A Pirate's Life for Me!

For our first full day in Ustica, the plan was to meet in the hotel lobby at around 10:30 am, as our boat was apparently leaving the port at11:00 am.  Only thing is, my roommate for the trip, Masimiliano, and I overslept.  By the time we got up, it was already 10:45.  I guess that all of the late nights finally caught up to me!

No problem though - we were on Italian time and our 11:00 am scheduled boat actually ended up taking off at 12:30 pm.  We even had time for a quick coffee and dip in the water near the port.

Then, it was time to take off for three hours on the water, visiting various grottos and swimming spots that Ustica is famous for.  Our captain for the day, Masimiliano Gallo (also the same first and last name as my roommate!), helped us board, then we sped off into the not so deep blue water.

Maso first took us to check out some grottos ("grotte" in Italian).  

It was a surreal feeling to be inside these grottos, which, felt a lot like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (minus the dead guys playing poker).

Outside of the grotto, the swimming was great, and we even managed to pull out a few ricci (sea urchin), and who better to have captured the first riccio than Ricci herself!

The riccio was delicious and sweet and tasted like the ocean.  But alas, the day was not one entirely of sweetness.  While I hunted for my own ricci to bring aboard, I had my first encounter with a "medusa" (jellyfish), which I only realized when I felt my hand stinging and swelling up.

If last year's attack by the olio mare was my baptism (according to Claudia), then this was my first communion...or Bar Mitzvah, only minus the presents (boo...), but also minus the thank you notes (yay!). Everyone insisted that the best way to reduce the swelling was to pee on the part that was stinging.  And you know what?  It worked!  Yes, I washed after.  It was easy, because it all took place in the sea.

We visited a few more grottos, did a bit of swimming and before you knew it, it was time to head back to the port.  We hightailed it back to the marina in time for a late lunch.

On today's menu was this beautiful plate of smoked salmon, tuna and swordfish

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to wash up and rest a bit before dinner.  Next post will cover dinner and day three.  Ciao for now!!

La Isola di Ustica

Ciao from Ustica!!

Day five of my trip, and still no luggage...but, I will go from Mazara to the Palermo airport tomorrow morning to see if it in fact arrived on an Alitalia flight from Rome.  This is the last information I was given, but I'll have to investigate in person.

On the brighter side (and it really is bright and sunny here), we have spent three great days on the island of Ustica.

Upon arriving, it was a quick panino near the port, then a 20 minute very bumpy van ride along the windy roads of the island until reaching our destination, a hotel with a group of bungalows perched high on top of the hill in the area called Spalmatore.

Here is a pic of the view from the front door of our bungalow, then one of the pool, overlooking the Mediterranean.

After dropping off our bags, it was time to explore, and we headed down a series of stairways until reaching the main road.  We were in search of the saltwater pools that had been naturally carved into rocks.

Here are a couple of pics of the first pool, one from on top of the hill, and one close up with me and Francesco before diving in.

As you might imagine, the water of the Mediterranean was warm and also very salty.  Check out this pic of the salt that formed in a shallow puddle that dried up.  Looked like it would be great for a scrub...and it was!

Our next stop was a different pool, that also had a small cafe where we stopped to cool off and have a strawberry lemon granita with brioche - a Sicilian summer treat!

Also, couldn't resist a selfie, going nearly camo under the white umbrellas.

Okay ragazzi, we are about to pack up and head out from Ustica, but I'm sure I'll have some time on the ferry for another update.  Ciao for now!!

All Aboard for Ustica!

Ciao ragazzi.  I hope that the weekend treated you well!

Yesterday (Sunday) finished up with a redemptive pizza at Drikky's, a great spot right in one of the main piazzas in Mazara.  It is also next to a 17th century church, which (below) Francesco and I checked out while waiting for our food.

My pie was topped with scamorza (smoked mozzarella), olives and salame.  Very solid indeed!

After dinner, we walked around for a bit; the city center looked great at night, all lit up, and teeming with people.  However, it was an early night for us (in bed by 1:00 am) as we had a 6:30 am Monday wake up call.

In the morning, we were heading to Palermo to take a ferry over to the island of Ustica, to spend a few days exploring and relaxing.

Here is a photo of Ricci and Giorgio, looking pretty chipper for the early morning bus ride.  Below that is a pic most of the group before boarding the ferry.

Right now, we are about half way to the island, and I received some good news from Brussels Airlines.  My bag was found and will arrive from Rome (!?) to Palermo this afternoon at 3:15, and will (allegedly) be delivered to Fran's parents' house in Mazara.  

And so, let's hope that when I get back from Ustica, my bag will be there waiting and I can change out of these underwear!  Maybe I'll throw them away...or by this point they may get up and walk away on their own.

Okay, ciao for now from these seasoned travelers, making the expert call of resting up for epic times in Ustica.  As for me,

I've had my second espresso of the morning, so probably no sleep in the foreseeable future :).

Una Lasagna, La Spiaggia and S.U.P.

I woke up, or better said, was woken, by Claudia knocking on the door of my apartment at 1:00 pm.  A quick splash of water on the face, and we were on our way to Francesco's parents' house for lunch.

Sunday pranzo in Italy is a big family occasion, and Fran's mom really made a fantastic feast.  Above, he can be seen showing off the masterpiece before we dug in.  Below is a solo shot of the star of the show.

This was my portion.  Okay, I didn't  refuse seconds.  It was beyond delicious, with homemade pasta, homemade tomato sauce and eggplant.  Really, out of this world.

The lasagna was just the first course, followed by cotoletta a la milanese, or, veal milanese, served with potatoes cooked in olive oil.

I know that the meal sounds really heavy, and I even had a beer with it.  Wine or Pepsi were the other options.  Anyway, somehow it was not heavy at all.  When polled independently on this seemingly paradoxical feat, Fran and Claudia each commented that Americans like to use garlic and onions in their lasagna, which is why it is heavy.  I'm sure there is more to it than that, but, man was it good.

After that, it was off to the beach for an afternoon of sunshine and relaxation.

Here's a shot of the guys that Fran took with his new toy, a GoPro that Claudia gave him as a birthday present.

Today, instead of beach volleyball, Fran thought it would be fun to go paddle boarding, or SUP as they call it (I'm guessing it's some variation of stand up paddle).  

Careful to avoid the multiple medusa (jellyfish), I quickly got the hang of SUP.  It's all in the core.  But, not so fast.  Once a few waves came in, I was falling all over the place, but managed to avoid getting stung.  An hour out there proved to be a decent workout.

After that, it was off to a nearby beach cafe for a sunset aperitivo.  Aperol?   Check.  Prosecco?  Check?  Soda water?  Check.  All stocked for my Aperol spritz, a refreshing cocktail I have often enjoyed in Italy.

Fran's friend Andrea and his really nice lab, Ducca, stopped by to chat with us as we enjoyed our aperitivi including a frittata with gamberi (shrimp).

Okay ragazzi, it's almost 10:00 pm, and time to head out to dinner.  Yeah, maybe a bit early, but for sure we won't eat until 11:00 pm.  Ciao for now.  Tomorrow, let's hope for a good update on the luggage!

Day 1 in the Books!

Ciao ragazzi!

Well, one full day of paradise is in the books.  They still haven't found my luggage, but United "thinks" it is in Brussels, so I will try to get ahold of Brussels Airlines tomorrow.  Wasn't having much luck getting anyone to answer the phone in Europe on a Sunday.

Last night, we headed out to dinner at a pizza place about 15 minutes from Mazara.  Here's a pic of Fran and Claudia all decked out for the evening.

There were about fifteen of us at dinner, and Fran took this selfie of the table before we started the meal, and a smaller shot of just a few of the guys - him, me, Pietro and Nicola.

For dinner, most of us had pizza, a few people ordered "cozze," (mussels).  I opted for the house specialty pizza, with mushrooms, eggplant, pancetta, tomato and mozzarella.  It doesn't often happen in Italy, but this pizza was a miss - at least by Italian standards.  It was undercooked and a bit chewy, but still really decent.  At least I thought so.  Everyone else was pretty livid at the (poor) quality of the food and service.  Here is a picture of the offending entree.

The restaurant is mainly outdoors and had a large dance floor.  When we finished dinner, at about 1:00 am, there were probably fifty people in their sixties and older, dancing the night away.  I couldn't help but be reminded of the movie Cocoon when seeing these jovial folks just soaking up life.  Very inspiring.  Hard to see below, but you get the idea.

After dinner, we headed to a disco nearby, where 15 euro gained us entry and bottle service with a couple bottles of San Francisco's own Sky Vodka!  I felt right at home, especially after Pietro had the DJ give a shout out to the club for our amico visiting from the United States.

If you thought the night was done after dinner, you would be incorrect.  After the club closed at 4:00 am, it was on to this place called Goralein "colazione" (breakfast) of "cornetti" (croissants).

We certainly weren't the only ones going for breakfast, as there were at least fifty or sixty people who also came directly from the club to this local spot for a bite. We hung out for a bit longer, and, by 6:00 am, no sleep 36 hours after leaving San Francisco, my first day in Sicilia was a great one, and in the books!

Domo, Arrivato!

So, I arrived in Palermo after around 18 hours of travel, but unfortunately, my luggage wasn't so lucky.  It may be in Brussels, and it may be on a vacation in some other part of the world, but for sure where it is not, is here with me in Mazara.

After filling out all of the forms, along with hundreds of other people whose luggage had been misplaced (evidently this is a huge problem that has happened to a lot of people), I made my way to Mazara, about an hour from the airport.

I dozed a little on the ride over, as I had only slept for maybe 30 minutes during all of the flights.  Finally, at around 5:00 pm, I did make it to Francesco's parents' house.

He handed me a swimsuit, a t-shirt and a pair of flip flops, which is pretty much all I will need for the week anyway, and we made a mad dash to the beach to soak up the remaining few hours of sunlight in what was a beautiful day in Sicily.

I had to charge my phone, so I couldn't get any pictures, but, at the beach, after taking a refreshing dip in the ocean, careful to avoid the mini sized "medusa" (jellyfish), I said hi to many of the people I met last year.

Then, a quick espresso, in a plastic cup that was just sublime, and also geared me up for our beach volleyball match.  We lost, but had fun and I think I was less bad than Francesco thought I was going to be.  I was just a bit rusty.

Now, I am waiting for Fran, his sister and Claudia to pick me up.  The plan is to head to grab a bite for dinner around 10 pm, go check out a reggae-ish band, then, since it is Saturday night after all, head to a disco.  And to think, my white belt is sitting in the bottom of my luggage in some location unknown to me.  I can almost hear it beckoning.  But, instead, underwear reversed, and no socks, I am otherwise wearing my airplane attire of a button down and jeans.  Let's hope that luggage gets here soon, as we are headed to the island of Ustica early Monday morning.  The way things are looking, I may be doing some shopping here in Mazara.  Well, nothing is open on Sunday, so scratch that.  More likely is that I will be wearing a bathing suit and flip flops during the day, and some variation of this outfit at night for the foreseeable future.

Okay ragazzi, I think I hear that Vespa revving outside, which can only mean one thing.  Time to head out for the evening.  Ciao for now!

Ciao for now Tokyo...

It was our last morning in Tokyo, and we had breakfast at the top floor of our hotel, overlooking the Shinkuku district.  A pretty spectacular view on a crystal clear autumn day.  The weather was actually really pleasant during the whole trip, so we were lucky.  I had to try out this panarama function on my camera, though you will see that I haven't quite yet mastered it.

After breakfast, we checked out a new building that housed a very cool artisan coffee shop (shown above), not dissimilar to Blue Bottle or Four Barrel.  I could definitely see gourmet coffee becoming the next big thing in Japan.  Starbucks already dominates, but I think that even more refined and trendier spots like this one will find a nice and sizable niche among Japanese consumers.

For lunch, Steven and I found a really cool French cafe at the top of the hill in Shibuya.  You can find some incredible deals for cafe lunches in Japan; high quality food at a low price point.  Our entire meal, including salad, entree, dessert and coffee was only 1,100円, about $11.

After lunch, it was back to the hotel to grab our bags and hop on the Narita Express to the airport.  I am actually writing these last few sentences from the train, as we make the hour trip to the airport.  Steven is speed reading his way through a novel, and I will wait for the airplane to dig back into mine.  

Eleven hours to Tokyo and nine or so to get back home to the US.  Japan can seem a world apart, and in some ways it is.  Still, a lot is familiar to me here and it will always hold a special place in my こころ (cocoro), heart/soul.  

I am not sure when I will be back in Japan again, but I am glad that I was able to make this trip. There were some old memories relived and definitely some new ones made.  

Japan is like an old friend, who, even after not seeing for some time, is just the same in all of the ways that count.  

Here's one last cool shot, (surprisingly) not of food, but of the entrance to a little hidden alley of small bars and restaurants that seat four or five people each.  Those places looked like they had been standing for hundreds of years, and though we didn't make it into any of them on this trip, I am sure they will be there next time.

Thanks for coming on this trip with me, ragazzi, and until the next one...un abbraccio forte :).