Bonne nuit,
Randal and I finished our very limited road tripping around Tunisia today and I think we are a bit “tripped out.” Where once we might have fought the traffic and confusion and hawkers, yesterday and today we just had no desire to deal with it. We loved our time Friday and Saturday in El Jem. Yesterday a visit to The Bardo in Tunis was a treat for a mosaic lover like Randal. Today we enjoyed an interesting conversation with a restaurant owner in Nabeul. But the horrible traffic in Tunis yesterday (note to self: next time take bus) and the way too pushy carpet guy in Nabeul today were just too exhausting and too much of the same old same old. I am sorry we missed the Grande Synagogue in Tunis as we also missed the Synagogue in Djerba. And we also missed the cemetery for the American soldiers buried in Carthage. I don’t know why we thought everything would be easier to find. As I said in the beginning of this email, I think we’re a bit “toured out” because we’re moving so quickly from country to country. I think Tunisia definitely needs much more time than we are giving it and I do recommend it as a place to visit, just do it earlier in the year when there are fewer tourists and it’s not so hot. If the weather cooperates we should be leaving Wednesday or Thursday for Sardinia, Spain or Gibraltar…not sure yet. Will keep you posted
Ru
Licata
Licata didn’t have any pages in my Sicily Art History Culture and Folklore book. But the longer we stayed the more we discovered; like a great and cheap pizza place we found getting lost on our way to the tiny neighborhood shop that sold, among other things, salami that Randal loved. We’d discovered the salami store one Sunday while out for a walk looking for a pizza place; but missed the street with the pizza shop which might have been closed as it was Sunday. Lots closes on Sicily on Sunday. It was also great having Linda and Frank there. Not only did we travel to Palermo with them, but Linda and I did a wonderful morning walk around Licata. (Jo and Mick have been really helpful here in Tunisia, but they both work so can’t spend days off walking around or touring.)
Coincidentally I did see most of the sights listed below; most on the walk one morning with Linda.
“Among the most interesting monuments are: The Lighthouse (the third highest of Italy); Castel Sant’Angelo (the late sixteenth built as a fortification for the sight where you can see much of the coast of Licata), City Hall (Art Nouveau), the Church of Santa Maria Nuova (the ‘400 with some additions of the Baroque period, within which lies the Chapel of the Black Christ), Santa Maria la Vetere (the ‘200, the oldest church in Licata); the Carmine (‘200 complex with a church and monastery), the Church of Sant’Angelo (which houses the relics of the Saint), the baroque churches of San Francesco, of Purgatory, of SS. Salvatore and San Domenico, the baroque palaces and villas in the Liberty style.”
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It’s everywhere, it’s everywhere!!!! |
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Barrels of wine You bring your own bottle or buy a bottle or box here and have it filled with the wine of your choice. Sadly we didn’t like any of his wine though Frank had bought some we tasted and we did like it. Maybe it was different wine when we visited. |
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TIM troubles with our Internet dongle Telecom Italia Mobile. The real problem was that we can’t read Italian so according to the TIM account page it looked as if our 15 GB had disappeared in two days!!! (It hadn’t.) This young woman was as helpful as she could be since we don’t speak Italian. Google translate helped some, but when she connected us by phone to the TIM hotline and I was speaking to some “not helpful” male, I heard him say “Americans” and then the line went dead. But Maria in the marina office spent about an hour helping us figure out the problem. (We were reading the account page wrong.) This young woman was helpful too. When in Licata ask women for help!!!!! |
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The lighthouse as seen from DoraMac as well as the fort on top of the hill. More about the fort later. |
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Duomo of Church S. Angelo A telephoto from the boat and looking down from the hillside, but once in town I just couldn’t find it until the last day when I came close…… A regret. |
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Shadows and light and golden walls: lovely!!! One morning instead of looking down the tiny side streets I walked through them and saw all of the tiny neighborhoods. Great fun and friendly people. |
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Our landmark intersection with City Hall and the monument to something across the way. |
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Model ship makers If we’d had time we’d have looked into a model of DoraMac |
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Rosa Balistreri (Licata, Sicily 21/3/1927 — Palermo, 20/9/1990) was a Sicilian folk singer. http://www.rootsworld.com/italy/balistreri.shtml biographical info about the “Italian Joan Baez.” http://kalliopeamorphous.wordpress.com/ is an interesting discussion about Balistreri and a criticism of modern pop music. I like that books are included in the sculpture.
Gargoyles as architecture detail on some of the buildings |
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Sun and shadow as you wander through the neighborhoods keeping you cool during the heat of the day. |
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War memorial
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Climbing through the neighborhoods to the top of the hill overlooking Licata. |
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Calvary After visiting the Regional Gallery of Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo with all of its Church art, these giant Agave Americana – Century Plants reminded me of images of Calvary. Century plants bloom once every 100 years. |
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Street lamp and stone buildings need to be captured in watercolor someday. |
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Frutteria Always crazy busy. Wonderful strawberries and friendly helpful staff. So far Marmaris and Beldibi still win the fruit and vegetable contest with their assortment and quality of produce. |
