Italy - Sicily, April 2014

[Shannon]

I am glad you are having such a great time! We should try to meet up there someday. I just interviewed a chef here that comes from a small town in Sicily. We were talking about working on a tour together - it got me all excited to get back.

 

[Pauline]

Home! Almost. At the Gatwick Airport Hotel. Today we drove from Sciacca, through Agrigento (my navigating error), to Villa Romana del Casale to see the Roman mosaics, said to be the best in the world. After seeing them, I need never hunt out Roman mosaics again. They are fabulous and go on forever.

From there we drove to Catania airport for an evening flight. The driving was much more crazy today. Huge potholes, fast driving, erratic road signs. We hit one hole that went across the road that I thought might have damaged the car. I am happy we decided on the larger car. We did a lot of driving in the last few days. And we did not get even a scratch on it.

The only yucky thing about the trip was the number of abandoned dogs at the archaeological sites - they were almost wild - and the rough looking cats in the villages. Our Buddy doesn't know how good he has it. We will see him tomorrow and I am sure he will be happy to check out of his cat hotel.

 

[Pauline]

Isn't it funny how when you return from a trip, at first you feel like you have been away FOREVER and can't remember how anything at home works, and then 24 hours later it is like you never left. Somewhere in the middle of doing all the laundry you switch out of vacation mode.

 

[Dana]

It's true! And if you have the kind of trip where you're moving around nearly every single day, staying in different hotels (as in researching a guide book) for the next month or so, you still wake up at home, in your own bed, and have no idea where you are for the first minute or so.

 

[Colleen]

Pauline, I really, really enjoyed your report! I've been wanting to get back to Sicily pretty much since I left and now more than ever.
Next year I plan to be Paris in March for Shannon's birthday, then Iceland in August for my birthday... And I still need a return visit to Naples... One day I'll make it happen!

 

[artnbarb]

Modica is famous for its chocolate (I though of you Barb, if you are reading this). We went to Antica Dolceria Bonajuto and got two of their traditional bars, one with cinnamon, one with vanilla. I tried the vanilla. An interesting taste. Not milky, not overly sweet, but grainy. David Lebovitz writes about it. I liked it.

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I've had that chocolate - maybe we bought it one year at Eurochocolate, but I remember liking the grainy texture - it reminds me of cooked fudge. Something to look for!