Month: March 2016

Of course, I had to spend my first full day in Sicily looking for some gluten-free pasta so I can enjoy all the rest of the great food here. The host for our apartment sent a link to stores with gluten-free food, so we walked this morning to a nearby supermarket (although we walked in the wrong direction even with a map).

Look what I found!

I also found some delicious goat cheese and salami…good for our first lunch in Catania. My new Italian word for the day, learned while shopping at a fruit and vegetable stand, is cetriolo (cucumber).

Ah, I also found some gluten-free gnocchi, which I forgot to put in the picture because it was in the refrigerator.

We did find a nice park by walking the wrong way to the supermarket. It was worth it to see the children and parents playing together and the older people sunning themselves on this lovely day.

Julie and I were warm from our walk and removed our wraps, but a clerk in a store told us it was a cold day, and most of the Sicilians on the street did have their coats on. I thought the temperature was perfect!

I’m not sure why we needed to walk several blocks to a park, though, since we have one outside our apartment veranda. I took these pictures walking down one side of our flat’s three-sided veranda.

Neighborhood park in Catania View from apartment veranda

The tree tops next to our veranda

Now that the “writing leave” has really begun, I’m starting to give proof that I really will write with a series of posts .

One set of articles (or chapters) I’m planning to write is about trees. The topic matches one in materials we will use in the online language courses we are creating.  While I was in Arizona, I took the chance to take photos of palo verde trees in the bloom of spring.

Palo Verde tree with blossoms Photo aken March, in Gilbert Arizona

Palo Verde tree with blossoms Photo aken March, in Gilbert Arizona

The palo verde is the state tree of Arizona. They are found primarily in the Sonoran Desert (Arizona and northern Mexico). The Spanish name means “green stick” and the green trunk and branches allows photosynthesis to occur. The tree has very deep roots, allowing it to tap into water sources even in the dry desert.

These trees were in the neighborhood where I stayed in Gilbert and were gorgeous against the clear blue sky.