Taormina Film Fest June 21-22

Since moving to Italy, I have successfully disposed of all of my 110 volt appliances and accessories replacing them with either 220 v. or dual voltage items. Except the XBox. It was decided that since it is 110, and I don't have any transformers, we will mail it back to the states so that Sarah can play it while she's there. But, before mailing it, she'd like to play it a few times here...so we called my brother to see if he had a transformer we could borrow for a few days. He did, and the only detail left was to work out when and how to acquire it.

Walking to the car after running an errand, someone suddenly called my name from behind. We stopped and turned, and there was Matt. He said, "Transformers." To which Sarah quickly replied, "have you talked to my uncle?" Confused, Matt replied, "no." Then we determined that he was talking about the movie.

We went to see the premier of Transformers in the Greek amphitheater in Taormina last night (Thursday, June 21). What a treat. The movie was introduced by producer/director Michael Bay (The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Transformers), and actor Shia LaBeouf (Holes, Constantine).

It was a clear and beautiful night with a light breeze. When the lights went down, a spectacular laser light show ensued. A memorable experience was had for all. The movie was great although I think it would have been better if it had not been quite so loud - well, in retrospect, my emotions are mixed on that - you certainly were not distracted by talking people because you couldn't even hear the person next to you. We were not allowed to take pictures during the performance (they were actually sealed in security bags), but here is one of the stage, uh...and Rob taking up some of the foreground.


I'll have to mark the Taormina Film Festival on my calendar for coming years. It's really sad, because this is my fifth summer living in Sicily, and my first visit to Taormina during the film fest (I usually avoid it because I really hate big crowds). This year was different because it was planned at the last possible moment. We ran into a friend at 5:00 pm that told us a group of people we knew were going. So, we made an on the spot decision to go as well. We left immediately and drove to Taormina to buy our tickets (seeing how they set up the amphitheater and how it all worked, I think we could have purchased them at the door at 9:00). Regardless, we arrived in town at about 6:00, bought our tickets, went home to feed Cocoa, and changed clothes. We returned, got a quick bite to eat, and entered the theater. It really went smoothly and there were not that many people waiting as most were already seated. We found our friends and had a great time.

When it was time to leave, we waited for most of the people to exit before we made our way out. This was a good plan as the road through town is not all that big. Leaving the amphitheater grounds, we saw people waving their hands in the air for t-shirts. They were throwing them into the crowd. Fortunately, we were with a couple of tall guys that towered over the majority of the people in the vicinity and they were able to grab several. After rejoicing over our newly acquired merchandise we ambled to the main intersection (where the taxis park). We were standing there saying our good-byes when suddenly everyone in our group dropped everything and took off...all I heard was Amber saying, "oh my god, it's..." and I said "what?" "Who?" and Christine said, "you know, the Green Goblin, Spiderman, James Franco" (also in Tristan and Isolde, Flyboys, James Dean). He was standing about a foot away from us and I totally did not see him until it was only the back of his head. What an idiot. You never know who you might see in Taormina...and a foot away I miss one of the best looking men in Hollywood today, what a great smile.

We finally caught up to Amber and her friend Neil and they were nearly hysterical...Amber had taken Neil's picture with James Franco...it is really a great shot. The rest of our group was nowhere in sight...possibly trailing after him for a picture of their own?

Yep, that's precisely what they did. While they were chatting they learned that Mr. Franco would be introducing an independent film that he co-wrote, directed, and starred in (Good Time Max) on Friday night at 6:00. We ran into Christine on Friday morning and she told us about it as well. Later in the day she called to give us the details and, because the showing was early, we met them once again in Taormina.

Once in the theater, we sat toward the front (I was on the isle). Two women came in to make the introduction and, rather than going all the way to the front, they decided to stand on the landing directly in front of us. A few minutes later, James Franco and Vince Jolivette walked down the center isle (I have to admit, it made me gasp).

After the showing we decided to get a bite to eat. We chose the restaurant that sits just outside the gate of Taormina for Porta Messina (Trocadero's?). Naturally, because the weather was awesome, we sat outside. Just as we were finishing our antipasto, James Franco walked around the corner, arms outstretched (he was just coming from the beach and appeared to be enjoying himself). I could not get my camera out fast enough, but Sarah and Neil were up and after him without a second thought. They caught up with him as he was ordering a gelato (pistacchio...one of our all time favorites). They were gone for what seemed to be a long time so Amber, Christine, and friend decided to trail after them (I stayed at the table with Matt). Anyway, they took another picture with him and Sarah mustered the courage to ask to take a picture as well (this one will hang in my classroom).

During their chat, they learned that he planned to return to UCLA to finish his degree (congratulations James), and explained that we are teachers and that we live here - naturally inviting him back to tour the base...one never knows. Personally, I prefer the towns, beaches, food, and weather, but the point was more a morale boost for the military members and their families. So, as it is with all those we meet (well, most anyway), there is an open invitation for future visits to the little paradise in the Med that we call home, complete with English speaking American guides.

Simple tasks...?

How long does it take to get money, pick up and deliver x-rays, and go to the vet? Six hours...really. :S

Wednesday, I set out to do four simple tasks: get Euro, pick up my dental scan, deliver it to my dentist, and take Cocoa to the vet. Since Maryellen had to stop by the dentist's office as well, she agreed to follow me to find a bancomat and stop by the radiologist.

We left school at 3:00. I stopped by the ATM near the school and it was out of order...BRAND NEW and already out of order. Rather than taking an extra 8-10 minutes to go to one a little out of my way, I figured there would be plenty to choose from in downtown Catania.

We agreed that we both needed to get gas, so we stopped at the gas station first. I told Maryellen about the banking issue and she agreed that we would certainly see one. Thus, we set off on our quest. As chance would have it, we passed a bank on the way. The problem was that it was in a very busy traffic area and rather than triple park, I opted to continue on. It took about an hour to go the 18 miles from school to the radiologist. We parked the cars and began looking for a bancomat. When we had walked 5 minutes, we inquired with a man on the street who gave us directions to the nearest machine. It took us several minutes to find it, and as luck would have it, it was out of money. While we were commenting on the incredulity of the situation, we saw an older scooter with a spare tire mounted on the side and, since we had never seen such a thing we took this picture.


So, we re-focused on our task and asked another man for more directions. He was helpful and sent us in the direction of the Duomo. We walked and walked...realizing that we were in what we would consider to be a low-rent district we knew we were destined to go nearly all the way to the Duomo, sure enough it was within two blocks of the centro. I made my withdrawal and we were on our way to the radiologist. By the time we arrived at the radiologist it was 5:00...yes, two hours had passed; one driving, the other walking.

At the radiologist we learned that they would have takin my bank card as opposed to cash - go figure. We should have known, but since they don't deal in many cash transactions, we expected to have to pay cash. The good thing was that instead of the 150 Euro they told me it would be it was only120. Ok, so now I had money and my x-rays.

I live a good distance from Catania and my vet is also far from my home so Maryellen offered to deliver the x-rays for me -- she's a great friend. So, we set off in seperate directions. I reached my house by 6:00, got Cocoa in the car, and headed for the vet.

Traffic backed up at the tollbooth for some construction that had just been set-up. It took about 15 minutes to get through. When I reached Gravina traffic backed up again (which is typical for the area) and I was beginning to get anxious as 7:00 neared (the time the vet closes). Thankfully, we arrived at the vet at 6:55 and made it in the door. There were however, 5 others in front of us. We were finally seen at 8:00, there was an examination and collaboration of doctors, and we were on our way home with instructions to return on Monday or Tuesday for a final treatment option before a recommendation for surgery. Poor Cocoa...I feel so bad for her.


Finally, after 6 hours of running around (driving, walking, and waiting), Cocoa and I made it home at 9:00.