Category: Seasons
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What to Pack for Your Summer Vacation in Sicily
To help our Experience Sicily clients prepare for their trips, we supply a comprehensive packing list in their itinerary packets. Personally, I hate packing, so I love to follow a list of what to bring so I don’t have to think. ! Please, just tell me what to do! My itinerary packing list, however, doesn’t…
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Breathe in Calatafimi, Segesta
Here’s something to help you dream… Breathe in Sicily’s spring landscape near Calatafimi (the town where the archaeological site of Segesta is)
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Dress for Success
This weekend in the southeastern Sicilian town of Pachino, they are celebrating the “Inverdurata di Pachino,” a festival that features local agricultural production. In this case, it is their renowned sweet cherry tomatoes–here used to create a dress along with orange, lemon, cucumbers, and onion slices (there may be some celery and zucchini mixed in…
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Sicily’s Climate Changes
Today, Sicily is a semi-tropical climate, but in the Middle Ages, the island’s weather was much cooler, with more rain. Certainly, global climate change has contributed, but relality is, scholars attribute the change to extensive deforestation, and as a result, over time, the decline of precipitation and rise in temperatures. At one time, Sicily’s rivers…
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We’ll Have You Erupting with Joy
When Etna started erupting last month, I received an email from my friend Charlie asking if I take my tours to the volcano. The answer is a resounding, yes! (NB that’s me, pictured on Etna.) I believe that seeing and feeling and drinking the power of Etna (and Mother Nature) is just as important as…
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Spring Moon Dance
Spring moon (from 2015) over the salt flats of Nubia, Trapani
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Giving Thanks on St. Joseph’s Day
Saint Joseph’s Day is a communal holiday. In addition to the altars created, which are an exhibition of abundance and a dialogue with God, local specialties are prepared and shared with members of the community, more specifically with hungry and poor citizens of the town. In addition to macco (the fava bean soup I wrote…
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Small-group
One of my favorite visits during our Enchanting Sicily tour is with artist Michele Ducato in his studio. Michele the keeper of the Ducato family business: painting Sicilian carts. He is so generous with his time and sharing his knowledge about his craft.
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Celebrate St. Joseph’s Day 2017 in New York City
One of my new favorite hidden corners of Sicily is Salemi in Trapani province. And in Salemi, one of the most fascinating off-the-beaten path things to do is visit the Museum of Ritual Bread. Gaspare Cammarata (pictured with me here) is the curator of this collection of bread loaves from all over Sicily that have…