Night Blooming Cereus

This beautiful bloom was in a neighbor's yard this morning.  Night blooming cereus blooms one night once a year.  This bloom is spectacular!

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

We used our Culture Passes from the Pima County Library for admission to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum this morning.  The drive over Gates Pass was spectacular at 7:30 in the morning!  We arrived at the museum early enough to see lots of animals feeding.  We saw coatimundi, javalina, black bear, pronghorn antelope, fox, coyote, Mexican wolf, and even a skunk.  We enjoyed the aviaries with a family of Gambel quail and hummingbirds too.  The desert is at its best, with the 6" of rain we've received over the past three weeks.  Cacti are plump, ocotillo are leafed out, and summer perenials are blooming.  We enjoyed every moment!

Cactus Farm

Papa and I drove out to B&B Cactus Farm yesterday afternoon.  What an amazing place!  They propagate their own cactus.  We saw more varieties of agave, barrels, and hedgehog than we knew existed.  Some were blooming.  Was a beautiful sight!

DeGrazia Gallery In the Sun

We treated ourselves this morning to a visit to DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun.  Ted DeGrazia was born in 1909 in the Arizona copper mining town of Morenci, to Italian immigrant parents.  He became an artist, got a degree at the University of Arizona and started turning out lots of art.  He bought ten acres in 1947, where Gallery in the Sun is still located.  From 1960 through the 70's, Ted DeGrazia became wildly successful. There are over 15,000 original pieces of his artwork at Gallery in the Sun.  The art is rotated regularly.  We particularly enjoyed the cowboy exhibit today.

Low Clouds

Once again, we had rain late this afternoon that lasted into early evening.  As the sun was setting, there were clouds at the base of the Catalinas, rolling quickly from east to west.  The sun was casting a beautiful light on the saguaros in our yard.  It was a nice time to sit on the back porch and listen to the rain on the roof.

Saturday Morning

I was out the door by 5:30 a.m. on this Saturday morning, for my daily hike.  With over 4" of rain in the past two weeks, the desert is lush and green, and beautiful under the morning sun.  After breakfast, Papa and I drove down to St. Philip's Farmer's Market.  We bought baklava.  It was a beautiful morning to be out and about.

Sunrise

The sky was lit up when I walked out the front door to go on my walk this morning.  The sun had risen but not quite over the Santa Catalina Mountains just yet.  Spectacular!

Consequences of Desert Rain

Even with just a little bit of rain, the desert comes alive with flowers, fresh leaves on ocotillo, and plumped up cactus pads.  Little pincushion cactus sprout rings of pink flowers.  We've had a lot of clouds over the past couple of days, with sporadic rain showers, and even a rainbow.  I love rain in the desert!

Eolie Salad Recipe

While traveling over the past weeks, a few things we ate really made an impression.  While staying in Malfa, on the island of Salina, in the Aeolian Islands, we ate at La Pinnata del Monsu' a couple of times.  Both times, I ordered their "Eolie Salad," and it was delicious.  I listed the ingredients on our second visit, and think I've found the recipe.  It is delicious, particularly if the tomatoes are ripe and fresh.

Eolie Salad - for 4
1 pound new potatoes
1 small red onion, sliced very thin
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 dozen ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
few sprigs fresh basil, optional

Wash and boil the potatoes.  Drain, peel and cut into 1" chunks.  Put them in a bowl, season with a drizzle of vinegar and cover the bowl.
Slice the red onion in thin slices.
Halve the tomatoes and toss in a bowl, along with the capers.  Add potatoes and oregano, and toss lightly.  Sprinkle red onion slices on top.  Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar to taste, plus salt and pepper.  




We had other versions of this same recipe, with tuna chunks, cucumber slices, or fresh mozzarella added.  All were delicious but I preferred La Pinnata del Monsu's version.

Home Again

We flew from Palermo to Madrid on Thursday, July 13.  The temperature in Madrid was over 100 and felt like a preview of what would be ahead when we arrived home in Tucson.  On Friday, we flew at noon from Madrid to Miami, Miami to Chicago, and Chicago to Tucson, arriving by 11 PM.  It was hot, but Tucson had just been doused by a rain shower, so was more humid than normal.  As we stepped out of our Uber at home, we smelled rain. 

Yesterday was our first full day at home since May 23.  We walked early in the morning.  We have a bit of jet lag, so we caught up on emails and went through the mail, went to the grocery, did laundry, and relaxed.  We got more rain in the afternoon!  Tucson has received over 3" of rain in the past week, according to our rain meter.  Our timing was terrific!  We missed the worst of Tucson's June temperatures and arrived back in Tucson for the monsoon season, that cools the air most afternoons.  Its nice to be home!

 

Best of Italy Trip

Since May 25, we traveled in Italy, clocking over 250 miles walked and thousands of kilometers driven.  Along the way, we made notes of our favorites.

Favorite Accomodation - La Serenella in San Pietro in Cariano
Favorite B&B - San Donato in Poggio B&B and A'Alera on Salina in the Aeolian Islands
Favorite Agriturismo - Quartarella near Modica and Case di Latomie near Selinunte
Favorite Weeks - Spent with family in San Pietro in Cariano and Sicily
Favorite Churches - Monreale Duomo, Basilica of San Zeno in Verona, Basilica of St. Cecelia in Rome
Favorite Pasta - Verona lunch with family
Favorite Salad - Eolie Salad at La Pineta on Salina (tomatoes, potato, capers, basil, EVO)
Favorite Gelato - Eaten with family in Sirmione on Lake Garda
Favorite Gelato Flavor - Fruiti di Bosco and Amarena
Favorite Granita Flavor - Lemon
Favorite Cake - Cassata Siciliana at Case di Latomie in Sicily
Favorite Panna Cotta - La Troppa Restaurant in San Donato in Poggio
Favorite Lunch - In Orvieto with University of Arizona Study Abroad Staff and Students
Favorite Breakfast - San Donato in Poggio B&B
Best Fresh Fruit - Cherries in Season all over!
Best Baroque Sites - Noto, Sicily
Most Awesome Boat Ride - Down the Grand Canal in Venice
Most Dramatic Beach - Sicilian Coastline between Mt. Cofano and San Vito Lo Capo
Most Beautiful Countryside - Drive from Pienza to Siena in Tuscany and Drive from Ispica to Palazzolo Acreide on Sicily
Volcanoes Visited - Vulcano and Mt. Etna plus saw Stromboli spout fire
Favorite Colosseum - Verona
Favorite Ruins - Segesta, Valley of Temples, Selinunte - all on Sicily

UNESCO World Heritage Sites Visited - Historic Center of Rome, Vatican, Cinque Terre, Piazza del Duomo in Pisa, Historic Center of Florence, Val d'Orcia in Tuscany, Historic Center of Pienza, Historic Center of San Gimignano, City of Verona, Venice, Arab-Norman Palermo, Aeolian Islands,  Monreale Duomo, Valley of Temples in Agrigento, Syracusa, Baroque Towns of Val di Noto in Sicily, Mt. Etna

We are fortunate to have not had any major hiccups along the way.  The trip was somewhat complicated, with air, train, hydrofoil, and car reservations, along with the various accommodations, and mostly finding everything!  There's nothing we would change.  It was an amazing trip!

Monreale Duomo

After dropping Claire, Emerson, and Colby at the Palermo airport this morning, we went to the Monreale Duomo, just south of Palermo.  WOW!  Built after the Norman conquest of Sicily, between 1174 and 1185 by Byzantine craftsmen, over 68,200 square feet of interior is covered in mosaics depicting Old and New Testament stories.  We were just blown away.  It was beautiful!  We also enjoyed seeing the cloister of the adjacent abbey, built at the same time.  It is surrounded by 216 double columns with each one carved in a different pattern.  It is easy to see how these places are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  They are incredible!