4x4 Adventure in Bronte

On Sunday we went on an excursion with the Sportland 4x4 club (http://www.sportland4x4.it/) that was organized in conjunction with the 4x4 Club "Bronte NO LIMITS." The turn out was really impressive with a total of about forty 4WD vehicles participating.

We met at the Life Caffe (Villa Comunale Bronte) at around 9:00 for registration and breakfast. Naturally, since Bronte is known for its pistachios, we had fantastic cornetti con pistacchi. After breakfast we departed; some of us for what is considered a 'soft' ride, while the majority were in for a 'hard' one. We began at the same point and crossed paths a few times throughout the day.


We began our adventure by crossing a river.

We crossed the river, exiting by means of a relatively level point. Those enthusiasts that were along for a hard ride chose to exit through what became a mud hole, up an embankment.




Of course, one had to be wary of how close they got to the action so as to avoid being bathed in a shower of mud.

After we left the river, the groups split up. The risk taking group (they seemed to seek out some pretty steep, cliff side, paths from what I could tell) went on their way while we followed another path.

The majesty of Mt. Etna under the bright blue Sicilian sky always makes a fabulous background, even with a little cloud cover.



We continued into a ravine which ended up taking us up a very slippery path along a steep edge, with a few moments of nervousness as our back end slid in an unfavorable direction, on the way out.




We continued our journey after everyone made it up the slippery slope - no pun intended. :)

At 12:30 we found ourselves in for an unexpected treat...fresh ricotta (eaten warm in a small bowl with a spoon...it was awesome...I could eat it every day), chunks of pecorino, pane, and vino.

On our way to explore the grounds at the farm we couldn't help but notice the creative parking job of some of the drivers.


Naturally, we saw some sheep.

The most interesting thing we saw in the barn was the milking area. The sheep are ushered into a small pen where they are then taken one at a time to be milked. The sheep's head is secured between the grates to ensure that they don't run off while being milked.

Before long, we were on our way to our next destination.

When we arrived, we parked along our 'soft' track and watched the others play.

I took a little too much video and successfully drained my battery; lesson learned.

After we left this spot we worked our way back across the river at a different point...up a steep hillside...to a bar for a caffe, a bathroom, and panini was had by all. The organizers then handed out small commemorative placques for all participant drivers and shared a shot of spumante in celebration.

Donnafugata Castle & Scoglitti

A few weeks ago I went to Donnafugata Castle and Scoglitti with some colleagues. The main portion of the castle, according to all accounts that I have read, was built in the mid-17th century. Approaching the castle requires walking past a variety of shops.


They had signs posted asking that no pictures be taken inside, and being the honest person I am, I followed the rules. So the remainder of my shots are of the exterior, accessed via the garden. There are lion sculptures at the base of the stairs on both sides.

Okay, so the lions are grinning...umm, I guess it's a grin...maybe it's a grimmace.

Personally, I like the close-up view.

Once you pass the lions and get to the top of the stairs, there is plenty to see and admire. From the stairs leading to the top of the tower...

To close-ups of the arches...

or simply admiring them for the majesty that they command.

Of course, I am always mesmerized by the gargoyle type adornments that are so common in much of the early architecture that is abundant in Sicily.

Naturally, I have to get it at a few different angles.

After we left the castle, we went on to Scoglitti where we had a fantastic seafood lunch at Pizza in Piazza. While we were waiting for the restaurant to be ready for us we took a walk to the port.

There was a small park overlooking the port with a sculpture of a man and a child in a boat.

Rather fitting, as the boat is very similar to some of the smaller fishing boats.

While I certainly appreciate the nice catamarans, speed boats, and yachts, Sicilian fishing boats have a lot of character and make for a great photo opportunity.

Ragusa Ibla

Recently, I took a return trip to Ragusa Ibla for part of a romantic getaway weekend. The weather was beautiful and the company was incredibly fantastic. Naturally, while we were there we took a few pictures. The baroque architecture was really beautiful as can be seen in great detail in the Chiesa di San Giorgio (yes, it was also in my last posting as well...but this picture is better) built in the 1700s.


At the end of town is a beautiful, well maintained park. There are plenty of benches, picturesque views, and sculptures.

Many of the balconies have ornate carvings of faces or animals.

Of course, one can always find laundry hanging out to dry...in this case, accompanied by an Italian flag. There was a man, that we could not see, singing from within which drew our attention to this window. It was like we were being serenaded as we walked the street.

When I looked to the left, the dome of a large church caught my attention.

Here's a view of the town as we sauntered a little further down the road toward our hotel.

Most balconies are adorned with gorgeous plants.

And, as narrow as the streets often are, one must always be wary of passing cars.

After a while, I decided to play with the settings on my camera...one of those is the option for black and white. This view was from outside the front of our hotel, Locanda Don Serafino.

And one final shot as we drove out of town.

Whirlwind Tour

Toward the end of Sarah's visit, we made a run to Caleca in Patti to purchase some dishes for her student apartment. She chose two patterns as you can see here.

After shopping for dishes we went to Santo Stefano di Camastra. Of course, I didn't have my camera with me so I don't have any pictures to show for it. We had a nice meal at my favorite restaurant in San Stefano, Trattoria da Giannino. When we came home we sat and admired Mt. Etna from my balcony for a little while. It's been erupting continuously for well over a month now and always makes great pictures.

A few days later we tackled Palermo and Monreale. I didn't take any pictures at the cathedral in Monreale because I left my camera in the car - oops.

We visited the catacombs at the crypt of the Capuchins and they asked that we not take pictures out of respect for the dead - we obliged them.

We parked, illegally, near the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo and walked through the Porta Nuova.

The inside wall...

And the sculptures on the other side...

Two days later we drove to Ragusa...stopped near a cathedral built between 1706 and 1760 and dedicated to St. John the Baptist for a picture and lunch.

Then went on to Ragusa Ibla, which was destroyed in an earthquake in 1693.

This is the church of San Giorgio, in the duomo.

The next day we went back toward Palermo/Trapani and stopped in Erice. This is the view looking out over Trapani.

The castle was closed at the time we were there, so we couldn't walk through it.

From Erice we searched for the Plana degli Albanesi which is reputed to have the biggest and best cannoli on the island. After many wrong turns and a lot of time, we found it...at around 5:00. We found that everything is closed on Monday's and there was no cannoli to be had at that time of day - grr. Now I'll have to go back.

We decided to go home by way of Messina and stopped in Cefalu for dinner.

As dinner was coming to an end, so was the day.

Naturally, we ended her visit with dinner in Taormina as usual...and again, I left my camera in the car...I really need to stop doing that.

Cantine Aperte - Nicosia

On Saturday, May 24th, I saw an advertisement for Cantine Aperte; on the last Sunday of May, Italian wineries open to the public for tours and wine tasting. I really wanted to go to one since there are so many close to my house: Gambino, Murgo, and Nicosia are the closest. But, I already made plans to go to lunch at Lisa and Onorio's so I figured that I'd have to wait until next year.

During breakfast at Papavere & Papere in Nicolosi, my colleague Michael stated that he had to go to the store to buy some wine - his favorite Due Neri Nero D'Avola by Nicosia. Rose, our Italian/American friend, mentioned Cantine Aperte and that the Nicosia winery was in very close by Trecastagni. Immediately, Michael wanted to go and since it was only 10:15 and I had time before lunch, I agreed to drive. We followed the signs and found it without a hitch, although we entered from what would be considered the back door.

We figured that we could just buy some wine...right? You know, take the tour, do a little tasting, make some selections, and end with purchases. Well, it didn't quite work that way. We walked in and were immediately greeted by Giuseppe. He spoke to us in Italian, naturally. It took me off guard because I was only half listening and I didn't catch any of his words. In my confusion he paused and asked in nearly perfect English if we spoke another language; I said "yes" and we laughed. He asked if we wanted a tour and neither of us seemed to want to make the decision so finally I agreed and off we went.

Among the many things that our guide explained to us was that the facility is relatively new and has a capacity of 1.5 million liters. We saw presses, filters, vats, the lab...


wooden barrels...
bottling...
labeling...


and packaging. Michael was reluctant to let go and inquired whether he could buy a pallet of wine or not; he can...and he might.


After our tour, we went inside. There were several ladies behind the bar, but our very generous guide Giuseppe stayed with us. We tried a nice white wine (Grillo). Then Michael tried a red (Nerello Mascalese), which he liked. I was uncertain about what I wanted to try so Giuseppe asked if he could make a recommendation...of course. I tried a red - Cerasuolo, that was good. He said if I liked that, he had another red that was light and great even with fish - I'd tell you what it was, but I can't quite make out the spelling on the notes that I brought home (no...I didn't write it). Finally, I asked him to tell me what his favorite was. He said that he preferred the Cerasuolo but that the Etna Rosso was also good...of course, you imagine Etna while you enjoy it - I said that I didn't need to imagine Etna, I could sit on my balcony and look at it - what else could I need? Maybe someone to share it with. ;)

Now that we knew what we wanted, we asked if we could purchase some - guess what? The answer was NO. We could arrange for it to be delivered to our house, or go to the sales office during regular business hours M-F. I'll be going back soon.

We could have ended our visit to the winery with a trip to the vinyard, but it was approaching noon and I had to be on my way.

The trip to the winery was well worth the time spent on many levels. We got to see the facility and taste the wine. Also, I asked if we could bring a group back sometime for a tour. Not only can we make arrangements for a tour, we could also do a light lunch - perfect!

Gruppo Nicosia s.r.l.

Uffici: via Papa Giovanni XXIII, 43 - 95039 Trecastagni (CT) - Italy

Cantina: strada privata al n 49 di via Luigi Capuana 95039 Trecastagni (CT) - Italy

Tel. 39-095-780-6767 http://www.cantinenicosia.it/

The Off Season

I really love the off season in Sicily. One can actually walk freely and enjoy what the cities have to offer.

To the right is Castelmola, a small village situated above Taormina.

Here, also to the right (strategically located below Castelmola), is the main drag in Taormina - tourist free. In the summer, it is often packed shoulder to shoulder.

And below, the Piazza Duomo in Ortegia (near Siracusa).

Okay, so the off season is a nice time to stroll casually through the streets; to see, and appreciate, the architecture. On the down side, the temperature is often somewhere between chilly and down right frigid. Not all of the shops are open, but if you're lucky they'll see you and open specially for you (this just happened to me in Castelmola). During high tourist season in the summer it is relaxing to get a table in the sun (or shade), have a snack and a drink, and people watch.

Sicilian Ceramic Heads

When I first saw a ceramic head, I thought to myself, "Why would anyone want one of those?" I thought it was not very attractive. Then I looked at the price tag and confirmed my initial reaction with a gasp, not only was it ugly, but it was also pretty pricey. I have maintained that opinion for over 5 years now, well, that is until recently.


Just before winter break I took a drive up to Santo Stefano with Evelyn. She wanted to buy a few last minute ceramic Christmas gifts. Having nothing to do that day, aside from school work, it was an easy choice. Besides, I had had my eye on a ceramic cyclops that was in a shop there for over a year, and was also in the market for a decorated roofing tile.


We arrived before lunch and started shopping. I guess we were done in less than an hour (it helps when you know what you're looking for). We loaded our treasures into the car and walked to my favorite restaurant in Santo Stefano di Camastra - Trattoria da Giannino.


While we were waiting to place our order, the man seated next to us was served his pasta. It looked great and smelled even better. We commented on the pasta and then Evelyn asked the man what it was called. He politely told her, and then offered us each a taste! We declined. He insisted. We declined again (I had ordered it before), and Evelyn ordered it.


After lunch we walked through a few shops on the way to the car. There was an awesome trinacria in one, that I really wanted...unfortunately, at 650 euro it was a little out of reach. In the next shop, we saw a small (8") ceramic head that I thought was surprisingly handsome. I didn't have anymore cash and asked if I could pay by credit card, the vendor declined stating that his machine didn't work. I apologized, and we left.


We then went into the shop next door and immediately saw the most beautiful ceramic head. It was about 16" tall, a woman, and mine. It was much more than I wanted to spend at 460 euro. I told Evelyn I wanted it and she immediately began bartering with the shopkeeper. Maybe he hadn't sold anything in a while (being the off season), or maybe he just really liked her, I'll never know...but he came down to 390 euro - a steal, and the deal was done. It still nauseates me to think about how much I spent on her, but she is beautiful, and an investment.


Sarah, I hope you like her...she'll be yours one day.

I've heard a lot of different stories about why the Sicilians craft these ceramic heads. Among them is the story of the Moorish royalty that were being taken away for execution, thus the somber look. The story that I think I like the most is a vengeful love story, and is explained here:

http://siciliamo.blogspot.com/2007/10/balcony-scene-with-twist.html