Cocktails

Thursday night was fun.  Seems a bit strange to say on a night that began with an ordination mass at the seminary in Catania.  Alessandro is becoming a deacon, and this was the first ceremony in the process.  It also included an ordination of a priest.  The next ceremony is first week of February when Alessandro becomes a deacon.  We joined the family for the ceremony. Two masses in the last 3 weeks. My mom would have been so happy. It was a bit lengthy with the archbishop droning on too long for his homily.  It may have helped if I could hear him.  Vincenzo was nodding off.  I spent my time trying to get in trouble with the kids who were bored and making a bit too much noise.  The archbishop did have redeeming qualities as he stepped out of the procession out of the church to fist bump the kids and say hi to baby Tea.

We heard the whole story of Alessandro as we drove with his parents to the ceremony.  He was pretty successful as a fruit vendor, but had issues with the amount of credit he extended to everyone with a hard luck story.  He decided to chuck all of that and become a priest.  He spent a couple years in the seminary, and then met and fell in love with Maria Teresa, now his wife. Things worked out very well, as he has a beautiful family with two daughters, and he can still pursue his passion of being a priest (well, almost since as a deacon he can do most priestly things but with a few limits.) I think celibacy would not have been a good fit for him as he makes a fantastic father.  

We returned home for a celebratory pizza dinner with all the family.  I thought we were going right up to dinner, but Vincenzo, said no, come join him for poker.  It was only 7:00, so time for a couple of hours of poker before dinner. I thought I'd have a chance to recoup some of my losses.  But, Vincenzo is still saving me from myself, and I was just to be a spectator again.  Things have really clamped down here due to covid. Vincenzo and I were almost denied admission, as we did not have approved masks on.  They soon rustled some up for us.  I also had to show proof of vaccines before getting in.  None of this occurred a a few weeks ago.  

After sitting at the poker table for a bit, a nice man showed up with a cognac for me.  I was a bit perplexed as I hadn't ordered anything.  I asked Vincenzo if he had.  He said, I had ordered one the last time I was in about 3 weeks ago, and they always remember, so from now on, one will  show up automatically for me.  Such a nice place.  I have to say (other than the cognac) I'm not wild about being a spectator at poker.  I think I'd much rather risk losing $50 than sit and watch.  Although, at some point during the course of the game, invariably, something happens to upset someone, and soon voices are raised, hand gestures get a bit more animated, and I'm thinking someone is about to pull a pistol from under the table.  But, all calms down and back to normal within a couple minutes.

 Luckily, Giuseppe, Ettore's father, soon came to the rescue. He had stopped in on his way home from work, and watched for a few minutes.  He then asked if I'd like to join him for un aperitivo.  Being the polite person I am, I said but of course.  We left and walked to a place called Vin, a place we dined at early in our stay here.  It is a modern looking place, and according to Giuseppe, the best place to get a cocktail in Biancavilla.  I had not found any place on my own where this was possible.   The owner came out to greet Giuseppe.  I think Giuseppe knows every person in town. We had a nice chat.  It turns out the owner is also the proprietor of another place we like called Cafe Cristal.  I've had coffee and sweets there for breakfast, and Karen and I have had a couple cocktails there sitting outside on a nice night.  Giuseppe explained that Cafe Cristal was for the women, and Vin for the men. I said that I had been at Cristal that morning for a cappuccino and a chocolate brioche and I did appear to be the only guy there.     

Giuseppe and I had discussed favorite cocktails on the walk to Vin.  I think we share similar tastes.  He loves good scotch, other whiskys, rum and good beer.  I told Giuseppe about trying to order a martini at a bar here, and how I would have had to hop behind the bar to make it myself, as they had no idea.  Giuseppe said that is just not right and we can have whatever we want at Vin. At the bar he asked if we should get Manhattans, a martini, or possible a Negroni.  I opted for a Negroni.  It was excellent.  As usual in Italy, a drink is never served without food whether you asked for any or not.  So, the drinks came out with olives, chips, peanuts, and the chef walked out with some complimentary bruschetta in honor of Giuseppe.  As Giuseppe was explaining that each area of Italy seems to have its favorite way of making a Negroni, the owner listening in, slipped behind the bar and began making drinks.  It turns out that he was making his version of a Negroni for us to compare with the first one made by the bartender.  Giuseppe and I were already pushing our luck as he had a call with his wife, Elena, and her mom, Mariella, on our walk to Vin. They wanted to make sure we hadn't forgotten about the pizza celebration.  He had said not to worry, that the two of us were heading out for a quick drink.  But, what were we both to do about the additional Negroni.  There was no polite way to turn down the owner's Negroni, so we polished them off.  The owner's version was excellent.  Also, the pastry chef wanted to show off his bread making skills for us, (Giuseppe said he makes the best) and he came out with some bread, hot out the oven.  

We hustled out of Vin for the short walk home.  Now I was the one to get a call from Karen asking where were were, saying we were holding up the celebration.  She had seen Vincenzo arrive from poker without me and had no idea where I was.  Elena explained to her that the two Giuseppes were out drinking.  I told Karen we'd be there in "due minuti"  Giuseppe and I knew we may be in for a bit of trouble.  On a side note, I thoroughly enjoy Giuseppe.  He's bright, hard working and seems to enjoy life.  He has a good time saying Minnesota.  If he sees us on the street, we'll hear a shout of "Hey Minnesota!"  Everyone he introduces us to, he explains that we are from Minnesota.  He says the name with a much more enjoyable accent than the Fargo one.  He does a fair job with some english, but we conversed almost entirely in Italian.  As I've discovered before, alcohol is the best thing for my speaking abilities.  I spend so much time in my head trying to make sure I have verbs correct in Italian, that I often don't get my words out. But, alcohol definitely loosens my tongue, and I seem to speak much better in Italian.  Or, at least it seems that way to me. 

We joined the rest of the crowd, and weren't all that late.  It was a good celebration with wine and bubbly flowing along with good conversations.  It seemed like a great way to celebrate a new deacon.

That was all on Thursday, and now it is Saturday night, and we are just back from a tour of Noto and Ragusa Ibla.  Since this post is rather long, I'll save my comments on those two cities for another day.