Musica Sconosciuta

While wandering Cefalu the other weekend, I heard a lovely tonal hum and soft percussive thumps of a street musician cutting through the slow-moving crowd in front of me. The sound alternatively dropped into the rhythms of Italian and French around me and pulsed through the parting of the crowds as I neared the musician. His modest look and handsome face together with the beautiful noise stilled my feet; caught in the moment, I stopped and stared. As I regained my senses, I reached for my camera, caught his eye, and with his slight nod, began attempting to capture the serene stillness emanating from him and his music. It was the sort of stillness that rises out of unknown sounds, the ever-present heartbeat you can’t hear when you’re in a crowd, the ribbon of calm that leads you through fields of adrenaline and exhaustion as a runner finishing a race. His hands were in constant motion, and passersby steadily chipped into his offering tray, as did I. The moment passed, my group had moved ahead, and I felt a stirring renewal of curiosity and compassion for the unknown histories of my contemporaries in this life.

Unknown music, “musica sconosciuta.”

Cefalu, Sicily
September 2012

Cool, creamy and delicious lite: Gelato Festival, Take 2

Last year, I made a solo trip from the temporary housing residence hotel in Motta over to Cefalu for the International Sherbeth Festival.

The article linked above explains that ‘sherbet’ comes from the Arabic word for the concoctions that have evolved into sorbet and gelato. The festival creates five pockets of booths within the center of Cefalu, include two points on the sea. This was the sixth year of the festival and it was going strong, including extras such as “Gelato University” – perhaps a venue of research for blossoming ice cream makers out there?

The flavors, textures, and high quality ingredients of these gelato samples were simply amazing. With a few bites, I was tempted to forgo lesser quality frozen products for life. (Yes, I have since come to my senses.) The hot sticky air of charming Cefalu was a great complement to the cool, creamy deliciousness of the gelato.

Buon sherbeth!

And to all a buona notte!

Photo Montage, You Had to Be There

Part V of this five part series wraps with a silly photo, a photo that captures a truly happy moment with Dave, a solitary moment of happiness and contentment, and a one-two punch of a flag blowing in the breeze. I love watching flags whip around on the back of ships and boats. If you look at these photos and find your eyes squinting and your face scrunching up as you think, “Really? That photo?” – just know that, well, You Had to Be There.

I like to kick, stretch and kick, and that’s what I was doing here…

Just after settling into our abode, Dave and I made our way to Zafferana to meet up with his colleague at the Ottobrata festival. It was a great day.

Dave was shipped back to the U.S. before we had even established ourselves in our permanent abode. Left to my own devices, I crossed the interior of Sicily to the northwestern coast and enjoyed a gelato festival in Cefalù. While there, I also wandered down an alleyway to the seawall and enjoyed myself at this perch. Happiness and contentment were mine.

Whipping in the wind, a one-two punch.

That’s all for the Photo Montage, I’m wrapping up my time in Taiwan and will trickle anecdotes and photos into the blog in the upcoming weeks. Happy Friday and Have a great weekend!!!

Shake it off! Keeping the doldrums at bay…

Cinquecento

(Uno) 1. New bedroom furniture!!! Hours spent assembling and arranging, photos this weekend. (All the while singing “Shake it off!” by Florence and the Machine.)

(Due) 2. Finding a hill routine for running in my neighborhood. It is just about perfect, it is about a half mile from the house (warm-up distance), with hill repeats about one-third mile long (great for running repeat with a rest period on the way down).

(Tre) 3. Oh yea – no work for Jilly today!

(Quattro) 4. Connecting with my Uncle Michael on his birfday – yep, 8:30am in Sicilia is only 11:30pm in Seattle (the night before today).

(Cinque) 5. Remembering Sicilian summers with pictures like these (taken in Cefalu):

Cento

Sempre Dicembre continues and my mood continues to soar, my waistline is hanging with me (despite a few extra desserts and glasses of wine each week), and most importantly, my energy level is staying high! I tend to celebrate the winter solstice so emphatically because I need the affirmation that More Sun Is Ahead! This time of year often finds me in the doldrums; while I feel them nipping at my heels this year, the Sempre Dicembre activity is creating a protective bubble around me – colds, flues and doldrums are not allowed! How do you keep the doldrums at bay?

Much work a tired Jilly make

Cinquecento

Cento

Photorama! In lieu of cinque highlights today, I am going to upload five photos from the archives and share my life through images. It is difficult to work myself into the holiday spirit being so far away from snow and family, but I am doing my best. I put up twinkle lights in the house this weekend and attended “North Pole Musical” at the school on base. About a hundred kids dressed as reindeer, snowmen, elves, ballerinas (think Nutcracker) and Russians (???) came together with Santa and Mrs. Claus to put on a delightful musical. Next up, shopping for stocking stuffers!

(Uno) 1. This handicapped parking spot was adjacent to a church buried in the old town of Pitigliano. It was remarkable mostly because it was in a place where I would have been surprised to see any car because the roads were so narrow.

(Due) 2. Tuscan flora and fauna displayed on a switchback pull-out near Pitigliano.

(Tre) 3. Bellini statue in downtown Catania.

(Quattro) 4. Ah, sweet summertime! I took this shot from a hilltop in Cefalu, after the gelato festival. The day was hot and the water was dancing on the wavetops.

(Cinque) 5. Ah, another step in the holiday direction, along with Frankenstein and Batman. Christmastime is Here!