Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

Have a wonderful Christmas eve. I hope Santa Claus is good to all of you.  

Paris is beautiful under any light but it's even more wondrous in interesting light.  

It is hard to believe but the Jamaica Wildlife Refuge is in New York City. Located in Queens it is part of the National Seashore and is close to  Rockaway Beach and across the bay from Kennedy Airport. It makes for a wonderful escape from the pressures of urban life and hassles.  .

Here in Corvallis Oregon the weather is rather moist and foggy but it allows me to take a few interesting shots.

Italian food is regional food although there are some least common denominators it's best to call Italian cuisine as regional  cuisine. Here we have three regional dishes. Pasta alla Norma named after the Great composer Vincenzo Bellini who was born in Catania, Sicily and loved this dish so it was named after Norma, one of his best opera. The aria Casta Diva when sung by Maria Callas leaves one awed.  This dish was prepared in Sicily with the local eggplants and tomatoes that are to die for. The Salade Nicoise is also Italian from Nizza a region that was always Italian but was ceded  to France by that poor excuse of the Savoy king of Piedmont who was fooled by Napoleon III for help that was never given.  The area is still somewhat Italian  and much of the food is Italian in flavor and style. This salad is a meal in itself. The pesto alla Genovese is of course the famous pesto sauce that is very popular these days. Nothing compares to the real one of course and ...

This is the smallest of the famed Italian lakes in northern Italy i.e. Lake Como, Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. However it is truly beautiful and not over developed. The town of Orta is a charming  place worth a visit.

These images were made on Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside Queens in front of a flower shop. The whole area is decked out for the holidays and it's quite pretty.  .

The glory of Italian cakes, the Cassata siciliana. A true masterpiece.