Catching up…Sicily: May 28th-June 4th

Catching up…Sicily: May 28th-June4th

Day 1: Spent in a fairy tale town called Erice. It is set on the top of a mountain that you must take a cable car to get up to. It over looks the ocean and the town of Trapani. The day we went the entire town was engulfed in a cloud so we walked down misty streets and the fog was so thick that people in front of you would disappear into it. In a gift shop in the town I met two handsome Italian men who had vespas parked outside They could see me sitting on their vespa for a photo and gave me the matching vespa magnet as a small souvenir. The Italians are so friendly and so happy to share their country with you.

Day 2: Spent the morning in Monraelle visiting the cathedral that holds the world’s second largest Bizantene mosaic. The cathedral was stunning but the town of Monraelle makes the visit even more worth while. It is a larger North End, with tiny streets, lined with little old ladies on the blaconies—all of whom have sheets draped along the side so that men cannot look up their skirts. Down every alley are clotheslines and you can see that in each home lives the entire family, from babies to grandparents based on the clothes hanging. The Italian flag is visible from almost every corner and in the town center the benches are full with little old men with their canes and cigarettes all laughing together and making jokes in Italian. Again this is something I always appreciate about my time in Europe; there is a community for everyone. The elderly are not out casted and kept in their homes but rather are respected and out and about in the sun to enjoy the day. Monraelle wins for feeling the most Sicilian of all places.

The afternoon was spent in Palermo. Palermo is a bustling metropolis of almost a million people. Full of fast moving vehicles, stray dogs, toothless old men, Tunisans selling African crafts on the streets or cheap electronics. The cars move so fast that crossing the street is always a risk. Though much smaller than London, New York or Paris. This city makes the three seem slow paced. There is a gritty nature to the city, similar to that of Athens. But similar to Athens there is an old world wonder to it that sucks you in and actually makes the city charming. It feels so Mediterranean you could be in the middle east. And similar to most middle eastern cities the market is the center of where everything happens. Peter Robb writes of the Market in Palermo among others as being “more than a market it is a vision, a dream, a mirage.” This is definitely true of the market in Palermo.

EAT: Dinner at Pizzo and Pizzo. Best pasta of my life. They have a ravioli sampler where you can try all the restaurants ravioli, that are full of pumpkin and nuts. Portechini mushrooms, goat cheese, and basil. Home made linguini in butter topped with fresh black truffles from Umbria…a summer special.

Day 3: Most memorable day of the trip—a cooking class at the duke’s house in Palermo. This plan initially seemed like a huge rip off to spend the whole day running around the markets of Palermo, and spending 105 euros a person to cook, but after the experience I realized it would’ve been worth much more. We met at the palace (which from the outside looks like a nothing house but from the inside never ends) around 10:00 am. My car being my dad and Kate and I were sure we would arrive first after our day in Palermo we thought we were the experts; Alma drove with us too and as my dad began to get a bit cranky we stopped for a quick coffee and some Italian pastries. Alma and I shared a nutella filled croissant (A-mazing). Contrary to what we thought we were the last to arrive at the cooking class. We promptly left her house to go to the market. The market was remarkable, especially the fish area. In between market stands there are church entrances and people are going in and out of the churches. After a few hours at the market we all returned to the dutchess’ house to begin the dinner preparations. First the dessert was prepared.

After the dinner we were given a tour of the palace. It was truly incredible to see two people living only the way you imagined people lived hundreds of years ago. There were hidden door ways in every room. The doorways either opened up into secret passage ways that connected the house, or were storage closets where they held all of their extra china, all of which had their family crest on it. This amount of china was more than any one in the U.S. could ever manage to store even in the largest of homes. It was fascinating to get this little peek into their lives. Both the duke and duchess had lived in New York among other places all over the world so they had a great perspective on how things are in different places despite the fact that they were living so differently in Palermo. During the tour and through out the evening both made multiple references to the war. I am always struck when spending time in Europe how close to home the war was for everyone and how different that is for us in the U.S.

Day 4: After such a long day in Palermo everyone took it very easy. We took a small trip to Sugesta which is an very old greek ruin of a temple and a theater. The landscape was beautiful. But the main event of our fourth day in Sicily was Chuck’s 80^th birthday dinner. A movie of his life was put together that we watched in the evening before dinner. The movie was a wonderful celebration of his life, family and all the people in it. It was very special to see the part everyone in the room had played in Chuck’s life as well as to see how everyone had grown and changed. The meal was catered and to our surprise it was actually pretty disgusting. No one ate very much and at the end of the night a cat came in and licked all the canolis (which were by far the best part of the meal). The kids put on a Greek play that was fun to watch and followed it by acting out different people in the room. It became an activity that everyone got involved in and it was especially nice to watch how much pleasure kids can get out of these things.

Day 5: Went a town called Mazaro de Vallo, it is on the water and known for being the most Arab populated town in the area. It was prestinely clean and all the street walls were lined with beautifully hand painted tiles. Strangely the city was almost dead...it was hard to find people anywhere. Then to Selinunte, which included a very special private tour by Andrew (a British man who has lived in Sicily for many years) the tour was so extensive that you could really feel the lives of the people who had lived in Selinunte thousands of years ago. It was the first city to have an order of a grid to its streets, and although now it is only ruins you can see the order that was created. The greek temples are stunning with the back drop of the sea. Dinner was at Andrew's house, prepared by his wife and was excellent.

Day 6: Last day spent hiking and briefly at the beach. Then Scopello (had surprisingly good shopping) and a dramatic landscape. Pot lock dinner (one of the best meals of the trip) everyone made something and I learned from Kim how to make a dish that included egg plant, olive spread, goat cheese, basil, and peppers. The last night felt sad as we had all grown close over the week and I didn't want to say good bye.

Day 7: TRAVEL DAY, every travel day seems like it is d-day getting all my stuff together, managing to put enough in my carry on while keeping all my liquids in my suitcase and still keeping it underweight. This time I managed to make my carry on so heavy that it actually weighed more than my suite case. Great because I didn’t have to pay overweight but pretty painful to carry. Not to mention easy jet is actually very strict about only having ONE carry on even if the other bag is a tiny purse. I was able to get away with it on the way to Milan from Palermo. But in Milan I caught at security and told I had to consolidate the two…a task I thought would be impossible but somehow I managed to shove everything in using every strap to of my back pack to hold something—I looked like one of the Northern African guys on the beach selling hats, sunglasses, and chotskies, and carrying extra stock on my back. In Palermo easy jet would not check my bags all the way through to Paris, so although I had an hour and a half in Milan it was very tight being that the whole plane had to unload, get on the bus to the baggage area, wait for all the bags to come out, run to departures, and re-check in. When I got there my flight was being called (something Easy Jet is actually very good at—trying not to let people miss their flights) so I cut the entire line. This is a situation where I’m reminded not being shy is my saving grace. Finally by 1:30 I’d landed in Paris after waking up in Palermo at 5:30 am. By 3:00 I was in Paris and by 3:30 I was well on my way to starting my day with Ben a long lost friend I’d met in Salamanca 3 and a half years earlier.

Have just arrived in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is more alive than I've ever seen it. The vibe is pumping with people on the beach, working in cafes, shopping the shoukes, riding their bikes everywhere (shared bikes just came to TLV) and fashion is finally coming! Beautiful Israeli girls are strutting around with their dark sephardic skin, beautiful long wavy hair, in rompers, hot shorts and baggy t-shirts, paper bag pants, high waisted tight skinny jeans, and for the first time ever HEELS! Israeli girls have gone from beautiful to sexy in a year.

Spent the day yesterday with Eli's family: three baby cousins, aunt and uncle, sister, and her adorable Israeli boyfriend Oded. Per Oded's suggestion we took a trip north of Tel Aviv where there are two fortresses from the BC era and just past it hidden away are large lily ponds full of people swimming. There were groups of Ethiopians there, immigrant workers on their days off, lots of Israeli children frolicking around in their underwear as they always do, people brought food for the day, music, there was everything except American tourists (with the exception of myself). It was a wonderful way to spend my first day here. To remember why Israel is so special. As Dalia, Eli's aunt said it is a place where you will get cursed out in line if you dare to even look like you might try and cut someone, but you will be offered food and shade by strangers. We shared out water mellon with the people next to us who offered to share their umbrella to give the kids some shade from the scorching sun, which I was well protected with 50 SPF from. Children are running wild, slipping, jumping into shallow areas with sharp rocks, and no one is flinching. I'm reminded of the way we worry at home, a place like this would surely have a life guard, if it would exist at all. Eli and I chat as we sit on the rocks about what a nice way this is to grow up and how refreshing it feels to be far away from shops and the other material aspects of life--although of course they are not far away just back in Tel Aviv, but still we both agree the importance of them feels much less important in Tel Aviv compared to New York and LA--for Eli and I who battle with ourselves to stay out of stores this feels like a blessing.

Back in Tel Aviv, we join Tali at Streets on King George for some lunch. Tali looks like she is on the verge of a break down from studying for her board exam so we convince her to take a break. She has half a water mellon served with fresh cheese here. Our waitresses are stunning and we are all ooo and awww in over them. As Shabbot is coming to an end the shops begin to open along King George and Dizengoff and the streets begin to get more crowded--by the time I walk to Tali's house later King George is hopping--every patio of every restaurant is packed.

Went to a hip hop show in Southern London. Was very out of my element, but enjoyed the change of pace from the "posh" places I usually try to go to when in London. In the bathroom the Nigerian woman who hands out towels asked me if it was my first time there and when I told her yes she said "it shows" she proceeded to ask me if I was in London because Obama was in town...of course I had no idea he was in town. Stayed until about 2:30 am, afterwards had some fried chicken at a chicken shop around the corner...which I was told by my host of the evening is VERY south london.

Spent the first night of my long adventure in London. Stayed with close family friends in Chelsea, my favorite part of London. London's beauty is always just as striking. My first image coming out of the tube at Sloan Square were three clydesdale horses trotting down a main street along side a red double decker bus. Only in London. Had planned on picking up the keys to where I was staying in a hiding place that involved walking down a steep ladder, and after dragging my 60 pound bags through the tube from Heathrow and along the cobblestone streets my arms and legs were practically shaking (this was the point which I realized traveling for three months with all this crap is not going to work...and the six bottles of sun screen was excessive; sunscreen is available for sale in other countries!) I was afraid I'd barely make it down the ladder, I did make it down, but in my blurry state could not find the keys. My phone was dead so I could not call Adriane, I popped in next door to a real estate office "Stanley Chelsea" to ask if I could plug my phone in. I didn't expect them to say no (although I rarely do) but I didn't expect them to be so overwhelmingly nice. The woman at the front desk immediately helped me in with my bags, offered me a cup of tea and helped me hunt down a blackberry charger since I realized I'd very intelligently only brought European adapters and none for the UK. I was shocked to find out that only one person in the whole office had a Blackberry or even a smart phone at that--this would be an impossibility in the U.S. I proceeded to take out my lab top to charge my phone, at which point she offered me the wireless password. So there I was sitting at someone's desk, working on my computer, having a cup of tea and charging my phone. I was overwhelmed by their hospitality and I think it goes without saying that this would not happen at home. Finally when my phone did turn on I didn't even have Adriane's number (I'd come very prepared). I sent her an email with mine and after about an hour the boss of the office came over and asked if I'd be with them for the whole afternoon. I explained the key drama and he said in his very british accent "Let me have a look". I was mortified at the idea of having him go down this steep rusting iron ladder for me but before I could say anything he was at the bottom of it holding an envelope saying "Are you daft?"

Mare Nostrum (Latin for Our Sea)

Introduction:

Nine months ago I found myself in the bathroom at work and my mind was wondering about what I'd say if I finally did this self indulgent travel that I'd been thinking so much about doing. Of course it came out better in my head than I could write it down...but it was the moment that it all clicked...And I went back to my desk and promptly wrote the following, always knowing that it would be the start of my next adventure, no matter when that adventure was to take place.

At 25 I find myself with best friends who are medical students, lawyers and investment bankers-- none of whom are any more sure of what they are doing than I am although from the outside they may seem it. I spent my first year out of school living in Spain with the dream of speaking Spanish just the way I speak English. I thought I'd find my life passion abroad, I didn't--unless my life passion is being abroad which it very well might be. I came home after 9 months and a Spanish romance, not feeling any closer to knowing what I wanted to do than I was before. I met a guy right away, he fit the bill. He was the exact opposite of the Spaniard--Jewish, successful, American. And I thought perfect, since I felt directionless this guy would ground me. I put all my eggs in one basket and took a full time job in Boston. Needless to say the relationship failed, failed with a capital F. But luckily I liked my job and I thought I'll do this for awhile and it will lead to my next step. But suddenly a couple of years passed and I realized I wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't depressed but I was sick of my noodle soup being the closest to Thailand I was getting. I watched movies like Vicky, Christina, Barcelona and read books like Eat Pray Love, and fantasized about ways I could make that my life. The company I worked for serviced international families-- every summer I put kids on planes, to Canne, Ibiza, Beirut, HK, Tokyo, Bangkok, Santiago, Rio, I was becoming sick of envying everyone else' lives. But still I didn't know what I wanted to DO.

What did I want to do? I wanted to take a cooking course in Paris, I wanted to go shop the markets in India and Istanbul, I wanted to work with refugees in Africa, I wanted to dance Tango in Argentina, I wanted to go back to Madrid, fall in love again with speaking Spanish-- I wanted to do exactly what Elizabeth Gilbert wanted to do with her spaghetti. But I knew all of this was horribly self-indulgent and quite frankly I was too scared of going too far off track. but what was beginning to feel even scarier was staying on a track I didn't have. I sat in Yom Kippur services and listened only to the words that spoke about old age "the years life gives us are not enough to satisfy our hunger for life" And so finally I decided to to do what was least expected--to do exactly what I wanted. None of this came without a price, I moved home for nine months, and aggressively saved my money--saving money had probably been my biggest challenge in life, and yet this time it couldn't have been easier and that's when I knew I was about to make the right change.

I know I'm sounding like a horrible cliche of our generation...WHO doesn't want to do all these things?? But what I hope is that I can inspire people to stop waiting to live their life, to stop depriving themselves of their thirst for whatever it is because as the Jamaican man on the plane next to me said "Living isn't just being alive".