Shopping and eating in Palermo’s Il Capo and Vucciria markets led by our local guide Angelo is how we would have spent this morning, Day 1 of Stirring Sicily. Our focus of this week’s (I wish we were actually there) tour is Sicilian food culture, cooking, and wine. (Daydream along with me!)

Here Angelo is telling us about sheep’s milk cheeses like the ones that come from his village in the heart of the Sicanian Mountains in Sicily’s Platani River Valley. Salty and creamy at once, they desolve in your mouth! After stuffing ourselves with crispy and gooey Arancine (rice balls), soft and steaming panelle (chickpea fritters), and delectable cazzilli (potatoe and mint crochettes), you’ll have time on your own to explore the ancient alleyways and boulevards of Palermo before we head south to Monreale Cathedral. We arrive just in time for the Golden Hour that lights up the inlayed volcanic rock designs of the late 12th century cloisters for the perfect photograph.