Oh yum- lucky you!!
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Green with envy @shrinkrap! Guess it’s time for us to go for dim sum in the international district in Seattle. 
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I’d kill for dimsum or Korean food right about now! I’ve seen some Chinese residents but no Chinese/Thai/Asian restaurant here. There are quite a few rich, young Chinese tourists (everywhere these days, really).
Yeah, quite similar. I see this kind of thing sometimes. Craft beer labels that look like other well-known brands. They think if it’s in another country nobody would notice.
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I moved to another address and this is what the owner left for us. Sparking wine is the sweet kind and the panettone is also sweet (not to mention it’s a cake) so nobody is going to touch both of them. We like the mandarin and lemons.
It’s been raining and cold but tomorrow it’s supposed to be warmer and sunny so maybe we can go to the beach down there tomorrow. It’s about 15 minute walk downhill from my lodging.
I think everyone here has a lemon tree or 3 in their garden. Many souvenirs are lemons. I got a kilo of them today to bring home with me. Real lemons, not dust-collecting kind.
Not many gelateria are open in the winter but we found a few on the main tourist/shopping drag. I always get pistachio and chocolate or coffee.
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Only a couple of days left to eat arancini and pizza. I never make any of it at home so had better enjoy it here.
Not a fan of rice but if you make it crispy and cheesy then I can’t have enough of it. They all taste good to me. Shatteringly crispy and there are enough types of fillings to try.
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Different shops have different fillings. Have to try them all before going home.
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This one has pistachio and costs 50 cents more
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Sicilian sparkling wine. This one isn’t sweet. “Extra dry” is always better than sweet.
We like to check out menus outside restaurants as we walk around. I said to the partner “what do you want to eat today?”, “octopus”. OK.
Octopus salad
In the gym I use the stair machine. In Sicily you only have to walk out the door and go somewhere. It’s like this endlessly. Only the main shopping drag is flat, but it’s extremely crowded and infuriating to walk there. We take the long way and many many stairs to avoid that main path.
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There’s a miniature bakery in my neighbourhood which also makes arancini and pizzas.
Their ragu filling is delicious. I notice many pizzas in this town have salad greens on them.
Pistachio and almond with “pistachio” bits (the white half). What the hell was I thinking! I hate most things with almond.!There was no pistachio bits in this, all I tasted was almond essence which I despise! I like almonds, just not the essence! The only word suitable to describe almond essence is revolting!!! The partner happily ate my mistake (and all my failed culinary endeavours).
Another gelateria a few minutes away is better, albeit somewhat more expensive being in one of the busiest touristy spots on the main drag.
First time for me, a glass cork. It only fits this particular bottle, however. I have port and sparkling wine corks in my travel “kitchen box” which fit most bottles, in case I have leftover wine for the next day.
A Sicilian classic: pasta with wild fennel, anchovies, breadcrumbs, garlic, oil.
Dandelion greens alongside. I think I’ve found my bitter limit. I’m a hardcore fan of bitter food and drink but dandelion greens are extremely bitter. Still edible and I enjoyed them but I don’t think most people could stomach them. In Albania and Greece they grow and sell them at local markets. I saw bags of seeds in plant shops there, too. Maybe I’ll even try eating this pesky weed in my garden. I can’t bin it fast enough whenever I see it in the garden.
There’s the tiniest local market hall in town where I got the pesky weed and wild fennel.
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2.2kg of Sicilian lemons for less than 2 euros. Gob-smacked. I’m taking them home tomorrow. They are not enamel-destroying sour, pitless (wherever the lemons we have at home come from there more more pits than juice!) and the peel is highly aromatic.
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I just wanted to eat the fresh ricotta, honey and pistachio but the partner reminded me cheese alone wasn’t a balanced diet.
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Sparkling wine again
Sepia/cuttlefish ink and bucatini
Mussels with leftover wild fennel
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Finally, the weather has changed for the better and we could go down to the water.
Seen from a lookout near my lodging. The little island is called Isola Bella. It’s so popular that they even built a cable car rig to transport tourists there (takes about a minute). We walked and it is super steep! A good way to work off all the pasta and arancini. And walking alone in peace is another bunus.
Many tourists attempt walking through the shallow water to get to the island. Looks shallow but it’s over your ankles and the water is icy cold.
Most of them stop right here, make photos and selfie then turn back.
We were below there earlier
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The lunch we most anticipate all year. We always buy extra prime rib for it. On a lightly toasted ciabatta roll, beef, sautéed mushrooms, onions and melted gruyere cheese. Horseradish sauce and jus.
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Last of last year’s photos.
I ate this thing several times. It’s strips of aubergine, must have been salted, dried and then marinated in oil and herbs. I have had Turkish and Albanian pickled aubergines but they are not exactly like this.
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I put the clams on the side for myself as the partner doesn’t eat certain things unless there’s absolutely no other option.
Last of the wine
Last arancini before leaving for the airport. Then we ate some more at the airport so these were not actually “last”.
The beauty of nature.
Beauty of a natural phenomenon, when Etna erupted hundreds thousand (?) of years ago.
Alcantara canyon and gorges were created by a volcanic eruption. Highly impressive in person and especially when well explained by my private guide. Sicily has more than the gastronomy and The Godfather. The inhabitants truly love this island and are proud to be Sicilians. I had a great time and want to return for more.
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Thanks for including the volcanic pictures @Presunto! Your travel photos of both food and scenery are always appreciated.
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Thanks, Lambchop. I think you would like Sicily, at least for the Greek history. There are places on the island with Greek names. Almost everyone who had an army or navy had been to or “captured” Sicily, but the island achieved its greatest architectural and cultural splendour under the Arabs.
Next time I must go to Bronte for the pistachio. I need to bring back kilos of it, not a few hundred grams! Bronte is famous for pistachio which is still harvested manually. Men, women, children climb up the tree, usually on steep slopes, and pick it one by one. It’s expensive and of high quality. They even have a pistachio festival in Bronte. Tastes much better than Turkish pistachio I get here. Fatter and has much more flavour. Pistachio is in a lot of things too, of course, like pizzas, arancini, risotto etc.
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Oh, I know I would love Sicily! Funny you should mention pistachios, as I LOVE them too. The youngest DD studied abroad in Rome, but traveled to a few other places in Italy. She asked what I’d like her to buy for me while there, so I mentioned Sicilian pistachios. Well, she looked all over without finding any. Sadly she didn’t make it to Sicily. But it’s on my bucket travel list. Especially after your photos and descriptions! Yes, fascinating histories of the Mediterranean islands.
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Isola bella is so bella!
I’m taking pictures from here. My tourist kin want to walk.
I cannot believe how time flies. Has anyone seen that scene in “Something Wicked This Way Comes”?, where he rips away the pages?
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Very nice. Everything is closed now. Outside the winter it’s different.
Did you visit other places in Sicily?
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Not many. I took pictures in Taormino. We were on a cruise. We were fortunate enough to have a private guide at each stop.
We finally got off the ship and spent a few days in Sorrento.
We have sometimes figured out what we want to see more of by starting with a cruise.
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Great photos
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I am happy to enjoy the photos and tips for cooking. Can I add my favorite black caviar here? Or any special one is necessary?
