Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Operatic backdrop fit for explosive finale

Above: Scene from The Godfather III shot on the steps of Teatro Massimo

Even if you have never seen The Godfather III, a spoiler alert scarcely seems necessary when revealing lots of bodies fall during the last few scenes of the film. You’d expect no less in any of Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy of films revolving around the Corleone family.

But who knew a silent scream could be rendered so powerfully as Michael Corleone’s? The unheard-scream scene was rendered on the steps of Palermo’s Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele, the largest opera house in Italy.

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Dangling horse dominates, but you’ve a hearty appetite as well

Above: Skyline of downtown Austin, 11:59 p.m., December 31, 2023

Smoking mezcal cocktail delivered in Palermo, Sicily

Readers of this blog seem drawn to the embalmed horse, of course, suspended by artist Maurizio Cattelan from a dome in a former castle above Turin, Italy. And any mention of the Alamo always attracts a crowd, even when I’m drawing no line in the sand but waving a flag of truce. But you also seem drawn to photos of food, or cocktails, no matter the country of origin; street art; ghosts; and saintly tales not taught by nuns.

The following list represents the biannual results of the most-read postcards on this ever-rambling blog, with the numbers in parentheses indicating rankings from six months ago when applicable.

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Biannual Roundup: What posts you’ve traveled most

Above: A mock wedding is always part of the pre-Lenten Carnaval in San Martin Tilcajete, Mexico

Above: Lou Ann Barton, Marcia Ball, Sue Foley, Ruthie Foster and Eve Monsees joined forces at a March benefit for the Austin History Center

Is everyone on a diet? I think this is the first time that there is not one food post represented in the top 12 posts that you have frequented during the past year.

The following list represents the biannual results of the most-read postcards, with the numbers in parentheses indicating rankings from six months ago when applicable.

Continue reading “Biannual Roundup: What posts you’ve traveled most”