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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 26, 2015 21:30:52 GMT
Sheesh ~ no dessert for either of you!
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Post by lagatta on Jul 26, 2015 23:42:28 GMT
Many Cs become Gs in southern Italian dialects,and of course the o often becomes a u (or ou) sound. I'm glad you were able to enjoy a meal with other Spanish speakers. You'd pick up Sicilian soon enough, but it is hard when you are plunged there.
Was the food any good?
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Post by anshjain97 on Jul 29, 2015 11:19:04 GMT
Just catching up on this superb thread- you have captured this really fabulously- particularly the attention to detail.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 29, 2015 12:29:40 GMT
Stunning photography as ever. I love markets - they were my favourite pictures.
We have a lot of Sicilians where I live - they stayed after the war and we have a large restaurant called Nonna's Kitchen which has a similar huge display of ice creams. Not a particularly good restaurant though unfortunately.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 29, 2015 12:59:52 GMT
Mick, were those (original) Sicilians prisoners of war? Too bad about the restaurant.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 29, 2015 13:22:19 GMT
Yes indeed. They stayed to work in the Lea Valley glasshouse and market garden businesses and many of them are still Sicilian owned. Big cucumber growing area (big area not big cucumbers that is).
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 29, 2015 13:45:36 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jul 29, 2015 17:32:36 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 30, 2015 21:22:17 GMT
I see I've been very tardy replying to all your nice comments here -- sorry!
LaGatta, I don't think I am a person who easily picks up languages, although I remain embarrassed that I didn't learn some basic Italian for this trip. And no, the food wasn't all that great. The restaurant looked so great from the outside that it really pulled people in, but the service was pathetic and the food indifferent. I was happy to be with the Spaniards, who corroborated some of my takes on Palermo & who gave me guidance on tipping in Italy.
Thank you so much, Ansh! I will warn you & others right now that I was completely taken with Palermo & have zillions of pictures to prove it. I have to do something with them, so they'll all eventually get posted on anyport to the point that I'm fully aware there may be some eyes glazed with boredom before I'm done.
I really appreciate that, Mick -- thanks! "Nonna's Kitchen" reminds me of that old caveat about never eating in a place called "Mom's".
Also thanks for the fascinating article on how some Sicilians wound up in England.
Huge numbers of Sicilians emigrated in the years after WWII. I have cousins who came to the US as children in 1948. There are also great numbers of Sicilian-Australians, along with the descendents of all the Sicilians who went to England.
Loved that first story you linked, LaGatta, a really wonderful piece of personal history of the kind that is all too often lost.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 30, 2015 21:40:53 GMT
So now for more pictures, pretty much in random order as everything caught my interest & got snapped.
Another bookstore, some more Art Nouveau ~These two pictures somewhat typify Palermo for me, with their mix of history and the changing world completely coexisting ~Bixa tries -- and enjoys -- the famous Palermo spleen sandwich. You can see I was in an area of hungry students ~The chef. This young man lavished care & pride on his product, even delicately slicing off a piece of organ meat, sprinkling it with lemon & coarse salt in order to present it on a toothpick for my delectation before the main event ~
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 21:46:44 GMT
Do you have any idea why the sign for the Piazza Ponticello would also be in Hebrew and Arabic? Obviously it is a political statement but what?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 30, 2015 21:59:57 GMT
Of course I can't read it, but I think it is acknowledging the Arab and the Jewish histories in Palermo.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 30, 2015 22:18:57 GMT
An architectural interlude ~The Fountain of Shame ~Another view of the Quattro Canti ~This fancy church ...... is right next to this ~Moving on into the 19th and 20th centuries ~Qualcosa per tutti ~
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Post by fumobici on Jul 30, 2015 23:46:45 GMT
The plaque which reads, "QUI FU IL PONTICELLO SUL TORRENTE KEMONIA" simply means "Here was the little bridge over the stream Kemonia" There is of course a *lot* of Jewish and Muslim history preceding the Spanish Inquisition in the old part of Palermo, so the trilingual sign there makes some sense.
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Post by fumobici on Jul 30, 2015 23:50:05 GMT
The "Quattro Centi" above should I believe be "Quatrro Canti", four corners rather than four hundreds.
Looooving this report BTW, may it run on as long as bixa cares to make it. I'll be back.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 30, 2015 23:53:26 GMT
Thanks, Fumobici!
Coincidentally, I was just thinking about you as I edited a bunch of pictures of pasticcini from Palermo.
And thanks for catching the Canti boo-boo, which I will now fix.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 31, 2015 0:17:32 GMT
Some Jews in Tunisia kept the keys to their Sicilian houses for centuries.
I think it is important to remember the violence and intolerance the Inquisition and Reconquista showed to other Abrahamic monotheists. ISIS and all are horrible, but that stuff is not restricted to Islam. It is important to study the settings that make such eruptions of hatred and intolerance break out: I don't mean that as any kind of excuse for such disgusting behaviour, whatever the culture or religious connection.
I'm very upset about the violent fundie crap in Tunisia as I have friends there, who were involved in organising the World Social Forum.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 31, 2015 0:28:09 GMT
This government complex is on Via Roma on the way to the train station.
These dragon trees(?) were all over in the parks of Palermo ~I think this is a huge old sago palm ~Overwrought, yet compelling ~Okay, now take note of the winged wheel at the foot ~That motif is repeated in the windows ~I asked a man working there about the significance of the winged wheel. He said that the building used to be the train station & that it was built during Mussolini's time, as evidenced by the fasces on the front of the building. He was probably right that the wheel is a rail wheel, but I'm not sure about the age of the building, nor that it was ever the train station. The metal wreath in front of the statue says 1925, which was the year Mussolini declared Italy to be a fascist dictatorship. The fasces symbol was co-opted by Mussolini, but goes back to the Romans. Palermo's train station is quite close to this building & has been the station since 1886. Whatever its true history, it's quite a lovely building ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 31, 2015 0:34:03 GMT
The detail about the keys is heartbreaking, LaGatta.
I had thought seriously about adding Tunisia to my itinerary, despite the museum bombing. However, the attack on the beach convinced me that it was unwise to go there right now. That is not to suggest that my convenience was what was important, but that this type of terrorism is routinely being factored into how we live our lives. I do hope you are getting reports on your friends and their safety.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 31, 2015 1:16:34 GMT
They are fine for now, but the "for now" remains scary. I'm sure they hesitate to be so free with their dress and manners, while of course the women adamantly refuse to veil, or to drink im public places, while Tunis had as much of a café culture as Palermo and in some ways was more avant-garde. There are Mediterranean social forums and other meetings about the problems all those people around the Big Blue face, in terms of mafias, endemic corruption, outbursts of religious nuttiness (think of Bosnia) and everything else that is sullying a place that is close to the hearts of many, for its deep history and innovations. There are many Sicilians who have spoken out against the mafia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Fava
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 31, 2015 1:22:52 GMT
Here I am at the train station ~There is a stirring monument & some impressive architecture facing it ~A lovely old ticket office where they found it outrageous that I should think they'd know train times ~I wander into Ballarò, the 1000 year old Arab market ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 31, 2015 1:29:48 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jul 31, 2015 1:40:57 GMT
My, you're up late! The views to the countryside make the cityscapes less confining.
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Post by bjd on Jul 31, 2015 5:32:58 GMT
I like the juxtaposition of the middle-aged guy on the scooter, with the one looking about the same age (from the hair) on one of those handicapped scooters behind.
And the marzipan fruit!
It definitely looks like a place I'd enjoy.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 31, 2015 9:18:01 GMT
LaGatta, Palermo is full of leafy parks and piazze of various sizes opening out here and there. Also, the streets are wide with some of the prominent ones having pedestrian-only portions. Yes, it has many quaint & winding narrow old streets, but the city never feels confining.
Bjd, thank you! It's so gratifying to know someone looks that closely at the pictures. I was alarmed by the cloying sweetness of some of the pastries, but still think the marzipan fruit would make a delightful & impressive gift. Yes, I believe you would truly enjoy Palermo. It hardly ever feels like a tourist town -- you can feel the real life of the place going on all around you.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 9:32:30 GMT
The only problem with marzipan is that you're supposed to eat it sooner or later.
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Post by htmb on Jul 31, 2015 9:56:42 GMT
You can have my marzipan, Kerouac. It's pretty to look at, but I would never eat any.
I'm enjoying this thread and and traveling along with you vicariously, Bixa. I find the wonderful colors of the stone buildings fascinating, but I'm wondering if some of what I'm seeing isn't aided by the settling in of years of dirt and grime. Whatever the reason, I find the architecture quite interesting.
Loved the rich, vibrant colors of the market!
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Post by tod2 on Jul 31, 2015 12:26:01 GMT
Bixa - you might have thought I'd dropped off the planet?! Just sat down to scan the Anyport horizon for news of Sicily and found your magnificent report ! My you have done one splendid job on taking us around the town of Palermo. Your photos need long scrutiny as many little things are missed at first glance!
More photos please!
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Post by htmb on Aug 1, 2015 12:47:23 GMT
I really love your street scenes, Bixa. You've captured some great candid shots of people who've crossed your path.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 1, 2015 15:18:14 GMT
When I look at those pretty, shiny, realistic marzipan fruits my mental image is of something round, dusty, and mysterious with little kid teeth marks in it under the hem of a curtain or rolled beneath a coffee table. Dear Tod! You will have more Palermo pictures -- lots & lots of them! In the meantime, I hope you'll check out Postcards to see the two threads on the fabulous Byzantine mosaics I saw in Palermo. Also, in Maritime Museum, you can see a gruesome Botero exhibition on the Way of the Cross. Htmb, Palermo is grimy, for sure. My cheap hotel on Via Roma seemed to exist in a little midnight of its own. I imagine some of the monuments and important things get cleaned up from time to time. Thanks for your comments & for appreciating the architecture, which really interested me. And moving right along with more Palermo, here are a couple more buildings. I kept on the lookout for Mussolini era buildings, such as this bank. The hotel in front of it on Piazza Borsa was a monastery and church from the late 16th century.
And look ~ I can move to Palermo, as it features my all-important plastics stores!
Poor St. Anthony looks rather neglected. I suppose no one prays for indulgences anymore.
But no pennies for the poor, either?
On my way to the marina I pass Piazza Marina, with a flea market surrounding its park. Look:everything for your limoncello needs ~
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