Archive | January, 2012

a hike in the hills

January 21, 2012 at 11:20 am

We live in a house that overlooks a magnificent valley here in Sicily. Ever since we’ve moved in, Elliott’s been itching to explore the whole valley, not just a little traipse here and there. Finally he had a four-day weekend and so last Saturday we packed our bags and set out for the day.

Our goal was the highest rise on the other side of the valley, which is about eye-level from our balcony and goal we’ve been studying since we moved in. For a refresher, here’s an older photo of that highest point:

We hiked down into the valley, past the farm in the foreground of the photo, jumped the stream in the middle of the valley, and started up the steep hillside on the opposite bank. At last we achieved our goal! We stood triumphant overlooking our lovely Italian countryside. We could see the Mediterranean, the whole Plain of Catania, and the queen Mt Etna presiding over this little piece of the world.

We headed down the ridgeline until we found a quiet spot for a picnic.

“I’d like the whole biscuit, please, Mama.”

A pause for a diaper change…

We continued through sunlit olive groves. All the olives were picked for the season, but they’re disgustingly inedible right off the trees anyway. Much brining is required before they become the savory snack we get from our neighbors.

Prickly pears are in season. Haven’t figured out how to eat them yet.

We also found a dormant vineyard, tied up neatly for the winter season. Little raisins hung in clusters from a few of the branches. I can’t wait to see the vineyard again when the vines are heavy with grapes. Perhaps we could even find a bottle of wine made from the grapes grown here!

Elliott (and Lena) spotted some local birds. His eyes are amazing. He’ll suddenly stop and stare at something that I can’t see, swing his binoculars around and study it a little more, and then announce, “Hmm, I think that’s a…,” and then check his book to be sure. He’s almost always right. How does he know these things??

At our farthest point from our town (visible in the background of this photo) we were in the middle of orange groves. Most of the blood oranges had been picked for the season but we found some discards on the ground. They were so sweet and rich with their shockingly red flesh. (No photos of them, though, because our hands were too sticky!)

There were still plenty of mandarins, though, and we found a few of those on the ground to taste as well. They were so refreshing and sweet.

And finally we hiked home, weary and triumphant. We have explored our whole valley now, from its quiet groves to its delicious fruits. How many more hikes in how many more seasons await us in these next few years!

5 :: in eat this, husband, Italy, pretty places, Sicily

and now, Albania

January 20, 2012 at 12:42 pm

Getting to Albania turned out to be harrowing. I do not exaggerate. The drive from Macedonia into Albania required us to traverse two mountain passes in a snowstorm. Although the sky appeared clear and promising before the journey began, that quickly changed as the temperature dropped, our van climbed, and the snowflakes began to fall.

Pretty soon we were driving on a road over an inch of snow, and more snow was falling fast. At this point we began to be seriously concerned and implored our guide and driver to please put the snow chains on the car. In retrospect we overreacted, but they also waited too long to even attempt to put the chains on. By the time the first attempt was made, we were high in the mountains, stuck in a bank of snow, and getting the chains on was impossible.

We did get out of the car at that point, at which point my mom took this picture of me. I do like playing in the snow… even in dire circumstances!

After this pit stop, we traveled slowly down the mountain, snow-chain-less and nervous, creeping along past banks of fresh snow. Finally on the flatland between the two mountain passes we pulled into a mechanic shop to get the chains put on the van professionally. (See the first picture, where we all huddled around the wood-burning stove in the corner of the shop.) At this point we learned that the chains were too small and so they couldn’t go on anyway, not in a mechanic shop and not in a snowy mountain pass. Our driver magically found a larger size, the mechanics fit them to our tires, and we were off again, feeling much more secure.

Our Lena was such a sweetheart that day, managing to smile even after 11 hours of driving. (Note: We didn’t take any photos of her screaming to get out, but we could have taken about 50 of those and it would give you a more accurate view of how the trip went!) We took her out of her car seat at the border between Macedonia and Albania while we waited for our passports to be stamped. She loooved those border crossings. And we hated strapping her back into her car seat after we crossed the border in 10 minutes. Poor darling.

After passing numerous stranded vehicles along the road while we were safe and sound with our snow chains, we spent the night in Tirana, the Albanian capital. For such a deceptive greeting with horrendous snowy weather, Albania itself turned out to be quite peaceful and lovely. After a well-deserved rest, we went on a walking tour the next day.

We visited a museum to get a background in the history of Albania.

We visited a beautiful mosque with an intricately painted ceiling…

… and a very new Catholic cathedral…

… and my parents shopped for hand woven tablecloths after a delicious traditional lunch…

… and we posed for various photographs. The usual.

And that, folks, was the last of our trip through the Balkans! Epic and unforgettable. We loved sticking through the rough times and the happy ones with you, my family, and we’re ready to do it again! Well…. actually… hmmm…

And now goodbye from Albania, Green sister-style:

5 :: in Balkans, family, Lena, travel

and now, Albania

January 20, 2012 at 11:42 am

We did get out of the car at that point, at which point my mom took this picture of me. I do like playing in the snow… even in dire circumstances!

We visited a museum to get a background in the history of Albania.

We visited a beautiful mosque with an intricately painted ceiling…

… and a very new Catholic cathedral…

… and my parents shopped for hand woven tablecloths after a delicious traditional lunch…

… and we posed for various photographs. The usual.

And now goodbye from Albania, Green sister-style:

6 :: in Balkans, family, Lena, travel

Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia (now say it again, faster)

January 18, 2012 at 3:45 pm

We blew through these three countries, hopping in and out of the car only to eat and sleep, it seemed like. It was at this point that I started taking fewer and fewer pictures… and taking more and more with my phone instead of my real camera. So forgive the quality of these and enjoy the memories with me!

In Montenegro we spent the night in the lovely old city of Kotor surrounded by thick stone walls. The walls open up to a port filled with luxury yachts from around the world, some from as far away as Washington state, USA. We left the old city and wandered admiringly past the boats until we found this restaurant, where we ate one of the most delicious meals of the entire trip. Mussels and two kinds of soup for Elliott and me, and topped off with a local Montenegrin wine. Bon appetite!

The next morning Elliott took this picture of me doing the unthinkable: numbly strapping Lena into her car seat after our guide told us we had a TEN HOUR drive ahead of us to get to Kosovo. I stared at him, willing him to be joking. But he was not.

And he was not kidding the next day. Or the next day. Or the next day. Four days in a row of 10 hours of driving per day! Our poor frustrated little 9-month-old required almost constant entertainment, as she does not nap for more than 30 minutes at a time in a car. Ai yi yi. Due to the unreliability of public transportation in these countries, however, this really was the only way to see the highlights of these Balkan lands. I will simply say that am grateful that I have seen the Balkans, and I am grateful that we have all survived!

We spent a night in Kosovo and then visited this glorious monastery, which I mentioned before here. The monk who gave us the tour was so soft-spoken and so in love with the place that into our own hearts there came a sense of supreme peace, a sense that we were visiting a truly holy place. For me, this was a great highlight of our trip.

And then at last Macedonia! We spent the night in Skopje, the capital, which is supremely proud of two things: being the homeland of Alexander the Great (on the horse in the photo below) and being the birthplace of Mother Theresa.

Most of us will agree that another thing for which Macedonia will be remembered is the amazing molten lava cake several of us enjoyed for dessert. We smelled these hot chocolate cakes as soon as we walked into the restaurant and waited throughout our entire meal until we could order them. (Lest there be any doubt, these three shared one. I, meanwhile, ate one all by myself.)