The Farmers Market is one of my favorite stops on a Saturday morning in Salt Lake City. For five hours each Saturday from June until early October, Pioneer Park in downtown is full of activity between vendors and eager customers. On this particular Saturday, I’ve come to peruse the goods of the season with my friend Tricia, who is selecting a few fresh vegetables to take home. After previewing the array of produce, fresh bread, and specialty food items like salsa and basil pesto, we decide to share a basket of fresh peaches from Brigham City. Two years ago, the market [View Full Entry]

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Now that I'm back in Oregon and have had time to sift and sort through all of my experiences and images, I wanted to share a few more pictures that captured an aspect of my trip but were not shared in my earlier posts. So, this is my pictorial ode to Sicily. Will I return? Absolutely! [View Full Entry]

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Today is a holiday, the day when Italy celebrates the country’s unification in 1871. Earlier in the week, I had noticed posters advertising special events in Marsala today, so I decided to go see what was happening. Marsala was founded as a Carthaginian colony in 379 BC, and is probably most famous for the cooking and dessert wine which bears the same name. I find street parking a couple of blocks from the Piazza della Repubblica, which is the main center of town. On one side of the piazza is the Palazzo Senatorio, and adjacent to that is the cathedral dedicated [View Full Entry]

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My time in Sicily is winding down, and I decided that today would be the day for a trip to Favignana, the largest of the three Egadi Islands that sit off the coast near Trapani. About 600,000 years ago the islands were connected to the mainland. As the sea level gradually rose, the connections were submerged, and they became an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. I packed a towel, a memoir by Jill Ker Conway, my word searches, snacks for lunch, and headed off to find parking at the port in Trapani. The meter readers were on my side today. On [View Full Entry]

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I decided on a short driving trip this morning to Segesta, Gibellina, and Santa Ninfa. The majestic Doric temple at Segesta remains surprisingly intact. It was here that I first encountered busloads of tourists. Luckily, I was there in between the buses. I just know that for right now, that kind of touring is not for me. I would feel like I was on a perpetual field trip being herded from tourist point to tourist point. After the short hike up the hill to see the temple, I drove through Salemi, Gibellina, and Santa Ninfa. Gibellina and Santa Ninfa do not [View Full Entry]

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My last breakfast at San Giovannello! I’ll be leaving the countryside for the western coastline near Trapani today. Tuddi has brought three tasty cornetti filled with chocolate and custard for me to enjoy on my journey. The La Placa family is busy with preparations for a cultural event that will take place today and tomorrow. Essentially, it is a convention where young computer enthusiasts from around the island convene at San Giovannello and share their knowledge and passion for computers. They are expecting around 70 people today, and up to 100 tomorrow. They’ll fill the [View Full Entry]

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For those unfamiliar with Italian burial practices, it is commonplace to construct a family mausoleum where family members will be laid to rest for as long as someone pays the rent. Old tombs that are not maintained will be emptied, the remains transferred to a potter’s field, and the mausoleum rented to another family. I found the two cemeteries I walked through in Villarosa and Santa Catarina Villarmosa fascinating. Some of the mausoleums are quite elaborate, and look like miniature chapels. I was often struck by the contrast between new and old, and I always wondered what the st [View Full Entry]

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Today was another sightseeing day for me. I decided to go to Caltagirone, and if I had time, I would also stop at either Piazza Armerina or Morgantina on my way back to San Giovannello. Caltagirone is known for it hand-painted ceramics. In particular, I wanted to see La Scala di Santa Maria, a staircase that has different patterned majolica tiles on each of its 142 steps. Unknowingly, I wandered up a side street that opened up near the top of the staircase, and I had a great view of the steps and the city spreading out below my feet. Partway [View Full Entry]

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Today was the day of the animals. I first encountered a cow and calf on the road between Villarosa and Enna. As I explored Sperlinga, stray cats were abundant all over the cliffside. Next, a group of goats was being herded on the road to Alimena. And finally, on my way home in the dark I came upon a rather large herd of cows headed home on the north side of Villapriolo. Fortunately, I had slowed down in reaction to cars that had stopped on the opposite side of the road. It wasn’t until I was practically in the middle of [View Full Entry]

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Today I awoke to the sights and sounds of spring. The valley below was dappled with early morning sunlight. An adjacent hillside was being mown for hay. The neighbor’s cattle are once again standing atop a nearby hill. They must also like the view because the hilltop is barren, with only grass on the lower slopes for grazing. Each morning when I awake I can hear the clanging of the bell wrapped around one of their necks, and track their progress up the hill by its sound. It’s quite an intricate footpath they follow with many switchbacks to reach their perch [View Full Entry]

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