Buying figs in Belpasso

We passed this vendor on the way to work -- haven't seen him before two weeks ago.  Most local vendors set up near the top of town or on the main road coming down from the top.  Others drive through town either in the morning or evening with small (very small) trucks and loud speakers letting people know what is being offered.  This one is closer to the bottom of Belpasso.

The figs were pretty great!

Let's see what looks good....

Checking out the offerings of a new produce vendor we saw.

Weeding the roof

Lots of ripe prickly pears (fruit of the beavertail cactus) round.... birds eat the fruit and leave some of the seeds in our rain gutters (which are filled with volcanic ash and dirt).  DH was able to remove some of the cacti ... but not all. 

Pretty car!

 ... bet there are lots of horses in this one.

My Scenic is a goner!

The after-math of a rainy night and wash-outs on a narrow road. 

 Mechanic told my husband it will cost more to fix

than to buy a different car. 

 Farewell my little Renault Scenic.

Via Roma in Belpasso

Looking up Via Roma (the main road in Belpasso)

 toward the Mother Church (you can see it at the top of the road).  

Way more traffic than you would normally see. 

You can tell it's the central part of town ... lava cobblestone road.

Jester at Medieval Festival

Even not understanding Italian, he's fun to watch...

three different clips.

Jester in Motta S.A.

Recently Motta Sant'Anastasia (CT) Sicily had its annual Medieval Fest

 and celebrations in honor of the town’s patron saint, Santa Anastasia.

This jester was a lead performer one night. 

He's also a juggler and ventriloquist and a bunch more all rolled in one.

He was a riot to watch!

Etna erupts again

Etna has been erupting off and on all year long ...

This was taken from th end of our street.

Belpasso is located about a third of the way up the side of Etna ..

St James candlelighting - Caltagirone

This year's luminaria design on the steps of Sta Maria in Caltagirone (Catania province).
Each year a contest is held - the winner's design is re-created for the St James Festival (he's the patron saint for Caltagirone) held the 24-25th of July.
Made for a long day ... DH and I didn't get home until nearly 2am ... but it was worth it.

Spaceship over Etna

The winds blowing around Etna cause this cloud formation.

Did anyone else think of the movie "Independence Day" when seeing this?

Traffic jam?

On the way home one morning ...

Italian zodiac

It's been miserably hot lately here ...

DH picked up a pizza on the way home from the poker tournament.

The local pizza place has a new logo ...

haven't seen this version of the zodiac before.

CHECK OUT THE SUNFLOWER

This sunflower was nearly a foot across ... haven't seen one like this before.  DH and I saw it over in Maniace while out exploring.

LA TROTA RESTAURANT (The Trout Restaurant)



Toward Siracusa is a wonderful place to eat ... The Trout Restaurant.  It is built into a series of caves and has fish ponds outside where you can wander around looking at the fish.  DH remembers going to there with his parents and sister when he was a kid (many, many years ago).  As you can guess, it features fish ... but non-fish meals are served as well.  

The main dining room ...



Fresh trout



Closing note ... freshly made ice cream

FAREWELL SUMMER ....

Yup ... it's the end of summer ...

MORE OF SUMMER'S END ...

Scenes from the day sail DH and I took the other day by Cyclops Rocks between Catania and Acireale... playing in the water ...

MORE OF SUMMER'S END ...

Scenes from the day sail DH and I took the other day by Cyclops Rocks between Catania and Acireale... these guys are fishing... it is fairly common in the Med to row standing up...

END OF SUMMER ....

Scenes from the day sail DH and I took the other day by Cyclops Rocks between Catania and Acireale...

ENTRY TO A MAGICAL GARDEN?

Tucked away in a corner ... do you think the little magical folk might be found round the corner at the top of the steps?   Was tempted to quietly slip up the steps and sneak a peek ...