Moon Over the Tyrrhenian Sea

 Here's a picture I snapped from the balcony of our new place the other morning. I'm an old man, and old men get up at 5:00 rather they want to or not. After six weeks behind frosted glass in the sensory deprivation experiment that was our first apartment, having access to natural light and a balcony has made all the difference in the world to our mood.

We'd enjoyed a beautiful full moon, and it was so lovely to see it still firmly in the sky early in the morning. Before I head out for my morning walk, I usually find myself reading on the balcony, drinking coffee, and waiting for the day to come into itself.

Worship Is of Three Kinds

 "Worship is of three kinds: some people worship God out of fear, and that is the worship of slaves; other people worship God seeking reward, and that is the worship of hirelings; and some people worship God out of love, and that is the worship of those who are free, and that is the most excellent worship."

Jafar al-Sadiq

Every time I reread this passage I am moved, and I've probably featured it on posts somewhere along the way. It is from Jafar al-Sadiq, a very important figure in the Shia branch of Islam. To me, if you're praying and you're only doing so because you're afraid - or simply because you want something from God - then I don't really understand the point of your faith (or any faith, for that matter). Why would you worship a God (no matter how you define the divine) whose relationship with you is either a glorified Stockholm syndrome or the equivalent of Amazon? We're only free when, well, we're free to determine our path. If we're not free in that most intimate moment with the divine, then the moment is stripped of its beauty and meaning.

Assettati Redux

 I wanted to toss up a few more pictures from the Assettati restaurant here in Terrasini. Salvatore definitely has a winner there. The other day we ran into our friends Gregg and Richard, and we immediately started talking about how great Assettati is. We're now about a twenty minute walk away, but it's time well spent.

OK, so they're not Maine lobsters, but the Mediterranean produces its own delicious varieties.

There are actually other things on the menu (the pizza is great - and I haven't even gotten around to the burgers yet), but I find it hard not to order seafood every time (and I'm never disappointed).

The other night we arrived around 7:30 (about an hour too early to eat in Sicily, unless you're going to Pizzeria TUSA) and we just about had the place to ourselves. By the time we rolled out at 9:00 the line stretched down the street. It does your heart good when someone who cares deeply about what they're doing is appreciated.

Help at the Gym

 One of the first things we did when we moved here a couple months was join a local gym, Le Club Active. At the time, it was about a twenty minute walk up the hill, at this was during our most broiling heat, so it was necessarily an early morning adventure. Now, however, the gym is a two minute walk, and the weather has broken, so this is a much easier chore. It's a pretty good gym. As it turns out there are a couple other gyms, practically one on top of each other, so we have other choices if we decide to swap. Most of the expat crew seems to belong to that one, so I suspect we'll stick with it for a while. Much as when I lived in Abu Dhabi and Mumbai, having a gym membership and a related schedule helped a lot.

The front desk staff does seem rather disinterested.

So I Got That Going For Me

 On one of my morning walks when we still lived down the hill, and after a blessed rain at night, I walked out on to the Longomare to discover, first off, a rainbow that stretched completely from end to the other - beginning in the sea and ending in the sea - and a few moments, later, when the original arc began to fade, a double rainbow. I'm assuming that's good luck.

My morning walks always seem to end up down by the sea, for the obvious reason,

You Never Know

 We don't make it to the Piazza Duomo as consistently as we did when we first arrived for all sorts of reasons, but it's still a beautiful place to walk through or hangout. Essentially, you don't know what you're going to see when you're there. A couple weeks ago, I think on an errand when I was carrying stuff up the hill from the old apartment to the new, I passed near the beautiful church and saw a wedding taking place. We've seen several wedding take place there, and what a beautiful spot, but I had never seen one that featured soldiers as part of the ceremony.

Pizzeria TUSA

 We're settling into our new place, and that, of course, means having our favorite local restaurant. It has quickly become the Pizzeria TUSA, which is a beloved institution here in Terrasini. It was founded in 1940, which is, beyond the 86 years in business, an amazing thing to consider when you think that it was founded in Mussolini's Italy in the shadow of World War II. It's still going strong. It's one of the few places where you can show up at 6:00 and get fed without a sad look of pity at you being such a rube for wanting to eat that early. The pizza is absolutely fantastic, and the atmosphere it amazing. Friendly folks and great food - it's easy to see why they've been serving pizza for so long. Highly recommended.

Janet is loving her pistachio pizza.