Planes in the Mud, Carnevale, & Opera

Notice how the logo is disappearing...

Advanced Apologies to those Visiting by Plane

During a day trip to a few picturesque beach towns outside of the city, we found ourselves driving parallel to the runway of Palermo's airport. Ordinarily this would not have provided any sort of intrigue, but we were quickly reminded Sicily is rarely so straightforward. We spotted an airplane that appeared to be stuck in the mud at the end of the runway. Our guide for the day and friend for life, Davide, narrated the true story of a plane that skidded off the runway after a bumpy landing. It sank pretty deep into mud, but rather than tow it out while the dirt was still soft, the airport authorities and airline officials just let it sit there. 

Seeking to avoid the negative publicity and embarrassment associated with one of its fleet literally being stuck in the mud, the carrier decided that a more apt solution was to paint over the logo so that no one would have any idea which airline preferred to leave an anonymous monument to failure rather than spend money to tow it from the mud.

The plane at rest currently has no markings indicating who was responsible, but those booking flights into Palermo should be advised that WindJet cuts corners.


The Opera at Teatro Massimo

Meredith attended her first opera at Teatro Massimo a few weeks ago. A colleague had just one extra ticket, so I had to sit this one out. “I know, there will be other times...”

"Senso" was classic melodramatic Italian theater celebrating 150 years of unification. Having previously only viewed it from the outside, Meredith was overwhelmed by the theater's phenomenal décor indoors.

Godfather III had a few scenes filmed at the theater. 

Carnevale in Sciacca

We spent the beginning of this week in Sciacca (pronounced shock-a) for Carnevale festivities. The town is much smaller than Palermo, but there is a rich tradition of celebration in the days leading up to Fat Tuesday. Beginning on Saturday night, the streets are blocked off at sundown to make way for colorful floats and spirited revelers.

This year's theme was The Search For Black Gold, which is ironic considering the direction that oil prices are headed. The floats, constructed of paper mache and towed by Lamborghini tractors (seriously), were preceded by what can best be described as party wagons. Trailers stacked as many speakers, dancers, fog machines, and strobe lights as possible to create a mobile club experience. The space in between the club truck and Lamborghini float tractors was about 50 yards of Spring Break in Cabo.

While the younger kids dress up like its Halloween, the older kids take the opportunity to subtly offend as many parents as possible with their costumes.  Those familiar with Halloween in Isla Vista will have a good idea of what I'm talking about. America's Queen, on the right, was more tame than the men wearing short kilts that exposed a stuffed tube sock. But the atmosphere is closer to merry and jovial than it is to ridiculous and out of control.

The last night is punctuated by burning the main character and re-enacting the Allied raid on Sicily, or maybe those were just really loud fireworks.

Peppe Nappa went up in flames on the last night

What would a Monica Lewinsky include?

We have surpassed the half way point of our time in Italy, the past 5 months having been a blur of getting settled, making friends, enjoying visitors, and falling into routines. Meredith finishes teaching in mid-June, at which point we hope to travel for a month or so before returning home.

As the local beaches and Aeolian Islands beckon, winter's turn towards spring is taking a bit longer than we would like. Future adventures are more likely to be by boat than by car, which is great news for our vitamin D deficiency and sun starved legs.

Lamborghini tractors: fueled by 2 buck Chuck.

In case you had forgotten about the largesse of 90s rock and pop, rejoice in the hot jams that I have heard in the past week alone:

• Toto “Africa” might be stretching back to the 80s, but its hard not to sing along.  
• Michael Bolton, the greatest hits collection is on a constant loop at one of the cafes. The video appears to have been shot at Lake Mead and it deserves to be parodied.  
• Baywatch theme - to be fair, it was a dance remix at the gym and it was awesome.
• Queen, "The Show Must Go On" - once at the gym, and a few times at the Michael Bolton cafe. 
• A Jon Secada track would be over the top. 

Here's a short clip of the floats in motion.  

Romance = regime change + food

They're not waiting for the Pope.

Tunisia...Egypt...Yemen/Libya/Bahrain/Jordan...Italy?

With Egypt's triumphant revolution marking another destination of ours that has fallen into political purgatory, we are a bit skeptical that northern Africa will be reached during our time here. On a more intriguing note, there have been more than a few questions as to whether or not the ouster of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi might come about in a manner similar to Hosni Mubarak's departure.

Berlusconi's years in power have yielded a stagnant economy, tremendous unemployment, limited opportunities for college grads, and the marginalization of women. He is embroiled in 7 different personal and political scandals ranging from the obvious Eliot Spitzer-esque to the more obscure financial irregularities.

Setting up a constitutional crisis in what has been called a “total war” between the legislature and the judiciary, Berlusconi is trying to have the charges against him thrown out because prosecutors failed to refer the investigation to a court for judging politicians that requires Parliament's approval for any trial to proceed. This is an absurd law that he crafted years ago for situations like the one he faces presently. It would be like a separate court in the US where trials against politicians have to be approved by Congress before they are allowed to proceed.  

In addition to protests all over Italy on Sunday, demonstrations against Berlusconi stretched as far as Honolulu, Jakarta, London, and New York. The students have been awfully quiet lately, perhaps it is only a matter of time before they decide to try out their own social media revolution.

"They believed me until they looked at a picture of you"

The irony of it all is that his most significant legal battle came about when a former mistress, Ruby Heartstealer, was apprehended by authorities in Milan for theft. She was released after a phone call in which Berlusconi claimed that she was the granddaughter of Hosni Mubarak and that prosecutors would be wise to avoid an international incident.

Well, that turned out to be a lie and authorities connected the dots to his bunga bunga sessions pretty quickly. Now Mubarak's sipping Mai Tais on a beach in Sharm el-Sheik and Silvio may be joining him sooner than planned.  

Sausage is for Lovers

Happy Valentine's Day! Lager or stout?

Despite the range of options and Meredith's certain desire for something more romantic, we found ourselves enjoying Valentine's Day at the surprisingly crowded Warsteiner. The German birreria, which is also advertised as a drinkeria and pizzaria, specializes in sauerkraut and sausage of several sorts. Though we appreciate the deviation from standard Sicilian plates, it has been the friendly staff and fine selection of beer that keeps us returning regularly. They even have one of those amazing “Yard of Beer” taps that towers above the table so that everyone knows where the Americans/Russians/Irish are sitting.  

In a country and particularly a region not known for diversity of gastronomical fare, we are fortunate to be living in a neighborhood resembling the food court of the United Nations. Beyond the obvious pizza/pasta/parmigiana joints, there are no less than 4 continents represented at nearby restaurants.

La Cuba is an odd name for a sushi place, but their sashimi and hand rolls satisfy the craving. There is an Argentinian steak house, a Mexican place of reasonable authenticity, as well as an Asian fusion restaurant serving Thai dishes during aperitivo (happy hour), Chinese food for dinner, and sushi anytime you want it.

We gave up our search for breakfast burritos as soon as we landed, so if anyone is in Santa Barbara soon, see what you can do about sending us something from International Cafe, Rosarito's, or Super Cuca's. Other than that, the only other Saturday morning craving that we have yet to satisfy is a good bagel. We haven't even seen anything that reflects Italian familiarity with such a delicacy. They fake cheeseburgers and donuts but apparently have no interest in lox and shmear.

Briefly,

• Madison Marie decided that Valentine's Day was a great day to become our niece! Payton looks equally thrilled about his pending sharing lessons.   
• Meredith is teaching English to a group of Palermitans that will be venturing to New York as part of the model UN.
• I have picked up some English tutoring jobs that fund more frequent trips to Warsteiner.
• After enduring a few boot-soaked commutes to school, Meredith purchased some stylish galoshes (oxymoron?). Of course, the rain has yet to fall since then so for the time being she has 1/3 of a dockworker costume. 
• The weather is beginning to turn towards spring, not that it ever really departed from fall, so we'll hopefully be enjoying the beaches shortly.

Visits, trips, scandal, and 2 different eruptions

When we last left you in the waning weeks of 2010, Christmas was rapidly approaching, bringing with it the promise of the Perry family (and a hidden Buchanan). Since then, we have endured a surprise engagement, a marathon New Year's party covering 8 time zones, a roadtrip to the garden of Eden, the eruption of Mt. Etna, a coup d'etat in Tunisia, and the dastardly Silvio Berlusconi being investigated for relations with underage prostitutes (comparisons to Bill Clinton have ceased). Its been a hectic year, and we're only 2 weeks in.  

The Perry family swooped in for a magical trip that got off to a great start on the Spanish Steps in Rome. Meredith's sister Amanda accepted Travis' proposal for a lifetime of marital bliss! She spent the remainder of the trip floating in mid-air. Travis, welcome to Circus! (see below)

Jean is apparently thrilled to see me.

We had a splendid Christmas Eve feast, but even a steady supply of homemade egg nog couldn't muster the will for midnight mass. We marked the birth of baby Jesus with a four course meal at the neighborhood trattoria. Although the full menu escapes me, our first encounter with salt-cured venison was much tastier than expected.

The Perrys got the grand tour of Palermo, capped off by an incredible day with the Ienna twins and their suitors taking us to the sanctuary of Saint Rosalia, the beautiful beach of Mondello, the quaint coastal city of Cefalu, and hosting a memorable lunch that made the consumption of food unnecessary for 36 hours.

Jean filled 6 memory cards with pictures.    

Our wolfpack

Perry Kohl Buchanan, LLC

New Year's at our favorite bar/cafe/restaurant/bookstore, Kursal Kalesa, included dinner, an open bar, bottles of champagne, and fireworks (indoors). Ordinarily this would have been a wicked combination that ended with me soaking my burned hand in an champagne's bucket of ice, but we managed to stay awake and injury free. We rang the New Year in for every time zone between Dubai and New York.

Taking advantage of Meredith's week off school, we ventured to Siracusa and Taormina on the eastern coast of Sicily. Braving a car for the first time, we had some tricky moments getting out of the city (a roundabout that serves as a major intersection, freeway on-ramp and off-ramp is terrible civil engineering), but the open road was incredible.

Aside from a few cities that have populations approaching 1 million, the island is remarkably rural.  Siracusa is a very historic city (2700 years old) with a more relaxing atmosphere than Palermo. The streets and traffic were much more muted, but the people had the same generous hospitality. Our only dinner in the city was in a place without a menu.

The view

Taormina was one of the most beautiful places that we have ever been. Sitting in the hills above the ocean in the shadow of Mt. Etna, Taormina has been described as Monte Carlo without the casinos.

Billowing smoke turned into hot lava the following week

 Had we been in Taormina one week later, we would have witnessed Mt. Etna's splendid eruption.  

On our way back home, we ventured to the tiny city of Monreale, whichs overlooks Palermo. The cathedral is almost entirely composed of mosaics, which the pictures don't quite capture.

The trip left us with a renewed appreciation of Sicily's natural and man-made beauty, as well as an appetite for more exploration.

Meanwhile, one of our anticipated journey to Tunisia has been put on the back burner indefinitely.  

The convergence of economic recession, demographics, authoritarian rule, Wiki-Leaks, and the internet led to a relatively peaceful coup d'etat last week. The compromise that citizens made between a repressive police state and economic progress ground to a halt.

One of the most surprising aspects of the uprising is how much the country's strong system of education had to do with it. Tunisia did a great job of educating the populace, but rumblings of revolution began when there were no jobs for college graduates. Instead of radical Islam, the efforts to topple the government were led by secular intellectuals, lawyers, and trade unionists. While the military maintains order, the region is pretty much holding its breath until elections can be held in 6 months.

On the bright side, I am assuming that we can find a free flight.

And finally... Italy's embattled Prime Minister is being investigated for sexual relations with Ruby the Heart Stealer, who happened to be 17 at the time of the purported bunga bunga session. His only response thus far has been to accuse the judge prosecuting the case of being jealous that she was never invited to such a party.

That pretty much speaks for itself, so I won't say anything more.

Riots, Weapons, and Romance

That's a gun.

The student protests continue as tweens make a concerted effort to use Facebook as a means of organizing ditch days under the guise of revolution. Trains stations and major roadways have been blocked all over the country by students clamoring for the government to... we're still not exactly sure what they want. With no major train stations or roadways to speak of, Palermo's students sat on to the runway of the airport. It is already notorious for its terrain-induced bumpy landings without a group of smoking teens burning the minister of education in effigy.  

In other political news, Slick Silvio Berlusconi survived a vote of confidence last week by 3 votes (314-311), ensuring that he can continue to cavort and gallivant with underage women without losing power. Bill Clinton is expected to apply for Italian citizenship in the near future.

WikiLeaks revealed a bromance between Berlusconi and Vladimir Putin (they often exchange lavish gifts and energy contracts), which left Bush II feeling slighted after "getting a sense of Putin's soul" when he gazed into his eyes over vodka and caviar.  

Palermo celebrated the Feast of San Lucia last Monday, in which the entire city only eats arancini (deep fried risotto, butter, cheese, and proscuitto) for an entire day. I am trying to think of an American equivalent for this holiday, but I think we would have to celebrate President Taft's birthday (September 15) by only eating award winning fair food, which would leave us with a menu of fried butter, fried Oreos, fried cookie dough, fried, bacon, and sausage stuffed zucchini corn dogs.  We should avoid bathtubs on this day.  

While trolling the apartment's various nooks and crannies, we discovered a slightly depleted box of 12-gauge shot gun shells in the back of a closet. We are uncertain of how to square this archaeological find with the purported grandmother that occupied the premises for the 75 years prior to our arrival, so we're sticking with the image of her eradicating the neighborhood pigeon population from her perch on the balcony. With a cigarette and a moo moo, of course.  

The holidays are alive and well in our apartment after Blake and I dragged an 8-foot Douglas Fur across 3 lanes of traffic and 6 blocks before stuffing it into an elevator for the last stretch. 

  

We're looking forward to imminent landing of the Perry family in Rome(!), as well as scattered showers Christmas morning with temperatures in the mid-60s.

In describing to one of the Jesuit priests how excited she was for her family to arrive, Meredith invoked a version of excitement traditionally reserved for the bedroom rather than the type of excitement associated with one's enthusiasm.  Merry Christmas Padre Alesandro!

Holiday pictures and stories to follow before the New Year. Have an incredible holiday season, we love and miss everyone that reads this!