A Sicilian adventour and other tidbits

i am always about a week late in my postings. ailsa is in charge of our written journal and is also a week late with that. when you enter a new place every few days it begins to get a bit overwhelming. i kind of feel like i should write about what has happened since greece but i do not feel i could do it properly without more time on a computer. so, i will have to play catch up later and give you a quick summary.

the day we got back from greece and back into bari, in the south-east of italy, we took a night train to milan and made our way to cinque terre on the somewhat north-west coast of italy. wonderful couple of days there, hiking and eating. 'have to move on...i will write more about that extrodinary place when i put pics of it up. i want to post our time in sicily first while is is still somewhat fresh. my apologies ahead of time if i get a little too detailed and then panic finish with out telling you the whole story.

from cinque terre we took a night train to sicily, where we had our most suprising experience yet. when we got into messina, we had to decide where in sicily to go first. palermo was too big so that was out for now. we liked the sound of syracuse but wanted to take care of our urge to see the eolie islands first since they were so close to messina anyway. so, we made our way to milazzo to catch our boat to lipari the main island in the group. while waiting for the bus to the port we met this sicilian man who was running around intently, searching for means to the docks. well, he found a car and yelled at me to come get in. i usually am very suspicious of anything and anyone who offers me anything when i am traveling as there is always a catch...however, when i asked the man how much he replied with the phrase that we would soon learn was his mantra, "don't worry, beee happy!!". so we got in the car.

at the ferry, i offered to chip in for the car but he again said, "don't worry, be happy!". i said, "ok". we offered our sincere thanks for his kindness and made our way in search of tickets to the islands. well, to make a long story a little shorter, we soon learned that tickets to the islands were more than twice what we read they were supposed to be. a bit dejected, we made our way to the nearest cafe/pub and began to reformulate our plans for sicily. as we were about to leave for the train station, this man said, "hello again!". it was mr. happy. when i stepped out to get some money, he learned that i was from alaska. this fact seemed to make him even more excited and we learned in short order that the island of lipari is one of his homes and that he wished to buy our tickets to lipari. again deflating my arguments with his mantra, i gave in and we made our way to the islands. marco, as we learned, is a direct decendant of the first family to come to these islands. i was happy to be marco's show and tell doll for the first couple days in lipari. he would often just look at me, give a huge sigh and say, very slowly and passionately, "aaahlaskaaa. you are from...ahlaaaska". alaska is somewhere that marco has wished to visit for a very long time and we hope he comes and takes up the role of the honored guest he made us feel like while on his island. marco put us in a hotel for two nights, treated us to the most wonderful meals every day of pastas, cheeses and fiorentine steaks and - the most beautiful experience yet - after the biggest bowl of mussels and clams i have seen, marco told the waiter to bring out a bottle of wine. he poured it into this massive decanter, set it on the table next to us and we began to stare and talk about it for the 45 minutes it breathed. though i have had my fair share and have tried the wines of quite a few other countries, i know that i am no wine connoisseur, so this is not the most shocking statement, but that wine was, without a doubt, the best i have ever tasted. instant chocolate, finishing with thick, skull filling, fruity aromas that demand to linger inside your top half before giving way to the next dose. when i told him that i had to buy a bottle and take it home he looked aghast, and said, "no,no,no,no,no, that is no good tyyyyson." apparently, even shaking the wine in the bottle will alter the beautiful taste, nullifying its wonderful qualities. it was far too expensive anyway...
i have gone off enough on this story. there is more to say but i just do not of the time. we thoroughly enjoyed our experiences in sicily and will be going back. this computer will not allow me to post pics so i will have to play catch up with that as well.
when i write again, i will catch up on our remaining time in italy, including rome, a quick visit to the amalfi coast, camping and hiking along the villages - literally made from the mountains - on the border of italy and france and our loaned, fine dinning experience. finally, i will have to dedicate sufficient time - which, sadly, i don't have at the moment - to the most recent miracle, the night we saw liverpool play. and play they did!!
we have felt so overwhelmed, so blessed and so thankful for the doors that have been opened and the protection we have felt over us and the growing baby during these last two months. we attribute all of this to the One who watches and loves on us where ever we are in life and with all of his beautiful creation.
and so we are in spain right now. this is my first time here, a country i have wished to visit my entire life but could never quite reach. i already have the lurking feeling that i did not set aside enough time for here and portugal but you won't hear me complaining.
this is one of our rare hostel visits and that is why i am able to write. before this trip ends i will but up a menagerie of photos and their explanations.

the map to the upper right of this page is also updated.

talk with ya later.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK -
context: ailsa and ty getting up from bed after another sleeper train... AILSA, AS SHE SITS UP OUT OF BED: "ooo, ouch!!" TYSON, WITH A PANIC LOOK ON HIS FACE: "what! what is it!?" AILSA'S SLEEPY FACE COMES BACK ON AND SHE SEEMS FINE: "oh, nothing...just another kick to the uterus".
THE 'NORMAL' LIFE OF A WORLD TRAVELING PREGNANT WOMAN. MY HERO AND LOVE!!! SHE IS TRULY ONE UNBELIEVABLE WOMAN. ALONG WITH OUR BABY, SHE HAS CARRIED ME THROUGH MANY OF OUR MORE CHALLENGING EVENTS DURING THIS ADVENTURE.