I am not a religious person (I'm rather spiritual as the cliche goes), but I do think religion lends nice analogies. For example, there is a Christian story that tells how the people of the town where Jesus was born never believed he was the son of God, because there's no way one of their known neighbors could be so special. I think this reflects a common human ability to evaporate excitement or appreciation for something that happens routinely in our lives. I strive to be one of the few who eternally find awe in the little things, but I often fail. And so, in July, I found myself becoming drained and lonely from my active travel life in Italy. That is until...
In mid July I met up with my college roommate Gracie for a week in Sicily. She was coming from London and I from mainland Italia. We hadn't seen each other in over a year, so the reunion was bound to be glorious.
We met in the great city of Palermo, where we rented a car (not without trepidation) and immediately drove two hours to Catania. We checked into our quirky airbnb run by a nice German man with a large goiter...
...then hit the town to search for dinner. It was already almost 10:00 PM at this point, so pickings were slim. In the end we found a very touristy spot with spaces outside. As with most touristy spots, the food was mediocre (even though when we asked what was good on the menu the man proclaimed, "Everything!"). The gruff little sicilian acting as waiter did take it upon himself to enlighten us americans about the fact that different types of grapes are used to make wine (duh), just like there are different states in the U.S. No individual one is necessarily better, just different. This is his depiction on our tablecloth of the United States:
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| Sicilian drawing of the U.S.A. |
After dinner Gracie and I found a crowded bar opening onto a main piazza. We ordered a digestivo (post-dinner alcoholic drink), in this case Limoncello, a sweet liquor made from soaking lemon rinds in everclear and adding lots of sugar. The piazza was a great spot for people watching. We returned there the following morning for caffe:
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| Obelisks prevailed |
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| This looks a bit like... |
After breakfast in Catania, we hopped back in our rental car to drive two hours to Agrigento. Sicily in July can be interminably hot, and our air conditioning in the car did not seem to be working. Wind was coming out, but no matter what knobs we turned it wasn't cold. After a day and a half of searching for a solution we had resigned to our fate of marinating in our own sweat. In frustration I punched the air conditioning knob. The AC light came on and the car immediately cooled. We nearly died of laughter that the knob doubled as a button and we could have had AC the entire time. Better late than never.
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| Our personal balcony in Agrigento. |
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| The balcony in the middle is where we dined, and well. |
Our explorations of the Agrigento ruins:
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| Temple of Juno, 4th century B.C. |
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| Trying out the old crypts. |
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| Temple of Concordia, 5th century B.C. |
The hot, dusty wind blew incessantly through Agrigento, and we wondered how the locals survived in the times these temples were used. We escaped a couple hours away to a northwest sea town near Taormina. Upon the ample suggestions of the owner of our new airbnb "Gianni's House" in Giardini di Naxos, we found excellent pizza, great drinks, good dancing and a beautiful beach for a night swim.
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| Despite her smile, Grappa is not the most friendly drink. |
Gianni also helped us book a boat tour of the area on a whim the following morning. The driver told us about the "Octopussy" that dwelled below and offered us shots of cold amaretto. One of the highlights of the trip:
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| Elephant rock! |
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| Look Ma; no hands! |
After our boat tour we hopped in the car and headed to Mount Etna.
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| Grace's first canolo! |
Don't stop! Don't stop! After Mt. Etna we headed to the beach "party-town" Cefalu on the northern coast of Sicily. From trying to find parking upon our arrival to receiving unwanted amore at dance clubs, Cefalu was a constant adrenaline rush. We found ourselves excited by each meal:
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| Fried chickpea squares called Panelle. |
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| Ooey gooey, spicy, yummy pizza. |
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| Land of the fluorescent candied fruits! |
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| Arancino! |
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Arancino: a fried ball of heaven. The meat flavors are absorbed by the surrounding rice so that every bit is packed with salty, rich flavor.
Among the many glutinous loves we formed in Sicily was a gelato-brioche sandwich. Oh.My.God! Would you rather have a gelato with brioche or... The gelato with brioche almost always wins. |
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| We were supposed to pay for these lounge chairs this entire time?? Oops |
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| No sun burns! |
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| Cefalu Cathedral, 1131 AD. |
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| We were dressed indecently, but the priests kindly lent us these fancy shawls to cover our shoulders. |
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| COLD spring water, medieval purifying baths. |
We headed back to Palermo Friday night and, with much relief, returned our rental car unscathed. Palermo driving is all it's hyped up to be! Phew! We found a local restaurant where I finally tried spaghetti al nero di seppia, a pasta dish I'd been searching to eat with a sauce made from cuttlefish ink. The flavor was good, but the black color and gritty texture was a challenge to my nerves. Grace wouldn't look at me the entire time we ate, though I tried to tempt her with my temporarily stained-black teeth. I was certainly glad I tried the dish, though it may be a one-time thing.
What an unforgettable week! Gracie and I hugged for a long time at the airport Saturday morning before returning to our respective EU homes. I felt less lonely and more enamored with my daily life of active travel. We'll be due for another reunion soon!
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| During an emergency landing, don't forget to remove your glasses, high heels and earrings. |
