Twelve months ago, we rang in 2011 at a wild party in Savannah, Georgia, a city which definitely knows how to let its hair down. As the clock struck midnight, I know I kissed Jürgen, and I faintly remember kissing a couple other people, too. We entered 2011 full of excitement — it would be our first full year of travel, and we knew that a lot of incredible times were waiting for us. But, even so, I think we underestimated how much we were about to experience.

We moved to Buenos Aires in February, and then onto to Bolivia in May. After a short break in Valencia, our nominative home, we moved onto Palermo. And soon enough, we’ll be back on the road; this time to Sri Lanka. Here are some of our favorite posts of 2011… if 2012 is even just half as exciting, there’s a lot to look forward to. We wishing you all a wonderful New Year’s celebration, and a great year to come.

On Franklin Square, the First African Baptist Church is the oldest black church in North America. Founded by slaves in 1775, the church has a history nearly as old as Savannah itself. The church was built by slaves who, as you might imagine, didn’t have much money or time. Over the course of four years, they worked at night on the construction. That’s some faith — after a day of back-breaking work in the fields, to come and toil even longer… Read More

Argentinians are a famously literary people. In coffee shops, parks, on the bus and even while walking down city streets, their heads are often buried in a book. So it’s only fitting that Buenos Aires can lay claim to one of the world’s most incredible book stores: the Ateneo Grand Splendid… Read More

In the 19th century, the wealthiest corner of Buenos Aires wasn’t Retiro or Recoleta, but Barracas. Over the decades, this southern neighborhood lost its former glamor but recently has been showing signs of a resurgence in popularity. Today, it’s an exciting up-and-coming area in the capital city, still happily off the radar of most tourists… Read More

Before moving to Buenos Aires, we conducted a little research into the city’s music scene and stumbled upon an artist by the name of Chancha via Circuito. We were instantly hooked, and his music became our constant soundtrack for our final weeks in Savannah. Fresh and modern, but firmly rooted in tradition, it sounded exactly how we imagined Buenos Aires would be like. It made us anxious to arrive. So, given that we’d been listening to his music non-stop for a couple months, we were thrilled to be able to meet Chancha at ZZK Records’ studios… Read More

A radio station with an unusual and highly laudable purpose, Radio La Colifata was established in 1991 as the world’s first station run by the inmates of a mental hospital. Twenty years later, the project is still going strong. We decided to check out one of the transmissions. Attending the broadcast of La Colifata turned out to be an adventure. I don’t know what we expected to find, but this was just an abandoned building. A woman at the corner bar verified it was the correct place, so we ventured inside… Read More

On the second day of our hike, we woke at sunrise with aching shoulders, backs and legs, but possessed by a strange energy. The Crater of Maragua was within sight, and the promise of restorative thermal baths at hike’s end made us eager to get moving. But breakfast and packing up the campsite took longer than anticipated: a delay which would later haunt us… Read More

The pre-Incan ruins of Tiwanaku, just 35 miles west of La Paz, host Bolivia’s biggest celebrations in honor of the Aymara New Year. With a belief system rooted heavily in the natural world, the Aymara recognize the winter solstice (June 21st) as the true beginning of the year. We woke up early in the morning to take part in the fun… Read More

The first day of Independencia’s party was crazy, but we had been tired following the 7-hour bus ride. After a restless night, Jürgen and I were back in the main plaza at 7am watching cholitas in glittering dresses and politely declining offers of cerveza from marching band members who clearly hadn’t stopped imbibing all night. The party had never paused — of this, I’m sure. I had laid in bed, eyes wide open, listening to it rage the entire night… Read More

Stepping into the neighborhood just behind the somber bulk of Palermo’s Cathedral feels like entering another country. An Arabic one, to be precise. Il Capo is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, and has managed to retain a distinctly Moorish influence in its streets and market… Read More

This might be common throughout Italy, but Palermo is the first time we’ve encountered a store that sells wine by the liter, as though it were gas. Pumped from a tank, through a nozzle into a large plastic container, with a ticker racking up the price, really as though it were gas. It’s even about the same price… Read More

Without a doubt, the top touristic sight in the town of Bagheria is Villa Palagonia. A architectural masterpiece and an ode to eccentricity, this building is most famous for its flock of “monsters”; an army of gargoyles who adorn the garden walls… Read More

Visiting Syracuse is like taking a trip back into the ancient world. Greek ruins thousands of years still claim space around Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and more modern Baroque constructions. The entire old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you can’t hardly walk a block without seeing another noteworthy building, ruin, fountain or church… Read More

Book A Hotel In Corleone

I’ll own up to some ignorance. Before we moved to Sicily for 91 days, I didn’t know that there was actually a town called Corleone. I had assumed that the name was invented by Mario Puzo, who wrote The Godfather. So I felt a thrill upon discovering that the town actually does exist, just an hour from Palermo, and that it indeed has a past strongly identified with the Mafia. It was just a matter of time before we visited. My name is Michael, after all.

During the few short hours we spent in Corleone, I fell in love with a raven-haired Sicilian beauty, and had enough time to marry her. We enjoyed a dreamlike spell of wedded bless, before she was torn apart by a car bomb. Sad. But tragedy can not stain my life forever. We must move on.

Corleone was the last stop of a long day trip that had earlier taken us to Segesta and the Cretto di Burri. The drive from the Cretto looked short on the map, but the country roads were in hilariously bad condition, and the 50-kilometer drive took us over two hours. We pulled into Corleone much later than expected and, with winter daylight hours in short supply, didn’t have nearly enough time to explore this gorgeous town.

Home to a population of 12,000, Corleone’s streets wind up and around a steep hill. After parking, we walked down toward the center of town, where we saw the 14th century Chiesa Madre and the stately Santuario della Madonna del Rosario. More impressive than any man-made buildings, though, were the twin outcrops of La Sottana and La Soprana, which greet visitors upon entering Corleone. Recognize that second name? This tiny Italian town has provided appellations for both of the greatest fictional Mafia families.

Corleone is difficult to reach, and perhaps that’s why it’s always been so tightly associated with the Mafia. Some of the most powerful crime bosses in Sicilian history were born here. Bernardo Provenzano, for one, went by the nickname of “The Tractor”, for his charming propensity to mow people down. In 1963, Provenzano was charged with murder and went into hiding, which he was very good at. For 43 years, he eluded the authorities, but continued acting as the Godfather of the Corleonesi family, directly responsible for countless crimes. He was finally captured in 2006, by police who tracked a bag of fresh laundry sent to the farmhouse in which he was hiding.

We would have loved to spend more time in Corleone. After snapping a couple pictures of the sun setting spectacularly behind the mountains, we hopped back in the car. But before he started the engine, I grabbed Jürgen’s cheeks with my hands and planted a big kiss on him. “I know it was you, Jürgen! You broke my heart. You broke my heart”. When we got back home, I had an associate shoot him in the head. It’s good to be the Godfather.

Location on our Sicily Map
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The Horror Of Earthquakes On DVD

In 1968, the hillside town of Gibellina was devastated by a 6.1-scale earthquake. Somewhat like the residents of Noto, who befell a similar fate, the town decided to abandon the ruins and start from scratch in a location which was close by, and hopefully more stable. Between 1985 and 1989, a Sicilian artist named Alberto Burri used the old city’s ruins as the canvas for his most audacious work of modern sculpture. The resulting concrete cemetery is a bold piece of art, a comment on death, and a moving tribute to the devastated city.

Burri covered the streets of Old Gibellina with concrete, preserving the layout of the blocks. Walking around his monument is unsettling. You’re not just standing on the gravestone of a city, but actually tracing the lines of its corpse. Block after block of grey concrete rises from the concrete ground, like the ghosts of buildings. They’re high enough to peer over, so that the rest of the graves are always visible, along with the verdant valley stretching out into the distance.

I might have expected to feel despondent while walking around this modern graveyard, but in truth I experienced something closer to comfort. Nature might have the strength to effortlessly topple our cities and wipe out huge swaths of our population. But we have the ability to make artwork out of the damage, transforming devastation into something eloquent and meaningful with our creativity. Nature may be more powerful, but humanity is cooler.

Location of the Cretto di Burri on our Sicily Map
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Segesta was founded high upon Mount Barbaro by the Elymian people, one of three Bronze Age cultures that flourished in Sicily before the arrival of overseas powers. Eventually, though, the foreigners would come knocking. After a doomed alliance with Carthage, Segesta attached its fortunes to Athens. The Romans and Arabs also took possession of Segesta, but the city was abandoned completely at some point during the Middle Ages. This desertion allowed Segesta’s ruins to survive relatively untouched, shielded from the destructive march of history.

The Doric Temple of Segesta is one of the most well-preserved Greek temples in the entire world. It looks as though it were built a hundred years ago, not twenty-six hundred. The 36 columns are fully intact and the view over the valley is commanding. A few clues lead scholars to believe that the temple wasn’t ever actually finished. Building tabs that should have been removed are still present. The columns aren’t fluted. There was never a roof. And it’s noteworthy that an exceptional Greek temple was built in a predominantly non-Greek town.

These facts lend credence to a theory we read in a thorough summary of Segesta at SeePalermo.com. The city had been looking to Athens for assistance in its struggle against Selinunte. To ensure that visiting Greek diplomats would be sufficiently impressed by Segesta’s size and importance, a glorious temple was quickly constructed. Once the allegiance was secured and the diplomats had departed, the townspeople didn’t even bother to finish the temple.

High upon a neighboring hill are the ruins of the city itself. A small amphitheater is the most impressive, with a spectacular view over the Gulf of Castellammare. Productions are still staged there in the summer. Remains of a church and public forum can be found, as well as original street pavings from Greek and Roman times. Built on top of these more ancient ruins are the remains of medieval buildings. It’s fascinating to see the layers of three distinct time periods laid bare.

If you’re in the area, a stop at Segesta is absolutely essential. The archaeological site is just meters off the A29 highway connecting Palermo to Trapani. Along with the Neapolis of Syracuse, this collection of ruins provides the most mesmerizing window into the past that we’ve had the chance to peer through, during our time in Sicily.

Location on our Sicily Map
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Chinese Architecture

There are two types of eccentrics: those you feel sorry for, and those you’re secretly envious of. The first kind are poor, and fill their house with cats. They have crazy, stringy hair and scream obscenities at the malicious neighbor kids. The second kind have the good fortune of being royalty, and are able to indulge every screwy whim. “Bring in that funny peasant boy. Now do your silly dance! I need more cats, a leopard perhaps. And build me a palace… a Chinese palace!” If you’re going to be an eccentric, it’s certainly better to be the rich kind.

On the northern end of the Parco della Favorita is one of Palermo’s strangest buildings: a large and fully decorated Chinese palace. Built in 1799 for King Ferdinand III, during the height of the European craze for all things Oriental, the palace is jarringly out-of-place in the Sicilian capital. We visited just a couple days after the it had been re-opened, following a full renovation.

The tour was free, and we were the only visitors. Despite that, the guide rushed us through as quickly as possible, hardly giving Jürgen time to snap any pictures. I think our lack of Italian made her nervous, or perhaps she was worried we’d start making fun of the palace, which certainly does encourage a sort of mocking incredulity. We were whisked through the rooms of the queen on the second floor, the servants quarters, the dining hall and guest rooms. The king, being eccentric, chose to sleep in the middle of a huge room on the bottom floor, his bed on wheels.

The palace consists of three floors, each decorated with Chinese patterns, writing, or frescoes of pastoral Chinese life. There’s an interesting “mathematical table” set in the middle of the dining room, with an dumbwaiter carved into its center. With everything freshly renovated, the colorful palace walls and decorations were especially beautiful. Although the focus was Chinese, there are Italian elements as well — one room is done entirely in the style of Pompeii, painted in the deep red identified with the destroyed city.

Before leaving, we took a stroll through the Italian-style gardens behind the palace, which are nearly as beautiful as the dwelling itself. Strange and compelling, the Chinese Palace is without a doubt the most unexpected building that we’ve found in Palermo. It’s a little difficult to reach with public transportation, but worth the effort, especially considering that you can visit the excellent Pitré Ethnographic Museum right next door.

Location on our Palermo Map
-This reminds us the Glorieta Castle in Bolivia

Another Great Theater: The Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires

After centuries of foreign occupation, Sicily enthusiastically joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1860. Finally free of the hated Bourbons, Palermo celebrated its allegiance to the new King Vittorio Emanuele by ordering a massive new theater built in his honor. After thirty years of construction, the Teatro Massimo (“Maximum Theater”) opened to great fanfare in 1897. It’s the largest opera house in Italy, and the third largest in all Europe.

We weren’t able to catch a show, but did take a short guided tour of the theater. The Teatro Massimo was built in a neoclassical style meant to echo Sicily’s Greek ruins, such as those at Agrigento or Selinunte. At the grand entrance, visitors are greeted by statues of two lion-riding women, who represent Comedy and Drama.

The auditorium is gorgeous, gold and red velvet. The capacity of 1350 seems somewhat small for such a large room, but I suppose you don’t want to be cramped at the opera. The stage is deceptively large, three times the size of the auditorium, and sufficient for the most extravagant productions. A performance of Aida in the 70s, our guide told us, saw horses and elephants tramping about the stage. And it’s here that the climactic scene of The Godfather III was shot.

Besides the auditorium, we were able to visit the Royal Box and a couple foyers. The tour was brief, just under half an hour, and rather expensive at €7 (raising to €8 in 2012). If you have the chance, the best way to visit the Teatro Massimo would be to skip the guided tour, put on some elegant clothes, and come for a show — the tickets for the upper balconies aren’t at all expensive.

Teatro Massimo – Website
Location on our Palermo Map
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Cefalù Hotels

Until recently, the weather during our stay in Palermo had been uncommonly pleasant. But luck never lasts and, eventually, the rains and cold came. The day we chose for our visit to Cefalù was unpredictable, with clear blue skies suddenly giving way to thunderstorms. Secretly, Jürgen and I both wanted to postpone the trip, but didn’t want to be the wimp to suggest it. And so, full of pride and regret, we hopped on the train to Cefalù. “Well, I don’t mind going but, honestly, if you’d rather not…”

Cefalù numbers just 13,000, but its population balloons in the summer. The town is one of Sicily’s finest beach resorts and attracts sunbathers from all over Italy and Europe. From what we’ve heard, it’s unbearable when crowded. And although we found the streets were empty in December, the emphasis on tourism was abundantly clear. €3 cappuccinos and stores sadly hawking magnets and postcards to phantoms.

Cefalù is most memorable for the giant rock which flanks it. Throwing its massive shadow over the old town, La Rocca juts up vertically alongside Cefalu, and is crowned with the ruins of the Greek Temple of Diana. We had a good view of La Rocca from the beach, where we started our visit. With soft, golden sand, the beach is the reason for Cefalù’s summertime popularity, but was difficult to enjoy in the freezing rain.

Soon enough, we left the beach to seek shelter in the city’s cathedral. The Duomo is reminiscent of Monreale’s, built in the same century (12th) by the same king (Roger II). And, like Monreale’s cathedral, it features original Byzantine mosaics; actually older, though somewhat less impressive. Another similarity is the presence of a square cloister, filled with columns that depict interesting biblical scenes.

The Cathedral and the beach are great, but we most enjoyed ambling about Cefalù’s ancient streets, which date from Roman times. Even in the rain, or perhaps especially because of it, the town, with its curvy alleys and stunning natural location, exudes a natural charm. Very picturesque. We went north until finding the belvedere, which faces the sea. There, we found a path which runs along the stones, following the ancient Greek walls, and foolishly decided to walk it. I mean, we knew there were huge waves crashing violently against the rocks. We could see them! But, I don’t know, we were bored or feeling adventurous. But minutes after embarking on this ill-advised escapade, we got trapped by the ocean and ended up soaking wet.

It didn’t matter much, because we were already drenched from the rain, but this final, unwanted shower put an end to our day, and we stomped back to the train station. Still, we had enjoyed the day out. It’d be interesting to see how Cefalù changes in the summer, but if you have the chance, it’s definitely worth a look in the low-season. A beautiful little escape, just an hour by train from Palermo.

Location of Cefalù on our Sicily Map
-B&Bs in Cefalù

Christmas in Valencia Spain

For those of us born and raised in northern climes, celebrating Christmas without a thick layer of snow on the ground is a bit disheartening. Santa and his reindeer, sleigh and poofy red costume would look a little ridiculous cruising around Palermo. But it’s impossible to deny that Christmas in Sicily is every bit the festive season that we enjoy back home.

Palermo is usually an indifferent, hectic place, where you’re more likely to get a shoulder-check than a friendly smile from people on the sidewalks. But that changes during Christmas. This weekend, we’ve been randomly greeted from strangers with a “Buon Natale”, or even an attempt at “Merry Christmas”. Streets are decorated with lights, storefronts with trees, and a joyful energy is palpable in the markets and shops.

December 24th is a day of feasting in Sicily, when families gather around tables even more over-flowing with food than normal. Children are allowed to rip open presents after the Christmas Eve dinner, avoiding the sleepless night of aching anticipation that we unlucky Americans have to endure. Christmas Day is quiet; most people use the daylight hours for a walk around town, to meet up with neighbors and friends, before retiring with their families to home. The 26th is a national holiday in Italy, and everything stays closed until the 27th, when normal life resumes again.

Kids only have to wait a few more days for their next treat. Santa Claus has ceded dominion over Sicily to La Befana: an ugly witch who flies on a broom and climbs through chimneys to deliver candy to good children, and coal to the brats. According to legend, she was a housekeeper near Bethlehem who went mad with grief after losing her only child. When Jesus was born, she recognized his goodness and gifted him with armfuls of candy.

A variety of dishes are prepared and eaten during the holidays, but one dessert which is present on every Sicilian table is the buccellato. A sweet, circular cake filled with raisins, figs, orange peel, pumpkin and almonds, the buccellato is glazed, powdered and topped with candied fruits. Delicious. You can find them in every bakery in the city.

So, although I’m nostalgic for snowball fights on Christmas Day and leaving cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve, I can get on board with the Sicilian celebration. I especially like the idea an ugly witch breaking into houses. A definite improvement over fat, old Santa Claus. The best traditions are those which terrify children, rather than coddle to them.

- Christmas Gift Ideas

List of Palermo Hotels

One of the finest palaces in Palermo is the Palazzo Abatellis, found on Via Alloro in the neighborhood of La Kalsa. The massive building is host to the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, which displays Sicilian art dating as far back as the 12th century.

The palace was built in the late 15th century as a private residence for the master of the port, Francesco Abatellis. It’s one of the best examples of Catalan-Gothic architecture on the island. From what I understand (ie. from what I read on the internet five minutes ago), “Catalan”-Gothic differs from the regular sort of Gothic in that it emphasizes width and depth as opposed to height, and uses wide, smooth surfaces to make the best use of Mediterranean light. Abatellis is certainly wide and deep, and its ample space is put to good use as home to the Regional Gallery.

The collection brings together mostly religious works from centuries past. Paintings on wood from the 1300s and 1400s, ceramic vases, sculptures and busts, crucifixes and triptychs, and paintings occupy three floors. The gallery benefited greatly from an 1866 decree which banned many religious orders in Sicily — as churches were closed, officials were present to requisition (or steal) the best art.

The most famous work in the museum is the fresco The Triumph of Death, by an unknown artist, which dates from around 1466 and originally hung in the Palazzo Sclafani, near the Palazzo Normanni. An entire hall of the palace is dedicated to this haunting painting, which depicts death riding through a collection of people from all swaths of society, shooting them with arrows. The message is clear: death comes for us all, poor and rich alike. Unfortunately, the fresco was sliced into four quadrants to facilitate the move to Abatellis, and the damage is evident, with peeling and rot setting in along the cuts.

Entry to Palazzo Abatellis costs €8, which is steep, even considering the great amount of art to see. I suppose that they need to be able to pay all the people they have employed as guards. There were, without exaggerating, at least 50 workers in the palace, two or three to a room, just sitting around chatting with each other. It became a running joke to us, betting on how many “guards” would be in the next hall.

Museo Regionale Abatellis – Website
Location on our Palermo Map
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Hiking in Sicily

Hidden coves. Crystal clear water. Prehistoric caves. Utter solitude. If all that sounds good after the noise and muck of Palermo, hop in a car and head out to Sicily’s first national park: the Riserve Naturale dello Zingaro.

Alright, the “utter solitude” only applies during the winter when tourism is at a minimum. But on the sunny December weekday when we visited the park, there wasn’t a soul to be found, save some workers repairing the paths. Zingaro is on the Gulf of Castellomare, an hour’s drive from Palermo on the road to Trapani, and extends for seven kilometers up the coast. A number of different hiking trails connect the northern and southern entrances of the park.

Upon arriving, we set off on the coastal trail, passing by a number of secluded bathing areas. They were quiet now, but can fill up uncomfortably in summer. Most people, though, choose to remain at the first or second beach and, even in high season, a lonely spot can be found by continuing along the well-marked path. The water here is amazing: Zingaro lays claim to one of the few stretches of Sicilian coastline absolutely devoid of industry.

Zingaro was formed in 1980 after a planned highway along the coast sparked citizen outrage and concern about the region’s rich floral and animal life. Over 760 species of plants can be found in the park, some of them endemic to Zingaro. The fauna is rich, too, with eagles and falcons among the birds, and mammals such foxes and porcupines. We didn’t spot anything but a rabbit, though we did find a porcupine needle. It counts.

On the way back, we took the high road through the mountains. Arduous, but worth the effort for the amazing views over the gulf. Close to the summit, we found the Caves of Peppe Siino, which you can walk into. High up on the hill with a commanding outlook, I imagined that this was the home of VIP cavemen, such as noble Ooka Graak of Toomba-ooga and his wife, the fair Bleegha Utt. I kicked around the cave, mentally recreating scenes of domestic caveman bliss… “Ooka hungry!”, “Bleegha no care”, “Ooka STOMP!”… until deciding to hide behind a wall and spring out, screeching like a vampire, on poor unsuspecting Jürgen. Yep, caves are fun.

Anyway, the path progressed slowly back towards the entrance, up and around the hills. It was exhausting, and I can’t imagine doing it in the summer, when the sun must be unbearable. We were dead tired by the time we left Zingaro, seven hours after having begun. But it was an incredible day, the only time we’ve felt completely alone since arriving in Sicily, and we both felt refreshed enough to head back into the stressful city.

Location of Zingaro (South Entrance) on our Sicily Map
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