The Intriguing Island of Sicily...

When I asked my Italian friends:
Where is your favorite place in Italy?

Many of them said: "Sicilia" pronounced: See-CHEE-lee-uh in a dreamy way that 

 convinced me that I must experience Sicily!

...To pronounce the above properly you must gesture with

palms facing up and an upward glance that indicates a heavenly place...

The Island of Sicilia is just off the 'toe' of boot-shaped Italy.
  While Tuscany is the most famous region, 
Sicily is the largest. 
And according to the Italians I spoke to, 
seems to be one of the favorites. 
They would also add:
 "you know Sicilia is closer Africa than it is to most of Italy..."
and..."Sicilia is a very intriguing mix of Italian, Greek and Arab influences." 

And so, I decided to add Sicilia to my list of places I needed to explore in the interest of bringing small groups of Americans here to visit.

Random pretty sight from the train on my way to Sicily

My best friend/daughter recently decided to join me here during the final 3 weeks of my 3 month sojourn here. 
So I took a 10 hour train from Tuscany to Sicily to meet her at the airport there... 

( I’m not quite sure how 2 people can be so delighted in the other’s existence as we are... 
It is a mysterious and wonderful blessing.) 

 So.. how to get from the mainland of Italy to the Island of Sicily when there is no bridge?
Wait.  There is no bridge?!
The Italians are resourceful so... by ferry of course!  What?!

They actually load the train onto the ferry!

the above picture shows leaving the tracks on the ground....

...onto the tracks on the ferry!

The train inside the ferry

An Italian friend told me: 
"You must leave the train once it is inside the ferry

and go topside for the view and a famous Sicilian food called an arancino!"

An arancino is a lovely combination of rice, tomato and mozzarella, which is breaded and then fried...

The name is derived from their typical color, which reminds you of an orange...the Italian word for orange is 'arancia'...

...it is shaped a bit like a snow cone...
...by the way my Sicilian friend Silvia said to eat it properly, 
you must eat it with the "cone" end facing downward...
just so you know. ;) 

the Italian word for this color is 'marino blu'...so beautiful...

this picture is taken from the deck of the ferry...

It made me giggle...
Here I am crossing the Strait of Messina on the ferry with my train in the decks below...it's so silly and wonderful...
and so funny that I had no idea  how this was done...
...which is, of course, one of the delightful things about traveling to another country...

Thankfully the train tracks to Catania follow along the seashore for beautiful views...
As the mountains loomed on the other side...

These are some 'ragazzi' (young people)...
 That I saw from the train window...
I think that it's great than even cool teenagers like this participate in the lovely Italian 
tradition of greeting each other with a kiss on both cheeks...
yes, really...

This church is in the old town center of Catania.

Most parts of town look more like this mix of modern and older buildings.  

The above picture is the view from my balcony...

In this part of my journey my attitude shifted a bit from 

 "I enjoy traveling alone and the openess it creates in me..."

to:

"I simply cannot wait to spend time with my daughter!"

And so as my attitude shifted, so did my perception of everything.

Previously, I had made the resolute decision to purposely, actively, live every moment and 

to notice and be involved in all the beauty and intrigue around me...

But when I let that slip, it was as if suddenly some of the color drained from what appeared so vibrant before... 

  Although...these hot dogs and french fries wrapped up in a pastry were able to catch my curiosity..

Look at this entry...

How would you like to ride your motor scooter in the house?

I often choose restaurants based on 

a recommendation from a local.

The Italians care about their reputation and will make sure and take good care of you, 

especially when you arrive on a recommendation.

Almost all restaurants in Italy are Italian restaurants..

I don't mean Italian because they are owned by Italians, I mean Italian cuisine.

I wonder if it's because they feel it is the best food in the world,or if it's because generation after generation has passed down their wonderful tradition of delicious food...

All I know is that I after over 2 months of having only Italian food, I was not tired of it at all!

All the vibrant color returned to my perception of everything when I picked up my daughter at the Airport in Cantania!

We rented a car and co-drove to our cute little apartment in Noto...

(co-drove because Kel held the GPS and talked me through the crazy Italian streets!)

She kept trying to sooth me by saying:  

"It's ok mom, the Italians are very good, very aware drivers,

they know exactly what they are doing...they won't hit you.."

(even though they are only inches away)... 

Noto burned down many years ago and was lovingly rebuilt by several famous artistic people (google it),

and so it is exceptionally beautiful... all awash in this captivating golden color...we saw three different brides getting their pictures done in this area...

It is the beginning of June and the weather was perfect!

John Tuturro 

This man pictured above with us was either our waiter....or the actor John Tuturro from Transformers who is in the smaller picture .  Not only do they look alike,

but talk the same too.  Maybe John is  moonlighting... ...undercover, at a restaurant in Sicily...

... doing research for his next role...

After our delicious dinner this beautiful summer evening, we strolled back towards our apartment and just happened to run into this yearly Catholic tradition of honoring Mary with a procession and music. It's called Flores de Mayo.

(Yes, I had to google it)

Ciao for now,

But I have so much more to show you in Sicily!

If you like, you can click the tab near the beginning of the post that says something about "inform me of new posts by email :)

Ciao Tutti!