I took the wheel for the drive from Agrigento to Enna and it
was quite the adventure. Seems that they
are working on the interstate and sometimes we’d be on it, next moment we’d be
forced to exit and drive on secondary roads.
This wouldn’t have been too bad except that they are not really good at
posting warning signs. And the
switchbacks, Lord help us the switchbacks.
At one point, I came around out of a serpentine nightmare of turns only
to find that I am about to run right into the mountain! Seriously, no warning signs!!! Defensive driving is the key people – that’s
what my Daddy taught me and you best be teaching the same to your youngins!!!
When we parked the car at our hotel, I was surprised to see that the town
founder had a sticking resemblance to Mr. Hershey… Milton, is that you?
The hotel that Marilee found was absolutely stellar!
It is managed by three older gentlemen behind the front desk
and one spry young guy named Mario. We
had a great time charming them all.
Mario was the man-of-all-trades in the hotel; bellman, bartender,
waiter, and concierge. The older men
spent a lot of time in the secret room behind front desk watching TV and
discussing something of major importance.
At least it sounded important, everything said in Italian sounds
important…
We asked for suggestions for dinner and one of the gentlemen
told us where we had to go. When we
asked if there was any other place we were met with confusion – why would we go
anywhere else? This is where we must
go! So we got settled into our room, freshened
up, and headed out to find the restaurant.
We took our time as we enjoyed the walk and wanted to see some of the
town. As soon as we turned the corner to
the restaurant, there was the gentleman from our hotel standing at the front
door waiting for us to show up! We
thought that a bit strange, but his recommendation was right on we had yet
another fantastic meal.
Everything about this hotel was perfect – the comfortable
beds, the great shower, the view and the hospitality of the staff. Our only regret is that we were only there
for one night, but this is how we roll. In
the morning we say our goodbyes and get ready to drive on to our next destination
– but first we have to stock up on some supplies. I
caught a doozy of a cold in Rome and was kind enough to pass it along to
Pamm. So we hit the grocery store to buy
a 10 pack of individual tissue packs (I rarely find an actual full size box of
tissues) and the pharmacy for medicine.
Now, let me fill you in on the pharmacies over here – they are nothing
like America…
The only “meds” on the customer side of the counter are
vitamins. For everything else, including
just plain old aspirin, you have to get from the Pharmacist. As I’ve been fighting this cold since Rome,
I’ve been to several pharmacies and have learned how to communicate quite well,
whether they speak English or not! The
first thing that I do is say hello - buon giorno (good day) or buona sera (good evening) if it
is after 3pm. Then ask if they speak English
- parla inglese? If they say “yes” its
smooth sailing and I can explain what my problem is, the symptoms I have, and the
Pharmacist will then decide what medicine to give me. If they say “no” the fun begins. I apologize, tell them I don’t speak Italian
and apologize again - Mi dispiace, non parlo italiao, mi dispiace. Excuse me, please - mi scusi, per
favore. This always gets a good reaction because it
shows that I am respectful and have made an effort to learn some Italian. They usually say OK because they understand
some English and may even speak a little, but like me with my Italian they are
hesitant to do so. Then I go into full
blown actress mode to explain with gestures, facial expressions, sounds and
whatever other moves I can come up with to explain my problem. I’m sure if they are videotaping their
customers that I will end up on a “greatest hits” reel that they play at their
annual Pharmacist convention… But it
works and each time they have given me meds that help to move the cold
along.
So once the car is stocked with tissues, meds and some
snacks:
we are on the road to our fourth and final destination - Aci Trezza
a fishing village on the coast.
On the road again...
Ciao!
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