Sicilly, island of Italy
(If you look at Italy as a long boot, we're on the ball the boot is kicking!)
Capo d Orlando
Day 75, 76
The first thing we saw when we got off the train was the street to the sea. The town looked a lot like Gero..a sleepy, it seemed, seaside town! There were girls in the train station singing..'I am a bitch....' and then speaking in Italian..
So funny, they know all the english words to songs..but can only talk in Italian.
That's what we've been finding too...that people SEEM to understand us..because they say, 'Hello!', or 'Thankyou!', or 'What would you like?', or 'Your welcome!', in perfect english..then when you speak back they say..'I can't understanda englisha!'
I guess it's like us..we say 'prego' (welcome) or 'grazie' (thankyou) or 'bonjourno' (hello) or 'ciao' (bye) and they think we know what we're saying...so the look at us and talk italian...and we are completely lost!!! It's quite funny really. The only language we all understand is body gestures! Or the sound the mobile phone makes when a message comes, all cultures check their mobiles, regardless of language!!
We found a gorgeous hotel right on the ocean. Our room is overlooking the ocean. It has a bathroom with a toilet, shower and bidet....(unlike the one in Rome which had the toilet down the hall) and when we arrived it was peaceful and beautiful here...and we even have slippers to put on. It's a three star which is better than what we've had but it's the same price as the bigger cities because it's not a tourist spot. Well, we don't think it is, and yet, they do have some activities going on here, so we found out later!
As the night went on (last night) the ocean got more turbulent..till finally there were huge swells....and the ferry we were going to take to see the Aeoleon islands had to be cancelled!!! (so today we're going to the capital of Sicilly, Palermo) and we're hoping to go to Mount Etna, the erupting volcano closeby.
After we booked in we went for a walk along the ocean..it's weird because it has really dark sand and big dump trucks were dumping more sand on the beach when we arrived..but that soon washed away during the night!
We went to the tourist office to find out more information...to see if we could find anything on the history of the people that lived here in the forties...pre second world war..and asked where the cemetery was....
They couldn't understand what we wanted at all..so we went back to the hotel where there was an english speaking lady (sort of anyway) who directed us to the 'Santuario' after we drew a picture of some crosses to let her know what it was we were after! (We wanted a cemetery to see if we could trace the ancestors tombstones).
Off we go...first we walked to the museum which the lady at the Tourist Office said was not that worth looking at..but we wanted to see it just to get some bearing on this place! She reminded us everything closed between 2pm and 4.30pm because everyone went off to lunch..or home for lunch..or somewhere....everythnig really does close at that time. The town is dead. Nothing open..except a few 'ristarantes'! (how they spell it!) Everything opens after 4.30pm and stays open till 8.30pm..with restaurantes staying open much, much later!!
We found it...called the Antiquariam and the bloke opened it up especially for us....it was closed...but he was there at the entrance...speaking to us in Italian all the time...and us replying in English!!! Neither of us could understand except that he knew we wanted to have a look at the museum!
While we were looking at the exhibition...of archaelogical finds...the kind italian bloke walked in and gave us a book to read...called, Archeologia A Capo d Orlando by Umberta Spiga. It was signed Maggio (May) and had the town's name on it.
But! It was all in Italian! So we looked at the pictures and tried to make head or tale of it..seems there was a big greek influence in the town..and the finds were mainly of greek origin. Very interesting history. And this was all found only recently.
As we went to leave and give him the book back...
And he ushered for us to keep it!!
How nice was that!
Honestly, we get the feeling the Italians here really like us. They are so generous and hospitable...including the lady here at the reception who said...'use the internet'..for free!!' (So here i am, 'blogging' and writing while Greg is here 'plotting' where we are going while we are here in Sicilly. Only this time, the weather is causing problems! It's not cold, it's just choppy on the water and everywhere from here is by ferry!)
We then walked to the church at Capo d Orlando's Santuario all Imbrunire, where we wondered if we'd see a cemetery there as well or not.
As we started walking up the million steps to the top (150 big wide steps) we saw, on the third step, the name! And some other names of family friends! (One's that were also at the Islands with them). So we knew 'the ancestors' were here.
IN the phone book for Sicilly...there are 100 ancestors in the Messina area...and only 2 in the Capo d Orlando area! We wondered if they were related and why there were only two of the same name left here.
The cemetery appantly is 9kms out of town..so we'll try to get there and see if the great, great grandparents were buried there. It would be in the 30s or 40s we think. Not sure when they died. Anyway, it's interesting to see where they came from. And where the kids roots were from.
I remember old man Grandfather sitting at the top of the big wooden boat...in 1978 when i met him...and my kids father introduced us. He stopped work to talk to me..and at the time i was told it was unusual because he was usually a grumpy ol bum! haha!
He was friendly anyway...and i talked to him a few more times outside the old family fishing shed and outside the house where he lived with Aunty Conna, over the next year, before he died not long later..
He'd always be coiling ropes or overseeing pots being made, even in his 80s! He loved the ocean..and unfortunately when he emigrated to Australia was unable to work on the boats due to the war and italians and germans not being able to work in Australia at that time, even tho they were Australian citizens. So,like many other italians that emigrated, and in this predicament, he sent his sons out to work.
Okies, going offside here, but the fishing history is all so fascinating and also part of my personal history....and i always wondered where the italian start was.
And it was here..in this wonderful little town. I always thought it would be a little fishing village, but it's not, its a seaside location, on wonderful high cliffs and a big reef on the outside, but the main industry we're not sure about yet. It's not fishing.
We went to lunch at a restaurante called Seventeen and guess WHAT?
While we were ordering we saw some big tall black guys on the table next door..and the waitress couldnt understand us...so she called one of them over...and it turned out to be the HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS!!! They are here setting up for their 2007 Italian tour - they play here in Capo D'Orlando next week! Wish we could have been here then....
That was exciting for us anyway! (No joke! They stood about 7 foot tall!)
At this ristarante we had grilled chicken with oil...a huge salad which included lettuce, tuna, tomatoes, potato, corn, boccocino pieces all smothered in oil and vinegar....(love the tuna in the salads throughout Italy.
And after...a homemade cream LIMONCELLO!
Oh my....
The afternoon was spent recovering...
Before we went for dinner at this other gorgeous little place later on in the night..and there is a festival going on here in the main street. So there are white stalls everywhere....with all sorts of things in them....and people down the street.
A gorgoeus town. Not sleepy at all. Especially at night when it comes alive.
I was thinking.. i guess if the old man grandfather and grandmother had stayed here..in Capo d Orlando and had all their six children here...there would be more than 2 ancestors in the phone book today!
I thought of Elise and Sam and their Grandmother and their Dad and their Aunties..and i thought...they'd all like this town!
It has heart.
And it has soul. The people are extremely kind and helpful in a non communicative kind of way (they can't speak much English, and our Italian is limited!)
And it has peppidelli's! They call them them peppirelli's here! We found them at a place called My Darling Bar Pasticceria! They taste just like Old Sam's! Which is where i got the recipe..hard as rock but with a cinnomon and lemon flavour and when you crunch down you taste almond chunks! Yvonne! These are the one's you like!
I wonder if we'll find stekka's here! (sticks!) hehe
Can't wait to have an Italian night with all that we've learned about Italian food..to add to what we already know! (Both of us have Italian experience!)
Capo d Orlando is also a great point to see Sicilly. From here...we will go to Palermo, the capital of Sicilly, the islands off here, if the weather is fine and we can get there, Mount Etna...and Messina...
Sicilly is out of the way, a place where people don't often venture to (mostly staying in Rome) but we're glad we made the mammoth effort to get here!
Okies, ciao.
See you in Bari! Or Greec, whichever comes first!
