Friday, November 07, 2008
The first whole day in Petrosino
Today I woke up at 11:30...I stayed up too late on the Internet and talking to many people.
It was good so far, for the first time I took a shower and there was a medium setting between HOT and COLD. Sadly, after I found that precise turn on the handle, the water stopped all together! So I had to turn it a bit colder to finish the shower!
My parents went to the little boy's school (Frederico), and then went to the market and visited some more relatives. I guess when my parents came 30 years ago, this family lived in Switzerland in a tiny house. When my parents told them we wanted to stay at a hotel due to the space, they cried and begged for us to stay. Needless to say, they are rather welcoming.
Here are some snapshots of the house that we are staying at.
This is where I am sleeping from November 6 - November 12th. It is located in the nice frontroom.
This is ricotta stuffed sweet pastry (frozen, then fried on a pan of oil).
This is the main fancy dining room. All Italians seems to have a beautiful hutches. Also, they don't have closets in their rooms, instead then have large, fancy dark wood cupboards.
Later on, we traveled one hour west to Trapani. Once we were there, we drove up a giant mountain where a medieval town called Erice is located 750m above sea level. The city has two castles, and a few churches standing. All of the streets are lined with worn down stone from the years. Many shops are located within the city, especially bakeries, delis, and ceramic souvenir shops. After this we came back and had dinner (octopus, crab meat, carrots and onions sliced thin, with vinegar; butter/garlic baked artichoke for the main course, followed by fruit, and later chestnuts that were prepared by Daniella (the parent's daughter with the 5 year old). They prepared them by slicing them with a knife, soaking them in water and salt, and then cooking them on a pan with some butter. The nuts were really good.
Also, they got to watch 'How to drink a beer' from Dan Burg/Dave Kasper's YouTube video. The child especially liked the Batman outfit. Nice work!
I found out a bit more about my family today.
My (great) aunt Rose, who I remember as kind of a odd old lady, who often did silly things. She was my dad's mother's sister. I guess the wife (Maria)'s mother husband died when she was in her 40's, and with children and no socialized programs, times were tough. I guess my aunt Rose often sent money over to her to help support the family. I never knew how nice she was in that regard. What an inspiring woman. Rose never married and always kept busy, even when she was in her 90's huddling around the south side of Rockford trying to fix up nearly condemned houses.
Later on, we traveled one hour west to Trapani. Once we were there, we drove up a giant mountain where a medieval town called Erice is located 750m above sea level. The city has two castles, and a few churches standing. All of the streets are lined with worn down stone from the years. Many shops are located within the city, especially bakeries, delis, and ceramic souvenir shops. After this we came back and had dinner (octopus, crab meat, carrots and onions sliced thin, with vinegar; butter/garlic baked artichoke for the main course, followed by fruit, and later chestnuts that were prepared by Daniella (the parent's daughter with the 5 year old). They prepared them by slicing them with a knife, soaking them in water and salt, and then cooking them on a pan with some butter. The nuts were really good.
Also, they got to watch 'How to drink a beer' from Dan Burg/Dave Kasper's YouTube video. The child especially liked the Batman outfit. Nice work!
I found out a bit more about my family today.
My (great) aunt Rose, who I remember as kind of a odd old lady, who often did silly things. She was my dad's mother's sister. I guess the wife (Maria)'s mother husband died when she was in her 40's, and with children and no socialized programs, times were tough. I guess my aunt Rose often sent money over to her to help support the family. I never knew how nice she was in that regard. What an inspiring woman. Rose never married and always kept busy, even when she was in her 90's huddling around the south side of Rockford trying to fix up nearly condemned houses.
Lastly, here is a picture from the coast of Trapani onto the Mediterranean Sea.
Labels: Family, Italy, November, Rockford, Sciliy, Trapani, Visit
# posted by Joseph Trapani @ Friday, November 07, 2008 
