HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween has already been quite popular in Italy but here in Sicily it is still a bit controversial ... some love it, some hate it. The kids of course are crazy about it. Many shops are now selling Halloween costumes and supermarkets are competing in selling Halloween candies and decorations. 

My daughter and I wish you all a Happy Halloween!

My kind of town ..... Bronx, New York

Those of you who have been following me for a long time know that I am Sicilian. But few know that I grew up in New York, in the Bronx precisely. Here are some pictures that my friend and high-school classmate took of the building where I, my mother and grandmother lived in the Bronx, in the 60s and 70s. Gloria and I met in High School, we both attended Mother Butler Memorial High School on Pelham Parkway in the Bronx. When I met Gloria, we had already moved from 2394 Belmont Avenue, and surprise surprise .... we moved across the street from Gloria's house. 

By the way, 2394 Belmont Avenue and 187th Street, is located in the Italian neighborhood of the Bronx, just a few blocks away from the famous Arthur Avenue Italian open market. Needless, to say, we also had Egidio's Pastry Shop just down the block.

Thank you so much dear Gloria for bringing back such lovely memories!

Here are some pictures that Gloria took for me a few days ago:

Here is Gloria at Egidio's  Pastry Shop

Egidio's

VA TUTTO BENE ....THAT'S WHAT TALLY WEIJL SAYS.

According to this dress from Tally Weijl, VA TUTTO BENE...in Italian it means "Everything is going well". 

Around the USSR in 14 Days

In 1975 I got an offer I couldn't refuse .... a TWO-WEEK, all paid-for voyage around the Soviet Union. 

I and 15 other college graduates packed our suitcases and flew, literally, to Moscow (from New York) with the Russian airline Aeroflot. 

We stayed in Moscow several days, at the Ukraina Hotel, visited all the museums in the city, went to the Bolshoi Ballet. toured the city  and  in general, had a ball.  Then we were taken by train to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). We  visited the palace of Peter the Great, Catherine's Palace, the fabulous Hermitage Museum, the Neva River and the  famous Avrora ship.  

After a few days we again took the train, this time to Kiev, in the Ukraine, and then on to Sochi, the popular summer resort city of Russian leaders.  That's where they had (have) their dachas, summer houses. 

Here are some pictures from this memorable trip:

The Hermitage Museum in Leningrad

On the  AVRORA ship, which is now a museum. This ship survived the Russian-Japanese War. 

The Moskva River. Moscow. 

On the train from Kiev (Ukraine) to Sochi, on the Black Sea. 

The Neva River in Leningrad. 

The Winter Palace of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia.