Driving in Sicily

Let me tell you about my experience driving in Sicily. Ben and I went to the car rental place right around the corner from Babylonia, where the sign claims to say they speak English, Italian, French, and German. Well we went in there and the guy only spoke German and Italian. Lucky for us we had someone with us who spoke enough Itailan to figure it out. After we went through some paper work a person who spoke English came and the first thing that he said to us was “So you wish to risk your life in Sicily.” That made me a little nervous, and after walking around for two weeks and seeing how people drove it didn’t help the situation. So we get in the car on our way to golf and hit the main road. After a few scooters pass us my nerves went down a little. Then we make it to the A 18 and I start to really loosen up doing about 140km/hr. We get off the exit and we think that the course is only 800 meters away, but soon we realize it’s a few kilometers and I have to do some more in town driving. Well it went well and I even passed some cars on our way there and it was a good feeling since that’s what everyone does over here. So many people may tell you don’t rent a car if you don’t have too. Well I completely disagree if you really want to explore this island get 4 people and pay 15 euros each and enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity.

~that guy

Final Impressions

I have now been in Sicily for 24 days, with only a few days left. Time has flown by as I knew it would; so thankfully I did everything I had wanted to and lived each day to the fullest. Being my first time in Sicily, and Europe as well, I feel like I have had an enlightenment from learning about a different way of life than my own. One of my goals coming here was to gain the knowledge of a different culture, and that I did. I learned about the rich history of this land, and how so many cultures have come here and left their influence on this island.

I learned and experienced so much here that New Jersey cannot offer, Including: the Greek ruins at Agrigento, the roman mosaics at the Piazza Armerina, as well as the churches in Palermo. In addition to Sicilican culture, from those I met from other parts of the world I have also learned what it is like in their respective cultures. I can honestly say coming here has been one of the best decisions in my life. I definitely think I'll be returning here and to many other parts of the world. Thank you so much Sicily, I will remember this for all my life.

Robert Plant Concert at the Teatro Antico

On July 16th some of us went to see Robert Plant live at the Teatro Antico. It was absolutely amazing. Going into it, I had no idea what to expect. I had heard he was not going to do a lot of Led Zeppelin songs and didn't know if he could still pull off some of the notes he hit in his prime. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard how good his voice is still. He opened with a slower song, then he and the band, the Strange Sensation, did a remake of Black Dog; which really got the crowd going. They did a few more songs of his new stuff with some classic Zeppelin songs mixed in. I loved it, and couldn't believe I was witnessing this in person in a theatre 2,500 years old. They ended and left the stage, but no one would leave. We chanted for them to come back and sure enough they did. They came out with one of their new songs and then they did what was my favorite part of the night; an extended version of Whole Lotta Love. Everyone there went crazy and I felt like the music was giving me a kind of high. Led Zeppelin is my father's favorite band and one of mine as well. And even though it was only Robert Plant, the band was fantastic and I felt like I was able to see a part of history from my dad's time; especially in a historical theatre. I can't wait to tell him about it.

Catania Market

We went to the markets in Catania and this was one of the wonderful sights. One side of this maze of a market, are all differnt foods. They have fruits and vegetables, as well as strange meats. As you can see there was a giant swordfish head that was cut off and for sale. It freaked me out as I walked by it, but there were also other animals there like rabbit and chickens that were basically just skinned. Not what we are use to seeing in the states. The other part of the market consists of jewelry, bathing suits, underwear(which was extremely cheap but, ,I just couldn't bring myself to buy panyies from an open market0 and of course clothes. I got so many T-shirts as gifts from 2-3 euros each. Talk about a steal! These were actually really nice shirts too. You just have to dig for them, which is half the fun. Catania is also great if you want to shop in actual stores. The prices are no where near as high as they are in Taormina and they have really cute shops and department stores right by the market so you don't have to walk far. By far, this was te best shopping day I had in Sicily. I got so many gifts for my family and for myself in that one day and it was all so cheap. With out a doubt, Catania should be on your to do list if you come to Sicily.

Pupi!

Our first friday in Sicily we took a trip to the city of Acireale to view a performance of Sicilian marionettes, called "pupi". There are two different schools of pupi performance, centered in Catania and in Palermo. The pupi theater at Acireale is in the style of Catania.

The Catania pupi are larger then the Palermo Pupi, and have less mobility in the joints. Because of their large size and weight they must be operated from above, much like other types of marionettes. However the pupi are manipulated by iron poles, instead of strings, and the operators stomp their feet for emphasis of the puppets movements. Because the knees of this type of pupi do not bend, they seem to move about in lurching movements. However because of the skill of the puppeteers even this seeming impediment becomes a graceful and surprisingly lifelike action. The pupi lunge on stage and smash their swords against their shields and do fearsome battle against their foes.

The pupi theater depicts the stories of Charlemagne and some of his knights, or paladins, namely Renauldo and Orlando. The paladins fight against arab enemies, giants, and dragons, all in the name of their king and their god. I found these action sequences most interesting because I can only imagine the difficulty of manipulating these heavy (wood and iron) puppets.

Renauldo and his paladins are eventually betrayed, bringing the story to a tragic end. However the heroism and valor of the paladins makes it easy to see why this tradition has persisted and remained popular. Though the performance we saw centered on this betrayal and ultimate defeat, there are many other stories which can be acted out in the pupi theaters.

I would look forward to the opportunity to see a pupi performance in the Palermo style; where the legs and arms are jointed, the swords can be sheathed, and the lighter, smaller pupi are manipulated from the side of the stage rather then above it.