New sculpture and Palermo

Here are some photos of the sculpture that Louise commisioned us to make at her house in Tuscany. We made a frame out of beautiful chestnut wood and then attached pieces of olive wood together to make four tree shapes. Their branches reach inwards to form a shading roof. Louise plans on planting kiwis, grapes, or some other leafy vine to grow over the structure.

The night that we finished we had a big dinner at Louise's with lots of friends. We brought them all out to see the sculpture by candlelight and took a few photos.

The next day we left for Sicilia! After an all-night 15 hour train ride we finally reached Palermo! (At dawn our whole train went on a ferry to cross the sea to Sicilia.) We had no idea where we would sleep but luck came our way. We met a great Swedish couple (shown above with Lea) who gave us some advice and a map. Then Couchsurfing pulled through and connected us with the wonderful Giuseppe and Geraldine. We've been staying in Giuseppe's small apartment in the center of Palermo. He took us out for delicious pizza and brought us to a cool bar venue where three musicians were playing jazz.

Today we wandered through Palermo. Above is the Cathedral (part of it, rather. It's tremendous!) We walked all over town, much of which was closed to traffic for Xmas shopping. Lots of street performers and markets. Note the palm trees and glorious weather.

Oh, we also saw this car. We parked next to it last night. I think it was firebombed. We are in Palermo after all! But don't worry, we don't have any money so I don't think anyone will mess with us!

Tomorrow we go to a WWOOF farm nearby, on the way to Lea's ancestral stomping grounds. I'll keep you all in the loop. Lots of love,

C

Grapes, Olives, and Kittens, oh my!

Here's the happy family, Alessia with Ajo (the kitten/tiger), Lea, Me, Nicoletta, Fabio, and Dino.

It's harvest time in Tuscany! Lea showed up about a month ago and we made our trek back to Dino's just in time for the vendemia: the grape harvest and pressing. Like berry picking, grape harvesting mostly means putting grapes in a basket when you can no longer fit any in your mouth.Almost right after that we got to work on the olive harvest, and have been picking ever since! We often pick until sunset, as you can see below.

Here's Ajo, our little tiger. He provides endless entertainment around the farm, as well as insightful critiques of my drawings. He's also a great climber and percher.

Fall is quickly turning into winter, with chilly nights, shorter days, and lots of rain! Luckily we still get incredible sunsets. That's Dino's, seen from the olive groves above the house.


Today Lea and I transfer to Louise's to build a goat shed, make a sculpture, and pick MORE olives. Then its off to Sicily and then... home sweet home! See you all for Christmas!

Love, chris