Sicilia

July

The end is drawing nearer... so I pull my socks up and get some stuff done.

But before we get into that, how many brides can you see?

Every week over the summer I would arrive in Acireale, home to the cave, to see newlyweds posing on various steps in various ways. Sometimes, even several on the same day. Marriage Overload.

(Correct answer is 3)

I had the idea of sleeping down on my favourite beach with a friend of mine (Kaj). The final week came round and Kaj and I couldn't find the right time to do it, so I decided to do it anyway.

One evening I made the steep descent down to the shore line and sprinted over the rocks to get to an isolated spot that I'd seen previously.

I was trying to get there before the sun went down but I failed, so had to climb over the rocks with my backpack with my head torch on.

I felt well alive. I was a sweatmonster when I arrived so had a little naked paddle in the shallow end.

Fortunately for you, I don't have any pictures of that but this is the sunrise I caught in the morning.

Palermo

I made a quick trip to the other side of the island to see it's main city, Palermo. And I saw;

The Mafia/Mafia museum of Corleone

Featuring these cheerful photos;

Forget about the Godfather.

It must've been pretty miserable to live it. The days of shootouts and bombs are long gone now though.

"...and now (you'll have to) kill us all.

Antimafia movement"

Once I got to know people a bit better I asked a lot of questions, and I also read Gomorra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomorrah_(book) which is very different from the film) which I'd recommend to get an overview of the situation weaved into personal anecdotal experiences.

The things I heard were too many to repeat here, but it was a very painful process of discovery for me. I have a lot of respect for the people fighting it.

The Catacombs

They were the main reason I wanted to go to Palermo. They were as well preserved as I hope they would be, but it was still pretty freaky.

I wasn't meant to take this picture, so shhh.

The Capella Palatina.

I didn't think I was into mosaics. Turns out I just hadn't seen the right ones! Of course the picture doesn't do it justice - the shiny colourful and gold mosaics covered every pillar, every nook and cranny, so when you walk in the effect is jaw dropping.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappella_Palatina