GOAL: Alcantara

Gole Alcantara's black basalt walls create a narrow passageway.

As our list of "5 Star Sicilian Attractions Yet to See" dwindles, we decided to head north today to the "Gole Alcantara" - a fascinating Gorge located in the foothills of Mt. Etna. The Gorge itself is merely a small (400 meters) part of the much longer Alcantara river flowing down to the sea, but it is especially fascinating due to its stark black basalt rocks cut out by centuries of rushing water. 

 

The mouth of the Gorge.

Upon arriving at the gorge, we were faced with two options: a $4 Entrance fee to the mouth of the river, or $15 to get the full "rainsuit" that lets you wade up the river.  Being the cheap (and sometimes sneaky) people we are, we opted for the basic entrance and quickly descended down the hundred steps to the valley.

With no lifeguard on duty, George clings to the rocks for safety.

The fascinating rock formations immediately caught our attention, with the jagged rock patterns catching the light and creating a kaleidoscope of black & white images.   Claudio Mangano, a famous English speaking Sicilian guide/Elephant wide receiver, warned us that the water would be too cold to enter, however noting the Sicilian impression of "cold," we waded into the water and were pleasantly surprised at its warmer than expected temperature.  (Nowhere near some of the icy glacial temperatures of Rocky Mountain lakes!)  Note to self: SCOFF at all future advice from Sicilians regarding temperature!

We waded up the gorge about 100 meters, taking pictures and admiring the narrow gaps between the basalt walls.  I ventured much further than Christie and George, until I looked down and saw large groups of what I guessed were BLACK LEECHES clinging to the rocks.  I halted immediately and ran back through the river, making sure not to become their next victim.  Had I been timed on that run, I'm sure it would have been in the low 4.5's.

Now, I have yet to research if they were leeches or not, however when I return (with a tripod for better pictures), I will be sure to bring with me my full-length wetsuit for protection!  

As a final note for those of you visiting Sicily, and needing a break from the beaches, I suggest this as good half-day excursion.  However, for most with limited time, I would not rank this ahead of many other can't miss attractions!  (Such as Taormina, Syracuse, or merely spending the day eating as much Gelato, Granita, and Cannoli as humanly possible!)

~ J. Twice

Highlights: Parma Game

Highlights from our 64-57 Shootout against the Parma Panthers.

And my personal highlight, posing with my wife after the game... always a good feeling!

We return to action this Sunday against the Palermo Corsari in another important league game. Until then... as always... Arrivederci!

~ J. Twice

Things you might not know...

Many people have a very romantic idea of Italy... beautiful Tuscan hills, ancient Roman ruins, and stunning coastline.  Yet by living here I've discovered another side of Italy... the funny side!  Not many people know these undercover SECRETS OF ITALY that I am about to share with you... however there are many American conveniences that are MISSING in this country.  Feel free to drop these at your next cocktail party and you really will be an Italian Expert!

1. PIZZA... one size fits all.  While you can order Medium, Large, or Extra Large Pizza at your local Pizza Hut, in Italy it is One Size Fits All - the size of a large plate.  A pizza here is considered a normal entree, so its pretty much one per person at the local pizzeria!

    

2. CAR SEATS... yeah right!  I'm not exactly sure if there is a branch of the government here that looks after safety, but I think I've found an area they should investigate: CAR SEATS.  As in, they are no where to be found.  If you drive past a car with a child, you can pretty much be sure they will either be crawling over the seats, sticking their heads out the window, or riding shotgun in a scooter.  

In America, Britney Spears did the same thing and almost lost her baby to child services.  Here... NORMAL.

While I haven't looked up the stats of Italian childhood injuries in car crashes vs. other nations, it is definitely a curious phenomenon.  Which brings me to my next point:

3. TOILET SEATS... also missing!  (sorry, no picture on this one!)  Hanging out with all the missing car seats are our good friends, the Toilet Seats.  As in, they don't really exist in this country.  While it my just be a hidden ploy to strengthen Italian quads for "Speedo Season," you can be sure that only 1 in 10 Italian bathrooms are equipped with this new technology.

In a related story, Toilet Paper can only be found in 6% of all Italian bathrooms, prompting new meaning to the acronymn BYOP.  On the street corners at Red Lights, there are typically salesmen pushing the small individual packs of Tissue... and I don't think its for blowing your nose.  Women can be seen carrying these in their purse, or more discretely, stuffing handfuls of  the free "Wet Wipes" at McDonald's into their pockets.  This is one time you don't want to air dry.

(And don't even get me started on flushing!  I have yet to flush a toilet in this country the same way twice, often spending at least 5 minutes in front of the different buttons, levers, pulley systems, and medieval devices used to get the job done.  And when ESP lets you down, check the floor... foot pedals are also popular!)

4. DOOR KNOBS... Still years away.  In our condo building, every morning there is the daily SLAM that wakes up everyone else in the building... usually measuring around 3.2 on the Richter Scale.  We like to call this SLAM "the first person to leave their house."  That noise is due to the fact that doors here do not have door knobs, and can only be shut due to brute force.  Why door knobs are not used is unknown, however one would think you shouldn't need a RUNNING START to close your front door.

5. LINES... they are only getting longer!  When standing in line at a public place in Italy, such as post offices, airports, or grocery stores, you can be sure that after 15 minutes of waiting you will be at least 8 people FARTHER BACK from the front than when you began.  I am not sure why this exists... however the "Amoeba Effect" of rude-cutters is widespread.  You may not believe me, but when the nice grandmother steps in front of you, throwing elbows like she was SHAQ is boxing you out in the NBA Finals, you will know what I'm talking about.  

The rule, as in driving, is NO EYE CONTACT as you follow these 3 simple steps to Italian cutting:  1) Find the Line you are supposed to be in.  2) Find the Person in front of that line.  3) Step in front.  

~ J. Twice

ps  Internet is still 10 working days away... or was it 10 Working Months?  I do not know...

The Jason Johnson AD of the DAY

My esteemed colleague George Contreras has become very well known, both on the continent and off, for his now-infamous "AD OF THE DAY CONTEST."  In fact, the contest - filled with "Racy" Italian ads - is now named after my (disapproving) sister and has received countless comments from readers around the globe.

Coming from a marketing background, I have often wondered how I stack up if I was a European Ad Executive.  Well, today at the beach my eye caught what I figured would be a great marketing slogan for Sicily Tourism, so I fired the shot & prepared it for your votes.  Behold, the Jason Johnson Sicily Ad of the Day:

Please forward your thoughts, and hopefully we forward this to my contacts in the Catania Board of Tourism for publishing!

~ J. Twice

North or South? Hawaii or Mexico?

SANTA CLAUS SWIMS IN SICILY!!!

Letting all your worries float away in the Sicilian waves...

When people in the United States hear the word “BEACH,” they immediately begin to list off places like Hawaii, California, or Mexico… picturing white sand, palm trees, and warm water.  Rarely would one ever say, “SICILY!”  However, after living here now for 4 months and having the 6^th sense to sniff out a good strip of sand, I must say that Sicily ranks right up there as an ultimate beach location.

Beautiful Playa Beach, only 5 minutes south of Catania.

While the locals prefer the ‘rocks’ (shoreline with black lava rocks that have the clearest, cleanest water), North Americans are suckers for sand.  Specifically in the last week, we have discovered two ‘gems’ of the Sicilian coastline that allow the members of the Malibu condo to ask ourselves one simple question every morning: Do you feel like Mexico or Hawaii?

Giardini-Naxos.

Giardini-Naxos, aka ‘Hawaii,’ lies a carefree 35-minute drive North of our Aci Castello home, occupying the calmest part of a half-moon bay at the base of Taormina.  It is the cleanest beach we’ve come across in Europe, and is protected by a large sea-wall making the water as flat as a lake.  Mainstreet runs along the water, passing cheap pizzerias and fine seafood restaurants.  In the summer cruise ships stop in the harbor, while private boats for hire lead their own local excursions.  If you close your eyes, you could easily feel that you are in Maui.       

Our version of Mexico is called Capaninne (or ‘little huts’), one of countless private beach destinations on the 15-mile-long stretch of sand just south of Catania known as Playa Beach.  (Yes, I know that ‘playa’ in Spanish means beach so it is a little redundant to call a place ‘BEACH BEACH’)  The road along Playa is littered with abandoned buildings, cheap Panini stands, and has the whole “wouldn’t surprise me if a truck full of armed Mexicans drove past me” feel... Yet the water close to shore is a brilliant Caribbean blue color and the sand is among the softest in the world.     

Capaninne on Playa Beach with Catania in the background.

Capaninne itself is one of many private beach clubs along Playa Beach, boasting hundreds of thatch roof huts and comfortable beach chairs to rent.  It also has a dozen volleyball courts, beachside bars, windsurf rentals, restaurants, and at night, a dance club.

So the next time you are trying to decide whether to go to Mexico or Hawaii... think SICILY!    

~ J. Twice

Elephants Lose Heartbreaker 64-57

Today the Parma Panthers (yes, the John Grisham Playing for Pizza Panthers) came to town for a good ol' fashion Sicilian Shootout... and after countless lead-changes and a passion filled Elephant comeback, escaped with a last second touchdown and a 64-57 victory.

The weather today was perfect - 85 degrees (30 Celcius) - and bright sunshine.  After a 10 minute official referee delay (in response to last week's Palermo Corsari brawl where players unthinkably attacked the referees!), play kicked off with us getting the ball first.

On the first play from scrimmage, Matt Epperson took a short out-route up the sideline for a 50 yard gain, only to have the ball knocked loose for a turnover.  It was one of three first half fumbles, and allowed the Panthers and their own high-powered offense to build a 2 touchdown lead 28-19 at halftime.

However, we did not go down without a fight, and by scoring every possession in the third quarter and recovering an onside kick at the beginning of the fourth, had finally tied the score at 49-49.  The Panthers were resilient as well, and a long kickoff return by Harvard Grad Corey Mazza brought the ball all the way to our 10 yardline.  Two plays later they scored to make it 56-49 with four minutes to go.

On the ensuing kickoff, disaster struck when Matt landed on a Parma player, injuring his ribs and being forced to leave the game.  Our players rallied around him, and vowed to drive the ball.  With just over 2 minutes to play, Claudio Mangano got free down the sideline and made a beautiful catch in the corner of the endzone to bring us within 1, 56-55.  We made the decision to play aggressively and go for the win, and after a scrambling to the right, I found Claudio again to give us the lead!  Elephants 57-Panthers 56.

However, the Cinderella story did not end there, as Parma got the ball one last time.  Our defense played tough with great crowd support from our vocal supporters, and were able to force a 4th down and 8 from our 35 yardline with only 45 seconds to play.  A perfect blitz was called, and their quarterback, freshly imported Scott Zettzs from Youngstown State, backpedalled 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage and heaved the ball downfield into a crowd of players.  Like out of a novel, #80 leaped in the air for the miracle catch and a first down.  As they rushed to the line, they pulled a "Dan Marino versus the New York Jets" - faking a spike and throwing the ball into the corner of the endzone for the game-winning touchdown.  Final Score: Panthers 64, Elephants 57.  

On the field after the game, I thanked our players from the bottom of my heart for the effort they gave.  While trailing at half-time, I had encouraged them that no matter what the score was, we had to play with our hearts and leave everything we had on the field.  Even though we came up a few points short on the scoreboard, the Elephants became a better team today and have grown a lot over this season... lessons that will carry over down the road both on and OFF the field.

~ J. Twice

Dolphin & Shark Highlights

Here are highlights from our past two games, against the Dolphins and Sharks.  (And NO, I'm not talking about an "Underwater Sea Life Documentary.")  I apologize for the delay!

Enjoy!  (Music courtesy of Giulio Romano).

Elephants vs. Ancona Dolphins

Elephants at Palermo Sharks (Game 2)

~ J. Twice

If you are just tuning in...

Hey, that's me!  

Right now is the unofficial "halftime" of my Italian adventure, as I have now been in Italy for over 80 days and have completed just over half of our schedule.  During that time, I have met countless new friends and been on numerous hilarious adventures.  The 'readership' of this blog has also grown - now having been read by over 8,000 people in 43 countries!  That figure blows me away, and makes me humble to be sharing this unique experience with so many of you.

With this in mind, I thought I'd give a brief recap to those of you who have joined this journey at some point along the way, with some of my favorite memories and a little more info on who I am and why I'm over here playing in the Italian Football League.  (Although narcissistically I would advise any of you to just go back to the very first day and START READING!  There will be test!  haha...)  

Also, my partner-in-crime George Contreras (Elephant's Defensive Coordinator and my roommate at our "Malibu" condo) has his own blog that is much more thorough and targeted to the male demographic (or at least his 'ad of the day' contest).  PLEASE check it out on a daily basis at coachingforpizza.blogspot.com!

For those of you still with me, here's my quick recap!  (and as always, be sure to click on the hyperlinks for the 'long version')

Jason Johnson... hence the "J TWICE" nickname!

To introduce myself, I would define myself as a POSITOLOGIST (click the link to read the LONG, Tangent-filled version) originally from Seattle... who thinks great thoughts and amazing things happen!  I played my college football at the University of Arizona, and later spent time with the Buffalo Bills and 3 years with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League.

  

My older brother Chad, also a quarterback, played a year oversees in Germany and I had always dreamed of coming to Europe to travel & play.  Coincidentally, as I was deciding to come here, John Grisham released the now famous book Playing for Pizza... which of course is ALSO about a quarterback coming to Italy to play.  Once I was on my way here, I knew I had to share my experience, and hence REALLY PLAYING FOR PIZZA was born (again, click for the long version.)

Gondola Sliver in Venice.

Over the course of my 3 months here in Europe, my wife Christie and I have traveled extensively - visiting such cities as LONDON, PARIS, BARCELONA, and ROME.  I've had THE BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD, sampled WINE IN TUSCANY, and SEARCHED FOR ORANGEMAN in Syracuse (please watch... hilarious!).  We've seen Volcanoes erupt (Etna & Stromboli) and taken Aeolian Island MUD BATHS.  And most importantly, we have EATEN...  Conolli, Gelato, Granita, Pasta, Pizza, Involtini, Arrancini, Cipolata, and of course Cavallo (The OTHER Red Meat!)  

The 2008 Catania Elephants.

As for the football, your Elephants Catania are 5-1, currently tied for 2nd place in the Italian Football League.  The games here are intense and the players LOVE the game and are excited to learn & improve.  Personally I have had so much fun playing, but even more, getting to be the Offensive Coordinator in conjunction with our coach/president/right-tackle/all-around-good-guy Davide Giuliano has been a blast.  Our Running Back Enrico Lombardo is among the league leaders in rushing and Matt Epperson & Claudio Mangano are 1/2 in the receiving statistics.  We have a tough stretch of games ahead but are looking forward to the challenge!

Elephanti Mai Stanchi... ON and OFF the field!

But the most important thing about this trip so far is the FRIENDS we have made.  Sicily is absolutely beautiful, but the people here are even more incredible.  I hope I've been able to bring to life all the unique characters and funny moments that we have shared.  (Truly, the real word of this trip has been COMEDY!!!  From Ice Skating in Sicily to Jerseys with Wrong Numbers...)

In the next two months, we will be taking on the second half of our schedule and moving on into the play-offs.  We will also be traveling to such places as Malta, Tunisia, Greece, Prague, Amsterdam, and could even be running with the Bulls!

SO STAY TUNED FOR MORE CRAZY ADVENTURES OF REALLY PLAYING FOR PIZZA!!!

~ J. Twice

Dale Gallery 3

Here's the final "DALE GALLERY" installment from my good friend Dale MacMillan, taken from our crazy Italian adventure last week.  Enjoy!

Vernazza Boat

Colorful buildings (Riomaggiore)

Italian Storefront (Sienna)

Dusty Bottles (Tuscany Winery)

Vernazza Harbor

Stormy Sky over Tuscany

Evening Street (Sienna)

Rugged Riomaggiore (Cinque Terra)

Nighttime Patio (Sienna)

For more of Dale & Wei's pictures (and soon some of my own!), please visit the W2 Gallery website:  www.w2gallery.com

~ J. Twice

Dale Gallery: Venice

Here are Dale's 3 best shots from our trip to Venice.  Enjoy!

~ J. Twice

Notes from a Great Trip

"Cinque Pazzos" (5 Crazies) on the Rialto Bridge.

Our trip through Italy over the last week was incredible mix of fun and photography.  We were able to do Rome on Monday, Florence on Tuesday, Tuscany on Wednesday, Cinque Terra on Thurs/Fri, then Venice on the Weekend.  IT was a whirlwind trip and one I will never forget.  Here's a few of my favorite shots from the trip!

Eric and Dale relaxing in Vernazza.

You have to do something while all the boys are off shooting pictures!  (Florence)

A (posed) tender moment in Tuscany.

Dale is auditioning for Peter Pan when he gets home.

Venetian Masks come in all shapes and sizes.

Dale and Wei on the Cinque Terra trail.

In Vernazza we were the toast of the town.

Photographers on the loose in Venice.

Looking confused in Florence in front of an excited statue.

Even Gelato can't get in the way of a great photo opportunity!

~ J. Twice

Venice in Images: Part Due

If someone asked me to describe Venice in two words, it would be EXPENSIVE and RUDE.  But if they gave me three, I would add: PHOTOGENIC.

The rain did clear our final evening (after dumping over 3 inches on the city in about 5 hours), allowing us to get some good photos.  I will post Dale's tomorrow, but here's a few from my perspective.  Enjoy!