Alessio on St. Stevan's Day

After spending Christmas Eve with Paolo, Ignatzia, and their families, and then Christmas day with Petra, Lutz and Klaus for a wonderful meal at Hostoria del Vicolo, I headed into Palermo for my onamastico (Saints Day) with Angelo, Franci, and Alessio.


Alessio has been having a hard time with flue season, as have Angelo and Franci. So sometimes one or the other will keep Alessio and the other parent will try to recover at the grand parents house. Like so many babies in Sicily, the grandparents are an integral part of the raising of the child, so I think that Alessio may not even know the difference. It is a good thing that Franci can get these kinds of breaks, as Alessio is expecting a little brother this spring. He seems to be happy with the news.

Franci still works at her parents clothing shop, where even the other clerks take over with Alessio when he comes in to work. Angelo right now is waiting to be called back to work at the car rental agency he worked at. He is currently laid off until the tourist start to return to Sicily in big numbers. Meanwhile, he picks up odd jobs when he can find them, and takes a lot of shifts raising his son, as well as helping his father out at the frame shop.

We left Alessio with grandparents, and had our second annual St. Stevan's Day pranzo at Il Vespri, a great restaurant near Teatro Politeamo. We ate there last year with Jon, Steph, Jess and Dustin, and they continue to serve wonderful food with great service.