Ethnic Food In Sicily

For awhile now, we have wanted to try a new restaurant near our house called Ikebana. It is a Japanese word that means "arranged flower." The sign for the restaurant is also very Japanese with bamboo shoots as the logo. Now Catania is a fairly large city, but it is very difficult to find ethnic foods. There is a Japanese restaurant downtown, a couple of Chinese joints (there is a Chinese population in Catania), a Moroccan restaurant, and a really bad Mexican place. That's pretty much it. Italians tend to believe they have the best food in the world and see no reason whatsoever to eat anything different. So, as ethnic restaurants are fairly rare, we were very excited that there was one so close to us. We arrive at the restaurant and it is very nice. The pathways are lit by candles. The building is an old lava stone house typical of Sicily, but they enclosed the outside in glass to make very nice indoor seating. There is also a patio with nice wicker type tables and chairs and curtains giving the tables privacy. We opted for an outside table because we didn't have reservations and didn't want to wait. We sat down on very comfortable chairs. The place mats talked about the Japanese style and gardening techniques used to create the wonderful atmosphere. This was looking good.

Our waiter brought us out a menu and we opened it, excited to choose a tasty Japanese dish. The first page: Italian antipasti. OK, so maybe they know some patrons aren't very diverse in their food choices. The second page: Italian pasta dishes. The third page: Italian main dishes. So now the Italian food is out of the way, let's turn to the Japanese food on the next page. Page four: pizza. That's right, pizza! Even a pizza named Ikebana! What the....

So, the ITALIAN food was excellent at our neighborhood Japanese restaurant. What else can I say? Only In Sicily!!

Calcio Catania

When we arrived in 06, Catania's soccer (calcio) team had just made it back up to Serie A, which is the equivalent of a minor league team being accepted into the majors. Serie A works on a system of relegation where the bottom three teams drop down to Serie B while the top of Serie B go up. For many teams, they go up and down over and over. It had been a long time since Catania had made it up and everyone in town was very excited. It is easy to have team spirit when the city only has two major professional teams (one being American football, which doesn't exactly draw the crowds). In fact everyone was so excited that when Palermo came to Catania there were riots and a policeman was killed. After that, the season continued, but no fans were allowed at the games. Ouch! Way to trip over yourselves!

Their first year, Catania did OK. They finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. But the 07-08 season: not so good. After some injuries, a coaching change, and some poor play, the end of the season was looking a bit scary. Would they be relegated down? The last game was against powerhouse Roma, in second place overall, hoping a win combined with some cooperation from Inter Milan would boost them into 1st. So Catania was playing at home to stay alive and Roma was playing to win. If Catania lost and Empoli won, they would be tied and their head-to-head record would send Catania down. After a very suspenseful game with an early Roma goal, Catania evened things up in the 85th minute to end in a tie. Catania essentially secured last place among the teams staying in Serie A. People were driving all over town on scooters waving Catania flags and scarves, honking their horns, going crazy. I didn't see that much excitement in the Bay Area when Oakland won the World Series! People were going crazy because they took last!!! OIS!

Norman castles and Sicilian pride

I figured I'd post something positive to start off, then gradually go downhill. Northeastern Sicily has a ring network of Norman castles built roughly during the late 11th and 12th centuries. One of them is located in Paterno', which used to be a few short kilometers from where I lived out in town. One day, I drove over to the castle with my then-15-month-old son. After hauling his stroller up the external stairs, for fear that it would be stolen if left unattended for a second, I donated a few Euro, received a few Xerox papers about the history of the castle, and was asked by the trio of octagenarian volunteers to sign their guest book. When they saw that I was an American, they asked how I had come to visit their castle in Paterno'. In my best pidgen Italian, I told them I used to study history and was interested in Norman castles. They beemed with pride, "You studied our castle in America?" How could I tell them no when they looked so pleased that Paterno' was evidently the focus of American historical study? How do you say in Italian that the only Paterno' I knew before I got to Sicily coached football? So I lied. "Yes, I studied your castle." This led to a personally led tour of the castle, the revelation of some archaeological artifacts not on display for general visitors, and the encouragement that I check out the book "Sicilian Castles" in the local library. One of them even guarded my stroller during the visit. When I left, they encouraged me to tell my friends back in America about the castle.

I never did find the town library or that book though.

Traffic Accident

No blog about Sicily would be complete without talking about driving, or the experience of constantly being trapped on the amusement park bumper car ride with no hope for escape. I am guessing that there are going to be many posts on this topic, but I would like to share my experience yesterday driving home on the tangenziale (A18) heading Northbound past the ANAS exit but before Galermo (ANAS is the Caltrans of Sicily). Traffic going home is usually heavy but flowing. Just after the Misterbianco exit to the circumvalazione when there is no more chance of escape, traffic started slowing and then came to a dead stop. We waited and waited, but the freeway was suddenly a giant parking lot. Of course, to the Sicilians, who are always in a hurry to get everywhere, this is the worst form of torture. So they all got out of their cars and started walking up to see what was going on, taking a smoke break, socializing with the guy behind them they had cut off five minutes earlier. Some ANAS vehicles drove by on the shoulder and a crane. This was a bad sign. The last time I saw a crane on the freeway it was trying to lift a semi up that had gone over the side of an overpass. After a bit more than an hour parked, we started to move. Hooray! So we crept slowly forward. As we got closer to the accident, ANAS guys were directing everyone to get into the right lane to pass the accident and emergency vehicles. When I was 11 cars away from passing the accident, they stopped us again! ARRGGHHH. Thank goodness for book tapes and A/C!

This time I decide to get out of my car to stretch and get some fresh, diesel fume laden air. I looked up towards the accident and lo and behold they stopped traffic to allow a vehicle that had come down the freeway the wrong way to arrive. And it was, yep you guessed it, a hearse! No, not an ambulance to take the body away, an actual black hearse with cross on top and suited driver-in the fast lane, on the freeway, during traffic. Only in Sicily (OIS!) Of course now people from way back were walking up to have a look see. And, of course, traffic was backed up on the other side for rubberneckers. OK. That's normal. One of the ANAS guys was standing on the median barriers waving them on. Then a car on the other side stops just past the accident, causing honking and yelling. He puts the car in reverse, backs up (on the freeway!), to get a better look. Five minutes later a semi stops. rolls down the window, and leans out the cab to get a better look. Let's cause a pile-up in the Southbound lanes shall we? I mean the cops are here already so why not? They finally let us drive by. All the drivers out of their cars were scrambling back to get in before the movement reached back to them. And finally my normally 1/2 hour commute ended 2.25 hours later.

The fatality was a 27 year old man on a motorcycle who hit the guard rail. I am actually surprised it does not happen more often. But still, my condolences to the family. I am in no way making light of the tragic accident, only the reactions and behavior of those around me. OIS!

Only In Sicily

I should have started this blog when we first got here two years ago, because, well, there are things you find in Sicily that are incomprehensible. Things that you just can't believe would ever happen or be allowed in what is arguably a developed nation. Now don't get me wrong. Sicily is an incredible place and should be on everyone's list of places to visit before dying. They have an incredible history and one could never see everything there is to see. They claim the best oranges, olive oil, and wine. They are the birthplace of the mafia as we know it. But from an American perspective, their customs and habits are just alien. Not in a bad way mind you, but anywhere else you go in Europe, you feel pretty comfortable. You can find familiar things to grasp onto. But in Sicily...

I will continue to write as I discover new things, take pictures, or run across funny anecdotes. Please, if you have an experience you would like to share, let me know. I think everyone that has every visited Sicily should have some sort of experience.