Well all good things must come to an end. We head off to the airport in Palermo tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. and have 17 hours of travel ahead. Thank you all for joining us on this trip. 

In a small way this blog allowed us to take our families and friends with us - without having to pay for your tickets!  For those of you who have been following us faithfully, we thank you and sincerely hope this isn't like the end of a really good season of Mad Men. 

FYI - From now on Jim is only speaking German and Tim is only speaking Italian.  But I'm sure we'll still be able to speak to you with our hands and facial expressions. See you in St. Louis!

Herzlichen Dank and Grazie! Auf Wiedersehen and Ciao!  

Here's Tim with Giuseppe, our gracious host at The Palazzo Pantaleo, the B & B that was our Palermo home for 4 days.  Grazie Giuseppe and we'll be back.

We say goodbye to Palermo and our Sicilian adventure. We just scratched the surface on this beautiful, multi-faceted island in the Mediterranean but we feel so enriched by all the wonderful things it has to offer.  We hope to come back again. After all, a Sicilian offer is an offer you can't refuse!

You sure can't judge a book by its cover!

We came across this inconspicuous looking church and decided to take a look inside.  Come inside with us.

Here's the Palermo chapter of Hell's Angels with Jim almost getting mowed down. 

Our next stop was the Ballaro Market in the Medieval Quarter - an amazing melting pot of sites, sounds and tastes. It had rows and rows of exotic vegetables, meats and fish - not to mention the motorcycles zipping through the streets and nearly running everyone over.  I don't think they have the same traffic laws in Palermo as we do in the U.S.

These are some of the mosaics at the Norman Palace.  Not too shabby, eh?

The Palace of the Normans. The Arabs started building it in the 9th century A.D. on top of Roman ruins because it was the highest point in the city. The Normans finished it in the 12th century and it has been updated every century since. It features incredible mosaics in its chapel. 

It is also used currently as the House of Parliament in Sicily.

Why this picture? Because its the only one we were allowed to take on our visit to our next stop: the Catacombs of the Cappucine Monastery. This is the entrance and the exit. 

The Catacombs feature hundreds of corpses that have been preserved in various states - from a skeleton to life-like appearances.  The monastery developed a secret way of preserving bodies and once the secret got out they were flooded with requests for "eternal life".  The bodies are mostly suspended from the walls, although some are in glass caskets. They are all dressed in the clothes in which they were "buried".  The list includes monks, bishops, priests and people of all walks of life. There's a special section for children, too.

The last corpse to be preserved is that of a two year old girl who died in 1920.  She still appears so life like that locals call her Sleeping Beauty.  Her name was Rosalia Lombardo.  Tim's mother, no relation that we know of, was named Rose Lombardo. 

When a certain expresso drink was invented which featured a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of its foam, the Italian people said that the color of the cinnamon was the same brown color of the robes of the Cappucine Monks. They started calling the expresso drink Little Cappucine or in Italian - cappuccino.

We started Friday out at the Duomo in Palermo that is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. It was launched in the 12th century and at one point was turned into a mosque by Arab rulers.  Its a hodgepodge of styles as is a lot of Palermo.  

Our last day in Europe turned out to be busier than we expected. 

Cefalu is beautiful. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. We had a spirited conversation with the two sisters who operated the Ristorante where we had dinner. One had gone to college in Baltimore. The Ristorante is a family owned and operated business and all of their siblings worked there. The sisters reminded Tim of his mother. 

Ah, Cefalu...Its clear why is has become a destination spot for tourists. 

Cefalu has a beautiful beach which accents the medieval architecture. 

This is a typical street view in Cefalu looking down to the ocean.  

This is the town center in Cefalu.  The Duomo was built in the 13th Century by the Normans.  Cefalu was where the Oscar winning film, Cinema Paradiso, was filmed.  

We had another great morning in Termini Imerese that included a conversation with locals at San Giuseppe church, a walk through a beautiful open fresh food market and some great shopping. 


This is a view of the Duomo in upper Termini (Termini Alta) from down below (Termini Bassa).


Termini has wonderful stores and shops. We were really impressed.  The guidebooks do not do the town justice at all. At a local bookstore where we bought a couple histories about Termini Imerese, Tim picked up a copy of the script to one of his favorite movies: Woody Allen's "Manhattan" - completely in Italian! 

We said our farewell to Termini and hopped on the train to our next town, Cefalu, which is about 30 miles east of Termini along the northern coast of Sicily. 

We hope to see Termini Imerese again. It completely exceeded our expectations!

We loved going to Termini Imerese so much that we went back on Thursday for half a day.  Here's Tim in front of his grandmother's childhood home at Vico Papania, No. 8.  As we said earlier, it looks like the door to No. 8 was closed up and a window was put in. Probably the 3 floors were originally divided between two units - No. 6 and No. 8.  Currently No. 6 is the only residence. 

A view of the harbor of Termini Imerese from the Piazza of the Duomo.

This is Via Roma.  The street of 99 steps. Via Roma seems to connect upper and lower Termini.

Inside the Duomo of Termini Imerese.

There's actually a lower Termini Imerese, which is where the train station is and is more industrial and modern,  and an upper Termini Imerese, a climb up the hill where the old medieval part of the city is. The crown of the city is the Duomo, San Nicola di Bari (Saint Nicholas).  It's absolutely beautiful and dates back well over a 1000 years.  


We met a lovely mother and son from England on vacation and they were just as enthusiastic about the town as we were.  This place is a treasure of old world charm and natural beauty.  The residents were very helpful and we were able to communicate in the language of kindness. 

The real surprise for both of us was how beautiful Termini Imerese turned out to be.  Yes, it is an old city.  It actually dates back over 2000 years. But most of that is gone. What remains is an old world Sicilian town that definitely has its 21st century feel. The mountains that surround it are beautiful and the coast line of the Mediterranean (actually called the Tyrrhenian sea at the northern coast of Sicily) is breathtaking.  The people were warm and friendly. Most spoke very little, if any, English. But we got by. 

More photos to come of this beautiful town. 

Here's Angelo, our young interpreter from Vico Papania.  His English was very good. Much better than our Italian.  Notice the Bart Simpson t-shirt. - Grazie Angelo!

Then we found this. Just a stone's throw from the Hotel. 

It's Vico Papania, No. 8.  According to a birth certificate found in the Termini Imerese records, Tim's grandmother once lived here.  We caused some excitement in the neighborhood - standing in front of the the house, gawking and taking pictures. A woman in her 30's came home and we started talking to her in broken Italian and she, to us,  in broken English. Two young boys about 9 years old pulled up on their bicycles and joined in.  They spoke some English they learned in school. 

We told them that my grandmother Giuseppa Rizzo lived there a long time ago. The woman went into her house and called her 94 year old uncle to see if he remembered any Rizzos from long ago, but he couldn't remember. He wouldn't have known the Rizzos anyway, because they were probably gone by the time he was born.  

You can see the number 8 handwritten on the wall. Every other address has a ceramic plaque with a number.  It looks like No. 8 is no longer a residence.  Perhaps because of a reconfiguration of the homes. But the address number is still there.  Not sure why.  "Vico" means little street. And it was. It's only one short block. 

We were both amazed that we found it. 

We arrived at the train station with no transportation.  We found someone who spoke a little English and he persuaded one of the locals to give us a ride to The Grand Hotel de Terme where we planned to begin our adventure. The ride only cost us 5 Euros! 

Here's the Grand Hotel. It's beautiful inside and is famous for its natural hot springs and saunas. In fact the name Termini Imerese is derived from the Latin (or is it Greek?) for "warm springs". 


This is where we were given a map of the town which turned out to be very valuable. 

We arrived this morning, Weds June 6, in Termini Imerese, Sicily.  This town is the birthplace of Tim's grandparents, Michael and Josephine Lombardo, who came to St. Louis around 1894. The town has a population of 25,000 and is approximately 20 miles east of Palermo.   

Most accounts of Termini Imerese on the internet are not very enthusiastic.  Most travel books don't talk about it or perhaps mention it as a footnote. 

We had no idea what we would find.

We decided to save our Euros and air dry our delicate washables.  I hope the neighbors in Palermo don't mind. 

Dusk in Palermo. A big, chaotic and often beautiful city between the mountains and the sea. 

They love their motorcycles in Palermo.

Got up this morning and began the last leg of our trip: Sicily - Palermo, Termini Imerese and Cefalu. We met a very nice guy on the train from the Palermo airport who gave us tips on the best things to do and see in Palermo. He was born in Palermo, but is now a policeman in Milan.  Tim enjoyed trying to speak Italian with him, even though this guy's broken English was far better than Tim's very broken Italian.

We got to our B & B, the Palazzo Pantaleo, and the owner Giuseppe was very helpful.  He even helped Tim call some Lombardos in the Termini Imerese phonebook to see if they were relatives. Tim's grandparents Michele and Giuseppa Lombardo (aka Michael and Josephine) came to St. Louis from Termini Imerese around 1894. No relatives have yet been found, but our host is willing to make some more calls tomorrow. 

Oh, and this beautiful building? The Teatro Massimo in Palermo and has the 3rd largest stage of any theater in Europe. Francis Ford Coppola filmed part of Godfather III in this theater. 

Arrivederci Roma!

The Pantheon. It's 2000 years old. The inside is beautiful and its highlight is the dome that is still considered an architectural marvel. We felt like we were walking into a time warp. Rome's history is overwhelming. The area around it is delightful. Lot's of cafes and a beautiful fountain where people sit, talk and watch the world go by.  Street musicians fill up the night with beautiful sounds. 

One of our favorite places in Rome. 

The Roman Forum

Jim and I got into a Gladiator fight in front of the Colosseum.

Traveling can be stressful. 

Sunday was Caesar's Rome and we did the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon and a bus tour of the city.  This ancient stadium could hold 50,000 people.  The architecture is amazing, but the the sport was killing gladiators and animals so in one way it's like a giant memorial.

Here's Tim during the trek down from San Miniato al Monte. We had a cab driver take us up through winding streets and alleys at the same time a marathon or some type of race was trying to make its way down the streets we were driving up.  It was a bit unnerving. But as the previous picture shows, the view was worth it.  

Jim in front of The Pitti Palace on our last morning in Florence. It was a "pitti"  - because we had to go.  We had a great morning shopping south of the Arno River, making the trek up to San Miniato al Monte for a spectacular view of Florence and discovering the other side of Florence.  

A view of Florence from San Miniato al Monte.  Our friend Dionna gave us the tip on this site the night before I left for Europe - so glad she did. It was a stunning view of the city. Italian film director Franco Zefferirelli's family is buried at this church.  It was a perfect way to end our time in Florence.

This is a view of the Ponte Vecchio.  You could practically drop a camera here and still get a good picture. This has got to be one of the most photogenic cities in the world. We had a wonderful morning in Florence shopping and sight-seeing and then hopped a train to Rome. We're staying near the old Jewish Ghetto near the Pantheon where there are supposed to be some great restaurants.  

A view of the rooftops of Florence from a terrace at the Palazzo Vecchio, the personal residences of the Medici family. The building, which is an overwhelmingly beautiful palace has tons of art work and rooms and rooms and rooms. We decided to tour it on an impulse and we're so happy that we did. One of the highlights of Florence. We'll post some photos of the Palazzo Vecchio later. Ciao for now!

Jim on the train to Florence. A little light reading passes the time. The scenery in Austria and northern Italy was amazing. Mountains, villages, grape fields, castles.  No pictures of it to speak of. We tried, but shooting from the inside of a train makes for blurry photos. It was best just to marvel at the view.

We arrived in Florence after a scenic train ride through Austria and Northern Italy. This is a picture from the Ponte Vecchio at dusk.

Erna, Michael, Tim and Marco on the rooftop of the Deutsche Eiche, a restaurant on Gaertner Platz where we had our last meal in Germany.  Marco and Michael are Erna's good friends.  Notice Marco's leather wristband which he designs for a living.  Michael is a sound technician and musician in Munich.

Erna and Jim after our lunch near the Viktualian Markt on our last day in Munich. It's hard to say good-bye.