Sicilians are not Italian

I just returned from the Southern tour of Italy, a truly beautiful, sunny region. We saw palm trees of all kinds as well as groves of olive trees, lemons and prickly pears. The rolling hills of tilled,lined land on the mountainsides were empty of the wheat that will be growing in the spring. The miles of farmland were so picturesque and green.
Sicily is very different from the rest of Italy. Palermo is a much larger city than I had expected with its three to four story apartment buildings and lack of parking spots. Also it has many hilly streets and very narrow ones, as well. All of this makes travel either exciting or annoying depending on how you look at it. We saw so many cars parked on corners or double parked so as to impede moving traffic. It all caused a lot of loud discussions, hand gestures and accidents. We heard and saw sirens and ambulances quite often during the short time we were there.
I now understand why they had a lot of pedestrian areas for dining and shopping. You cannot cross a street very easily, even with a traffic light available. The scooters and cars tried to get as close as possible without actually hitting people. A pedestrian had to walk very fast in this city.
We were on a Perillo tour and all of the people were in good spirits regardless of the fact that four had their luggage lost by the airlines. All were found within a few days. No one was ever late and we looked out for each other.
On our first morning tour of the city we saw a magnificent church, the great Norman Cathedral of Monreale, that had gold on glass on the ceiling and walls.There were Roman, Norman and Arabic elements to this magnificent building. The tour guide said,"We are not really Italian, as you can see by the influences in the area, we have been conquered by many cultures and they have left a lasting effect. The Greeks came here first, along with the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians, all by way of the Mediterranean Sea. Then the Romans and when the empire fell, the Normans invaded and built this magnificent palace and Church. After them, came the Bourbon kings from France and then the Spanish kings."
We walked up 79 steps to visit the beautiful gardens of the Park of La Favorita created by the Spanish King of Naples in 1799.
The next day we stopped at the Selinunte archeological site. This city was built by Carthage in 628 B.C. and was one of the richest and and most powerful in the world. We saw how the common people lived and saw the remnants of their temples. We even saw a bathtub made pf stone that had three steps, in order to allow the dirty water to go to the bottom. Very clever.
The next stop was a UNESCO World Heritage site that boasts the largest area of Greek Temples in the world. The columns were so tall and many in ruins but the majesty of the buildings came through loud and clear.
The next stop on the way to Taormina was one of my favorite places--the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Amerina.This villa was as large as a palace and was so well preserved, it was amazing. The intricate mosaics artistically depicted life back then in ancient times. One floor was 140 feet long! All mosaics and in true colors of the time. We also saw the private baths area of this wealthy landowner that included the caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium. They knew how to live, those wealthy Romans.
Then off to Taormina one of the prettiest places on earth, called the Jewel of Italy. It is nestled on a mountain area with the sights of the Mediterranean below. How could anyone not like the views? Mt Etna's fertile soil provides extensive orchards and vineyards. All so green and lush.

Rosemary McKinley     101 Glimpses of the North Fork and Islands       The Wampum Exchange

Summer Days on the North Fork

Summer Days

This has been one balmy, sunny, and warm summer. I never complain about the heat as I prefer it over the cold.
The North Fork boasts a variety of beaches, including bay side and sound side ones. During the week, we have been out on our boat almost every day enjoying the shimmering water and jumping fish. We prefer to sit in the boat and soak up the amazing views of the water and Shelter Island.
On weekends, our children come to visit with their children. Everyone, including the youngest, at 2 years-old prefers going to the beach by water. The little ones can't wait to be bounced around on the tube, Big Bertha, while our children prefer water skiing after watching the smiles and hearing the laughter from the tube. It's fun for everyone.
At the beach, we always look for the ice cream man to end the day. All in all, everyone returns home happy and tired from being in the sun.
The next weekend is the last big weekend of the summer and our children are sad to let the summer go before all their activities beckon.
As it turned out, Labor Day weekend was glorious---very warm, sunny and comfortable with a cooling breeze. We spent most of every day at the beach, swimming across this short channel and  boating back and forth to the house. The beach where we anchor the boat was very crowded with other boaters, kayakers, standing surf boarders and swimmers. Everyone had the same idea----enjoy this last summer weekend to the fullest.