Travel Travel

 Village of Sciacca   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/linen   17.5 x 23.5   45 x 60cm

From Sciacca Harbor   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/linen   17.5 x 23.5   45 x 60cm

 On a pedestal   Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  10 x 12   25 x 30cm

 Private Library and Pietro  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  11.5 x 19.5   30 x 50cm

 Houses by the Park   Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas   8 x 12  20 x 30"

  Pessemier  Acrylic/paper   8 x 6"   20 x 15cm

Arch on geometry page  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/paper   8 x 6"   20 x 15cm

 

 
Cherubs   Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/paper   11 x 8"  28 x 20cm

 Bay beach  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  12 x 12"  30 x 30cm

 Aspra Beach  Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  12 x 12"  30 x 30cm

Arabo-Normanno Building Bagheria  Blair Pessemier   Acrylic/linen   17.5 x 23.5   45 x 60cm

 Dome with Palm    Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/linen   17.5 x 23.5   45 x 60cm

Morning Boats  Palermo Harbor  Blair Pessemier  12 x 12"  30 x 30cm

Harbor  Laurie Fox  Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas   12 x 12"  30 x 30cm

Ficus tree   Laurie Fox Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  11.5 x 19.5"  30 x 50cm

In the Park  Blair Pessemier  Acrylic/canvas  11.5 x 19.5"  30 x 50cm

“It’s the anonymity I miss”, said the man at the table beside us.  We went to a pizza restaurant in Palermo, that had over 9,000 likes on the Internet:  Pizza Frida, as in Frida Kahlo.   There was an Italian version of her picture on the placemat.  The pizza was, in fact, exceptional, with ricotta and radicchio stuffed into the crust. 

David, the man at the table, was from Orkney, a dream home from his childhood.  He moved there after a career in London.   “I didn’t leave it for 18 months,” he told us, “but now I need my city fix every so often”.  He had our sympathy.   “Here, I don’t have to say hello to everyone on the street.”  I love the city life because I can be surrounded by people, and at the same time be alone.

Traveling isn’t just about the place you go to.  It’s about what you learn about yourself when you are there.

Blair left his credit card at the machine at the grocery store; here, in Palermo, Sicily.  People are afraid to come to Sicily, because it is dangerous (in fact, you are 27 times more likely to be killed in the USA).  Don’t get me wrong -- Sicily; even regular Italy, isn’t perfect.  But much of the evil reputation is bluster (and done within Mafia circles).  Blair’s card was retrieved and saved for him at the store.

The minute I get in the car, or on the plane or boat, the trip starts for me.  I shake off all the old ideas and attachments and move into a new phase.  

Today we painted in a nearby park.  There are the biggest ficus trees I have ever seen there.  They throw out new roots from the branch, and it acts like a crutch so the limb can grow longer and longer.  The roots extend above the ground like feet.   Being a tropical place, there are trees here I’ve not seen elsewhere.  I discovered a thorn-covered silk floss tree in a nearby courtyard.

There are problems with our social security applications.  Although they were approved in December, records of our payments (which we made yearly) have now been lost; cancelled checks indicating their deposit won’t suffice.  The person administering my account suggests I withdraw my application.  I just might, because maybe this year I will become a millionaire.