22-02-2007

When we arrived in Italy, we stayed in Roma for three days in order to file the necessary papers with the police that will permit us to remain in the country. Talk about a bureaucracy. It’s only slightly better than that of the D.C. Government’s. This one knows a little about that but doesn’t know what happens next and the next one didn’t know that so he or she argues with the first one and . . .

While I was recuperating from a cold in the hotel room (and get this, I had to drag out to the post office twice just to let them see that I was a real person and that Diana was not passing off some strange man’s passport in order to obtain permission to stay in the country and then when I did show up I had nothing to do really except to nod or shake my head at the appropriate times much like Charlie McCarthy).

As I rested, Diana ventured out into Rome. From our hotel, she wandered past the Villa Borgese to the Spanish Steps then on to the Piazza Poppolo. Due to my tender condition, on our anniversary on the 14th, Diana brought in a bottle of wine, some olives, cheeses, bread, and a beautiful bouquet of tulips and roses. It was wonderful. So, in a more scaled-down way, we did get to celebrate our 9th anniversary.

Today, Diana and I went exploring in Catania. Really, only for the second time since we arrived. Unfortunately, both of us acquired colds and so have been resting a lot in our small hotel. The hotel, fortunately, is situated directly in the center of the city. So, within a very short walk, we have access to sites ranging from the 17th century Duomo to Greek and Roman ruins from the 2nd and 3rd century.

Today, we toured an ancient Greek amphitheater. Many signs were posted warning visitors not to take photographs. But, once you walk through the theater which seated several thousand spectators who viewed gladiatorial games and theatrical presentations, there is an Odeon, or a smaller theater. In that theater, there was nobody around to watch what we did, so, of course, we defaced the place and carved lewd pictures of … oh, we didn’t really. We only snapped photos of ourselves with me as the prevailing ruin. As we left the theater, we signed the guest book. Along with our names, we placed a message that we had visited this monument on the date of the event of the celebration of the birth of Billie Ohlbaum – Diana’s mom. So now, Billie is immortalized in the annals of the Catania Greek Theater Visitor Log.

Above the city, in the near background, rests Mount Etna. This is still an active volcano that has leveled the city on several occasions. Each time, though, the citizens find the fortitude to rebuild. Thus, much of the city is built on top of previous structures. Take for example, the Duomo. The main floor rests on top of a previous structure comprised of catacombs and chambers that are extremely old. Due to the instability of the underlying structures, visitors are no longer permitted to tour the underpinnings. But there are two or three small cutaways in the church that show where the original flooring still exists (about 1-2 feet below the current floor).

We decided to tour the Museo Diocesano which is directly beside the Duomo. We pondered whether we really wanted to spend a lot of time looking at the splendors of the medieval Catholic church and its rich display of ornate gilt and treasures, but we did and were glad of it. Here, very little of the descriptions of exhibits are presented in English; in the Museo Diocesano, everything is written in Italian. But, on the very top of the Museo is an observation deck that permits a 360 degree view of the city and spectacular views of Mount Etna, some of which we are posting to our Blog for you to enjoy. The photographs do no justice to the actual view so you’ll just need to come and see this for yourself.

We rounded out our day by re-visiting one our favorite restaurants here. The main waiter, Giovanni, a man of about 30-35, always greets us with the owner and we are his customers now. Tonight, we dined on risotto prepared with a Catanese sauce. Catanese sauce is a mesh of the delicate flavors comprised of blending anchovies, garlic, green peas, and other ingredients. None of which overwhelm the other. We also added a white pizza which was incredible and both white and red wine. The meal concluded with, what else? Coffees which here are small shots of espresso. So drinking one before bedtime does not seem to keep us awake.

By the way, all along the way, Diana’s rapidly-increasing grasp of Italian is keeping me from getting thrown in the ocean. I’m still struggling with it and hope to make a break through soon.

Allen