Long lost family!

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I thought I was going on this trip to find my roots, but on the way I happened to find one of the most beautiful places in the World. I knew off the bat that this trip would be a bit different while I was boarding my Alitalia flight from Rome to Sicily. I realized that I was the only foreigner/traveler on the whole plane. I started chatting with the guy next to me and he told me that everyone on the plane were pretty much business men coming home to Sicily for the weekend. So then it seemed apparent that Sicily was definitely off the beaten track compare to the region from the knee cap up ( Rome and above). Upon landing the outline of cliffs shocked me a bit. I landed and found some place to stay in Palermo. I called up Joey and Tom to set up a meeting time the next day; little did I know that my entire vacation would be spent with them, which made it so much better from food to sightseeing. The first day I hung out with Joey. He showed me Carini, the city where my great grandmother grew up. It was a beautiful town with an impressive church, views of the sea, and a castle between the two of them. I later met his wife and his son Gabrielle. They were so welcoming. Joey was telling me how weird it is for Gabrielle to hear him speaking English, which was obvious after he ran into his room and began saying words from his English book. The next two days I hung out with Tom and his family which included his hospitable wife and three children, Gisepee, Valeria, and Marco. They took me around to different places outside of Palermo, including this church that was entirely made of mosaic on the interior. It was definitely something to see. We also had lunch in the mountains and visited their summer house. The food was amazing, but it also made me realize how three generations away from Sicily did not change much when food is taken into account. I loved Sicily and will hopefully bring my family back in a few years. O yeah let me tell you the most disgusting part of Sicily. There is this crypt that has 8,000 dead people hanging on the walls. Now its from hundreds of years ago, so some are just skeleton, some have skin still on them or facial hair. I don’t know how the religious order preserved them like that but it was freaky and almost vomit inducing, which wasn’t a good combination with all the food I ate.

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Photos

wow
An amazing view into my heritage.

Teatro Massimo
One of the city's landmark theaters located near the center of town.

Carini
The castle in my great grandmother's town.

Carini Castle
A fresco from the castle.

wow
Another awe inspiring view from Carini

Hitting the streets with Joe
Being shown around Carini by my relative. What an amazing place!

Lounging
Lounging around in one of Palermo's beautiful parks near the sea.

Walking the park
Some facades of interest.

Topography lesson
Walking on the portside.

Sicilian Charm
Palms, Beach, Mountains...what else can you ask for?

Arab Ruins
Some Arabic ruins. This influence makes Sicilian culture a lot different than mainland Italy.

The Fam
Just finished eating at this amazing restaurant up in the mountains overlooking Palermo.

Me and Gisepee
Pulled over from the road to check out the view.

Me and Gisepee
This church, in a neighboring town, was completely made of mosaic internally. How crazy!

Catedral
Up the street north.

Catedral 2
Up the street north.

Plazas are nice
Yeah yeah, i know, italian plazas, like american junk food

At the summer house
Wow. The views were spectacular

Gelato, Sicilian Style
A real icecream sandwich!!! Inside a hot brioche.

Comments

[grandma Rita]

Ciao
YOUR BLOG WAS WONDERFUL, ESPECIALLY THE DEAD PEOPLE HANGING ON THE WALLS OF THE CRYPT. HOW COME NO PICS. MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY AND CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU. LOVE YOU

[Tiger Al]

Sciliy looks great.
So happy to finally hear from you. Loved the pictures, it looks so interesting and the views are outstanding. The family looks real cool and very Americanized. This had to be a very amazing adventure to see where the other half of your family comes from. These experiences will remain with you forever. By the way, you look great, Europe seems to be agreeing with you. We really enjoy these blogs. Stay well and enjoy.

[Kait]

Thanks for sharing your experiences in Sicily! I made a similar trip last May to visit the area where my grandfather's family immigrated from. I spent my first three days in Palermo before continuing on to the interior, and loved sitting on the steps of the Teatro Massimo and just people-watching.