Italy Trip Day 8

May 19th

Monday morning, we packed up the car and said goodbye to the Ferraros. One last minute hitch--as we were getting in the car, Salvadore presented us with an entire crate of his tomatoes. Just so everyone knows, when we go on a trip in the car (especially one that involves camping in the car) getting the whole family and all of our neccessary gear to fit is a major feat of planning, engineering, spatial relations, and (occasionaly) brute strength. But, despite the laws of physics and geometry, we couldn't say no to his generous offer. Luckily, Kira is still quite short, and strapped in a kid seat (for only another month or so, as she reminds me often)--and so the crate o' tomatoes ended up under her feet. Now, I am not a raw tomato kind of person. But, I must admit that these ones were delicious--the best tomatoes I have ever eaten! By the time we had made it through four more days of eating foccacia bread and provolone cheese (which just happen to taste great with fresh tomatoes)--we didn't even make it home with enough tomatoes to make a batch of spaghetti!

One more note--before we drove out of Vittoria, we decided to buy some stamps to send a few postcards. Easier said than done, it turns out. By the time we had visited two cigar shops (where they also sell stamps), both of which didn't have the RIGHT stamps, we finally found a post office. It was the most haphazard, chaotic postal experience I have ever had! For starters, they had these special "security doors" that only let one person in and out of the post office at a time. Since the doors weren't quite working right, it took about 1 minute (which can seem like a REALLY long time) for each person to get from one side to the other. When you multiply that by a family of 6, it is a REALLY, REALLY long time. Once we got in, Chuck noticed that the "take-a-number" machine was broken. He got in a line. It didn't move. He got in another line. It didn't move either. He then went straight up to the counter (which noone seemed to be put out about) to ask for help. The guy at the counter stopped helping the customer he was with, and decided to help Chuck instead (which, again, noone seemed to find out of the ordinary). Unfortunately, not only did that postal worker not have the right stamps, but the other register was broken, and couldn't be opened. So, after taking another 10 minutes to get us all back out of the post office, we finally went back to the first cigar shop and spent 2 Euros extra for the WRONG stamps. It was quite the adventure, a lesson in patience, and a reminder that I should be VERY grateful that I live in an organized country where it doesn't take me half the day to buy a stamp.

From Vittoria we headed north-east toward the ferry at the Straight of Messina. Before we leave Sicily, here are just a few pictures that (I think) capture the flavor of a disorganized, but sometimes beautiful place, that I couldn't help but feel that time has somehow forgotten.

At the straights of Messina, we drove onto the ferry (and saw a train drive onto the same ferry!) It was not a long ride, but pretty choppy--we were feeling rather queasy by the time we got off at the toe of Italy's boot. While on the ferry, we got to go up front and watch the "captain" at work. We also ate a tasty Sicilian treat, Arancini--which are fried rice balls, filled with meat and/or vegetables.

Once back on the mainland, we headed up the west coast, enjoying the scenery--scouting out for a good place to spend the night. Since it wasn't tourist season, we were able to find a deserted beach, put up our deluxe lean-to accommodations, and call it a night.