baroquesicily.com - Sicily Stories and Travel Tips from Jann Huizenga

The Best Little Cakes in Sicily

Jann — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:23:08 +0000

Run, don't walk, amici, as fast as your little legs can carry you, to Caffè Sicilia...

Ode to Sicilian Women

Jann — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:40:14 +0000

You are bold and funny. Spicy and sweet. Kitchen goddesses; enthusiasts; enchantresses;...

Restoring a Damp House in Sicily, Part 3

Jann — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:48:38 +0000

March 1, 2010

The roof’s been fixed; the rain’s been staunched.

xxx

…xxxxx

…

xxx

I turn my attention to the interior of the house.

Please find me some old stones, I implore. Vi prego. There must be stone under the many layers of plaster and wall tile. Let’s expose it!

“What do you need old stones for, anyway? asks the project manager,

Continue reading Restoring a Damp House in Sicily, Part 3

Southeast Sicily’s Captain Mimo

Jann — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:22:29 +0000

I met him in the baroque town of Noto. His name was Domenico Sculli. "Call me Mimo," he said.

Do You Dream . . . ?

Jann — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:57:31 +0000

... of a house in deepest Sicily? ... of clouds and earth and stone?

Restoring a Damp House in Sicily, Part 2

Jann — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:54:47 +0000

I scale the scaffolding to inspect the newly-patched roof tiles. Resentment tugs at me—a feeling that my husband should be the one crawling up these monkey bars, not accident-prone me. Why is he 7,000 miles away, on terra firma, while I'm alone in this strange land?

Asparagus: A Story of Stalking and Snapping

Jann — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:03:28 +0000

February 16, 2010

Starting in February, Sicilians take to the hills and valleys to hunt for wild spring asparagus.

The first time I stalked asparagi was with a party of friends in a wildflower-strewn valley just beyond Ragusa Ibla. We were led into battle by my friend Gio’s father, Signor Battaglia, a tailor with a zeal for

Continue reading Asparagus: A Story of Stalking and Snapping

Buon San Valentino

Jann — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:14:17 +0000

Can a taste of love be so wrong?...

Ragusa Ibla: Where in the World?

Jann — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:18:38 +0000

February 11, 2010

Well, I’ve been blogging on and on about my adopted Sicilian village for several months now, forgetting to give you an overview of the place.

Do you want to see her? Shall I locate her in space?

Do you see why I fell head over heels?

Ragusa Ibla is a huddle of homes and churches, the

Continue reading Ragusa Ibla: Where in the World?

Restoring a Damp House in Sicily: Part 1

Jann — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:21:09 +0000

February 8, 2010

The building permit for my little dream house in Sicily has finally been issued. I’m wildly happy.

…

Work begins.

Or does it? I’ve taken a job way up in Rome to finance the dream, so I cannot be sure.

xxxxxxx

xxxxx

But I know one thing: the scaffolding is up in the

Continue reading Restoring a Damp House in Sicily: Part 1

Driving in Sicily: A Wall Struck My Car

Jann — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:49:41 +0000

I don't claim to be the world's best driver...

Yes, You Can! (Speak Italian)

Jann — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:36:44 +0000

February 3, 2010

She hoped to read Dante in the original, my sister did, to discuss him in his native tongue.

But first she needed to pick up some basics.

So she came all the way from Los Angeles to enroll in ibla!, a tiny Italian language school

Continue reading Yes, You Can! (Speak Italian)

Pazienza, a Sicilian Mantra

Jann — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:04:40 +0000

January 30, 2010

I hire a team of architects.

I fire a team of architects.

I leave my husband in New Mexico and take a job in Rome in order to be “close” to Sicily.

And, oh, what a job it is (why don’t I have any luck with Italian bosses?).

The whammies start to add

Continue reading Pazienza, a Sicilian Mantra

One-Minute Sicilian Blood Orange Salad

Jann — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:40:29 +0000

January 27, 2010

Picture endless groves so laden with blood oranges that the orbs fall with abandon, rolling around in flowering fields and bouncing onto roadways. Fiats and Ferraris roar by, mashing the ruby-red flesh to a bloody pulp.

That’s what it’s like around Catania this time of year. Etna smokes away in the distance, aloof to

Continue reading One-Minute Sicilian Blood Orange Salad

Is My Existence Legitimate?

Jann — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:48:21 +0000

I'd cast myself into a new life with all my heart. BUt I'd forgotten my head.