"La Revoluzione no è male, però io preferisco la pasta"
...one of many lessons from Palermo.
mm-hmm, I'm here, and still in one piece. it seems. I should go back a step if I want to be complete, which I do somewhat. lessee...
I left Bologna after an all-too-brief visit to Ravenna. really, had I had the chance, I would've taken a week just to do nothing at all. as it was, I had a lovely visit with Savina, who I'd not seen since January. Instead of French, we spoke in Italian, so that felt different. Monday night we went out with her roommate and some friends to a bar where I was greeted by jazz. At the end of the night the musicman put on John Lee Hooker, and I grooved heavily. That is, I enjoyed it.
Then next day I went for a visit to Melissa's family's house, where she made pasta from scratch for lunch (I even helped out a bit, or interfered maybe is better), and I had a chance to see the garden and animals in the summertime atmosphere. That too was brief, for I had my train from Bologna at 5ish.
Why did I go to Sicily? At the dig I met Massimiliano, who invited me down, and with 3 friends on the island, I decided that this was the time. Plus the grandparents in Toulouse happen to all be away traveling, so I might as well get my butt down here while I have the chance.
So the 12-hour train trip was brutal on me physically, but the cabinmates were simpatici, one Argentinian dude and a Sicilan lady who works in Milan. Very nice folks, and we enjoyed several conversations. At 20 to 6 in the morning, I jerk awake, noticing a palm tree outside the window and figuring that maybe, just maybe, we might have crossed the Messina straits by now. Indeed it's so, and I've missed the chance to go up topside and see what it's like when a train gets onto a ferry. Ah well. Alba's directions were clear and precise, and made the bus in time to get out to the small town of Gesso, where she lives when not studying or working on a dig.
That morning I had my first Granita (a kind of fruit-ice concoction) and decided that I like Sicily very much.
She toured me around a bit, and I remember most vividly the 1908 clocktower which has all these moving parts, and at noon everything goes into action: a great big lion who roars three times, and a rooster who crows, and the 12 apostles who circle the lord and bow before him.
We took the bus to Palermo together, and just in time she caught her connection, to the port where she was to leave for her dig in Tunisia. I only got to visit with her then for 12 hours, but it was well worth it. She let me stay for 2 weeks once at her flat in Ravenna while she was away on vacation, and we're very fond of one another, so I did my best to make it down in time to see her. Success.
Ever since (4 or 5 days) I've been here, taking my time, enjoying the place. Massimiliano is quite the host, and has been most kind. Today we went to the archaeological museum, which has a very nice collection (some really amazing Etruscan pieces stand out), but it's almost only that, more of a collection than a museum. The amount of stuff they have that doesn't even have a label is really rather sad.
And now the agonizing part, where I try to say a bit about how I'm doing and all that. Aaaargh! But for once the veneer of being okay with everything is probably fairly accurate. I miss work, but I like having the chance to write a letter or two, and do some communication stuff on internet and soforth. Soon enough I'll cast myself into the winds again, and with luck and my head squarely on my shoulders I should manage to find a place to rest my head. I have a week and half now I suppose before I leave for Corsica, and I shall try to make the most of it. I do much enjoy the adventure. If I have a chance, I'll post some more musings, but for now I am done.
mm-hmm, I'm here, and still in one piece. it seems. I should go back a step if I want to be complete, which I do somewhat. lessee...
I left Bologna after an all-too-brief visit to Ravenna. really, had I had the chance, I would've taken a week just to do nothing at all. as it was, I had a lovely visit with Savina, who I'd not seen since January. Instead of French, we spoke in Italian, so that felt different. Monday night we went out with her roommate and some friends to a bar where I was greeted by jazz. At the end of the night the musicman put on John Lee Hooker, and I grooved heavily. That is, I enjoyed it.
Then next day I went for a visit to Melissa's family's house, where she made pasta from scratch for lunch (I even helped out a bit, or interfered maybe is better), and I had a chance to see the garden and animals in the summertime atmosphere. That too was brief, for I had my train from Bologna at 5ish.
Why did I go to Sicily? At the dig I met Massimiliano, who invited me down, and with 3 friends on the island, I decided that this was the time. Plus the grandparents in Toulouse happen to all be away traveling, so I might as well get my butt down here while I have the chance.
So the 12-hour train trip was brutal on me physically, but the cabinmates were simpatici, one Argentinian dude and a Sicilan lady who works in Milan. Very nice folks, and we enjoyed several conversations. At 20 to 6 in the morning, I jerk awake, noticing a palm tree outside the window and figuring that maybe, just maybe, we might have crossed the Messina straits by now. Indeed it's so, and I've missed the chance to go up topside and see what it's like when a train gets onto a ferry. Ah well. Alba's directions were clear and precise, and made the bus in time to get out to the small town of Gesso, where she lives when not studying or working on a dig.
That morning I had my first Granita (a kind of fruit-ice concoction) and decided that I like Sicily very much.
She toured me around a bit, and I remember most vividly the 1908 clocktower which has all these moving parts, and at noon everything goes into action: a great big lion who roars three times, and a rooster who crows, and the 12 apostles who circle the lord and bow before him.
We took the bus to Palermo together, and just in time she caught her connection, to the port where she was to leave for her dig in Tunisia. I only got to visit with her then for 12 hours, but it was well worth it. She let me stay for 2 weeks once at her flat in Ravenna while she was away on vacation, and we're very fond of one another, so I did my best to make it down in time to see her. Success.
Ever since (4 or 5 days) I've been here, taking my time, enjoying the place. Massimiliano is quite the host, and has been most kind. Today we went to the archaeological museum, which has a very nice collection (some really amazing Etruscan pieces stand out), but it's almost only that, more of a collection than a museum. The amount of stuff they have that doesn't even have a label is really rather sad.
And now the agonizing part, where I try to say a bit about how I'm doing and all that. Aaaargh! But for once the veneer of being okay with everything is probably fairly accurate. I miss work, but I like having the chance to write a letter or two, and do some communication stuff on internet and soforth. Soon enough I'll cast myself into the winds again, and with luck and my head squarely on my shoulders I should manage to find a place to rest my head. I have a week and half now I suppose before I leave for Corsica, and I shall try to make the most of it. I do much enjoy the adventure. If I have a chance, I'll post some more musings, but for now I am done.
posted by Nicolas at 9:17 AM
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