MOTHERS DAY MARSALA

I hope everyone had as nice a mother’s day as I did. It’s hard being away from family on a day like that, but the phone brings everyone closer. Fortunately today everyone’s phone worked. It was a joy to talk to my mom as well as Jon and Jess, and so I had a very good day knowing that I will see them all in a few days. Steve bought me two azaleas at a special sale to aid women’s health research. Apparently Italy is also guilty of spending millions for bombs and too little for research.
It was windy and sunny, so we got into the Barchetta and drove to Marsala where they were celebrating the 144th anniversary of Garibaldi’s bold leadership of a thousand peasants against the ruling Bourbon government, thereby unifying Italy. Or so the story goes. We walked the main square and side streets and saw many events, like the Vespa clubs of Sicily arrival en masse in front of the Cathedrale during mass, a treasure hunt and a bunch of girl scouts in front of another gorgeous church, and an open house at the Civic Museum that glorifies Garibaldi almost to saint hood. We drove out to Mozia, the Phoenician Island conquered hundreds of years BC by the Carthaginians. There was the location of the wind surf championships, and the salt flats where sea salt is still made. They are renovating the wind mills that used to be used in this production. It was a beautiful clear day and we had seen some of the things before, but it is always fun to check out familiar sites in different seasons and different light. The island of Favignana, which we see from the top of Erice every time we go there, could be seen so clearly this day that all of the roads were evident to the naked eye.