Mystique of Sicily

I'm making a rare double blog entry because I didn't get the Venice post up yesterday like I had wanted.

Sicily was to be my relaxation stop. Our group was fragmented at this stop with some going to the top of Mt. Etna, which was nearly $250 and out of my range to afford. Others went to Taramino to shop. Others went on the "Godfather" tour that took them to some of the major places of the film. I chose to simpy go out on my own.

Messina is a nice city but my thoughts about it are mixed. It has some beautiful buildings such as their Municipal Building and the Mary of the Assumption Cathedral. There were also some beautiful parks in the city that I enjoyed. However, mixed in with these beautiful buildings were many rundown buildings, abandoned buildings and a lot of graffiti. I know enough Italian to know that those writing the graffiti are very creative writers.

Another disconcerting aspect of the city was the rudeness of the people. The Sicilians, for the most part, were friendly enough but many were not. For example, I was looking for some nice cheese and not finding any small grocery stores I went into a wine shop. My logic was the concept of "wine and cheese" so I was hoping to find something. As I entered the shop a gentleman came up to me and asked, in Italian, if he could help me. I said, "Parlo un po' d'italiano" which is "I speak very little Italian." I could tell right away that it wasn't going to go well because he got a grouchy look on his face. So, using the little Italian I DO know I said, "Avete qualcosa formaggio?" (Do you have cheese). He shrugs his shoulders with a blank look on his face and I take that as meaning he didn't understand me which I can sympathize with because my Italian accent is very poor. So I repeated my question and he says, "Formaggio vino?" asking if I wanted cheese flavored wine. I said no and tried again. He again seemed to think I want cheese flavored wine, which to my knowledge there is no such thing. I was about to try a third time when he waved his hand dismissively and said, "Se ne vada Americano idiota!!" which means "go away you American idiot!!"

So, while the city had some attractive buildings, the people negated that. It was a good experience overall but it would have been much better had they treated their tourists, which I suspect brings in a large amount of their income, with better respect. We're at sea today and will be coming into the port of Barcelona tomorrow so until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 20:55 | link | comments (3) |
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Comments:

#1  06 October 2008 - 15:24

 

Heh. You should have gone back in your clericals and started splashing Holy Water all over the place. A cassock is a wonderful way to imitate the Italians.

gjwalberg

#2  06 October 2008 - 15:25

 

er, um, intimidate. I mean intimidate.

Nothing like blowing the punchline...

gjwalberg

#3  14 October 2008 - 16:54

 

Actually both words are probably appropriate especially in the City of Rome where it seems almost everyone wears one.

Anonymous

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