We were in Italy a total of 10 days, 6 in Naples and 4 in Palermo. It’s not like I wouldn’t go back to Naples, but I could certainly live without it. Sicily on the other hand, I really need to go back to. I’d never been this far south before and while the food was certainly Italian there was an almost complete lack of garlic and everything that said “spicy” was not. At all. There seemed to be a strange lack of salt. And there was never salt on the table. Facial sculpting seems to be a thing here. Lots of women with Donald Duck lips and enhanced cheeks. Young women. I don’t know why this would be a thing.
Naples.
But also Naples.
Padre Pio. All over the place. My grandfather adored him. He is a saint who had the stigmata. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of Mussolini and a fascist. And canonized by John Paul anyway.
Lotta these sorts of things all over the place. The baby Jesus thing was sorta spooky.
Italian death notices.
A selection of various luncheon beverages.
Graffiti. It’s everywhere.
Good Friday. So weird. Jesus in a glass coffin being paraded around while people drank beers. Very unlike the Good Fridays of my youth. However not unlike a lot of my college years.
Fishy. Whatever that green thing was I gagged it down in an extremely dramatic way. I did not touch the other ones. There was fish there and just no way I was risking it.
These treacherous streets paved with stones like this. I tripped. In grand style, I mean, like flailing completely down onto my belly. People came running, a car stopped to see if I was alright, a lady offered to get me water. Ashish looking at me like I was on my death bed. I was fine. But now I’m very worried about wherever I am walking. Fortunately, Berlin, where I am now, is not paved like this. I feel vaguely safer.
Palermo. Fabulous.
I definitely want to hear all about the South and and Sicily. Especially Sicily were they supposedly speaking entirely different language than Italian