Birthdays and Tiles – A San Francisco/Sicily Connection

This past weekend we celebrated Nancy’s birthday. Happily the entire clan was able to make it home, including the newlyweds, Andrew and Connie, fresh from their recent elopement to Buenos Aires.

Our evening started with a round of drinks at Wellingtons, our favorite Sausalito wine bar...

...then proceeded into San Francisco for a wonderful dinner at Boulevard, one of Nancy's favorite restaurants...


...and finally ended up with a tropical flair at the Tonga Room in the Fairmont atop Nob Hill!

During our trip to Sicily last year Nancy and I had seen a set of beautiful tiles ("piastrelle") at the Baglio Oneto Resort on the outskirts of Marsala depicting various animals.

After we got back to California I did some sleuthing around and finally, just a couple of weeks before Nancy's birthday, tracked down the maker of the tiles - a well-known Sicilian ceramicist named Giaccomo Alessi who lives in the town of Caltagirone in the middle of Sicily.

Through the assistance of Tiziana Manzetti, one of the founders of thatsArte.com, a distributor of Italian art work, I was able to get the exact Alessi tiles we had seen in Sicily just in time for Nancy's birthday. Thanks again Tiziana!

Caltagirone is a beautiful city which has long been famous for the production of pottery, particularly maiolica and terra-cotta wares.

Like many of the towns in that area of Sicily – the Val di Noto – it is built on a hill. There is a long staircase - la Scala di Santa Maria del Monte –originally built in 1608, that links the lower city, where the Cathedral is located, to the upper city, where the government had its buildings. The steps were rebuilt in 1953 at which time each riser was decorated with majolica tiles to celebrate the city's ceramic heritage. Each year the steps are the centerpiece of both a Festival of Flowers and a Festival of Lights. Giacomo Alessi’s shop is at the bottom of the stairs.

In doing my research I also learned that San Francisco has its very own set of tiled stairs, located on Moraga Street between 15th and 16th Avenues, that were developed as a community project and dedicated in August 2005 at a ceremony attended by Professor Francesco Pignataro, the Mayor of Caltagirone (on the right below).

A close up of some of the tiles is at the very beginning of this post. The two tiled stairs are a very nice connection between San Francisco and Caltagirone.

Continue Reading »

Kanreki Chic – The Proper Way of Dressing for One’s 60th

In many Asian cultures one’s 60th birthday has special significance under the Asian zodiac system which includes both a cycle of 12 years – each with an animal associated with it (I’m a Rat) – and the relationship of 5 traditional elements (metal, wood, fire, water and Earth) with each of those years. As a result, a person’s 60th birthday – apart from being a good reason to celebrate for surviving! – marks the end of a 60-year cycle (12 x 5 = 60) and a symbolic rebirth – in effect a second childhood.

In Japan the 60th birthday is referred to as “kanreki” and the celebrant traditionally wears both a red beret-like cap (the “o-eboshi”) and a red vest (the “chanchanko”). I have read that the red color symbolizes that return to childhood - "aka-chan," literally "red one," meaning "baby" in Japanese.

On my 60th birthday last December – when Nancy arranged a wonderful surprise party for me – I coincidentally did wear a red vest to dinner, although my thoughts were more of the Christmas holiday season rather than of any zodiac significance. My Japanese friend, Masumi, recently learned of my sartorial oversight and somehow found an o-eboshi and chanchanko for me (needless to say, these are not typically stocked in most costume stores here in the US). So, although a bit belated, I have now managed to satisfy the more traditional Japanese requirements for kanreki celebrations!


Apart from the kanreki celebration at age 60, I have learned that in Japan they also celebrate a number of additional age milestones: koki (70 years old), kiju (77 years old), beiju (88 years old), sotsuju (90 years old), kajimaya (97 years old), hakuju (99 years old), and hyakusai no ga (100 years old), so I happily have more to look forward to! Continue Reading »

Happy Birthday to Me!

This blog was a gift from my son, Andrew, for my 60th birthday (thanks again guy!!). My family organized a surprise party for me the night before my birthday - an initial rendevous at Wellington's, our favorite wine bar in Sausalito, and then a larger dinner at Mezzo Mezzo in San Rafael. Sadly, Mezzo Mezzo, where we had taken a number of Sicilian cooking classes earlier this year, will be closing soon. However, Giovanni de la Renta prepared a wonderful meal for our group, incluidng a roast suckling pig, which evoked the kalua pig that I had grown up with on the Big Island of Hawaii. It was a memorable evening.

Family at Wellington's

With Giovanni at Mezzo Mezzo and the real star of the evening!

Continue Reading »