEST. Then it was down to the main piazza, where the little kids were finishing up their dance numbers. Cute cute cute. Traditional sausage sandwiches, then on to Via Modigliani to see the first float wend its way down the hill from Porto Palermo. It was Peppe Nappa, all five stories of him, with a beer in one hand and a torch in the other. He was preceded by his own troop of tired dancers, and a living Peppe Nappa, along with another guy who apparently was his wife, and was wearing a Rio carnavale costume reportedly worth 3000 Euros.

At the back of the wagon, folks crowded around for free wine and sausages. Of course I had to get a glass of wine, and Fran got a sausage. Then I got greedy and went for a refill. The free wine cost me 200 Euros and one night’s sleep. While I was in the crowd, I felt my wallet being lifted. They were so fast and so smooth, I did not have time to turn around and catch them.

All credit card companies are notified. They did not get a chance to use the cards. I have a spare driver’s license. We are going to Mexico where I will shop for a nice wallet. I will have to write Radisson and Hertz and all the other frequent trippers folks I belong to and get new IDs for their programs. I think I saw who lifted the wallet (actually three guys working together). Of course they looked Tunisian, not SICILIAN (I am too much of a booster of Sicily for that), and if I see him again, I would like to . . .

And that I suppose is the lesson I learned. I lost 200 Euros and I am still able to go to Mexico for a ‘vacation’. I am blessed. I lost my credit cards, and with some help from the Carabenieri, I was able to cancel everything before they got to spend any more of my money. I am blessed.

And yet I feel like being violent against those who stole from me. A pretty natural reaction, I think, but a reaction foreign from the way I want to LIVE my life. So I must go forward, KNOWING that those that took the money probably have far greater need for it that I do, they probably are not going to Mexico for a vacation, and on and on and on. Perhaps this will help me to live better within my skin. I hope so. I want to learn from it, and I want the lesson not to be one of being more careful (although certainly I will be), or one of hatred or violence, but one of some acceptance, caring, and appreciation for the life I am able to live.


Steve

Saturday, February 21, 2004

CARNAVALE ACTIVITIES

The shots from Thurs. show Peppe 'Nappa the carnavale mascot landing at the port, and some of the shots from the kids' parades. The schools go way out here and the kids all dress up and learn dance routines, then parade around in different parts of downtown for 3 days, and perform on the big stage at night. There was also a teen dance put on by the Boy Scouts to which the Agape (disabled adults) were invited. We went with Paolo's family. It was wonderful to see those teens make the Agape group welcome. And boy, can those Italian kids dance!! They all learn very early.
Here are some of the floats as of now. They are amazing, with movable parts and smoke coming out of them, and three to five stories high! There are 12 of them, and each has costumed dancers with a routine and their own song. They will parade for the first time today, so they were not done yesterday. Also, the Sirocco winds started, so it is warm (65 degrees), cloudy, and windy, but no rain predicted. But the prudent put plastic on until the parade. The US one in particular is going to be political, we can tell. There is always satire here! Tonight we will go out with a gang with our Boda wine bag (from Germany!) and watch the performances onstage in the Piazza.
The other notable thing today is that I finished making lemoncello! It takes a month, but it sure looks pretty. Come and visit and try a taste.

Thursday, February 19, 2004

CARNAVALE STARTED TODAY!

These are just a few teasers-much more later.

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

WORK IN PROGRESS

I may get this right yet, thanks to my man Jon!

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

TOPKAPI, FINALLY

This area made me love columns, rounded arches, marble and tile.

Wednesday, February 04, 2004

FEB 4, 2004 ISTANBUL AND ALL THAT JAZZ

We have just returned from Istanbul, and pictures and comments will follow almost immediately. One of the great parts about living here is that the rest of Europe is just at our feet, at reasonable prices. Tune in tomorrow for much more!! Trips soon to come: Mexico (Tulum), Sardinia, and Edinbourough Scotland.