thoughts from the villa

i don't know who this man is, but i just had to take his picture. as i saw him sitting there, on a bench outside of the little cathedral in villa cianciafara, i thought "this, this is sicily." every day i see these older men, short in stature, balding grey hair, dressed in a nice suit, out on their little passegiato. they embody this sense of pride. the pride that comes with knowing you are sicilian; with knowing that everything in your life is this ancient, beautiful story, and you are lucky enough to be even a small part of it. to me, nothing makes a historical site more important than seeing someone who deeply knows it's their history. to me, the villa cianciafara was simply a beautiful place to visit, but to this man it's a part of him. a piece of him that was on this earth before he was even a thought in anyone's mind. and getting to see him there  helped me see this place in a way that no amount of entrancing citrus trees ever could have.

villa cianciafara

last saturday i had the pleasure of attending an event at villa cianciafara. the event was nothing spectacular or particularly exciting, but it did give me an excellent opportunity to explore the villa and get a taste of classic sicilian style.

there was a LOT of terra cotta- the entire main house was covered in it- which i was told is very representative of the sicilian style. these little benches are very typical in older architecture in the area, as well. i've found these in messina, catania, taormina, and stromboli and still every time i see one i think, "oh look at that cute little bench!" like it's something new.

lazy saturday: morning edition

non parlo italiano: parte due

hey guys! i wanted to mix things up a bit, so i made this post as video! this is my first ever vlog, so i was really nervous about posting it- let me know what you guys think. if you would like to see more video posts, or would prefer all text posts, let me know in the comment section below.

ciao, cuppycakes!

this is all i was given to eat today.

hope.

last night, ophelia fell asleep holding my hand. after being apart from the girls for nearly a year and being so quickly taken back into their hearts and lives, sweet gestures like this really give me hope not just for myself or these next two months, but for everything. it's one of those sweet little moments in life where you know that in the end, things will be okay.

with all of the hate and uproar going on in the world, i thought i would share my tranquil little moment of hope and love.

have a sweet day, cuppycakes!

they say lightning never strikes twice.

and they're wrong. i once met a man who was struck by lightning not once, not even twice, but THREE times. and i'm sure i don't have to tell that the chances of that actually occurring lie in a very small decimal somewhere between slim and none. my thoughts wander back to that man at times when i feel something incredibly unlikely has happened to me- times like today.

sshhhhh!

don't tell anyone, but i had to stop my sandwich-making to do a little man's work and vanquish the beast i found in my room just now.

an explanation

i've just finished reading louisa may alcott's "little women" and am just starting "pride and prejudice" by jane austin... and believe me, strange things happen to your thoughts when your main source of daily contact with the english language is reading books that old. i may or may not have but probably did think something was a "capital idea" yesterday. it's probably about time i came home.

albert crombey and fish

with my parisian adventure (sadly) behind me, i'm spending the rest of time abroad with the girls' family in france. playing pétanque (bocci),

just kidding...

i just found out i'll be staying in france for an extra two days, so i won't be getting back stateside until the 14th. if all goes according to plan i'll be leaving s.c. again not too long after that, so clear out some space in your calendar for me, cuppycakes!

and in other news, i topped off my last night in italy the most perfect way possible: pizza alla norma followed by trying one more flavor of gelato. and really the only way to express this is yelling it. I JUST ATE COCONUT GELATO OUT OF A HOLLOWED OUT COCONUT HALF. in case you can't tell, it was bellisima.

and i have a ton of posts waiting for you, so don't think this is over. a peak at what's coming up: my visit to the cemetery here, a video about my trip to rome, a recipe post, and more.

love and gelato,
linds

wait... what?

maybe you caught it, maybe you didn't... but just to be clear, you've should've found something a little strange in my previous post. as i mentioned, tomorrow, july 31st, will be my last day in italy. as most of you know my original plan was to head back to south carolina on august 12th... so here's the deal:

"swiftly go the days"

there were days when i never thought i would actually get to the point where i'd be saying this, but tomorrow is my last day in italy. considering the things i've gone through this past year, it surprises me that this fact feels like one of the hardest things i've had to accept in a very long time.

slow down there, ken

barbie ain't that kinda girl...

subtlety is the key #2

subtlety is the key

quick update

hey cuppycakes! just writing a quick update from my phone so everyone knows i'm ok.
love and gelato,
linds

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

i scream, you scream, we all scream

carpe diem.

even though this is just a sign for a little bar in taormina, it's still sort of inspirational. maybe? not really? whatever... just go with it, okay? 

in any case, i'm totally "seizing the day" (and just moments from seizing the day away... anxiety is killer). i'm taking a three day vacation ALL BY MYSELF. i'm terrified, but also really excited. i'm about to see and do so many amazing things. traveling alone brings up a lot of fears and worries for me, but i know that this is the only way i can really explore some of the "must-see" things here in italy. i'll be taking tons of pictures along the way and i'll be sure to post all of the specifics of my little trip here after i get back (you never can be too careful...). 

before i head out i just wanted to send a big thank-you to all of you awesome cuppycakes who stop by to follow my journey.

much love and keep me in your thoughts,

linds

p.s. no worries cuppycakes, i've got some posts scheduled to publish while i'm gone so you won't be lonely.

taormina, take two.

taormina is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places on earth. on my second trip there i finally went to check out the ancient greek/roman theatre. while i was there it was still set up for the taormina film festival, so a huge screen was blocking the view of the sea... but it was almost better this way. the crazy contrast of modern technology and ancient architecture was astounding. apparently there are shows and concerts there all summer long. can you imagine sitting down watching a performance right where some toga-clad greek or roman person sat to watch a performance of their own THOUSANDS of years ago? that just blows my mind... i can neither confirm nor deny that i sat for a good few minutes looking at the seat next to me imagining a conversation with the man who sat there two thousand years ago.