Category: Eat & Drink

I leave Noto on Friday morning after another amazing breakfast spread put out by Salvo and lots of hugs from Lynne & Marty.  The GPS does its thing and takes me on a wild ride through the city center and then directs me to go northeast when I know I need to go southwest.  I turn myself around and of course, the GPS recalculates – finally – after telling me 3 times to make a U-turn.  Whatever, I’ve studied where I’m going, and I’m right!

My next & last stop before returning to Rome is a luxury wine resort outside of Ragusa.  The Ragusa region is currently “the” food capital of Sicily with it’s amazing farms & artisan products.  I plan to hit the beach one day, go into Ragusa another, and want to see Modica (for both the architecture & the unique chocolate that everyone raves about) while I’m in the area.  I decide on a whim to hit Modica on the way and program the GPS to the city (but no specific “place” in the city). 

On the way, the countryside is gorgeous.  Not only is everything in full bloom, but this area of Sicily is heavy with stone walls.  I see hundreds of miles of stone walls . . it looks like they were not only used for property delineation, but for pasturing animals and cording off orchards & vineyards.  I think about the thousands of men that must have been required to move all this stone & build all these walls and hope that they were not slaves.  These walls have held up for thousands of years and are still in use today for both “working” and decorative purposes.  They’re not especially tall (maybe 3 or 4 feet), but really beautiful and effective.

The hill city of Modica comes into view as I round the bend and I see a sign that say “Upper” Modica and I decide to defy the GPS (who had me on a course for “Lower” Modica) and I turn right & head up the hill.  The architecture was calling me – but I found instead a bunch of very narrow, one-way streets and not much commercialism – just lots of residential places (old houses, tenements, new apartments & piazzas) and I realize the GPS was right this time.  I should have gone straight to “Lower” town.  By this time, the GPS has re-calculated the route and I’m winding all over town trying to get to its chosen destination.  Not so fun!  I seem to be getting more indifferent to this town and not sure I really care of I go at all and finally arrive at a parking area that has a ton of tour buses unloading.  I decide to drive a bit further and see what’s here and amazingly, I’ve arrived at the historic center of town.  I drive through and see little parking, but a lot of tourists.  I decide, “heck, I’ll come back another day when I’m a little more enthusiastic” and continue out of town.  Within 10 minutes I am in “no where land” and there is nothing but a few gas stations along the road.  I’ve now programmed the GPS to take me directly to the coordinates that I’ve been given, as Baglio Occhipinti, the luxury wine resort, is definitely off the beaten path.  I decide to wait to get something to eat (and load up on snacks, since I was basically out and didn’t buy in Noto) until after I check in – so I continue on.  Surprisingly, the GPS takes me right to the front gate of Occhipinti and I am thrilled – there IS NO WAY I would have found this place without the GPS.  NO WAY!  I’m serious & certain!!

I buzz the desk and they open the gate for me.  I drive about ¼ mile up towards “the house” and park the car.  I don’t leave for the next 75 hours.  Yes really, 75 hours!!!

Occhipinti was to be my last splurge and this place far exceeded every expectation I had for it!  I had seen only 9.5+ to 10 scores for this place on both Booking.com and the Italian Agritourism site – but a 20 would not do this place justice.  This IS, WAS, WILL ALWAYS be my definition of Heaven on Earth, Nirvana, and the place where I would be happy to be when I die!!!  Perfection, beauty, complete zen . . . may everyone get a chance to visit this place at least once in their lifetime (but tell no one, as we don’t want the secret to get out or the place to fill up so we can’t get in!).

I spent the next 3 days enjoying the company of new friends, walking & photographing the property, cooking with the chef, eating amazing Sicilian food, drinking really good wine (lots of it – I wasn’t driving after all), meditating, sleeping late (rare for me) and just loving my final days in sunny, warm, beautiful Sicily.

Now if you remember. . I was starving when I arrived.  I asked if there was a restaurant close by that I could get some pranzo (lunch).  Federica said she’d prepare me a snack.  The details of that “snack” are both memorialized in pictures, as well as in my “Appreciation” post.  I will never forget that meal – never!  It satisfied me on every sensory level and Federica’s kindness & service was unforgettable.  That was the first of many wonderful meals at Occhipinti and I found each was so delicious & generous that I needed no snacks (good thing, as I didn’t have any).  However, the kitchen was happy to make lunch if you wanted it and you could get their delicious homemade yogurt with honey & fruit any time of day.

Later in the afternoon, I met Myra.  A 13 year old German teenager who blew my socks off.  Her perfect English, her maturity, her sweetness, her friendliness, and her love of cats – this kid was the complete package.  For the next 2 days, I don’t think I saw Myra or her sister, Clara, without either Carlo or Camia (adorable little orphan kittens who were heavily spoiled & photographed by us all) on their laps.  Later that night, I met their parents, Claudia & Patrick.  The staff had set the tables for dinner by family . . one for my new German friends, another for an American family of three, and a single table for little old me.  I laughed out loud and said, “I guess I’m eating over here” as we were called to dinner and Claudia promptly started picking up the cutlery & glassware and said, “no you are not, you are eating with us”.  I fell in love with this woman immediately!  We laughed & drank wine until about midnight – and the girls stayed and talked and played nanny to the kittens until “the mean old lady in the kitchen” (Myra’s description) took the kittens away and put them in their box for the night.

The next morning, we all convened in the garden for a big breakfast.  Claudia kept saying “wait until you see what’s next”.   She was right, the food just kept coming.   5 courses later (including dessert) I was stuffed.  We stayed at the table chatting & laughing until about noon – and I needed a nap.  The girls stayed back & cuddled the kittens and Claudia & Patrick went to the beach.  We had talked Fausta (the owner) and the chef (Sebastiano) into a cooking class for Claudia, the girls & me – so we all met in the kitchen about 5pm to start dinner.  Sebastiano poured wine for Claudia & me and we all started making pasta.  This new hand rolled & cut shape was labor intensive and we were at it for over an hour when Fausta’s Dad came in & scoldedthe chef; apparently he wasn’t teaching us correctly.  He then spent time showing us how to more efficiently roll & cut the pasta and the process sped up considerably.  Clara finished up the pasta and the rest of us moved to the sauce & main course.  We made this really unique red sauce with the leaves from the zucchini plant sautéed and folded into the sauce.  Delicious!  Then we rolled slices of think pancetta (unsmoked Italian bacon) around medallions of pork tenderloin and pan fried them in rosemary-infused olive oil.  Then we made a really, really, REALLY tasty apple & butter sauce to go with the pork.  We finished off the bottle of wine & waited for Sebastiano to pull together the rest of the meal. 

That night, the place was full.  By this time, the staff knew that I had been adopted by the Hoffmanns and set my place at their table.  Four other tables were set for the other guests.  Our food, with a few additional items added by Sebastiano, was served & devoured by all, over the next few hours.  Of course, the wine never stopped flowing.  A couple from New Orleans was seated at the table next to us.  She was very nice; he was exceptionally obnoxious.  He used the f-word in every sentence – sometimes more than once in a sentence.  I think they drank 3 bottles of wine between the 2 of them and you could tell it was affecting him, even though he kept saying it wasn’t!

The girls took it upon themselves to play hostess and went around to all the tables (with kittens in hand) to ask if everyone enjoyed their dinner.  They were met with lots of positive affirmations and proudly shared that they had cooked dinner that night.  It was too cute!   Claudia made a quick trip to the bathroom and stopped by the last seated table to say hi.  She came back and told me that “she was very nice, but he’s kind of full of himself”.   The Hoffmanns were due to leave early the next morning – so Claudia reminded me that “these people” were to be my breakfast companions the next day and it just wouldn’t be the same!!

We stayed at the table drinking wine & talking about the girls coming to America for exchange programs.  Myra tried SO hard to teach me some German and while she was patient, I just sucked at the pronunciation of their complicated guttural sounds.  I fell in love with that family that night and told them they would forever be welcome in America.  They invited me to come to Dusseldorf and assured me they’d set up a great tour to see northern Germany when I do.  I shared my theory of speed limit signs in Sicily with them.  I am sure that the business of making, selling & installing them rests with the Mafia.  On average, I would say there is a sign every 100 feet on the autostradas and that they are all in conflict with each other!  I challenged the Hoffmans to count 100 signs the next morning and report back on the distance they travelled while counting them.  We all laughed, hugged good-bye and promised to see each other again.  Sadly, they left the next morning before I got up.

Breakfast that morning started with the couple from New Orleans (lucky me I was seated at the other end of the table) and a nice couple from Switzerland.  About 2 courses in, “the nice lady & full of himself man” sat down at the other end of the table.  Ana (originally from Macedonia) and Art (from Holland) lived in Amsterdam.  They owned a high end clothing company and while they travel frequently to Italy for business, they were at Occhipinti on a much needed holiday and had booked for only 2 nights.  I loved them both the minute they started speaking.  So wise, so kind, so worldly!    **I later texted Claudia and told her they were actually both really cool and that we needed to do a girl’s weekend with Ana.  They’re both all in and we’re going to try to make that happen in Amsterdam next year.

I spent the rest of the day & night with Ana (Art joined us for dinner).  We talked & talked, cuddled the kittens (the girls were gone, so someone had to do it!), did yoga, meditated and talked some more.  We dressed for dinner (yes, you do that in Sicily) and ate & drank for hours.  The next morning over breakfast there was a lively and intelligent discussion on the French election which parlayed into a full on discussion of the historical & political climate of all of Europe.  Fascinating! 

I asked the chef to prepare a late lunch for Art, Ana & me – my treat – that we could enjoy before I left that afternoon.  I told them this was in lieu of a “Kari prepared meal” that I promised to make for them when they come visit the United States.  Unfortunately, New Orleans guy, sort of barged in & started drinking wine.  For some reason, Art was under the impression that this guy was treating us to wine (though I had ordered & paid for a bottle) – but I didn’t bother to correct him – we could always get another bottle.  We generously, but somewhat awkwardly, shared our lunch with them.  All good – it was lovely; Sebastiano had done it again!

I loaded my stuff in the car and went to say good bye to the staff & Fausta.  I thanked them for a spectacular stay and promised I would be back.

I found Ana & Art relaxing in the garden.  I hugged Art good-bye and Ana & I walked arm in arm to the car.  We hugged good bye and assured each other we’d meet again. 

Two amazing women found at one amazing place.  Yes, Occhipinti exceeded all my expectations. 

And you know what?  If the place was for sale . . I’d buy it in a New York minute!

**Footnote:  I’ve had some great email & text exchanges with the Hoffmans & Ana since leaving Sicily.  I am certain a trip to northern Europe is in my future. 

Clara Hoffman reported that they did indeed count the speed limit signs on the way to the Palermo Airport.  She said that they counted 25 in 25 kilometers – which weren’t quite as many as I suspected – but she assured me it was definitely a sign of Mafia involvement! 

Ana later reported that she & Art had determined that 2 nights at Occhipinti were simply not enough.  Fausta had managed to accommodate them for 3 more nights, though they had to keep moving rooms, and one room had only a single bed.  Regardless, Ana would have stayed the remaining week of their trip at Occhipinti.  Art said it was time they ventured off the property.  Like me, they too had not left the grounds of Occhipinti during the entire duration of their stay!  

I’d read all about Noto – considered one of the great food regions of Sicily – I had to go.  This would be my 2nd to the last stop before leaving Sicily and I decided to make it all about food.

The drive from Trapani took close to 5 hours, but I managed to avoid most of the road construction that I kept running into over the prior weeks.  I stopped outside of Palermo to go to the bathroom and loaded up on water, some potato chips & a big, old candy bar.  Paolo had packed up some of those yummy Trapanese sandwiches so I thought this assortment would get me through the day.  Not!  Around 1pm and at least 2 hours from Noto, I was starving.  I stopped at one of those great Italian Auto Grills (highway rest stop) and found a hot bar.  They were grilling up steaks & pork chops – and my excitement for meat took over all rational.  I asked for a pork chop with roast potatoes & sautéed spinach.  What a MAJOR disappointment, as the meat had not even been seasoned with salt & pepper and the same seemed true for the vegetables.  A VERY disappointing start to my “all about food” three days in Noto (well, at least I hadn’t arrived in Noto yet!).

Two hours later I arrive in Noto and the GPS seems to be doing a great job of getting me to where I need to go.   I had communicated with the B&B host earlier and he told me to program in a Piazza near the B&B.  My last turn instruction was a one way street – going the wrong way – so I had to alter my route and the GPS decided to not help me out.  After a couple of attempts “to circle” the area, I gave up & called the host.  He asked me what street I was on and said to stay put, he would come get me.  About 3 minutes later, Salvo, arrived to save the day.  He introduced himself, jumped in the passenger’s seat and guided me to the “Piazza” to park.  At this point, it’s prudent to mention that even if the GPS had not steered me off course, I probably would not have found “the piazza”.  This was like no piazza I’ve ever seen.  It was really more like a hill with 7 or 8 parking spots – no square, no signs, no way!! 

Salvo, being the well raised Sicilian man that he is, grabbed my big bag & my carry-on and starting walking down the hill.  I followed and we made our way past the piazza and down a flight of old, cobblestone – and quite steep – stairs.  About ½ way down, we stop in front of this gorgeous, red, blooming bougainvillea and a pretty cool door to the B&B.  Inside, it just go better!

Turns out Salvo and his partner, Nico, had bought the place 4 years prior and completely renovated it.  They left a ton of the old architecture, most notably the tile floors, and added a ton of modern touches.  Turns out Salvo was in advertising and Nico was in fashion and they both lived & studied in Florence & Milan and fell in love with Noto on a vacation and pretty much bought the place on the spot.  Salvo runs the B&B and still does advertising from home; Nico’s an interior designer.  Their aesthetic taste – beautiful!!!  The pictures I took do not do this place justice – it is super cool & really gorgeous.  The kitchen alone should wine some awards.  You can see 2 pictures of the old floor that they kept under the huge island and my breakfast spread on the island in my photo gallery.  My suite was spectacular – incredible bed, huge shower with rain showerhead and a great view of the Mediterranean (about 3 miles away).

After I settled in, I asked Salvo to show me on the town map where the 3 best restaurants were.  He asked if I cared how much they cost and I said no – after all, this was to be the “food focused” part of my trip and I was going to enjoy it.  He ranked them in reverse order . . in other words, I would hit third best on night 1, second best on night 2 and save the best for last!

Night 1 – Restaurant #3 – VICARI

Tuesday night and I’m of course hitting the restaurant pretty early.  I find Vicari’s sign at the entrance to a small alley and go inside.  I ask if they have a table and of course, they do.  I’m the 2nd guest in, as the only other table seated is a couple with a baby girl (maybe a year old, but she wasn’t walking yet).  The waiter hands me the menu – it’s in Italian only – and I am determined to read this thing and order without help.

I find a yummy sounding appetizer with asparagus and a poached egg . . . and I’m in.  The main course gives a bit more pause, but I select a dish that sounds pretty good with shrimp.  I order a glass of white wine & a bottle of water and start to enjoy the bread & bread sticks that they’ve brought over . . . and then things get comical!!

This 30-something man is seated next.  He orders and then immediately goes to work on his phone!  He continues “working” throughout his meal – taking small breaks only when his food is served.

An Italian couple is seated in front of me and they go into a pretty long discussion with the waiter – about EVERYTHING.  Wine, food, the weather, what they ate for breakfast, the names of their children  . . . honestly, I don’t know what they were really talking about but they sure were manipulating the wait staff’s time!

My appetizer arrives and it’s beautiful & delicious, but kind of lukewarm.  A couple of points off for that!

Then a German couple is seated and I have a great view of them & their table.  She is gorgeous, I would guess about 45 years old has this great smile & bright, red lipstick.  I catch her eye a few times and she smiles & seems friendly.  Her partner is about 75 and seems worldly and kind.  They take a lot of time to scrutinize the wine menu and end up ordering 2 different wines.  The waiter pours them some tastes and he ends up asking for something else.  Of course, he’s quickly accommodated – it’s that kind of restaurant.

My appetizer is cleared (I didn’t complain about the lack of heat!) and a family of four is seated right next to me – and they are American.  I enjoy hearing English, but more so, the banter of these two teenage girls & their parents.  They neither speak, nor read any Italian – so they are struggling with the menu.  I’m just about to offer my assistance when the waiter comes over and the mother asks for help.  Believe it or not – the waiter ends up going over the ENTIRE menu with them in DETAIL.  This takes about 10 minutes . . I gotta say, this guy is REALLY patient.  First the Italians, now the Americans!!   

The girls really just want pasta with red sauce (keep in mind, this is NOT the kind of place that has this simple type of food – but the waiter says he’ll ask the chef to improvise something – which he “kind of” does – but it’s not quite what they girls wanted – but they end of eating most of it anyway). 

I also have noticed that a lot of the tables are playing with their “ambiance light”.  This is a light stick of sorts that somehow balances on the table and has a ball at the top for light.  They must have been battery operated, as they were turning them on by twisting them at the end when tables were seated (mine was lit before I sat down).  Little did the waiter that sat the American family know – but the waitress that was working the floor with him had traded the American’s light with the German couple’s light – because the German’s wasn’t working.  This of course made for an interesting obsession by the Americans and their waiter to try to get this thing working.  I could have stepped in to help clear that mystery, but frankly it was more fun to watch!

All this time, the original couple with the baby are in full “baby entertaining” mode – as this child has definitely hit her patience with “sitting at a table in a nice restaurant, waiting for my parents to eat 4 courses, dessert bribes won’t do it” LIMIT!  She’s up, she’s down, she’s climbing, Mom takes her outside, Dad takes her outside, food keeps arriving, they even order dessert just for the baby and it arrives and it’s TOO fancy . . . they really just want gelato for her.  But they say, it’s OK, leave it and we’ll eat it later (I think they were British, but I wasn’t close enough to hear all of the conversation).

My entrée arrives and it’s a bit of surprise.  I realize I don’t actually read Italian only menus as well as I thought.  There’s one prawn on the plate and a bunch of fish coasted in bread crumbs.  The fish is strong, there’s 2 different kinds, and I’m sure one is mackerel (one of the oiliest & strong flavored fish you can get).  The sauce is really good, as are the vegetables and I make myself enjoy it all – after all, I’m in Sicily in a fancy restaurant, so no complaints.

I pass on dessert (can’t remember why at this point) and ask for my check.  About that time the German man gets up to go to the bathroom at the precise moment that the kitchen drops something big and there’s a huge crash.  The man looks around, both startled & embarrassed and the pretty German woman & I catch each other’s eyes and just start laughing out loud!  He collects himself & heads out to do his business; the woman & I just keep smiling & giggling!!

I start to walk back to the B&B and realize I’ve turned up the wrong stairway – I’m one block over from where I’m supposed to be.  The stairway covers 4 city blocks uphill, so I turn at the 2nd  street to make my way over to the right one.  Big mistake!!  Three very mean, very loud dogs come barking and they want to eat me!  Their owner comes out and grabs the biggest one & then another and is screaming at both them & me.  It seems that there is no way to exit to the other street from this crossover and the dogs know better than I, that this is not a thoroughfare and I had better not even try to get through.  My heart is still beating fast & hard when I arrive back at the B&B. 

VICARI . . . Rating: 7 for food; 11 for entertainment!

The next day, I decide to explore the town.  Noto is called the City of Cement, but the architecture is Baroque and it’s amazing – so the cement thing is kind of easy to overlook.  Besides, the churches are INCREDIBLE.  As I’ve said before, you’d think I’d become religious with all the time I spent in churches on this trip – but the art is absolutely mind boggling and you really can’t help but gawk!

It’s laundry day – so I need to find a lavenderia.  Salvo has no recommendations, as he uses a commercial one outside of town for all of his B&B linen.  I find one on the internet and walk about 12 minutes to find it.  The lady is nice and since my Italian pertaining to laundry has gotten better we agree on delivery tomorrow at a per garment cost; she even counts my dirty underwear!

I spend the day shooting pictures, climbing lots of stairs to church roofs and bell towers and alternating with little naps back at the B&B (all that hill & stair climbing is exhausting).  Gelato & pastry are fortifying and I’m pretty sure I missed lunch that day.  I forgot to mention that I was the only one at the B&B that first day and Salvo put out this amazing spread just for me.  I ate quite a bit of breakfast, probably why I could forgo a formal lunch!

That night I decide to hit Salvo’s next restaurant recommendation.

Night 2 – Restaurant #2 – MASSUMO

I’m the first to arrive that night and they can easily accommodate me!  It’s a pretty space and Salvo told me that the chef & owner is the mother of the chef at the place I’ll be eating at tomorrow night.

Tonight the menu is both in Italian & English, and the choices are plentiful and there are so many dishes I’d like to try.  Tonight, I go all out and order FOUR courses.  I also drink 2 glasses of wine, a liter of water and a grappa (I’ll save that little tale for later).

Next seated – a 2-top of young lovers.  These two could not keep their hands off of each other and kept kissing.  I’m sure they were on their honeymoon.

My antipasti arrives and it’s the BEST octopus I’ve ever had in my life.  Michael Chiarello’s at Coqueta in San Francisco comes close – but this was truly the best.  Tender, flavorful, plentiful and served on creamy potatoes.  Yum, yum!

The restaurant is busy up and no one seems to have a reservation.   The 2-tops & 4-tops are filling up fast and I realize this is a pretty popular place – mostly locals I believe, as the town wasn’t very crowded with tourists that day in the off-season.  Just across from me they seat this family of 4.  The mother is Asian and is speaking English to the two boys who are about 7 & 8 (maybe a little older, but I’d bet not).   The Dad is going between English & Italian (with the waiter AND the boys) and they are all (including the boys) very smartly dressed.  The father & boys all were wearing scarves around their necks tied in that European fashion (Scott could teach you how to tie them like this – as he learned in Paris!) and before sitting down, they all pulled them off and neatly draped them over their chairs.  I realize these kids are VERY well behaved and have VERY sophisticated palates.  They are excited about the grilled swordfish and both start with orange & onion salads.  They even eat European style with knife & fork for all bites AND have great table manners.  Far cry from what I witnessed the night before with the two American teenagers!

My primi arrives: Parpadelle with artichokes, fennel & prawns – pretty tasty indeed.  

The last table to be seated seems to be a reservation that the wait staff has been waiting for.  I think they were regular and/or special customers and were celebrating something big.  I hadn’t seen this much food at a table during the whole trip – but thinking back this is what most people would consider “quintessential Italian eating” if they were to see it.  Platters of food just kept coming and the wine never stopped flowing.  Wish I could have joined them!

It’s course #3 – I’ve skipped the secondo and gone straight to salad.  Have I mentioned I’m getting quite used to the salad coming after the meal?  It really is refreshing & cleanses the palate – setting you up for dessert.  I had the same orange & onion salad that the boys had – delicious.  Can’t go wrong with anything citrus in Sicily – it’s SO good!

They offer dessert & I’m all in.  I decide on a ricotta tart with dried fruit.  Now, I’ve mentioned in previous posts that the ricotta over here is sheep’s milk and IT IS SO MUCH BETTER than the crummy, tasteless cow’s milk stuff we get in America.  I make a mental note: Gotta find some sheep, gotta find some sheep’s milk ricotta when I get home!  I kept noticing all these attractive bottles of liquor on the front bar and asked the waiter what they were.  Grappa – in various varietals.  I decide I must have one – so I select the one made of moscato grapes (one of my favorite dessert wines).  WOW – have I forgotten the grappa Scott & I had in Greece!  This stuff cleans out the pipes and will get you high in 2 seconds flat. It reminds me of moonshine (not that I recall ever drinking moonshine, but I can imagine).  I try to get it down, but I just can’t – but I don’t want to have to try to explain to the waiter what a horrendous mistake I’ve made, so I look around to see if anyone’s looking – and I pour about ½ of it onto my cake.  I think that might minimize the nose-clearing effect – but I’m wrong again.  Thank God I poured it on one part of the cake only – so I simply ate around it and left a little bit of grappa soaked cake for the dishwasher.  Problem solved – kind of!

I ask for the check and waddle out the door.   After all that food, 2 glasses of wine & a liter of water, I’ve forgotten to go to the bathroom.  The last half of the walk back to the B&B was a little uncomfortable – but at least I turned up the “right” flight of stairs!

MASSUMO . . . Rating: 9+ for food; 10 for wine; -1 for grappa!

The next morning I go down to breakfast.  Salvo has put out another awesome spread, and someone is speaking English.  I turn the corner and see a nice couple and say, “wow, you’re speaking English”.  They introduce themselves as Marty & Lynne from Australia.   Come to find out Marty’s American and while Lynne’s Australian, they’ve met in California, worked in Silicon Valley and lived & raised their family in Santa Cruz!  They moved to Australia to help care for Lynne’s father a few years back.  They’re excited to hear I’m from Half Moon Bay and want to hear all about my travels through Sicily.  We spend about an hour & half talking with Salvo trying to listen in to our quick & funny English!

I give Lynne & Marty some suggestions of places to explore and take off to pick up my laundry.   Before going downtown though, I go farther “up the hill” to check out a church that Salvo said I must see and see if I can make a reservation for dinner at Crocifisso (a Michelin rated, but not starred restaurant) – the best in town according to Salvo.  I run into Lynne & Marti a few blocks from the Lavenderia and mention I’ve made this reservation and ask if they’d like to join me.  Lynne’s quick to say yes, but Marty asks if they can check out the menu & get back to me.  Of course!  I go on my way.  I pick up the laundry and stop by a famous little café (Caffe Costanzo) for a piece of pistachio & chocolate cake and it does NOT disappoint.  (The day before I’d stopped into the other famous pasticceria in town called Café Sicilia which is supposed to be the rival of Pasticceria Maria in Erice for the best pasticceria in Sicily).  Now that I’ve eaten at all 3 – I’d have to say Caffe Costanzo was the best.  So much for travel guides!

I hit a few more churches & climb up some VERY narrow steps to a bell tower.  I have to stop for traffic coming down on my way up and am warned to hurry up as the bells are expected to start chiming in 10 minutes.  I make it to the first landing & decide that’s far enough as I have to maneuver back down those very narrow steps.  Besides, I’m starting to get hungry. 

I stop at a little street café to have some lunch and enjoy a rustic antipasti plate with some of the best eggplant I’ve ever tasted.  What do these Sicilians do to eggplant to make it taste SO good??  I have to find out.  As I’m enjoying this little spread, Marty comes out of the restaurant (I was eating at an outside table) and says they’ve left me a message at the B&B and they’d love to join me for dinner!  Yeah, English speaking companions for dinner.  I get a call from Scott about some business stuff and then tour an old villa / palace at the center of town.  I return to the B&B and have a little nap before showering for dinner.

Night 3 – Restaurant #1 – Crocifisso (Ristorante of the Sacred Cross)

We arrive at 8pm and are NOT the first ones seated, but the service is excellent.  We order a bottle of red and start drinking.  Lynne & I both order artichoke arancine for appetizers and I don’t remember what Marty had.  Lynne had some fish, Marty a rabbit dish – and me, well I had lamb prepared two ways for dinner.  Honestly, I don’t remember the food that well.  However, the company & the budding friendship were sublime.  **See Sue (my BFF), I really can put food second when there’s an excellent experience staring me in the face!

CROCIFISSO . . . Rating: 8 for food; 13 for new friends!  

Noto – Beautiful Noto!  Maybe not quite the foodie experience I expected (but then I’ve been told many times I’m a food snob), but a wonderful 3 days in so many ways.  I would go back – just for another piece of that chocolate & pistachio cake!

**4 1/2 weeks into the trip and I’m pretty tired – but let me tell you about the adventure that Marty & Lynne were on.  These two were doing 7 countries in 30 days – and I’m not talking countries that were necessarily close to each other.  Left Queensland, Austraila.  First stop: Reykjavik, Iceland.  Then Dublin, Paris, Sicily, Houston TX, Honduras, back to Houston & onto San Francisco (to spend a few days with their kids in Santa Cruz), down to Los Angeles for the flight back to Australia.  They are great friends!  They were meeting friends at all these places to celebrate birthdays.  I shot Marty a message the morning I was leaving Rome to see how their trip to Honduras was going.  They were there, but he wanted to know if I’d seen their luggage which was still apparently in Rome!  At least, they only needed bathing suits & flip flops for the Caribbean!  They checked in a week later to tell me they’d made it back to Australia but their luggage had not quite caught up.  There were having to pay $150 per bag to have it delivered to their home in Queensland.  Lynne traveled heavy  . . I’m sure she had a great shopping trip in San Francisco!!

Enjoy the pictures of the Baroque architecture & the magnificent churches of Noto . . .

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I stopped by an exhibit of Marc Chagall works and they were also showcasing a textiles designer – hence the pictures that look like rugs!

April 17 – Little Easter!

The Trapanese really celebrate Easter.  After 24 hours of Good Friday mystery processions, Easter Sunday with two church services, and a big dinner with the family – they continue celebrating on Monday.  The Monday after Easter is called “Pasquita” or Little Easter.  No one goes to work & the streets are deserted.

This is my last day in Trapani and I haven’t had a chance to do the surrounding area touristy things like the salt flats, Marsala & Erice (reported to have the best pasticceria in Sicily).  I decide I’ll defer salt flats & Marsala for a future trip because any time I can eat pasticceria in Sicily I’m going to do it!  Besides, my Mom remembers Erice fondly from their trip to Sicily in 2004 and is looking forward to hearing about my impressions of this beautiful little town.

Paolo says I can just take the bus to the funivia station (that’s Italian for cableway – i.e. a tram that goes up the mountain to the hill town of Erice). 

I pack up some stuff & start the 10 minute walk to the bus station (it takes 15 because I’m really not feeling 100% after yesterday’s boat trip).  The streets are really quiet and besides a few tour buses, I’m not really seeing any city buses.  A few people come by & ask me if the buses are running; none of us seem to know for sure.  After a half hour of waiting I decide – they are NOT running.  I walk back to the B&B to see if Paolo has another suggestion, but he’s not there.  I’m really not feeling it – but I have to go to Erice – I’m this close.  So, I find a well-rated taxi service on Trip Advisor and call for a taxi.   5 minutes later I’m taking my first 15E trip of the day. 

A ticket for 8E and I’m on the cableway headed for Erice.  I’m still feeling a bit uneasy from yesterday’s boat trip and all that wine that Vincenzo kept pushing on me and the fog is closing in.  The trip only takes about 12 minutes – 6 of which I’m cloaked in dense fog.  I arrive at the top, walk through the city gate / arch and start heading up the hill.  I’m not really sure where I’m going but the small crowd is heading up, so I will too.  There’s lots of little souvenir shops, cafes & restaurants – all cute – and lots of great churches & architectural details.  I’m taking pictures like crazy.  8 minutes in and I’ve found two pasticceria’s and the first one is Maria’s – the one rated the best in Sicily.

Next door to the actual shop where you can purchase goodies is a “showroom”.  This place is filled with antique china cabinets filled with Maria’s sweets.  My guess is she’s become such a big deal that this is the only way they can keep commerce flowing in the actual shop, as everyone wants pictures of these little gems. I’m no exception – they are so intricate & beautiful.  But pictures alone will not do – I need pastry!  I go next door and load up on a huge, mixed selection of cookies, a piece of cassata (still around from Easter) and a little mandarin made of Martorana Reale (a type of really sweet marzipan) for my Mom.  Since I’m still not feeling great – I decide to forego sitting down and enjoying a sweet, at least for now.  Total cost: 12E (a bit pricey by Sicilian standards – but heck, the place is famous). 

I continue exploring the town but I’m running out of energy.  I did get a bunch of great pictures – but I really am running out of steam.  I’m feeling guilty about thinking about leaving after only an hour – but I really don’t feel that great.  Food – food will help.  I duck into a little bar and order a lemon soda (my go to in Sicily when I’m feeling a little icky), a big bottle of water and a salumi & cheese plate.  I eat most of the bread, half of the salumi & a few pieces of cheese (there was lots of cheese) and that’s about all I can handle.  Bill: 25E.  Seems expensive, but I don’t care – I’m in Erice.  **I think back on this later and realize the waiter probably took me for a “tourist ride”.  It’s a big deal to get a receipt for all purchases in Italy, to avoid fines – and this dude didn’t even give me a bill – just quoted me verbally and I paid!  Lucky for me the finance police weren’t out in force on this little holiday!

The food hasn’t helped that much – so I decide I’m just going to go back down and go back to the B&B.  I board the cableway (no operators up top – so sort of surreal to board alone & in the fog) and call the taxi company.  The dispatcher says he’ll send the same guy that picked me up earlier.   The taxi is waiting when I arrive at the bottom.  Turns out to be a nice guy and he sped me back to the B&B in about 10 minutes.  Another 15E.   

Expensive trip for an hour or so – and I realize I probably could have driven given how quiet the town was on this little holiday – but heck, I got to see Erice.  Pretty little town, beautiful castle & views.  I ended up tasting most of the cookies over the next 3 days (some great, some not so much), left the piece of cassata with Paolo (I was driving 4 ½ hours the following day), and brought the mandarin home fully intact for Mom.  Not quite the “foodie experience” that I thought Erice would be – but I’m certainly not sad I chose it for my Monday excursion.

Enjoy the pictures . . since you can’t enjoy the pastries!

April 11 & 12

Before I leave “downtown” Sciacca, I do a little grocery shopping, as my next accommodation will have a kitchen.  I go to this salumeria that I’ve been walking by for the past few days and make a total haul: mortadella, prosciutto, provolone cheese, olives & fresh ricotta . . total: 12 Euros!  I pick up a few pastries and then decide to wait to see how equipped this kitchen is before I go crazy.  I haven’t done a real food shop in 3 weeks and I could definitely go crazy!!

I drive out of town (just 10 minutes away) and find my way to this cute little place called Le Cupole Case Vacanze.  I’m checked in by Adriana’s father who speaks little English, but he manages to impart lots of info on me nonetheless.  However, it turns out there is no shopping around there and I’ll have to go back to “the city” – so I do.  It’s after 3pm now and all the shops are closed for afternoon nap time (I swear, I don’t know how these places stay in business they are closed so much) and I’m starving.  Mom – this is the one time, I had to opt for tasteless, lousy pizza-focaccia thing for lunch and downed it with a lemon soda.  Then I go back to veggie shop a couple of blocks down from the salumeria and actually find I like what’s there.  The “older” man that runs the place is so sweet and he keeps suggesting things . . I don’t have enough Italian to explain it will only be for 2 days & I have limited kitchen tools.  I pick up some big bottles of water at the bar and some olive oil & salt from the Tipiche Prodici of Sicily and I’m set!

I return to Le Cupole and that’s where I stay for the next 36 hours – why leave – really?  I befriend a little kitty – who is literally starving – by feeding him some of my haul.  Honestly, this cat ate as well as I did for the next 2 days – prosciutto, mortadella & plates of fresh ricotta.  When I left, he followed me to the car, looking at me as if he was saying, “please don’t leave me, I’ll starve without you”.  I hope that’s not the case.

I have this great little table on the patio that looks out onto the ocean so the next day I write almost all day and move pictures around to get them ready for postings.  I decide I need to talk a walk at least, so I decide to go down to the beach.  It’s deserted except for a family of 4 that are just about to leave.  As I start to climb down the little hill, the man comes over & offers his hand to help me down.  Sicilian men are so gracious! 

I do a nice, long meditation looking out on the Mediterranean and just smile at the blue sky & blue water – magnificent.  Two guys come down and start to set up their equipment for wind surfing.  I’ve only seen this from afar, so I decide it’s pretty interesting to watch, so I stay & watch for about an hour.  Heck, what else do I have to do?

On the way down & on the way back, I spot this cool villa that’s closed up & obviously vacant.It had a great rooftop deck that I’m sure an incredible view of the coast leading up to Sciacca & the turquoise Mediterranean sea.  I can’t help but snap a few pictures, thinking it would make a fine little renovation project for Scott & me to have in Sicily.  Yeah, right!  Check it out anyway – I think it has potential.

I think about going into Sciacca for dinner, but I have stuff I can make and besides, who wants to shower & get dressed when you can stay here on the patio??  I make some sausage that I bought but it’s really salty so the cat gets most of that.  I settle for veggies, bread and more salumi – works for me!  I unwrap a pastry parcel that Adriana & her family brought to me earlier.  They are Easter treats and very colorful – and very delicious!  Check out the pictures and you’ll see this confetti sprinkle covered thing was like a big block of good sugar cookie (and I come to find out about 4 days later that it has a hard boiled egg in the middle – so out it goes!).  There were also these two egg shaped “cakes” covered in a sort of fondant.  One was almond, one was pistachio, both were molto deliciosa!!  Sorry you weren’t here Mom – these were YOUR type of goodies. 

I write until the sun goes down, the wind’s whipping up & it’s getting cold on my litle patio.  I turn in early.  Tomorrow will start with a visit to the temples at Selinunte – but tonight, I’m re-charging my batteries at the beach! 

April 4 – 6

The Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School was to be my big splurge.  When I planned this trip, it amazed me at how inexpensive lodging would be – and I figured the food would be cheaper (and definitely better) than what it costs us in the US.  So, a $1500 venture for 3 ½ days was a pretty big splurge indeed!

Before I left, most everyone asked me if I would be taking any cooking lessons while I was in Sicily.  Truth be told, I’m not sure I need them, as I really like the way I cook now.  But heck, a few days at a school was bound to teach me something!  I particularly liked that this one was founded by a well known “home cook” in Sicily.  Anna Tasca passed away a few years back, but her daughter Fabrizia runs the school now.  It’s based in the hills outside of Palermo in a town called Vallelunga Pratenema – but actually a bit outside of town on one of the family’s many vineyards.  The Tasca Family is a pretty big deal in Sicily. 

Check them out at http://www.tascadalmerita.it/en/ if you’re interested. 

Tasca D’Almerita is their original vineyard and happens to be Fabrizia’s grandparents country home – and from what I hear, it’s a VERY grand home even today.  It’s used by the family for vacations, but it’s also a 4-star resort that hosts wine aficionados from around the world.  Fabrizia restored one of the old farm houses on the property and has built a pretty grand place for herself . . full of beautiful gardens, a commercial kitchen, her villa, apartments & guest rooms!  I took a lot of pictures of her gorgeous smelling garden which is full of special spots for relaxing, yoga, swimming & sunning . . the picture with the hammock that I posted last week actually has been my favorite meditation spot of the trip thus far. 

I arrive after a 3+ hour drive – should have been 1 ½ hours – but the damn GPS put me back on that road full of construction that we’d taken to Palermo a couple of days earlier & I couldn’t turn around.  No worries, it feels like I’ve found my nirvana!  I love this place . . it’s the little farm that I’ve always wanted.  Then again, maybe the one I thought I wanted – because boy does this place look like a lot of work (and Fabrizia’s got quite a large team to run it!).

I’m shown to my lovely room in the main villa (I was downstairs in Fabrizia’s house) and am told class won’t start for about an hour.  There’s still breakfast left in the kitchen, so I go in and have some tea &  a slice of delicious lemon cake.   Chef Michael comes in & introduces himself and asks if I’m Renee?  “No, I’m Kari”.  Oh, you’re the one that didn’t make it down last night.  Yep, that’s me!   So to start, Chef Michael is Irish – and he’s spent the last 10 years in Sicily (yes, he fell in love with a Sicilian woman & they have a 2 ½ year old son – but according to Michael, he would have stayed anyway).  He speaks beautiful Italian, but it is funny that he has this little Irish lilt when he speaks it and his Irish is a little “polluted” with his Italian.  All good!  He & Fabrizia have this wonderful comraderie (she tells me later, she’s getting up there in years and thinks she’s found the right person to take over in Michael) but Michael does have this little playful “not following all of Fabrizia’s traditions” thing when she’s not looking.  Seems he’s quite opinionated and doesn’t agree entirely with some of the cooking traditions of these locals (Fabrizia has these 2 woman that are the prep & sback-up cooks that were raised in this region & they don’t speak any Italian – but they are also opinionated & very bossy about how things should be done).  All in all – quite entertaining environment to observe! 

The rest of the students start to arrive and there will be just 6 of us.  First up, this guy named Chris.  He’s from Seattle, works for UW Medicine and is traveling through Europe on his own for 5 weeks.  Then these 2 couples – Renee & Dan and Jeremy & Meredith.   Dan’s really friendly and the self-appointed ambassador of the group, as far as I can tell.  I keep looking at Renee and she just looks really familiar.  I go up to her and ask, “are you a chef”?  She says, “yes” and I ask if she’s been on any of the cooking competitions because she looks really familiar and she says, “yes, but Jeremy & I own 4 restaurants in Seattle”.  Bingo – I know who she is and say, “you’re Renee xxxxxxxxxxx, I’ve been to your restaurants”.  She says that’s always really nice to hear – and that’s about the last thing she says to me for the next 24 hours because I don’t think she’s thrilled that I’ve recognized her.  I’m assuming she’s just shy! (by the way, I’m not mentioning her name, as I’m sure someone with a James Beard Award probably as a social media group searching for posts about her and I don’t need to add anymore angst to my recognition of her).  Enough said!  Mostly I thought it was cool that everyone there was from Seattle!!

Chef Michael says we’re going to make 4 kinds of pasta.  Two are with just water & flour; two others with eggs.  We learn all about different flours and milling.  By the way, according to Michael, Barilla is shit – so if you buy that stuff – STOP!   Chris & I team up and we make both types of dough – then it’s time for shaping. (The pasta did have to rest, so during that time, we also made 3 sauces & a filling for the tortellini).  Two of the shapes were making me nuts – and I just couldn’t get the hang of it.  One was kind of like making gnocchi, but was rolled off a board to form a little divet for sauce.  Another was this twisty thing that you rolled out by hand like a length of spaghetti and then twisted it around a skewer and then pushed it off (amazing the thing stayed roughly curly – and it did in the water too!).  That’s when I meet Fabrizia for the first time.  She notices that I’m really struggling with this twisty shape and comes to help me.  Not only does she get me up to speed, but she stays and finishes the rest of the dough with me so we’ll actually eat today!  

The tortellini was my favorite shape – not too hard to get the hang of – and the filling was awesome.  Dad, I will have to make this for you someday.  It had ground pork & ground mortadella and it was REALLY, REALLY yummy!  They served it as soup in a homemade chicken broth.  Yum!

The twisty shape got this pesto from Trapani Region – a tomato, almond, mint concoction that actually was my favorite.  I’ll have to see if I can find more of that when I’m in Trapani later this week.  The small gnocchi-like shape got a simple tomato sauce (this is one of the dishes Michael got chastised for making since tomatoes are NOT in season according to Fabrizia – but he used a jar of homemade tomato sauce put up last season by the 2 women in the kitchen) – really good!  The last pasta was hand cut linguine and it got a Bolognese sauce which Michael said was a really fast one – but trust me, no lack of flavor here.  He used this tomato paste made with sun dried tomatoes & wine called “estratto”.  This is the holy grail, the secret sauce, the answer to why food in Sicily tastes SO GOOD.  Dad, I will bring a jar home for you – it will make everything you cook taste better than it should.  The process to make this stuff is time-consuming and done with love.  Sicilian grandmothers know what they are doing!

By the way, wine is flowing the whole time!

We get a few hours off to relax & I do the meditation in the garden thing.  We return to the kitchen around 5:30 and I find only Chris and Chef Michael.  Apparently, the others are at the BIG HOUSE – having dinner & wine with the other side of the family!  Good for us – cooking lesson for two!  We get a lot of hands on work and make a bunch of vegetable dishes.  I learned all about cardoons (lots of work, but so delicious) and some other interesting stuff about how vegetables are supposed to be prepared.  It ends of being Chef Michael, Fabrizia, two of the interns (Hannah – who’s been sick for 2 days already and Natalie – who lives in Rome with her Irish husband and is from San Diego), Chris & myself.  The wine is flowing and so is the conversation.  Fabrizia is very well traveled in the US and knows a lot about a lot.  She’s also from a privileged, wealthy Sicilian family and boy, does she have a lot to say about Sicilians.  She truly wants to help them – but they don’t want help.  They don’t trust anyone and they’re stuck in their old ways.  She talks about how hard it’s been to get support for her business from the locals.  Eye opening for me who keeps thinking I want to start a business in Sicily.  She’s generous with her time & perspective.  Thank you Fabrizia!  We have yummy almond cookies for dessert that Chris & I made.

We get up early and Fabrizia drives us to a sheep farm; the restaurant group follows in a separate car.  We’re going to meet the sheep, the cheese maker Filippo Privitera, learn how to make pecorino & ricotta, and taste a bunch of cheese.  There’s a bunch of pictures for you to look at.  If you’ve never seen cheese being made, it’s both fascinating & back-breaking.  While we’re waiting for milk to come up to temperature, Filippo takes us to meet some sheep that have been separated from the herd.  These are males that have pulled out and won’t be allowed to breed.  Why we ask, what’s wrong with them?  Apparently, they have nipples that are too small!  Now, why would too small nipples on a male be bad?  Well, if they breed, they could pass these along to the next generation and too small nipples are bad when sheep need to be milked twice a day.  Good to know!

We taste 2-day old cheese, fresh cheese & ricotta at various stages of their process.  I love sheep milk & sheep’s milk cheese – gotta say, it’s ruined me for cow milk ricotta and fresh pecorino (they don’t age it past 2 weeks like they do in the north) is pretty nice indeed.  Cool experience, cool dog too!

By the way, the guy in the red shirt in the pictures just wouldn’t cooperate with my photography.  I was trying to get him face on so you could see how much he looks like my brother, Dean.  Check out the hairline at least – but trust me, he looked like Dean.

We return to the farm and have some elderberry cooler (spiked with elderberry liqueur) and start a 9 cheese, cheese tasting . . cheeses from all over Sicily.  I ate up every bit of them with a couple of glasses of wine!  Then we had a light, vegetable lunch with really yummy salad and some other stuff the kitchen women had made.  Then, it’s time for a break.  I hang with the interns and get their stories and then do a little meditating in the garden (I love this place).  We return to the kitchen prepared to get bloody – as Chef Michael told me to be prepared because we were working with carnage (I love this guy!).

The restaurant team is gone now and it’s just Chris & me again.  We do ALL the prep work and most of the cooking – perfect to me – not so much for Chris.  We gut, de-head & fillet about 4 dozen sardines for Pasta with Sardines and roll veal into involtini skewers.  I got really excited that we were having some meat, as it’s the first real protein I’m going to have in a few days, and I tell Chef Michael that I’m going to eat more than my fair share of these.   He assures me, there will be leftovers. (He was right, I was too full to consume more than 1 ½).

We make some side dishes and this great almond pudding.  To start the pudding, Chef pulls out a jar of almonds.  I grab one and he says, “wait, we have to see if these are bitter or sweet almonds . . so just have a small amount”.  I break off a corner and discover, yes, they are the bitter ones.  Good he says, because they’re poisonous and I didn’t want you to get too sick.  Thanks Michael . . . apparently you have to eat about 12 to die!   Also, good to know!!  The pudding is a definite make again – Mom, I’ll make this just for you – since you love almonds as much as I love pistachios!

Dinner is the same 6 of us from the night before and the wine is flowing heavy tonight.  Fabrizia starts to tell us all about her childhood and her British Nanny.  Seems her grandfather & uncle were kidnapped by the Mafia at some point and it’s an interesting family story (though for her grandmother, it was less than interesting and more a scary thing).  She starts dropping names of famous American chefs – all good friends – and I’m loving her stories.  Again, I’ll refrain from posting them here, since the social media gurus would be all over this stuff.  I go to bed, stuffed!

In the morning, it’s time for our last breakfast and good-byes.  But not before we dig into about a dozen different kinds of jam.  This farm grows everything and they can everything too!  Orange marmalade, better than anything I ever tasted from England.  Mandarin, fig, cherry, stone fruit, apple, you name it – you got it .. and honey from the farm too.  I don’t know how they do it, but those women in the kitchen make THE BEST yogurt that I have ever eaten.  Move over Greek yogurt – I love you – but this stuff’s got you beat!!!  I dish up a big bowl and top it with honey & cherry jam.  DELICIOSA!!!

I pack up the car and have decided to alter my original plans to visit a couple of “family origin” towns: Sclafani Bagna and Chiusa Sclafani.  According to Fabrizia, the road to Sclafani Bagna is “broken” and I won’t be able to get through.  Enough of these broken roads!  I alter my plans & plan to head east to see Piazza Armerina, a UNESCO site.  I can’t check in to my place in Sciacca until 4:30pm so I might as well see something amazing.

I give everyone a big hug good-bye, thank them for their hospitality and head out. 

My splurge . . worth every penny!

 

March 31 & April 1 

AKA: Happy Birthday Kari & Sherine!

First day of my 57th year and we’re winding down the hill from La Pietra O’Munti for the last time.  As we get closer to the autostrada, we have a beautiful view of Mt. Etna (that’s the picture I posted on the Up, Up & Away post).  We couldn’t believe it was still smoking after 3 weeks and now, I was SURE it was the rumble of the volcano that I’ve been hearing the past few nights!

We drive south towards Catania and the GPS puts us onto the A19 heading west towards Palermo.  I have to admit, the roads in this part of Sicily are pretty darn good: well maintained (many new), wide with multiple lanes, and great rest stops (they call them servicio – and they’re pretty swanky)!  You can get coffee drinks – in ceramic cups (not Styrofoam or paper) and tons of good food (you should see the selection of sandwiches (panini) at these places – they put our 7-Elevens to shame!!!  They’re also the best place to find a reliable bathroom (and they usually don’t charge you for them).

So, we’re on this superstrada for about an hour and we’ve stopped a couple of times to use the bathroom and have a nice, civilized cup of hot tea.  At this last one, I see a beautiful hill town in the distance and I start taking pictures.  There’s actually two towns across from each other and they are both spectacular.  We get back on the road and start to see signs for Enna.  Now, I’ve heard & read about Enna and it’s supposed to be pretty awesome – but we’re headed for Greek Temples people and they’re supposed to be pretty spectacular themselves – so we wave bye-bye to Enna and keep heading west to Agrigento. (Quick side story – Mom & Dad went to Enna when they came to Sicily in 2002.  Mom warned me about these chocolate pastry balls they bought that ended up being filled with rum.  They ate them & got so drunk, that they had to stay longer & walk them off before getting back in the car.  I was warned – but since we didn’t stop – problem overted!!)

Now – you can forget what I said about great superstrada’s in Italy – because as soon as we pass the offramp for Enna, the roads turn to hell!  We continue for the next 90 minutes through multiple construction zones . . suffice to say, I was pretty tired of driving by the time we arrived in Agrigento.  Couple that with the fact that Sherine just didn’t feel herself today – and we were pretty spent.  I did however see my first road sign for Sciacca as we came into Agrigento and that was pretty thrilling for me (we were only about 45 miles away at this point). 

We arrive early and plan to park at our hotel and use their private entrance to the Temple grounds.  Instead, they say, “your room is ready if you’d like to check in early” and we of course, jump at the chance.  Now, this is just the beginning of a wonderful stay at Hotel Villa Athena which is labeled as one of the best small luxury hotels in Europe.  I knew when I chose it that it was swanky, but I didn’t expect this charming, 27-room, first class villa in the middle of some ancient ruins.  Noted – best find on booking.com to date! 

Once we saw the room, the views, and heard they had a spa (that had availability) all our plans went out the window! 

So, we decide THIS will be our day to celebrate our joint birthdays (mine was the day before, Sherine’s would be 2 days from now).   First, we go to sit by the pool.  The picture above was taken by ME, while I was sitting at the pool (no it is NOT a postcard!).  A waiter promptly arrives and I start my afternoon with an Aperol Spritz (for my husband, his favorite drink in Italy) and we just relax in the sun.  Then we move to the terrace for a wonderful lunch.  I order an amazing seafood salad (the calamari & octopus were to die for – actually – it was ALL to die for!).  We of course, order wine & dessert too.

We relax for another hour and then prepare for our 2 hours at the spa (Sherine actually had 2 ½ hours!).  To start, they put us in the private “bathing” room with three types of treatments.  The attendant says she’s going to turn down the lights and when they come back up, she will come to get us.  OK – we’re cool with that!  I start with the first treatment – which is a series of hot & cold showers that are on timers.  You move to the next when the little light comes on and it changes to a new temperature (I have to say the cold ones were a bit shocking!!).  Next, I move to the Turkish bath – kind of like a sauna, but with some steam – come to think of it, it’s more like a sauna & Swiss shower hybrid (if you’re a spa junky like me, you’ll get that reference – if not, suffice to say, it felt pretty nice!).  Sherine had already moved to the third step – a gigantic jacuzzi with these cool metal chaise loungers that were placed under the water, but over dozens of jets.  You had to kind of hold on for dear life is you didn’t want to get too jostled around!  No matter – felt wonderful.  I return to the Turkish bath for a while and come back out to lounge on the white leather chaise (did I mention this place was really slick & modern?). 

After a little while, the lights are turned back up.  10 minutes go by and still no attendant.  I say to Sherine, “I bet I know why it’s taking so long for her to come in”.  Her response, “really, why”?  My mind is working overtime now . . “I bet this room is mostly used by couples & the attendant is used to giving them plenty of time to finish whatever they are doing . . and you can imagine what they might be doing in this room!!”  She laughs and agrees!

We both enjoy our massages and great showers in the swanky bathrooms in the spa complex (keep in mind, the bathroom in our room is pretty swanky too).  We dress & get ready for dinner.  It’s pretty upscale too.  Unfortunately, it’s pretty early in the season, so they’ve moved food service inside.  The wait staff recognizes us from lunch – and we get plenty of attention (probably had a little to do with the fact that we might have been the only non-senior citizens in there – except one family with young kids).  I order another Aperol Spritz (he makes it huge this time) and Sherine orders a lemon drop (I had to sort of tell the guy how to make it – but he decided to make a vodka sour and put it in a martini glass – Sherine liked it nevertheless!). 

I have a big green salad and this killer tuna dish and finish with a dessert with – you guessed it – pistachios & ricotta (fancy canoli’s with a twist)!  More wine and we’re both ready for bed.

I wake up at 7am – throw on some sweats (a big no-no in Italy – but heck, I’m an American) and go down to the pool to meditate.  Yes, I meditated to the sunrise, with the Concordia Temple like 1000 yards from me, and it was AMAZING!!!!!

We head down for our “breakfast included” meal and we’re blown away.  This is like a really good Sunday brunch selection anywhere in the States – but the ingredients are better . . and the food tastes even better.  We fortify for the day, as we’re planning to hit the Temple Grounds this morning and the sun is starting to heat up already.

The Temples did not disappoint.  I took a ton of pictures for all of you – but like everything else in Sicily – you just have to come see them for yourself.  Until you are up close to these 2500+ year old ancient cities & buildings, you cannot really imagine what they are like.  After a few hours, we went back to the hotel to check out.  We had planned to drive up to the museum, but the desk clerk told us to leave the car where it was and hike up the hill about 300 meters.  It felt like 1000 meters – but we made it and found the entrance after winding through a labyrinth of signs & foot bridges.  We had to scrounge our change, as they didn’t take credit cards and we mostly had big bills (no one seems to like to make change in this country).  This museum was a real find and did not disappoint.   Again, enjoy the pictures – but plan to go there yourself one day.

We return to the hotel and are starving, tired & hot.  We have our 4th meal at Hotel Villa Athena on the terrace overlooking the temples.  I have the Italian version of a nicoise salad with more fresh tuna and a really yummy strawberry dessert . . I had to skip the wine on this one, as I would be driving to Palermo in a little while.  I think I drank about a liter of water to replenish the salt I lost that morning stomping around the grounds in the sun!

Sadly, we say good-bye to our new friends and thank them for their wonderful hospitality.  By this point, they know that I’m coming back to Sciacca for a week and they’re pressing hard for me to come back to the Villa for a visit.   As I’m writing this – I’m only about 40 minutes away.  Too bad, but I think it will have to wait until my next trip to Sicily, as I’m heading west in a couple of days and won’t be back this way again . . . at least on this trip.

Taormina – yes, they really do call it the jewel of Sicily.  It’s one of the most popular resort towns in Sicily and gets very crowded in the Summer.  We heard the G7 summit will be there next month – glad we missed that – don’t want to run into Trump in Italy and ruin this trip!!

Gorgeous little town and yes, “Zia Em-meh” – the hotel room was small, but so beautiful & well appointed.   We go to the “bar” to have breakfast (B&B has arranged it) and the waiter loves us so much, he charges us ZERO for the extras.  I get brioche and granita for breakfast . . first of many while I’m here, I AM CERTAIN!! (**Note, see other post!)

This town boasts the most unbelievable Greek Theatre.  The pictures don’t even begin to do it justice – but they will have to suffice!  I must say, this new phone that Scott bought for me before I left is taking really nice pictures, so I’m pretty proud of this shot that I took of the coastline framed by the arch.  This theatre must have been incredible in it’s heyday – as it’s pretty spectacular even in its run down state.  Magnificent!!!

The town’s main strada (street) has entry arches at each end and is filled with shops & restaurants that are picture perfect.  I especially love the “pop up” restaurants that have tables positioned on the stairs.  This is a hill town after all and they have to make use of every inch of available space.  They are enchanting!  I think I might have to revise my Pompeii restaurant idea and pick up one of the little gems indeed!!  We opted for one with pretty, plaid tablecloths and I have my first plate of ‘Pasta con de Sardine’.  Fillets of fresh sardines melted (for the most part – there were some chunks) into sauce of fresh tomatoes, saffron & golden raisins – covered with breadcrumbs . . VERY Sicilian indeed and quite delicious!

Siracusa is the oldest settlement / city in Sicily – founded in the 8th century BC.  Situated on the southeastern coast, it is beautiful!  We never did make down to the port, but we had a phenomenal day exploring the Teatro Greco & the Roman Amphitheater.

We drove down from our agritourism perch on the side of Mt. Etna to Catania and then on to Siracusa for the day.  The autostrada was actually pretty modern & WIDE, but we still had to contend with toll booths and speeding Italian drivers.  We finally mastered the toll booths by hoarding change at every opportunity, but still wondered why the Italians were speeding when there were TONS of speed limit signs that indicated a decrease in speed was required.  It seemed that they were looking at these signs as “suggestions” – we however, obeyed, as we’re trying really hard not to come home with a ton of speeding tickets!

We found the “Paradise Parking” lot pretty easily and another really nice 70-something Italian man who asked for a mere 3 Euro to park for the whole day.  In Italian, I asked where the biglietteria (ticket booth) was and he answered in Italian – AND – I understood him!!  WE buy our tickets and are told to start with the Teatro Greco and then go to the Amphitheater.  Of course, we get a little off track and end up at Dionysus’ Ear.  Acoustics in this place are amazing . . and the whole thing was carved out of the mountain.  The gardens around here are amazing and full of citrus trees heavy with fruit.  The pics below are a sampling – but again, they don’t do the beauty justice.

**Pictures are here – click on the button at bottom of post to view!

Next . . the Teatro Greco – AMAZING is an understatement.  This entire place was CARVED out of stone!  No blocks of stone moved to it, no bricks, no mortar, no wood  . . . NOTHING but solid marble mountain carved by amazing craftsman into a huge theater – and I mean HUGE (again, pictures don’t even begin to demonstrate the size of this place).  Sadly, there are construction crews all over it reinforcing some of the stands (seats) and building a stage. Apparently, they will use it for concerts this summer.  Modern always seems to find a way to exploit the antiquities!!

We exit & go to the next gate and find the prettiest setting with the Roman Amphitheater.  I wish I could have seen this place in its prime . . there was so much beauty & lovely architecture “left”.  I can only imagine what it would have been like to stroll through the park on the way to this venue on a Spring night.  Strangely, there were a lot of sarcophagus-looking blocks of marble lining the pathways into this place – so we’re not sure if they held the bodies of gladiators that died there OR noble men who wanted to be remembered when people attended events here.  Did I mention, we forgot to rent the audio guides on this day – so we just sort of improvised!

We decide to walk about 1/2 mile to the Archaeological Museum and find something to eat. We cross a busy street and see a few restaurants that might be options.  And then, we meet Fabrizio!  What a nice guy!!  He comes out of the restaurant and greets us with a big, old smile and pretty good English and says he has delicious fresh food for lunch.  We ask if we can sit outside and he says “of course” – but some inside and select your food first.  What we find is really nice looking food.  Fresh grilled fish, pasta with vegetables, lots of grain dishes (couscous & lentils are big down here), and tons of fresh veggies prepared in all different ways.  It’s all SO colorful & fresh looking,.  He says we can mix & match to get whatever we want – so I select swordfish, sauteed spinach, caramelized onions and a really nice spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce.  All delicious!  

All through lunch, Fabrizio keeps checking on us to make sure we are happy.  We start to tell him why we’re here visiting Sicily and get into the whole great grandparents from Sciacca thing.  He’s so excited that I am Sicilian he decides we must be cousins.  We talk about the Graffeo name and I try to explain to him that it was changed when Antonino immigrated – but I think we’re losing him in the translation.  No matter – we’re still cousins – we both have beautiful blue eyes (he says)!!  Now, about this point, I decide he really must be a cousin because he is reminding me of my cousin Nick Rafello – and Fabrizio is his clone!!  Seriously Nick, you’d love this guy – it was like hanging with you.  Laughing, joking and I got a BIG, old bear hug when we left.  I love this guy!!!

Next up – the museum.  Suffice to say, we spent 2 hours looking at artifacts from all over Sicily – from as early as 30000 BC to about 1000 AD . . yes, that’s apparently how long humans (of some kind or another) have inhabited this island (and some pretty interesting animals too – can you believe, there were once hippopotamus in Sicily?!?!?).