We traveled well together! It’s a first time for Mary and I to make an international journey with Beth! She resisted for quite a while after the extended invitation to say “Yes”, so we made some quick room changes and we were off!

Three same style Baggellini travel purses with Beth adding a taupe color variety to our old practical standby black ones.

I know my travel partners always make my trips richer and that they tolerate my unique and sometimes irritating “Valorie” behaviors with grace. I’m so glad to finally get to go see another part of the world with such special friends. The last time I was in Italy it was for my 60th and I walked the Cinque Terre on my own.

So, “the toes” made the trip in a single pair of black Hokas. Seven months post surgical, 3 months after the pins that extended beyond the 2nd/3rd toes on my right foot were removed leaving only a new, fancy metal plate across my metatarsals. It’s been awhile now since we got home and though I was much put out while packing, I don’t remember much about my recovering foot really, except that only one pair of shoes leaves room for other things and it’s hard to visualize yourself as a sophisticated traveler who may wear only practical shoes. I did take a gel pack that isn’t my first choice of item to use valuable luggage real estate. Perhaps Beth and Mary remember more about my toes during the trip than I do, as I know I had some days that my toes let me know I was doing a lot and I slowed or shortened our excursions about Puglia and Sicily I’m sure … they tolerated me very graciously. I was the one with the newest implant, but Mary and Beth got security check attention for their new joints! All reminders that we’re lucky to have the health (and procedures 😉) that make our travels possible.

I am a woman with much to express gratitude for …… friends, cat sitters and the ability to enjoy new adventures.

Worth the return to Rome to add Puglia and Sicily to my travelogue. Italy is an easy place to relax into a different mindset. Out of time in a way. Unique and full of encounters with it’s people, it’s food, wine, aperol spritzes and a few challenges and disruptions in plans to keep me aware the world does things differently from my place at 295. As with other times away to find I’m a good kind of tired and happy to settle into my condo life with Nyx and my simple Salem joys!

May 18-22nd

Mary had not been to Rome despite her visits to Italy with both myself and Gene for their anniversary. We stayed in the Campo Fiori neighborhood and walked everywhere.

Found myself musing about trips with Harold to Rome. We nearly had the fountain to ourselves one romantic night years ago ♥️♥️♥️ and we sat and people watched from the Spanish Steps with a gelato! In their defense Rome is now rather overrun with tourists if our experience so far is any gauge. I can empathize with Venice’s efforts to control crowds and charge a visitor fee.

We did get inside the Pantheon. It was the outside being restored and we skipped a big line without breaking the rules. Tried to share our tip afterwards with those patiently waiting and waiting – they didn’t believe us.

The Coliseum and Forum are fascinating places. And signal the end of our travel. They’re really remarkable.

But this picture tells you all you need to know about Rome ….. we packed a lot in!

I even ordered two gelatos by mistake at Gelaterie Giolitti, the best gelato establishment (per our inn keeper – it was old, cool and had a long line). I thought I ordered “due misurini” or two scoops. Nope, each cone starts at two scoops! What a conundrum! I had to toss one before they both melted all over me!!!!!

SALUTE!

To Puglia, to Sicily, to Rome and to travel!

Getting there was an experience – walking among many headed to St Peter’s Square.

Even with a reserved tour the Vatican is a very different experience than my now long ago visits. The crowds are much larger and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is teeming with tourists in the morning. It has been restored since Harold and I visited, colors now so vivid it was well worth it – even among so many others. It’s a magnificent artistic work nearly beyond comprehension. Photos not allowed, so you’ll need to take the tour or just take my word for it!

This visit I enjoyed the Vatican gardens – can’t even remember if we saw them before. Peaceful and full of sculpture. This Pope is not in residence in the Vatican, but in a nearby more modest abode. Something you can admire him for.

The interior is always a valuable lesson in history and the arts

I’ve a bit of a thing for beautifully tiled floors….

And on to St Peter’s Basilica.

And more floors ……..

A good day. A little more contemplative.

Upon the recommendation of Bo, Beth’s landscape architect brother, we ventured to Tivoli to see the garden estate of a Cardinal of the same last name. Just 18 miles outside Rome it was quite an adventure to get there!

We decided to use the Metro and bus, but the Metro line was 5 miles from our lodging, so we came up with the brilliant, caffeine inspired plan to use the taxi for the first leg.

Up first at the taxi stand was a woman driver likely our senior. Someone’s grandma for sure in a male dominated profession. We thought she understood the destination, but she didn’t really hit the mark. She tried to drop us at a hotel near it, but was quite confused. I finally spied a Metro marker and just said “uscita” or exit and we got out! We’re pretty sure she didn’t have a clue. She used her rather antiquated GPS and also asked a passer by! (🤞she got safely back to the neighborhood taxi stand). A short walk to the local Tabac to inquire and a trip one stop back on the metro line for us to get going! A little travel adventure🙃

There are going to be a lot of Giardino (Garden) photos. It’s hard to try to put some form to the experience. It’s an expansive garden that used water in pretty magical ways (from music to drainage of a decorative nature). It was overcast but really quite nice. Relaxed – a good break from city exploration. Here we go:

The centerpiece of the garden is the Fontana dell’Organo (Organ or hydraulic fountain). Gorgeous just to look at, it opened to play music – a major accomplishment in 1572 by French designers.

Though her bone fides go back in time quite a way and I haven’t verified them (she’s supposed to be from some royal lineage that owned the Palazzo Butera we stayed in that she now owns a portion of), I had to wake her with a call to see why the driver hadn’t arrived to get us to the airport! At 6:30 am she was obviously sleeping, but roused. And when I said the service wasn’t answering she said “I’ll call his father”. And sure enough we had a driver tout suite!

Goodbye Palermo and Buongiorno, Rome!!!!

Just a few blocks away from our accommodations we started our time in Rome here checking out fountains and people watching.

We did the Rick Steves “Heart of Rome Walk” which got us from P. Navona to the Spanish Steps.

The streets were full of people. School groups and tourists, but also dignitaries and wedding parties. It was Pentecost weekend here in the Catholic heart of Italy. Bustling and sometimes overwhelming for our “up at 5:30” brains. But we made the walk and got oriented.

There were refreshments along the way and some fun with a young Italian server!

Until we reached the end of the walk at the Spanish Steps. You’re no longer allowed to sit and enjoy the vibe there – you’ll risk a 250 Euro fine though it looked mostly like the carabinieri were just asking folks not to sit.

But we earned gelato and spoiled our dinner! And I had a nap! We are finding the pasta very good, but it’s been a pretty steady diet.

Finished up at Piazza Navona for the evening. It’s warm and lovely.

In some ways this market felt more like the locals use it. I remember the scent of ripe strawberries most vividly. It was fun!

We found ourselves a good lunch today and just wandered.

The most fascinating thing was the stall where the vendor/artisan cheese maker was making ricotta. I think (after a little You Tube foray this was after finishing a batch of mozzarella.). Really interesting.

A bit of serendipity turned the botanical garden into a high point of the day. Enjoyable on its own for green and exotic plants and spaces, we ran into a local market of plants, pots, art and bamboo fabric accessories.

There are jacaranda trees here (I learned to identify them in Hawaii and their purple color always makes me smile.)

Then a smattering of the plant market.

And we wound down the day with a stroll and some food in the centro of this city. It’s one that leaves me a little ponderous. It’s unique, colorful, food filled and also struggling with the ills of most large cities (particularly post pandemic) including general trash around. Our apt neighborhood is gentrifying so to speak around its history. Good to see, but not my favorite Sicilian city – though the markets were great!!

I don’t think I mentioned anywhere that Mary and I taught ourselves to make caffe using an Italian moka pot in our apartment. First for me!

What a full day! We can recommend Streaty Street Food Tours! Salvo led us through the Capo Market with finesse and introduced foods I’ve not experienced before.

The market is the oldest in Palermo, with many generationally operated food establishments. I’ll probably forget something, but the food was interesting, spectacular or both! Salvo had two significant messages about street food. It was the working man’s food and each conquerors culture and imports affected their foods, customs and traditions. They can lay claim to “melting pot” in ways and ages we cannot.

First up, my favorite for the day I think. Panelle – a simple fried chick pea treat with seasonings. Made in homes as well, it’s flattened and fried and served with lemon spritzed on top. Excellent! (A restaurant version later didn’t quite match up.)

Moving along, our next treat was a mangia a bevi, after walking thru the textile market section.

Beth selected her second beer of the day while I chose a local lemon soda called Partaninna.

The next is a step outside my box – that’s what we’re in Sicily for!

Our reward for the tour! Gelato. The Sicilian version is that a Sicilian chef added milk to the local granite (also their creation) and went on to spread the famous dessert to Italy/Tuscany and eventually Paris. The Sicilian version is served in a brioche and as the ice cream is eaten is folded into an ice cream sandwich. No complaints here!!

A quiet afternoon for food recovery, before we headed out for the evening. We chose the breeze and ambience of the harbor, found a table and never made it beyond our drinks and appetizers. Bruschetta, panelle and French fries for Mary that we heartily devoured.

Had my last plateful of nespola- a rather wonderful spring fruit here in Sicily that seems something like a smooth skinned apricot, but is compared to a Japanese Kumquat. A fav new discovery!And off we went with driver Antonello across Sicily to Palmero. A 3hr private driver ride rather than the train (when Rick Steves recommends the bus over the train and the trip ETA’s exceed 4-5 hrs, you vote for a little more luxury).

We saw the mountainous Sicilian interior region, their protected park land, agricultural landscapes, clouds and some rain. Warm and we didn’t get wet during the wind shield wiper heavy showers.

Another interesting driver – Antonello plays in 3 bands. Drums and a Celtic instrument Beth recognized. They had quite a conversation about Celtic and Basque music, exchanging musical storylines and having fun with it. He sent follow-up info for her! He also has 2 bands that cover our generations music ie Eagles, Toto, etc. As well as soul.

Antonello got us to Butera 28, a portion of the Butera Palazzo in the La Kalsa neighborhood near the harbor entrance to the city and historico centro.

We found our way around the neighborhood and bistrot for lunch and walked part of the Rick Steves Palermo City Walk. We made it back to the apartment without bread crumbs but it takes all of us and several maps! That’s kind of the fun challenge of it.

Piazza Bellini: Trio of churches (UNESCO recognized)

La Martorana on the left above has the gilded interior below.

But San Cataldo was the draw here though. Arabesque in building and simple inside. The level of religious tolerance this reflects is encouraging – perhaps we will see return to that kind of humanity.

Santa Catarina is the third (I’ll think of it as the Cannoli Convent.

Have we mentioned that Sicilian Cannoli is special! The cream filling is richer with ricotta and they are placed in a more biscuit cookie like shell than the Florentine caramel based shells we’re used to. I love Florentines, but these shells are better. We love them (several times over♥️).

We kind of nestled in for the night. Beth and Mary got us some pasta and salad to eat in and we figured out how to use the small washer. We’ve been on the road for awhile after all!

Photos from Antonello

We saw some of the hillside towns near Ortigia/Siracusa today. I should explain that Ortigia is the historic center of the city and it is an island. Defensible back in the day when the European countries were constantly attempting to extend their own particular culture and power. And often their religions. Sicily, in particular, has a history of conquest because of its ports. Phoenicians, Carthaginian, Spanish, Byzantine, Greek, Norman, German Swabia, Roman periods existed here (that’s probably not all of them!) and the remnants show in their culture and great food.

The Baroque cities are unique in that they are phoenix expressions for towns completely demolished by an earthquake in 1693. And redesigned in the dominant architecture of the time – baroque.

NOTO

This is the city we finally chose granite over gelato or at least Mary and I did! Beth had her first gelato at 10:23am in Noto. I guess that would’ve been a late night chaser on her internal pacific time clock😆

Granite is ice and sugar and a flavor of your choice discovered when the Arabs brought sugar to Sicily. Sort of a cross between a snow cone and sherbet. We approved!

Nice little shops with typical local products. We left with lemon olive oil, pistachio pesto and beautiful spaghetti and black squid ink pasta (easy to pack).

MODICA

Famous for its chocolate, we tasted but didn’t walk away with any. They claim their cioccolato di Modica whose origins are from the Spanish period doesn’t melt!?! They mastered their specialty crushing cocoa beans and sugar on basalt plates. It’s grainy and quite nice.

We chose lunch here ……. The tagliere tasting boards are a little daunting in the number of items, but wonderful examples of local eating and fun to identify what you’re eating!

RAGUSA

Returning to Ortigia, our tour driver shared the waterfront, the Basilica of Santa Lucia with a Caravaggio altar piece, Sanctuary of the Madonna of Tears (a very modern church that dominates the new City of Siracusa skyline), makes sure we know Siracusa is the birthplace of Archimedes, drives us by the 5th century Archeological Park that we won’t choose to get to (Roman ruins ahead) and encourages us to get the the castle.

And then there is Angelo (our driver) to remember! A classic gentleman, Angelo was a charmer. He shared so much our heads were full. The history makes mine spin sometimes, but is fascinating in the moment and spaces we visited. Like our other encounters in day tours, our leaders seem genuinely passionate about their country. Angelo also shared “surprises” – little extras that were fun. But the most memorable was his opener when he told us about being a tuk tuk driver for Whoopi Goldberg – with the photos to prove it. Evidently also Harrison Ford, though no photos and he definitely wasn’t as impressed. We are sadly not in the celebrity category. Angelo also shared photos of his son Sebastiano, who is a musical theater performer (video proof NYC) as well as being a model. Sebastiano’s body baring photos got a “one hot Italian” exclamation from me!

We had a great day and got to see beautiful countryside before ending up on our terrace watching the harbor turn to dark.

A day without a plan. Well, except for the fish market and the castello and ………. Our last day here in Ortigia.

The fish is front and center here, but the veg and fruits were beautiful. Very vibrant and bustling – as are most European markets I’ve experienced. Fun ways to watch locals grocery shop and enjoy the bustle.

We also did a little eavesdropping on a couple of diminutive older women who were admiring the “cute little Italian boys” by which they meant the rather flamboyant young fishmongers. They said they could be late for the boat…..

We haven’t been able to find the definitive mythology for this beautiful bronze, but it was a gorgeous and strong piece of art.

The Castello Maniace is the tip of Ortigia. A fortress for war and protection. But now being prepared for an art exhibit. Well worth our time. And a great place to enjoy the sea beeeze.

And finally wine in coffee cups on our terrace as we recap the day and, of course, plan our next meal! At Retrocena with seafood pastas, shared salads and three spoons with the house made mango sorbet. Quite an elegant small establishment celebrating its 10th anniversary. Husband and wife team did it all by themselves, which she said would not be possible in the busy summer months. A stroll to Archimedes Piazza, down Corso Matteotti nearly back to our hotel before turning into the winding lanes to get there.

Meriviglioso!!!