DAY 9: Saturday, May 26th: This morning me, Jessie & JoMarie were leaving Caccamo and Jo Ann behind for 2 days, so Jo Ann and I got up early to take another walk around town. As we headed back to our apartment we took a detour, and as we turned the corner we saw an Italian man standing on his balcony. He called down to us in Italian and I told him I only spoke a little Italian, so he answered me in English and invited us up to his apartment. After a few minutes conversation his daughter-in-law joined him on the balcony and said - "Do I hear Americans?" and told us she was from NYC. She and her husband were in town visiting her father-in-law. His name was Giovanni and her name was Pauline. So we climbed up the stairs to the balcony and joined them in their apartment. Pauline told us that they, along with Giovanni's friend Sal, were all in town because of the festivities for Caccamo's patron saint. They wanted us to stay for breakfast, but we couldn't because we had to get back to the apartment since Silia would be picking us up soon. So instead they insisted we have coffee and cookies (which were delicious!). We had fun visiting with them for a while, took lots of photos and exchanged emails, but then it was time to go. They invited us to watch the parade from their balcony the next morning. We knew we wouldn't be able to (especially since I wouldn't even be in Caccamo), but we left with the promise that we would try.
When we got back to the apartment Silia laughed when we told her what happened and was shocked that we would go into a strange man's apartment early in the morning, but she still thought it was funny! Then we loaded up our overnight bags and headed to the coffee shop to meet Jessie & JoMarie's family from Montedoro!
We arrived at the coffee shop and we soon met Jessie's family as they arrived in a rented white van with Angelo, his beautiful daughter Veronica and their lively, energetic interpreter, Lena. Not only did they rent a van to drive the 2 hours to pick us up, but they also hired an interpreter to be with us throughout the 2 days and she had a beautiful command of both the english and italian language. We all had coffee and pastries and then it was time to go. 
But now was the difficult time - it was time to leave Jo Ann! I was traveling off to the middle of Sicily to a place I had never been and staying with people I didn't know. At least I had Jessie and JoMarie with me, but Jo Ann was staying behind in Caccamo. We hugged each other good-bye and we both clung to each other for a few minutes. But then we both knew we each were about to have a great adventure! So we waved good-bye and as Angelo drove away I stuck my head out the window to take this photo of le belle donne - Jo Ann and Silia.
The drive through Sicily was beautiful! I sat in the front with Angelo while Jessie, JoMarie, Veronica and Lena all sat in back. Lena did a great job keeping the conversation going as she translated between all of us and informed us of what the plans were. It was then we discovered not only did they rent an apartment for us (so we could have our privacy, according to Lena), but they chose an apartment across the street from where Jessie's grandfather used to live! That was just one example of how generous and thoughtful the family was! While we were driving, Angelo was very quiet. He was concentrating on driving, and since he did not speak or understand any English he didn't join in on any of the conversations. But he must have been feeling left out because after a while there was a lull in the conversation and everything was quiet. Suddenly, Angelo sang out in a loud, clear voice... "We all live in a Yellow Submarine, a Yellow Submarine, a Yellow Submarine" and he looked over his shoulders as he motioned for all of us to join in and before you knew it we were all singing the universal language of the Beatles as we drove through the heart of Sicily! 
Even though they had never met, they all said they would have recognized Jessie anywhere as a Mantione, and she looked as though she belonged there! It was a very touching scene as everyone hugged and kissed and they welcomed all of us into their home.
We went into Filomena's lovely home and immediately all the photos came out and everyone was comparing pictures and memories and more photos were taken. Some of the photos that Jessie had brought with her were the same photos that they had, and with the help of Lena the interpreter we were soon figuring out who was who and how everyone was related.
Then we were told that the spaghetti was ready and out came the pasta and peas (made by Filomena), bread and cheese, salad with marinated tomatoes, and some wine. This was soon followed by roasted chicken with potatoes and homemade sausage. Then came the fresh fruit and Angelo expertly cut and served the melon. This was all followed by an ice cream dessert and more wine, then some traditional sicilian cookies, sesame cookies, and limoncello. During all this there was so much talk and laughter you would have thought we had all known each other and eaten meals together all our lives. Jessie had them all laughing and you could tell they already loved her. With the help of Lena we had some great conversations and even though there was a communication gap, they all seemed to understand Jessie's limited Sicilian dialect and really appreciated her sense of humor and we talked, ate and laughed for hours.
We had a great meal with lots of laughter and good food, and now these kind, wonderful people were going to take us to Mussomeli so JoMarie could meet her father's family, the LaPiana's.
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