Catania Musings

You can make the Super Bowl, but if you haven't had Cannoli...

Being the "extreme experience" traveler that I am with such an over-abundance of curiosity, I make it a point to seek out all the local secrets of any new place I go. Obviously in my time on Sicily I have pretty much discovered all the 'secret spots' there are to know. So you can imagine my horror last night when a bunch of us were sitting around discussing local Sicilian cuisine that Richard Kovalchek - the same one who has been here for over four months - had NOT YET TRIED CANNOLI! The moment I found out I screamed "Blasphemy!" and vowed to right this wrong instantly. You see, Cannoli is not a secret, it's a revelation. An institution. A pillar upon which all dolce stands. It is... simply the best freakin' thing anyone has ever tasted. And no where else in the world can you get such wholesome goodness than in Sicily.

If Richard led the Elephants to the Super Bowl, but did not try Cannoli, his mission here in Sicily would have been a complete and utter failure.

The Master of Slant

We immediately jumped in our car (and Vespa) and raced straight for the centro de Catania. While I have discussed the many fine Cannoli establishments on the island, there is only one official ceremonial tavola calda where all who step foot on Sicily must first be indoctrinated into the mundo del cannoli: E'Toile D'or. (Or "Ecuador" for the hard of hearing.) It has perhaps the most standard of all cannoli, with a good sized slant (pistachio-covered angled edge). I immediately ordered two and placed one in front of Richard. He took a big bite and...

SUCCESS.

Another future Cannoli Lover of America. I think his exact words were, "Freakin' Amazing!" The season and Super Bowl Preparations may now continue.

OTHER ADVENTURES

GRANITA: Sicilian for "Breakfast"

So far every day we've also made sure to eat our fair dose of Sicilian specialties. One of these is Granita, a sort of gelato-esque slush that is eaten for, of all things, breakfast. It is so sweet, so light, that it literally melts in your mouth. The one pictured is a mix of Mandorla (Almond) and Gelsi (Berry). This is so good that it is worth jumping on a plane and flying 5,000 miles for breakfast. On a patio. Surrounded by beautiful people, blue water, and buzzing Vespas. But I digress.

We've also made sure to hit up some of our old 'haunts. We went to Giardini Naxos and got a message (or "rub down") from a Chinese lady. We went to Taormina for our customary Gelato and Parking Ticket. And we hit up the Market for some good ol' shopping deals and dudes from Senegal.

Can you spot the Canadian?

The weather hasn't been too "beachy" -- staying pretty cloudy and only in the low 70s. In fact, today we were one of 4 people at the usual packed "Capannine" beach lido. However, we did try to do something local last night, ending in the ultimate backfire ever:

A bunch of Elephants and friends were meeting to watch Italy's first World Cup match at a friend's huge mansion. There is a small yard where fierce games of soccer are played before and after the televised match. This has been talked about for some time. The moment we arrived we jumped out of the car and were excited to join in. Gregorio threw the ball to Christie, who promptly PUNTED the ball over the fence. Game over.

It was "like totally the most American thing we could do" and we felt terrible. We slumped into our seats and tried to look invisible during the first half. I could see the frustration on the Italian's faces, and we were sure they were all talking bad about us in their native tongue. Fortunately, a second ball was found and the game sprung up at half time. Spirits were lifted. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. Until the ball came to me -- and I promptly PUNTED THE BALL OVER THE FENCE. Game over, part 2.

At this point, I can only say that I am thankful that I am still alive. They were all very gracious, and I may be feeling overly guilty, but essentially it would be the same thing as breaking your mom's best China. On Christmas.

The good news is that after the game a third ball was found - a beach ball - and a nice game of Volleyball started. Until the ball came to the only other American within 30 miles -- Richard -- who promptly SPIKED THE BALL OVER THE FENCE!!!

3 for 3... we gotta get outta here!

Rich on the Vespa

... and into the Sunset he rides.

Ciao from Catania!!!

JJ

An Historic Day - Elephants Superbowl Bound

The CATANIA ELEPHANTS are headed for the Italian Football League's Super Bowl!

"Cee Twice" gets the team fired up before the game

With a passionate and hard-fought 27-14 semi-final victory over the Bergamo Lions, the Catania Elephants are on their way to play for the Italian League Championship. The victory is symbolic in many ways, including the club's first victory over Italy's most storied franchise, but most importantly is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the players and coaches in Sicily!

The journey to this point is a great story in itself. The team was founded back in the 1980s, with nothing more than a few guys who had seen some NFL games on TV. Slowly the team grew in numbers and experience, which isn't easy in a country head-over-heels for soccer. When I joined the Elephants two years ago to begin my own "playing for pizza" odyssey, it was the first time the team would be welcoming American imports to the team and moving to Italy's top division. That year was a critical jump in experience for the team -- playing teams like Bergamo, Parma, and Bolzano for the first time. Yet we stood toe-to-toe with everyone, making it all the way to the semifinals. But more importantly, it showed the guys that we could compete at this level, and now in just the third year of IFL play, the Elephants have fulfilled its long-time dream by making it to the Italian SuperBowl!

A rowdy crowd was hyped up and ready to cheer on the Elephants, complete with some "Pink Elephant Special Signs!"

For me, it was great to be back in Sicily and getting to be a part of this historic day. The team knows how much they mean to me personally, and it was also fun to be reunited with a former Arizona QB - Richard Kovalchek - who is now leading the Elephants.

The defense set the tone early by stopping the Lions on the first drive of the game, and the offense started rolling from there - racing out to a 19-0 lead. Richard was spreading the ball around to a bunch of receivers, and doing it with his legs as well. Bergamo got a late TD with just seconds to go before the half to make the score 19-6 at the break.

Elephants on the attack, still running a variation of the system we installed two years ago

It wouldn't be Italy without "Magic Spray"

In the 3rd quarter, the Elephants got the ball first and drove the length of the field, chewing up almost the entire quarter before Richard ran it in from about 15 yards out. This gave them a comfortable 27-6 lead, although in Italy, nothing is ever over!

4th quarter!

The Lions scored halfway through the 4th to make it a two-score game, but the Elephants were able to march on another long drive that took the clock down to under 2 minutes. The D then stepped up with a huge interception by "Cee Twice" who probably gets his great athletic ability by sharing a nickname with me. At this point, the game was over and the celebration was on!!!

Sealing the victory

A long time in the making for Il Presidente Davide

A well deserved victory!

POST GAME CELEBRATION

He's been waiting a long time to wear this shirt... Fortunato "Lucky" has been a member of the Elephants since Italy became a country back in 1861.

The greatest thing about playing and living in Catania is that it truly is a familia. Many teams (if not all) talk about being a family, but rarely do they actually live it out. Here, everyone involved with the team rallies around the Elephants, and victories like this turn into monstrous pizza parties and nights out. About 50 Elephants and Pink Elephants (WAGs in other parts of the world) went to my favorite pizza joint in Aci Castello, Jonica, for a great 4 hour dinner.

MAJOR JUMP PICTURE!!!

After this, it was off to the now infamous Fondo Bianco - one of the "American" style bars in downtown Catania. Owner Attilio has become a huge supporter of the team, and his 100 flaming shots have become a staple for post-game celebrations.

Attilio preparing to welcome the team

Why wouldn't the pope be in the house?

SUPERBOWL!!!

Congrats Elephants -- I'm so proud of you!

JJ

Sicilian Wedding Parade!

Giuseppe and Valeria Tie the Knot Sicilian Style!

Congrats to the Newlyweds!

In a grand ceremony at the magnificent Chiesa de Viagrande, Giuseppe Strano and Valeria Gugliermo were married on June 11, 2010. It was a magical affair that fused traditional Catholic traditions with the fun & lighthearted nature of the Catania Elephants in what could only be described as Sicilian.

The Bride arrives via Porsche

Guests gathered in the late afternoon outside the towering 18^th century church, flanked by a baroque town square lined with historic buildings and tall trees. There was electricity in the air, matched by both the expressions on family & friend’s faces and in the style of Italians dressed to impress. The air was warm and smelled sweet from thousands of flowers. It was the type of atmosphere that is worth jumping on a plane and flying halfway around the world to experience.

Around 5:30pm, the bride arrived in a vintage orange Porshe. The car pulled up to the curb to the shrieks of the crowd. The bride’s father was at the wheel, and the smile in the passenger seat could only be described as a little girl living out her dream of becoming a princess. Valeria leaped from the car, and her father gave her his arm as he closed her door and led up her up the red carpet to the church door. Everyone leaned in to get a glimpse of the beautiful bride, snapping photos and offering encouragement. It was a whirlwind of excitement. They made their way to the door, where Giuseppe stood waiting – a symbolic moment of passage. I have always loved the way that those two have interacted, and it just seemed so right the moment Giuseppe saw his bride for the first time on that day.

Elephants were excited!

Here comes the Bride

Beautiful old church adorned with flowers

As the crowd rushed into the church behind the bride and her father, the organist began “Here comes the Bride.” Hundreds of family and friends filled in the wooden pews. Valeria was escorted to the front of the church, where the couple took a seat in front of the alter adorned with thousands of white flowers.

The service was very traditional. Vows were passed, rings were exchanged, and the Italian priest delivered a long and from what I could tell, very heart-felt and personal message. I was unable to tell if he encouraged Giuseppe to “Beat the Lions” as one of his first acts of being a husband. There was an interesting quality to the event that differed from American weddings – it seemed that this service had a nice blend of ceremony and yet informality amongst the crowd.

In stark contrast to what was happening in the church, Giuseppe’s “crazy uncle” was stirring up some mischief with the Elephants outside. He had arranged for an impromptu parade to start immediately following the wedding, constructing a seven-foot tall papier-mâché Elephants helmet in the back of an old truck. There was a traditional Sicilian brass band dressed in white t-shirts and jean shorts who had their own flatbed truck to follow the helmet, and he had brought dozens of plastic soccer balls and other easily thrown objects to pelt the newlyweds as they left the church. He had parked these huge vehicles immediately in front of the church, and judging by the chorus of car horns from angry drivers, they were not pleased that the flow of traffic through the village on the one-lane main thoroughfare had ground to a halt. I couldn’t wait to see how this all played out.

Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Strano

Back in the church, the ceremony concluded in brilliant fashion. The couple exchanged their first kiss, and were embraced by family and friends as the ceremony ended. At this point everyone made there way outside. Giuseppe and Valeria took a few pictures, then made their way down the red carpet to the door where everyone waited outside to celebrate. Perhaps ambush is a better word. The moment they made their way out into the evening sun, the band struck up a tune and the crowd burst into applause. Confetti floated above the crowd, and suddenly the Elephants launched an attack of inflatable soccer balls! The air was filled with flying objects, and everyone went wild. I think I saw Valeria take a couple in the face, but her hockey background shrugged it off. Under heavy fire, the newlyweds made their way down the steps of the church, where Giuseppe did an interview for the TV cameras. They were then hoisted into the helmet for the parade, and the Elephants jumped into the back of the truck to lead the way. I hopped inside as well, and captured some video (next blog).

CRAZY!!!

ATTACK!!!

Now on to the real action...

Boys on the Cart

The couple in the back...

Lookout... here we come!

Go Elephants!

Soaking it all in!

After a few laps through the village, we circled back to the church. At this point everyone was laughing and relaxed. Ties were removed from collars and placed on our heads. The whole thing was just so unpredictable, and yet perfectly Sicilian. It was a fun end to an amazing event.

Valeria, Giuseppe, and "Il Senatore" Nino Strano

Davide and son Alessandro, who was born on the same day as my first Catania game

Next? (Sorry, I had to say it)

The old couple

When everyone had dispersed, Giuseppe took the keys to the orange Porsche and drove away with his bride. Two thoughts filled my head – 1) What an interesting and symbolically fitting tribute for the bride to arrive driven by her father, and depart with her new husband; and 2) If Giuseppe and Valeria’s life together is to be anything like this day, then they have an incredible ride ahead!

Into the sunset they ride...

To Mr. and Mrs. Giuseppe Strano, thanks for letting us be a part of your special day!!! We wish you nothing but Love and a life-filled with happiness!

Our Tour de France

The incredible Mont St. Michel

Hey everyone -

We've had bad internet during this trip (shocker) so I haven't been able to upload the blog as much as I'd like, so instead I've just thrown a few pics up on facebook and now am shooting this update to the world.

Everything is great with us on our own little "Tour de France" - we've had a fabulous trip so far and have been so impressed by this country. The people, food, and culture have all been first class. Rural France had always intrigued me, and it has been very interesting seeing the "real" side of the French people as opposed to the hustle and bustle of Paris and the glitz down in the South of France.

St. Emilion, Bordeaux countryside

Our flight over went smoothly (other than of course our luggage once we got to the budget carrier headed for France.) WHEN WILL WE LEARN! We landed there late on Saturday night and grabbed a hotel. Of course, the hotel we had booked on the internet decided to randomly close on Saturday with no phone number and no one there speaking English, so we audibled and found a decent one on foot with luggage in toe. Sunday we picked up a car and drove 45 minutes out of Bordeaux (the city) to the countryside and found a tiny little village named St. Emilion that came highly recommended. It was heaven... small stone buildings in a valley surrounded by vineyards! We walked the city, tasted free wines, and enjoyed a picnic in the city square before finding our accommodation - a small 18th century farm ran by a nice woman and her husband. It was so incredible, just plopped amongst thousands of acres of vineyards. We relaxed that day and walked through, enjoying what a proper "getaway" should be. That night, we decided to try out French Cuisine and feasted on a ridiculously good (albeit foreign) dinner of eggplant cakes, salmon tartare, fresh trout, roasted duck with sea salt potatoes, and finally Creme Brulee & Chocolate Fondant cake. It really was as good as it could be.

Christie with our lovely host and her dog, Vanilla! We were served a classic French breakfast in the vineyard and enjoyed the sunshine.

Nothing like a purple Vespa

The following day (Monday) we attempted to go wine tasting at a few of the over 860 chateau's in the region, but soon came to find out (after striking out at 5 in row!) that reservations were required. WHERE WERE YOU ON THAT ONE RICK STEVES!!! Can't fault Rick - overall he's been amazing on his recommendations -- so much so that we decided to bolt out of Bordeaux that afternoon, and drove the 300 km up to the Loire Valley where we spent the evening touring a pair of medieval chateaus -- Azey le something and Villandry, which boasts the most ridiculously nice garden I've ever seen.

Late that evening we made our way to the city of Angers (one hour to the west) where we were staying with our friend Aurelie's parents. She is the girlfriend of Swarco Raiders receiver Andi Proeller, and one of Christie's best girlfriends in Austria. They were so accommodating... only they didn't speak a LICK of English. It was so nice of them to let us stay there! However, this meant that even "Hello" in English was beyond them, and we didn't fare much better! It didn't matter, as they were WONDERFUL hosts -- preparing a delicious three-course meal that included a salad comprised of tomato, crab, and egg along with a baked cheese-filled bread. For dessert - in an unlikely yet delicious twist - MORE CHEESE!!! (They said that French people enjoy cheese 365 days per year. Can't argue with that!) We enjoyed all of this while using hand-signals and Christie's French that she hadn't used in years, along with a trusty French-English dictionary and a list of English sentences that Lili had printed out for her parents. Awkward at the time, funny looking back :-) But a serious example of great hospitality - Merci Remi and Paulette!

French for "House"

On Tuesday, we woke up early and headed north to Brittany to catch one of the wonders of the world -- the island of Mont St. Michel. It sticks out into the Bay almost 6 km and is completely surrounded by sand in one of the largest tides in the world. It was breathtaking from afar and made for some incredible pics... however the inside was a touristy nightmare filled with cheap nicknacks and too many stairs. My favorite part was when we walked way out onto the sand to get photos, and upon returning found that the tide had created a large pool that I carried Christie across on my back! Good times! That day we also discovered Rick's two gems in the region, the cobble-stone lined village of Dinan (lunch) and the Castle By the Sea town of St. Malo (dinner). What an incredible day!!!

Villandry gardens - incredible!

Cobbled streets of Dinan, small village in Northern France

Today is Wednesday, our last in France. We had a goal of seeing two more famous Chateau in the Loire Valley on the way to Paris, but in the name of simplicity (and saving a few hours driving) decided to head straight for the City of Light. BIG MISTAKE!!! We arrived to pouring down rain, bad traffic, and our usual disappointment that is Paris. We know we sound completely jaded, spoiled, and snobby, but seriously this city SUCKS for us!!! Ugh... we're laid up now at an internet cafe, where I'm catching up on life (Lakers up 2-1 over the Celts!) Hopefully the weather will clear so we can enjoy the evening... but in the morning we're off to Sicily for nothing but Sun!!! (Oh yeah, a big Sicilian Wedding and the Italian League Semi's too!)

Ciao and Merci,

Jason and Christie