Sicily

Camporeale. If it were a Spanish word, I would assume it had something to do with a field. "Camp" comes to mind. All I know is that my father's parents were born there and that, after two and a half hours in the home of a complete stranger, neither she nor her 80 year old retired veterinarian brother, Bartoldo could piece it together that, although we did share surnames, we were not related by blood. But, anyway you cut it, we have two new friends in Camporeale.

This one is for Scarlet. If you are in the language loop on this inside joke, you will get a chuckle. (Hey Scarlet---what do you think that initial "G" stands for? I have my own ideas, since this IS in Sicily, after all!!! Let me put it this way: It ain't a "P" for pequeno! LOL)



Here is something Somewhere Joe would never, EVER come out and say. But I am going to come out and say it: I just LOVE this shot! Taken at the seawall in Cefalu (cheh-fuh-LOO).




It rained in Cefalu:



My sister, Karen and Judy at our hotel (Baia del Capitano Hotel) in Mazzaforno, just outside Cefalu. Where it rained:



I couldn't have said this any better. I got it here.

"Cefalù, small port on the northern coast of Sicily, in the province of Palermo, on the railway to Messina. Located on a narrow coastal plain at the foot of a peak rising about 300 m (nearly 1000 ft) out of the sea, Cefalù is the center of a fertile agricultural region. The city's cathedral, one of the most remarkable examples of Norman Architecture in Italy, was begun in 1131 by King Roger II, the first king of Sicily, and completed in 1148. Population (1996) 13,882."

Here is my take on the interior. I didn't use a flash, either (click on the mosaics link in Galen's website and see what I mean). I had to hold that new picturer really steady. Galen, I think, swaps the numbers a bit when he says the cathedral was begun in 1131. Actually, all the other sites I've checked say it was begun in 1311. Not 1312 or 1313. No. 1311. And not by the FIRST Norman named Roger, but by the second one named Roger. Anyway, the text that Jesus is holding is written in Greek. And it appears to be from the Gospel of John. It begings, "I am the light of the world." But it is written in an old script and a bit challenging. I will work on it some more. Galen does go on to say that it was completed in 1348, so there ya go:



This guy had a dog. I think that's pretty cool. I'm a dog lover. And a cat lover. But this guy had a dog:



This is something extra you won't get on just ANY blog. The initials to the left and right of the Virgin Mary (they used first and last letters of words) stand for (on the left) MATER (MAY-ter) or Mother, and then on the right OF GOD (thay-EW[ew, like when you step in something bad]). And those aren't just regular angels flanking her, either. Oh, no, no, no. They are ARCH (ark) ANGELS; RAFAEL (not RAFE-ee-ul; it's raw-phai-EL) on the left with his name tag conspicuously displayed, and GABRIEL on the left, following same company name tag policy. Down there underneath the main stage are the grouping of the Apostles beginning (as pictured) with MARKOS on the far left, then Matthew to his left (our right), the Peter. I can't make out the other guys to our right. Sorry. I am guessing that the second one is Thomas. But I doubt it. (HA!!!! Get it?! Thomas? DOUBT it! GAWD, I JUST KILL ME!!!!)