FAVOURITE PICTURE SERIES (6)

I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse…..Michael Corleone, The Godfather, 1972

Bar Vitelli, Savoca (ME), Italy

I must say that 1972 was a great year!. It was the year when the classic movie The Godfather hit the cinemas (no pun intended here) and it was the year when I was born!

You will be wondering why I chose a quote from The Godfather to start off my latest writing. Well the reason is simple. The Godfather is one of my favourite movies and my fascination increased some years ago when I visited the Niebaum-Coppola Winery (recently renamed to Rubicon Estate, owned by Francis Ford Coppola – for those of you who don’t know, he was the director of The Godfather Trilogy) in Napa Valley, California and had the opportunity to see, on display, the Oscar that Francis Ford Coppola won for The Godfather.

In 2007, I discovered that some of the scenes in The Godfather were filmed in neighbouring Sicily, specifically in the town of Savoca. Forming part of Messina, Savoca lies 300 metres above sea level, between Taormina and Messina. A sleepy town with approximately 1,600 inhabitants, it is famous for being chosen as a location for the wedding scene in The Godfather. This was because the town of Corleone was too developed even in the early 1970's, and Savoca was used for shooting some of the scenes.

My recent visit to Taormina therefore could not be complete without a visit to this enchanting village, which is only approximately 30 minutes away by car from Taormina. Arriving in Savoca I made a beeline towards Bar Vitelli which was used to film Michael Corleone’s wedding to Apollonia. The Bar has been run for the past 44 years by the Signora Maria, a feisty 84 year old Sicilian from Palermo. A weather beaten face and old fashioned clothes belie a lively and intelligent woman, full of interesting anecdotes especially those relating to when Francis Ford Coppola and his crew were filming.

Whether or not a Godfather fan, a visit to this Bar is a must! Unfortunately the building is quite dilapidated, and requires some attention however it still retains its character, and whilst sitting down to enjoy one of the best home made lemon granitas in the area, one can soak in the fantastic views of the area.

A dash of Zibibbo, a liqueur made in Palermo, makes the granita taste even better!

FAVOURITE PICTURE SERIES (5)

Lunch break on Kilimanjaro

Shooting Stars

Second attempt at Clay Pigeon Shooting......I'd like to practice more :)

Honda CB400…..A Dream comes true

YEAY!! Finally I got my first motorbike….at the age of 34. Some might say quite late in the day considering it had been a dream of mine for the past twenty years.

Yes, it took me a long time to take the plunge and get my license. It wasn’t really out of fear of riding a bike but mainly due to my mum worrying about me, finances and perhaps a bit of procrastination from my part as I had no idea who to go to for lessons.

Well summer of 2006 saw me enjoy my first lesson on a scooter (thanks Sandro!!) and well, as they say the rest was history! Seeing that the format of driving tests changed over the past couple of years I decided to go for the highest level which would enable me to ride bikes having an engine capacity higher than 400.

After successfully undertaking the test, the first time round, I went straight to a dealer and ordered a yellow Honda CB400 – I had a two month wait for it which was just as well seeing that I was training for Kilimanjaro (my buddy threatened to take away the bike from me if I dared ride it before Kili!).

Well, now three months since delivery of my bike, I have been enjoying a couple of weekend rides (weather permitting) around the island. I also have a mega cool helmet, which I fell in love with the moment I saw it in the shop (you can see it in the pic!)

Now I look forward to going overland with it………………

Travelling the World

According to the map below I have seen around 14% of the world - not bad, but there are many more places that I want to visit.....so little time....and little less money!

PS...according to my input into a separate map of the United States of America, I have only visited 6% of that country, also on the Russian and Asian front I only visited Japan and Russia, countries in between haven't been visited yet so don't get too impressed with with this Map!



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