Sicily.
Finally. Ten years of waiting.
The cities:
Palermo: dark streets, kind people (our friend Samuele showed us around...A plus for Samuele...and by the way, the corpse is from the Cappuccini catacombs...a little morbid but very interesting), fried foods, a cultural vucciria (confusion...in a good way)...I absolutely loved this city and its chaos.
Agrigento: Beautiful ruins, home of Pirandello, gorgeous alabaster sea steps, and a very nice bed and breakfast called "Arco Ubriaco".
Catania: Culture, history and a touch of Granada, Nicaragua at lunch time when there is no one out on the streets...
Taormina: a wild, little cliff-top town...full of designer stores and precious side streets...packed with people...so much to look at all the time that it was mildly overwhelming.
I love love love Sicily.

A bit slow, perhaps un poco melancolica...pero me gusta mucho el sonido...

http://www.musicroom.it/articolo/neffa-testo-di-lontano-dal-tuo-sole/6757/

Lontano dal tuo sole
di Neffa

Sono pronto per rialzarmi ancora,
e il momento che aspettavo è ora
nonostante questo cielo sembri chiuso su di me
nessuno mi vede
nessuno mi sente,
ma non per questo io non rido più.
Io son qui in un mondo che ormai
gira intorno a vuoto
lontano dal tuo sole
e piove, ma io qualche cosa farò
per sentire ancora
tutto il calore che ora non ho
e avere un po’ di pace che ora non ho
e luce nei miei occhi che ora non ho
una direzione giusta che ora non ho
…che ora non ho

Sulla strada
troppe stelle spente
la tua mano ora servirebbe
troppa gente alza il dito
e poi lo punta su di me.
Nessuno mi crede, davvero innocente,
ma non per questo io non vivo più.
Io sono qui in un mondo che ormai
gira intorno a vuoto
lontano dal tuo sole,
e piove mai io qualche cosa farò
per sentire ancora
tutto il calore che ora non ho
e avere un po’ di pace
che ora non ho
e luce nei miei occhi
che ora non ho
una direzione giusta
che ora non ho
E avere un po’ di pace
che ora non ho
e luce nei miei occhi
che ora non ho
una direzione giusta
che ora non ho

I've got a friend.
I met her at the lunch table my first day of University.
I was that annoying girl asking her seven thousand questions. Lucky for me, she didn't mind and we started a friendship that I'm pretty sure will last longer than our teeth will hold out.

She's something quite extraordinary...everybody says that about their friends, but I mean it. Some of the most interesting and memorable conversations I've ever had have been with her.
I'm not going to lie that I would love to pull up a chair with Kafka and chat for hours, but it would be a thousand times better if my friend were also there to teach Kafka a thing or two. Surely they'd become friends.
Just about the only thing she isn't good at is putting up curtains...although she is a fiiiiiine Macgyver with duct tape.

Her Dad passed away on Sunday.
I never had the opportunity to meet him due to distance and lack of funds...
but I know a fair amount about him, and I also know how much my friend cared, respected and loved her Dad.
She read me his eulogy yesterday. I could perfectly imagine him through her words. Exactly the same individual she had been telling me about for the past 9 years.
This woman is solid, but her father was her rock.

I remember calling her once a few years ago, worried because I hadn't been able to reach her for 2 or 3 days...she said, oh, I had a minor operation at the hospital. WHAT? I said. Yeah, no worries. she responded. HOW DID YOU GET HOME??? I drove, she told me, non-chalant her tone. YOU ARE A MANIAC.
That's her.
Spitting image of her father, I believe.
She once told me she was thinking about quitting her phD and becoming a DJ...and she could do it, but, she would hold out and complete her studies, make her Dad proud since he had impressed upon her the importance that her education would have.

I'm worried about you.
I've never seen you in a situation that you couldn't handle.
I didn't want to be the one on the telephone hearing you say, I don't know what I'm going to do.
If you don't know, who the hell else can know...you are the only one I know who seems to make sense out of everything and anything.
So, I think this is the one moment.
I hope you heard me.
What I said to you.

This is your time. You get to have all the support around you. You don't have to worry about helping anyone else right now...you get to grieve the loss of your father for as long as you need. You don't have to answer to anyone.
I hope you reflect and think about that life that has been an important part of your own. Think about your Dad, and think about yourself.
And when in doubt, flustered, surrounded by the buzz of useless chatter...hit a pub and have a guiness, cheers your Dad and breathe...look at the sea and relax...go to where you feel best.

when you're ready, think about that home that you associate with your Dad, and think...is that home tied to a physical location...will maintaining that physical location mean the maintenance of a place of solace or is it just the site of memories that are better preserved in your mind.

Nobody is going to pressure you into anything because you aren't going to let them.

I heard the same person on the phone yesterday as the person I met 9 years ago...a few more titles added after the name, but the same person.
I don't think you really need it, but I sure wish I could be there to stand with you.