Part 2: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Ok! If you remember Mom, Mawmaw and Pawpaw and I were on a ferry to Palermo, Sicily when I last wrote:

Tuesday the 24th: At 6 am (ANOTHER early morning!) we woke up, packed up a little bit and got ready to dock at 6:30am. It was a really stressful morning since there were hundreds of other passengers trying to get off at the same time. Not to mention it was 6:30 am. However, we managed to get off the boat with all of our luggage and wits in tact. Our next stop was to the Avis Car Rental Company. We thought about taking a taxi but the map didn't make it look like it was far so we started walking, with all of our luggage in tow. About a mile later we were all frustrated and extremely tired of walking...with no exit from the port in site. A little shuttle came up behind us and offered a free ride to the end of the port, which we more than gladly accepted. We laughed as we were getting in, saying it was going to drive three feet up and drop us off. Luckily he drove more than three feet and we were thankful we took it when we did. From the edge of the port we took another taxi toward the Avis Rental Company. Our taxi driver was really nice though, and informed us (in Italian) that Avis wasn't going to open till 9 (it was about 7:15 by this time) so he wanted to take us somewhere we could eat and rest and then walk to Avis. He dropped us off at a really nice cafe and told us how to get to the Avis that was just across the street. Around 9 we went to rent a car.
Now, I just want to take a minute a salute Pawpaw because he was our fearless and confident driver for the week. Like I have said many times in previous blogs Italians are crazy drivers! Add driving on incredibly narrow roads, lined with cars, and pedestrians taking no notice of you and it can be nerve racking to say the least! But Pawpaw did a magnificent job of navigating us safely from town to countryside. I could not have driven all that time but Pawpaw never got tired of it and always got us where we needed to go! So thanks Pawpaw!
Tuesday we just drove from town to town seeing the sights. From Palermo we went north up a little mountain to Monreale, but it was to crowded to park and we were still getting use to the car so we decided not to stop. We turned back south and drove for two hours to the other side of Sicily to a little town called Agrigento. There are some Greek temple ruins in Agrigento that I am sure would have been cool but it was at least 100 degrees outside and they were to spread out to walk in the heat of the afternoon. We decided to just grab some lunch and head on to Piazza Armerina, a little town closer to the center of Sicily. We had to do a little detouring, and I had to reprogram our Tom-Tom Woman- who we named Rhoda (get it, "Road"a, haha) a couple of times, but we made it to our destination no worse for the wear. We were staying at a BEAUTIFUL converted convent (convents are just really great places to stay guys, believe me). The Gigliotto is located in the middle of a vineyard, in the middle of the Sicilian countryside! It was gorgeous, I loved it! Mawmaw and Pawpaw had stayed there once before, so it was their suggestion, and it was perfect! The Gigliotto had a swimming pool with a great view so after we checked in and moved in we all went to swim and rest. It was great. Then, like every night, we had dinner and went to sleep- happy because we had decided to sleep in the next morning!

Wednesday the 25th: We did sleep in, finally! We all decided to have an easy day around Piazza Armerina. We slept so late we missed the breakfast offered at the hotel so we got back in the car, set up Rhoda, and headed back into the town. We found a cute little cafe for croissants and coffee and then set off to walk around the town. We came across a great park in the center of the city and found a shady nook to sit in for a good while. We just chatted there and enjoyed the breeze. When we were tired of sitting we set out in search of some playing cards, Kleenexes and a swimsuit for mom! We found the cards and Kleenexes but no luck on the bathing suit. There were some Mosaic Ruins that Mawmaw and Pawpaw wanted us to check out so when we finished shopping we programmed Rhoda and left the town. We only had to drive a few miles out to find the Mosaics. They are still in the process of excavating and cleaning some areas of the town but there was a lot to see! We saw some absolutely beautiful floors found in houses, the bathes, and even outside decorating what must have been a major street.
After we visited the mosaics we got some lunch and some gelato and then went back to the hotel to swim and enjoy the evening. We all took naps and after dinner we played cards and planned out the next day.

Thursday the 26th: Thursday morning we woke up around 9, grabbed some breakfast at the convent, packed up, checked out and fired up Rhoda. We programmed her to take us to Catania where we would meet our cousins, Nina and Gianni. It was a fairly uneventful drive until we reached Catania and realized the meaning of a traffic jam. You think Houston is bad, go to Catania! It was one of those time when we were all SO thankful to have Rhoda. The night before Aunt Francis had given us the address to Nina and Gianni's appliance store, so Rhoda told us how to there while Pawpaw maneuvered through the traffic like a pro. When we finally reached the store we were welcomed with huge hugs and smiles, and a lot of Italian exclamations! Nina and Gianni don't speak English- actually Gianni does speak a little, and he understands a lot so that was helpful. Mawmaw understood everything they said to her, but she said the hard part was speaking back. I could understand a fair amount, if they spoke slowly, and I could respond fairly well. So with the help of some hand motions and oversized gestures we always managed to get the point across. Nina showed us around the store- it is a really great store- and then we all piled in our car again to take a trip up to Tauramina.
Taurmina is a small beach town much like Capri, only about 45 minutes away from Catania. Nina wanted to take us there for lunch and then to walk around the town and see the beautiful view. We had lunch at a seafood place and for the first time I realized why people always joked about their Italian grandmothers who never let them leave the table without eating EVERYTHING. Nina was that Italian grandmother. She continued to order food, even though there was way too much on the table already, and then in turn she scooped it on to your plate saying "Mary- MANGIA!" I did my best to eat what she offered me- and then I ate some more. We were all stuffed beyond reason by the time lunch was over, and we dreaded the thought of dinner- but she assured us dinner would be light. Keep that in mind.
After lunch we drove up a little higher on the cliff, parked, and walked around the cutest town I've seen yet. I really did love Tauramina. It was so picturesque. Just a small town, cobblestone streets, beautiful architecture, and with a view of the sea. We shopped some and then walked to a Greek theater about which Nina claimed "if you come to Tauramina but don't see this, you have seen nothing!" Mom and I climbed all the way up to the top of the theatre with Nina (she was like an energizer bunny!) And took in the view. It was gorgeous, perhaps more beautiful than Capri...I don’t know. Maybe a close second. After the theater, which was cool by the way, but after seeing so many ruins it’s kind of like..meh, its another ruin...we decided to start walking back to the car. Just a side note- on the way back to the car, I some how started talking to this old man while waiting for Mawmaw and Mom. I figured he was harmless so I smiled and chatted for a second, and the he decided he should try and kiss me...yeah. LUCKILY I managed to keep him on my cheek and then push him away but the damage was done and I was ready to get on a plane and go back to the states where random old men don't try to kiss you. It was terrible. Just thought I'd share that haha. Needless to say I was thankful to get in the car and go back to Catania.
When we got to Nina's apartment she gave us a tour of her lovely home and then showed us where we could put our stuff and shower. It was about 8pm by this point, and I thought I had heard her tell Gianni to pick up a pizza for dinner. I was thrilled at the thought of staying in after such a long day and just having a slice of pizza. Unfortunately, around 9 Gianni came home without a pizza- I thought this was odd but then I thought "well, maybe we are going to order one in"...10 o’clock rolls around and no pizza. I wasn’t hungry though so I didn't really mind going to bed without dinner. Mom agreed. But sometime after 10 Nina and Gianni asked us if we were ready to go get dinner...we, dumbfounded, said yes, piled into two cars and drove half way across Catania to this little pizzeria they told us was their favorite! When we got there Mom and I decided we would split a pizza but when it got to our table Nina grabbed our pizza, gave me her whole pizza, and gave mom Gianni's whole pizza (we are talking a ten inch pizza...it could have fed three) and they split ours! I still have no idea why they did that haha, I guess they didn’t want us to go hungry. So we all had potatoe wedges, beer, pizza, and THEN they wanted us to order some dessert. I ordered Pineapple figuring it would be a small bowl. wrong. It was HALF a pineapple, shell and all. I ate a few pieces and then decided to try to play their game and insist they eat some. They said they were full (which never worked when we said it) and left me to finish it.
Just when I thought the night was over, and I could go sleep off the 115 lbs of food I just ate, Nina and Gianni's oldest son, Pipo, comes up with his girl friend Andrea. They sat down with us and we chatted for a little bit. Andrea is 21 and had been teaching herself English so while I spoke Italian to her she spoke English back and we instantly hit it off! She was absolutely adorable. They all insisted we walk around the town together so they could show us Cantania. We agreed and off we went! Mom and I walked with Andrea and Jean Marco, Pipo's 12 year-old son, for most of the tour. About three minutes in to the walk Andrea asked Jean Marco if he would walk on the other side of me so she could stand next to me and hold my hand. Italian women love to hold hands when they walk, its a sign of close friendship, Nina hadn't let go of Mawmaw's hand the whole day. So we walked and talked and got to know eachother while looking at all the beautiful architechure. We ended up trying this drink Catanian's have at 4am after dancing the night away in a club and they are hot and thirsty- that was Pipo's exact explanation. I think it was a syrup and club soda mixture, mine kind of tasted like sour apple...it was strange but good! After alllllll of that, we said our good byes to Pipo, Andrea and Jean Marco. I was genuinely sad to say goodbye to Andrea and Jean Marco- They were both incredibly fun. I knew if we had had more time together Andrea and I would have become like sisters. She was a real sweetheart. When Mom and I finally crawled into bed we looked at the clock and realized that it was 3 in the morning. I hadn't stayed up until 3 in the morning once since school had let out. I was exhausted, and fell asleep thinking about how our Italian cousins are incredible people and that I never wanted to eat again!

I think I will stop here for part 2, and Pick up on part 3 soon! Va bene? Ok! Ciao!