Arrivederci Italia! Ciao, ciao, ciao, ciao!

I've carried this clipping from the newspaper from back in January of 2000 (wow, that was almost 13 years ago!!) and came across it again last night while packing for my return to the US.  Every time I travel I come back just a little bit different. I'm sure I won't even be able to process how this journey has changed me until a few months or even years down the road.  I'm writing from the Rome Airport trying to process everything...

I had a lovely final night in Roma having dinner on the terrace with Cho and Anne Claire, one last gelato at the shop across from my apartment (one of my favorites in Rome), and went for a midnight walk alone in the full moon to say goodbye to the city that has a place in my heart forever.

Right now I don't really have the words to explain what I'm feeling. I'm full of excitement to see my friends and family at home, nervous about the reverse culture shock I'm sure I'll experience, and completely grateful for what I've experienced over the past three months.

My next journey begins tomorrow in Denver but I know I will be back to bella Italia soon!

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." - Emerson

One week remaining and I'm full of mixed emotions.  While I'm so excited to see everyone at home, I'm definitely freaking out about being back in reality. However, I know there is so much from Italy I will "carry with me" forever and I hope to bring these feelings and experiences to my everyday life back at home.

A friend I met while in Taormina created this wonderful video of his trip.  Rob, Molly and Lindsey are from New York and spent a few weeks traveling around Naples and Sicily (he's Sicilian).  I get tears in my eyes every time I watch this because, for me, he did such a wonderful job of capturing the essence, character and personality of Sicilia. I will definitely be looking back at this video when I need I quick reminder...

If you can't see it in the box above, you can also view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZY5aJBd244&feature=plcp. 

Over my last week I've been trying to take special notice of things that capture my heart so when I think back to them in months or even years, I will be reminded of this feeling of peace I have every day here.  I recently read this phrase in a book here "Mi sento a mio agio.", which loosely translates to "I feel at ease/at home".  I most certainly feel that way about Italy and I know it's something I will carry with me always. 

More Island Exploring - Castelbuono, Pollina and Palermo!

Part II of Island Exploring

Castlebuono

The exploring continued as Marie, Lani and I made our way to Castelbuono, a beautiful little mountain town about 20 minutes from Cefalù.  Castelbuono is famous for its 14th century castle which the town was built around.  The Ventimiglia family founded the city which began to grow in the 17th century.  It was pretty wonderful driving up to this quaint town and seeing the huge mountains behind it - it made Marie and I feel at home.

The Castle from the road below.

Beautiful tiled church.

While walking past a great little shop that was sharing samples of their pannetone and pistacio butter (yum!) a man noticed our accents and started chatting with us.  Turns out he lives in Miami for most of the year and spends a few months of his summer in Palermo and Castlebuono.  We asked him what we needed to see while we were there and he said "Come on, I'll show you." Again, another example of how warm and friendly people are and how a chance meeting can shape not only your day, but sometimes your life as well.

Fiasconaro - delicious breads and sweets!

So began the Tour de Emanuele of Castlebuono...

The Castle, which is now a beautifully restored museum featuring various art exhibits and views of the surrounding hills.

View from the Castle.

Incredible courtyard.  I wanted to take a nap here.

What a view!.

We asked where we should have lunch and after thinking about it for quite some time, he decided on a little restaurant we were passing by.  I haven't had a meal like this since Tuscany.  One of those places where there are no menus - you just tell the waiter if you have any food allergies and the endless food begins to appear...

First, (thanks Marie for taking food notes) antipasti for about an hour: egg soufflé with caramelized onions, shaved zucchini with fresh creamed ricotta, pork carpaccio, sweet tomato "salsa", eggplant caponata, veal tartar and the best fresh bread to "fare la scarpetta", which is what they call soaking up the sauce and remains on your plate with the bread!

Then an amazing zucchini lasagna with pork belly type bacon on top, a fresh pasta in a pesto and pistachio sauce with ricotta shredded on top!  At that point we were so full "sono piena" that we refused the secondi which would have been a fish course but after seeing the table next to us getting their dolce we could not resist.  A smashed layered cannoli.  WOW.  We couldn’t stop saying meraviglioso, fantastico, que buona!

Egg soufflé with caramelized onions, shaved zucchini with fresh creamed ricotta. 

Sweet tomato "salsa"

Eggplant caponata

Zucchini lasagna with pork belly 

Fresh pasta in a pesto and pistachio sauce with ricotta shredded on top 

Smashed connoli

Our handsome tour guide, Emanuele.

Of course, stopped for a cafe after and they made us try their cannoli and cream puffs.

While walking around we learned much more about our gracious tour guide.  Emanuele is an artist - a sculptor, musician and cultural promoter of his beloved Sicily.  Definitely take a look at his site if you're interested: Emanuele Viscuoso, www.viscuso.com.  His home in Castlebuono is in a portion of what used to be a huge palace owned by his family.  His remaining wing is all kept in the original design from when his grandparents lived there.  He invited us for a tour of his museum-like house and we happily accepted! 

I loved seeing this old copy of Dante here.  So Italian!

Pollina

We were sad to say goodbye to our host, but before sending us off he suggested we visit the nearby mountaintop town of Pollina.  This is one of those sweet little mountain towns I imagine when I think of Italy.  There were absolutely no tourists, only 360 degree views of both the Sicilian hills and of the Tyrrhenian Sea.  It was really hazy that day but in the distance you could see La Rocca in Cefalu.  What an incredible spot!

Pollina (not my picture, found on Google)

View of the amphitheater and mountains from Pollina.

Pollina - looking over the sea!

View of the sea from Pollina.

This is actually a view from La Rocca in Cefalu of Pollina in the distance.

Palermo

The last stop on this tour of Sicily was Palermo.  As Lani would be flying out the next day we stayed at a hotel in the heart of the city and enjoyed an incredible view of this ancient city's rooftops.  I had read that Palermo is a chaotic, loud and crazy city but I'm pretty sure everyone in Palermo was at the beach when we arrived as the city felt nearly empty!  I felt pretty unprepared to explore a city so rich in history and culture and hadn't done as much research as I usually would have.  It's Baroque/Norman/Arab architecture make you feel like you're in another country.  We stopped by some of the major sites on our tourist maps, but our favorite spots were from our rooftop and the incredible dinner spot we were referred to, the Antica Focacceria San Francesco.  Well worth the long wait (even in an empty city) at 10 p.m.

Palermo

Palermo

 Giardino Garibaldi with some of the most incredible banyan trees I've ever seen.

Hotel rooftop at sunset.

Marie, Lani and I in Palermo.

Antica Focacceria San Francesco

As always in Sicily, the nights are late and the mornings come too quickly.  Marie had to rush back to Italian class in Cefalù the next morning. Lani and I enjoyed a nice "goodbye" breakfast on the rooftop recapping the laughs of our trip and the lessons we both want to take away. Almost every day of Lani's visit we would laugh about how 15 years ago back at CU Boulder, we never would have pictured ourselves here in Sicily together. Life is such a wonderful journey and the people you meet along the way shape that journey if you let them. 

L'alba (Sunrise) in Cefalù

I sure will miss this...

Esplorando Sicilia!

So sorry for the lack of updates… I really have no excuse!

Part I of Island Exploring.

The past few weeks have been some of the most fun and therapeutic (i.e. soul-searching) weeks I’ve had so far.  My time is coming to an end so I’ve really been trying to soak up any memories, feelings and lessons I’ve learned while here.

Lani and I agreed to do a bit of soul-searching together while she was here and although we didn’t find all the answers, we made some great discoveries and had a pretty amazing time as well.  Lani made the trek from Florida to Rome to Palermo and finally arrived in Cefalù. Cefalù in the summer is wild!  There are so many people out and about, always some sort of festival going on and I think there are fireworks just about every night.  

Lani in Cefalu!

Marie, Lani and I enjoying some delicious pasta at the Sagra di Pasta!

Sagra di Pasta!

Aeolian Islands

Our first adventure was to join Marie and our friend Paul on a tour to the nearby Aeolian Islands of Lipari and Vulcano.  It was so nice to get out on the sea and see the coast of Sicily from the water.  You realize how huge Sicily is when you get out and explore it.  Lipari was adorable!  We wandered the streets of the center and explored some of the beautiful ruins on the hills. The little island has such a great feel with little to no crowds.  Vulcano was a pretty incredible sight as you can see (and smell) the sulfur steaming out of the top of the old volcano as you arrive.  The sulfur mud baths sounded pretty cool but the island was SO HOT none of us could imagine putting anything warm on our skin so we made our way to the beach... black sand is beautiful but not what we needed to cool us down!  I would definitely love to go back to Lipari and explore some of the other islands next time...

Vulcano from the boat.

Port of Lipari

Port of Lipari.

View from Lipari.

Marie is slightly obsessed with cats so when we spotted these kittens, she and Lani couldn't resist.  This adorable old man invited them in to pet the kittens.  I love this shot!

Pretty cute for a cat. :)

Beautiful Lipari

The quaint, winding streets in the hills reminded me of what you might find in Greece.

Vulcano

The sulfur mud baths on Vulcano.

Black sand beaches - hot hot and hot!

Savoca

The next day Lani and I rented a car in Cefalù, which was pretty funny as I haven’t ever driven in Italy and haven’t driven in two and half months.  After the ball on the stick shift stopped popping off and we figured out how everything worked, we were on our way to explore the other side of the island.  The view was incredible driving along the coast – even from the autostrada.  We would stay a night in Taormina, which is one of the most popular and beautiful destinations in Sicily, known for its beaches and views of Mount Etna.

Our route from Cefalu to Savoca to Taormina.

Lani had done some research and found the amazing little town of Savoca along the way.  Savoca was where a few scenes of The Godfather (Il Padrino) were filmed.* I’m slightly infatuated with The Godfather movies so I almost started to cry when we walked up to Bar Vitelli, which was where Michael Corleone asked Apollonia’s father if he could meet his daughter.  You can also find the church where Michael and Apollonia were married – sigh!  The town was basically empty so it was pretty incredible to explore the streets and enjoy the breathtaking views of the hills and the sea all by ourselves.  Truly an unforgettable little town.

*Fun fact – the scenes were meant to be filmed in Corleone but after the film production wouldn’t pay off the mafia to film there, the mafia blew up one of their trucks so they moved film locations.  Savoca also worked nicely as a location due to its proximity to Taormina, which suited the film stars well because at the time Taormina was the only place in Sicily where luxury hotels could be found.

The winding road up the hill to Savoca - in  a manual rental car.  I was definitely sweating.

Bar Vitelli

Bar Vitelli scene from the The Godfather.

Michael asking Apollonia's father...

Nerds.

The church.

What a view!

Taormina

After getting lost a few times – it’s sometimes impossible to get back on the autostrada when you get off – we finally found our hotel in Taormina. I think Lani may have found the best hotel in Taormina, Panoramic Hotel overlooking Isola Bella.  

View from our room!!

View from the pool.

We opened a bottle of wine and made our way up to the pool where we met a fun group of people who invited us to join them for dinner that night. We ended up going to a Disco until the early morning hours.  If you think dinner starts late here, try going out.  Marie and I have made it out clubbing maybe once or twice in Cefalu because things don't really get started until at least 1 or 2 a.m.  Lani and I stayed out late (or early) and definitely felt it the next day.  But it was all worth it!!

I can't tell you how amazed I've been by how welcoming people are in Italy and especially Sicily.  I've met so many people just by chance who end up shaping the direction of my journey and my experience. I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to stumble upon such wonderful people!

New friends in Taormina!  From Sicily, Australia and New York.

View of Mount Etna from the Panorama in Taormina.

While it was sad to leave beautiful Taormina we had more adventures awaiting us on the other side of the island.  This time we took the route through the middle of the country and I was amazed by how beautiful it was. With Mount Etna towering in the background, you pass through miles and miles of wheat fields with small farms sprinkled throughout.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to post as I was driving and not feeling that great. I'll update with some of Lani's soon.

I'm working on the post continuing our adventures in Cefalu, Castelbuono and Palermo and hope to post very soon!