Life is Beautiful - Sicily

La dulce vita, that is truly life in Italy. When my parents and I were deciding where to have a "meet-up" and they suggested Sicily, the first thing I said was "but you were just there last year!" As we all know, I don't repeat countries too often, nevertheless such a "small" island (it's actually really not that small). But unbeknownst to me, this largest island of the Mediterranean can be quite different from one side to the other. They went to the west coast last year, and this year we settled for the east side, staying at Giardinia Naxos near Taormina on the Ioanian Sea. Our dear family friends booked it from Serbia, and am still shocked by this, the flight there, 10 nights stay at a beautiful 4-star hotel (Hellnia Yachting) with breakfast AND dinner was.... near 700 euros! OMG! How amazing is that??!! So I hereby will be using Serbia as my base of travels when I can (or when I take my next sabbatical, nice that we have an apt there as well).

Anyhoo, back to Sicily...

Well, Sicily is quite unique because of its' long history of foreign domination, everyone from the Romans to Greeks to Arabs to Normans passed through there, all leaving their own mark. Greeks and Arabs though seemed to have the most, this can be seen with the language because 30% of the Sicilian language is Arab AND there is something like 200,000 words that an Italian wouldn't know (coming from an Italian). When a Sicilian speaks Sicilian, might as well be speaking Chinese. Also the food is quite different, this can be seen with the large amount of pistachio used in foods (thanks Arabs!)  and again, the influence of other communities.

So, nothing tells a story like pictures!! So here goes, starting with the best - the food!!! Sicily is known for its tomatoes and lemons. Really, never have tasted tomatoes so delicious and flavorful, and I'm not even that big of a fan of tomatoes (seriously). Then of course is pizza and pasta, most famous the pizza and pasta Norma. Then gelato (a given), and the cannoli, their specialty. Then there is the buffalo mozzarella... i could just go on and on!

Buffalo mozzarella, to die for! The tomatoes too! So red and delicious!

Delish - brushchetta

Pizza Norma

Sicilian cannoli

Pasta Norma

Best.Salad.Ever. Look at how red the tomatoes are! 

Sicilian cannoli

Almost done, lemonchello! 

Mt. Etna wine

Pizza norma

Sicilian cassata - yum!

Gelato! Below is one of many times I had it, ha ha (yes, I did gain at least 1-2kg on this trip, d'oh! But really, who can refuse FRESH and actually really 'organic' food?) 

Giordinia Naxos:

View from our room!

Our massive balcony is on the right hand side of this pic, loved it!

View from my bed!

Love this pic, the water was sooo clear! A bit chilly at first, but would warm up after you get in (umm.. and that took me about 10 minutes to get in, ha ha). 

Nice office space! 

Forza d'Agro: Most well known for scenes from Francis Ford Coppola's the Godfather, about the family Corleone. 

Savoca: Most well known for some important scenes from the Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather movie, loved this town! The Bar Vitelli is still in existence, as well as the Godfather chair! 

We loved the Godfather chair!

Taormina: Beautiful city perched on top of a hill. Fab views! The capital of the region used to be Giardinia Naxos, however susceptible to attack, this was built on top of a mountain. Quite something to get up there with the serpentine road and the .2 inches of space between cars and a cliff, wow those drivers are good and thank gaaaawd I wasn't driving!

The gorgeous outdoor amphitheater Teatro Greco, built in the 3rd century

Mt. Etna behind me! An active volcano!

Sooo.... treated my parents to the opera Madam Butterfly at the gorgeous outdoor amphitheater Teatro Greco, built in the 3rd century and a beautiful summer experience with a clear warm night with a gorgeous moon. Almost a surreal experience the atmosphere was so amazing, especially that the singers weren't using any microphones, and we were outside!

All smiling faces after the amazing performance! 

Syracruse: A beautiful 2,700+ year old with rich Greek history

Castemola: A beautiful small town perched at the top of Taormina, more pizza restaurants in this small town then Taormina as a whole (just kidding, but there is a lot)! 

Mt. Etna, an active volcano, in the background!

Well, there you have it! As usually I am quite active during vacations, staying in one place was a nice change. Got to know some locals, nice to know what to expect, also nice to have a 'base' and not lug around luggage everywhere. I loved our routine of a chillax beach day every other day and then some action and sightseeing in between. 10 days went by quick and Sicily has soo much to offer another 10 days would have been great as well. I loved the character of Sicily, yes, some places were a bit touristy, but some of the smaller villages like Forza d' Agra and Savoca and Castelmola really seemed to go back in time. Granted, this is more so because you can see it is sparsely populated sadly because there is no work. Even during these peak summer days it seemed fairly quiet, and you do wonder how they survive outside of tourist season. Although again I am not so much of a tour person, my parents love them and I see the benefits. It's nice to be taken around but even nicer for someone to give you the history and tell you about the culture. I admit I was a bit lost sometimes as the tours were in Serbian and my Serbian is proficient, but not fluent, so I know I missed a lot (and also too much to concentrate all the time, ha ha), but still learned a lot. Sicily is obviously known as "mafia" land, and rightly so. We were told that 96% of Sicily to do this day has some part in the mafia, and that every thing we purchase, from the gelato at the corner shop to the hand-bag at a boutique store, some proceeds go to sustain the mafia. Also interesting that in the 10 "rules" of a mafia person, 2 had to do with women, pretty much "hands off, don't look or touch." Haha. Our guide though was telling us however that he knew a couple of his female friends that were married to Sicilians, and it was a bit difficult for them because the family is sooooooo soooooooooooo involved. Like they would get together on weekends with the whole family and the mother would completely dominate the kitchen and all problems, however personal it is, would be discussed. A bit awkward, huh? Sicilians and Italians can be quite expressive (which is fun and refreshing), so I can only imagine! He also was saying that tourism more or less started in the 1990's, so is fairly "new." And, this I can verify through some Italian friends of my own, a lot of Italians had and have not been there because they were too scared of the mafia, rightly so! God forbid a man looks glowingly at a woman and attempts to pursue her, he for real could be a dead man. On one hand, the culture is "I got your back," so you do kind of feel safe and nowadays, I felt completely safe and besides petty crime that is everywhere, it is slowly trying to rid itself of that misconception. It is truly a magical place with so much to offer! Now I am curious to explore the east side, or south side, or north side of the island because not only are the seas different (my parents said this side was a bit cooler) but food changes (due to again the many foreign dominations) but also the architecture, culture, etc. 

The symbol of Sicily - the "star with 3 points," or the trinacria (triangle) of 3 legs demonstrating the triangle shape of the island and the 3 points of it - Peloro, Pasero and Lilibeo.

Well, bye bye pastas and veggies, 

And hellooo to Serbia, next up, of meat, meat, and more meat! Okay, and fresh FRESH organic fruits and berries too!