Author Archives: admin

Vendicari is a wetland of international importance; Kelly and went there to chase birds and go “Squee, nature!” Modica is where we spent Christmas and Boxing Day. It is built in a ravine and so we got to do lots of urban climbing, scaling the staircases that connect its various streets. Perhaps more importantly, Modica is where the best chocolate in Sicily is made. Tell a Sicilian you’re going to Modica and they say “Mmmm, ciocolatta.” (Tell them you’re going anywhere else on the island, or Naples, and they tell you that the people of that town are terrible thieves and sure to rob you.)

I loved every place we went in Sicily, but my love for Modica was not so much of the type that spawned “I could live here fulltime” fantasies. More “I would love to live within reach of this town and come for a long weekend four times a year.”

Of course, I might still be chasing birds on Vendicari if the wind hadn’t been a-howling.

The most recent pics I’ve uploaded are from the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. (http://www.valleyofthetemples.com/English.htm). It was a magical place, filled with temples to deities both female and male, and during the four hours we were there we saw cool ruins, new art, birds (Raptors! Desert grey shrikes! Pigeons! Um….)

We had rain, wind, sunshine, and a full bow double rainbow that afternoon. There was just no end to the magic.

I am continuing to put trip photos up in my Flickr gallery at a rate of about sixty a day. Right now, I’m revisiting at the beginning of the trip–so part of me is, happily, still in Rome. Here’s the latest selection.

We are back in our house, safe and sound, despite high winds at Heathrow and short delays. (Three hours and not thirty, I mean).

Our house looks a little odd and unfamiliar: the bathroom looks like it would fit a smart car and I had to think to remember how our shower works.

I also still have over a thousand pictures to upload, so feel free to pretend, with me, to still be in Italy.

But for the moment I am gonna see if I can sleep just a weeny bit more.

As you can see, I am still sifting through pics from the very beginning of our trip.

We are leaving Naples for Rome tonight, after hitting some more museums and the like. Tomorrow after a morning in Rome, we’ll make our way back.

I think there has been a hitch with the postcards we sent out, so if you got one, could you drop me a line?