Category: Travel Tips and Ideas
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The Jubilee of Mercy in Sicily
Breaking with tradition, Pope Francis announced in November that from the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 2015) through the Feast of Christ the King (November 20, 2016) it would be a special Jubilee Year. The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is a Roman Catholic period of prayer to be celebrated around the world. It is a year…
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A Slow Taste of Sicily
Busiate pasta is particular to western Sicily, specifically Trapani province. It’s special because it’s made to look like ringlets and when it is made by hand, it is created by wrapping the dough around knitting needles. It’s traditionally served with Trapanese style pesto; that is, a pesto made with garlic, some basil, some tomatoes, olive…
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Silent Morning
On the morning we stayed in Realmonte during our September 2015 Experience Sicily tour, I jumped out of bed early and made my way down the long staircase of the sea cliff in order to soak up the magnificence of Scala dei Turchi. Here’s one of the many photos I took of this wonder of…
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Sicily is a Land of Contrasts
Sicily is a land of intriguing contrasts. A moment like this one that I captured on the State Road in Bagheria is common.
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Pack Your Toga
In May 2016, during our Experience Sicily with Chef Melissa Muller tour, we’ll see a performance of an ancient Greek play at the 5th-century-BC Teatro Greco in Siracusa. This photo is from last summer’s performance of The Suppliants by Aeschylus. It was breathtaking!
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Which Way Should I Go?
Which way will you go in 2016? There’s no GPS for our lives, but when driving in Sicily, I almost always use one. Otherwise, I follow the signs. Share with me your plans and dreams for the year ahead!
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Chef Melissa Muller Leads Us through Sicily
In Italy, and definitely in Sicily, citizens are most patriotic to the traditions and cultural practices followed within the sound of the church bell that they can hear, a concept called campanilismo. As a result, contrary to popular belief, only a handful places ritually eat seven kinds of fish on Christmas Eve. For example, in…
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Real Men Wear Pink (and Black)
Real men in Palermo wear pink. On Sunday, the Palermo “Rosanero” soccer club plays Genoa’s Sampordia soccer club. Forza Palermo!
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Fortunate Recipient
This necklace is the creation of two very talented women. The ceramic piece was designed by artist Mirella Pipia in Bagheria. It was intended to be a decorative ornament of some kind, perhaps, for your Christmas tree. In 2014, Barbara Shiller, an American jewelry maker, came with me to Sicily on our September small-group tour.…