The Hennings: August 2015

Hi there everyone. Well this year Wolfgang and I went on a one week guided tour of Sicily. We are glad to say that we have now been there but it is not on the top 10 for return trips. If you are really into Catholic churches and events or if you have never seen an orange tree, almond tree or farming in general, well Sicily is a stop for you. Sicily considers itself to be separate from Italy. If so, they need to work on the tourist skills and just plan general clean-up. There is definitely a problem with trash removal in many of the towns and roads which is sad because the coastline and water is spectacular.

I am not sure if I would brag that my family heritage comes out of Sicily after visiting this island but the Mafia is still very active. If you go against them, it is only for a limited time and then they just remove you from the face of the earth. Our guides pointed at quite a few places where judges, attorneys and even priests were blown-up or ambushed along the way. Of course, maybe this is a way to resolve some pesky problems (attorneys) but probably not a great was to do so.

We had wonderful weather and saw some really fabulous churches and roman ruins while we were there. It seems that everyone (Romans, Greeks, etc) had their time in Sicily so the history is very interesting.

We were a group of 14 people from all over Germany and of course one pesky American and had a guide names Nino and a driver named Guiseppe. Nino would start just about every sentence with "hey Leute" (hey people) so it became the running joke of the week. Our group was really great and we all had a wonderful time together. We ate together and always hung out in the evenings. Just lots of fun.

So Hey Leute, here we go on our trip to Sicly

Our Welcome sign at the airport in Catania. Not too elaborate but gets the job done.

OK, right off the bat, we walk out of the airport and there it is, Mt. Etna. It is the perfect example of a Volcano. Pointed at the top and actually puffing smoke.

Our first hotel. We stayed here the first night and the last two nights. Sat way up on a hillside with a wonderful view of the ocean.

Our room was actually on a lower or lowest level of the hotel.

The poolside. Beautiful but not heated and I bet the water was in the 50's (fahrenheit) so it was very nippy. Only went in once to say that I did but the bar at the other end was very nice.

Our version of a Selfie.

OK, first beers of the trip. Ate them with Pizza, what else!

First Cathedral of the trip in Messina. Our driver took us almost to the top but there is always a road to walk so we can look at all the fabulous souvenirs before reaching the goal.

The church is famous for their black Virgin Mary. Very progressive right!

This is the symbol of Sicly. It is on their flag. The three legs represent the three corners of the Island and then they went with a Medusa for the head. Yes, I bought one but it is a painted ceramic. I putting it in the bathroom in LA. Hey, it will look good there.

OK, had to have the animals right. Italy does not believe in animal population control. It a Catholic country and what goes for the people, goes for the animals but I believe that the animals are taken care of well because we never say and stray dogs or cats that looked like they were unfed or sick.

Our first ruins. They were located just outside the Church. Had some very nice Mosaics still in tack so it was interesting.

I think this picture does a great job showing the coastline and waters surrounding Sicily. The water is warm and clear.

Stopped in Cefalu´ for lunch and to visit to tour the town itself. A very nice town. If your going to pick a place to stay, I would vote this as one of the nicer places.

What a beauty, right!

This is where we had lunch which of course was pizza. I am not a big pizza eater but we enjoyed every one we ate along the trip.

Different town, different beer, different glass.

The couple sitting with us are Renate and Kurt. They live just outside Würzburg. They were on our plane over and we all just clicked and hung out for the week together.

Now this is what a pizza should look like and it tasted great.

Of course, there was a church to visit. This is the standard look of Jesus in all the churches. Always made of gold mosaic tiles.

The Ultimate Hausfrau's work is never done. Here I am washing at the roman laundromat. Anybody know some good gossip to share?

The beach area by Cefalu´. Were were there on a Sunday so it was full.

There he is, the German sungod.

Group shot after lunch and beer.

Heading back to the van. I bought my Sicily ceramic here in Cefalu´.

OK, new town, new day. We stayed the night in Palermo and in the morning headed out and up to a town of Monreale. The Cathedral here is famous for it's golden mosaic tiled ceiling throughout the Church. Looked like the last Cathredral so just scroll back up and look at the other picture.

Here is Wolfgang standing up above the town of Palermo.

So at the beginning of the blog, I mentioned the Mafia and that no one is safe if you go against them. Here is a Priest that tried to do so. He was loved by everyone and when he was killed by the Mafia, the people buried him in the Cathedral and made the monument to him.

Here is just a small example of the ceiling to this Cathredral. It was spectacular and huge!

Now we are down in the actual city of Palermo doing a walking tour. This ship type vehicle is used for their Festival for the special people to ride in during their parade. It is made completely of wood.

Our guide Nino and driver Guiseppe made a picnic for us in Palermo in a lovely park. It was really nice. We had some traditional foods and fruits and of course wine.

We finished our afternoon tour of Palermo at the grotto Santa Rosalia. Inside is a statue of Mary that people go to and pray when they or someone they know is ill. I found it interesting that they built this fabulous facade right into the hillside.

Inside the gotto.

The statue of Mary.

These are silver medaillons that people purchase to help answer their prayers. Different problems, different medaillons to purchase.

The restaurant next to our hotel in Palermo. We stayed in Palermo for two nights and had wonderful food and just a great location to hang out in the evenings.

Hey, we were ready early so what else, let's have a beer!

Beautiful town with a castle ruin.

Listened to the morning bells here.

Hey Leute Cappucino!

It was definitely a hot day when we got to this sight. Had to hike up a small trail but it was worth the hike.

Our representative for Canines.

More Ruins!

One of the days we went to a local family home for lunch. I am not so sure how different it was than a regular restaurant.

Beer Break.

This was a wonderful sight we visited. The guide for the ruins and the museum was excellent.

This Olive tree is about 400 years old!

OK, so one group built the wall and then another group decided to use it for graves. A little strange but very practical.


First he has crazy horns and then we wondered about his thing going with the tree branches. Anyway, he was a great show.

OK, this is an almond still on the tree.

Our friend Ella installed a new door at her house so we wondered if she did something like this.

No explanation needed.

Roadblock!

Had a nice lasagna lunch here and then found out that this guys son has a restaurant in Pacific Palisades. We are planning to visit it.

OK, this was the most spectacular ruins I have seen of original mosaic floors. It was out of the way but it was wonderful.

Wandering through a little town with big buildings.

Beautiful Church in a little town.

A location with a large cave we visited.

Strong woman.

The lovely town of Noto. Fabulous entrance.

So the gimmick in this town are the little birds everyone wants you to hold and then pay to take a picture. We liked this man because he had a bird and played music.