Roma! Trastevere

We left Sicily on Friday afternoon enduring the bus service of the skies that is Ryanair and arrived at our hotel in Trastevere at 6pm; just in time to hustle over to a local bar and watch the Italy-Costa Rica  World Cup Game! While the excitement of the young crowd was palpable, unfortunately Italy lost the match one nil to Costa Rica. After a quick pit stop back at the hotel, we headed of for our dinner reservation at Meridionale, a local hip trattoria where we enjoyed a yummy dinner washed down with a litre of house vino! Then it was time to wander around Trastevere until the wee hours bar hopping as though we were in our 20s.

Trastevere is quite a change from our usual Roman haunt across the Tiber; much younger, hipper and more lively.

We laughed that even though we have been to Rome many times and think we know it, we keep discovering new facets to the city and truly remain strangers in the Eternal City.

Saturday in Trastevere started a little bit blurry for Christos although Lisa seemed to be in fine form. Clearly the vino has a greater impact on one as one ages. We headed out to Santa Maria in Trastevere, an amazing church founded in the third century AD with gorgeous mosaics from the 13th century AD.

We then wandered a bit more before taking another little break (for Christos to recover some more) and then headed out to see the Villa Farnesina with its lovely frescoes by Raphael. After the villa tour we grabbed a quick lunch of pizza at the aptly named "Bir & Fud" before retiring once more to our hotel for an afternoon nap. In the late afternoon we headed out again for a wander and realized we may be in for a treat similar to "fete de la musique" in France as many street corners have suddenly sprouted what appears to be setups for live music!

We headed out for another stroll, caught some entertaining street theatre (Christos ended up participating) and Lisa bought a new bag from a street vendor (Lisa just loves to buy bags on holiday). Dinner was at the lovely restaurant "La Boticella" just a stone's throw from our hotel. We both started with a wonderful ravioli (cheese, mushroom and truffle) followed by lamb for Christos (good but not as good as Monaci's lamb) and chicken for Lisa (first chicken we have had in weeks; quite good!) and were stuffed to the brim by the end of dinner. A local cat watched us from a nearby moto.

We had a lovely conversation with some Swedes during dinner and Christos may have convinced them that it is time to buy a little gold. We then wandered about a bit more, caught the end of a live music set and finally got back to our hotel around 11:30pm. We played a game of Kingdom Builder while sipping beers in the hotel patio, breathing in our last (for this holiday) of the Roman summer ... Tomorrow we will be (hopefully) back in Toronto.

Sicily - Mount Etna

We left the environs of Noto on Tuesday around 10:30am and at noon we arrived at our next destination, the amazing "Monaci Delle Terre Nere" on the slopes of Mount Etna. Monaci is simply amazing!!! Not only are the views just astounding but the food is excellent (best we have had yet in Sicily), the staff friendly and attentive, the buildings cool (an old monastery which houses the ancient wine press etc) and the tranquility of the place inspiring. The only thing not going our way was the weather as Tuesday was over cast all day. After checking in and enjoying a welcome drink, our host told us that Mount Etna had just started erupting again and that we might get a view of lava if we were lucky. Wow. We settled into our amazing suite ("Limpido") located about a five minute walk from the main building and relaxed for a bit before having a light lunch (salad and vegetarian pasta).

We then relaxed in our suite for a few hours before heading back to the main building for aperitifs and snacks at 6pm. They laid out a groaning table of cheeses, salamis, nuts, honey and crackers. We looked at each other with wide eyes and decided that the next day we would skimp on lunch to wait for the 6pm snacks. At 8:30pm it was time for dinner which was the best we have had to date in Sicily; Lisa had a wonderful peace of beef while Christos had the best tuna ever! We skipped dessert as we were just stuffed, wandered back to our suite and chatted about how we should have just come here for the whole trip! Of course we were just kidding as we love to see lots of different places and things but truly for those who come to Sicily, Monaci is not to be missed. While we did not see any lava or smoke (the skies were still overcast) we did hear some thundering sounds that may well have been Etna welcoming us. After a little iPad TV of "The Americans" (special thanks to Davey and Shazz for the recommendation) we got to sleep around 11:30pm, our budding homesickness much diminished!

Wednesday on Mount Etna started bright and sunny and we enjoyed an amazing breakfast of freshly squeezed blood orange juice, cheese, bread, fruits, preserves and of course cappuccino before heading off to visit the local town of Zafferena. At Zafferena we did a little shopping (Lisa bought a new bag) and wandered about until lunch time when we shared a calzone (or Sicilian pizza) that was quite good before heading back to Monaci in the early afternoon. By this time the weather had changed to being slightly overcast but still gorgeous. Back at Monaci we lounged by the pool reading until 4pm when we did a yoga class! A new thing for Christos and something he has to be careful doing as he has a slight back problem. We both enjoyed the class and decided we wanted to do it again the next day. Then it was time for a little more relaxation before 6pm cheese and wine. We played a little "Kingdom Builder" on the iPad from 7pm to 8pm while sitting on our lawn soaking in the amazing view. We also saw a snake! It was about three feet long and crossed our path when we were returning from snack time. It was interesting to see the snake print it left in the dirt as it crossed our path. Dinner was once again excellent, we both had the beef; which was good but not as good as the nigh before (different cut). All the guests for dinner were sitting outside and the weather turned once more;  to a solid rain! We were sheltered under an umbrella and thus were the last holdouts but eventually we followed everyone else and went inside. Fortunately the rain stopped before dinner ended and we walked back to our suite on soggy ground but with no rain falling on us. Once more we watched an episode of "The Americans" before falling asleep.

Our final full day in Sicily started once more with sunshine and a wonderful breakfast. We decided to wander the grounds of Monaci, trying to get a better glimpse of Mt. Etna and visiting the wonderful gardens where Monaci produces vegetables for its kitchen. We were so happy without holiday we just had to jump for joy ... more than once!

Shortly before noon we hopped on the car and drove to the Benanti winery in the nearby town of Viagrande for a tasting of its vintages.

Although the tour got off to a rocky start as our guide was busy with another group it ended up being a great experience and we discovered that the Etna grape, Nerello Mascalese was much to our liking; six bottles are coming home with us.

After a wonderful tasting and lunch we finally hopped back in the car around 4pm and returned to Monaci where we relaxed as the sun set, sipping wine and playing "Kingdom Builder".

Sicily - Noto (or thereabouts)

We left Modica Friday morning and decided, at Christos' insistence, to head back to Caltagirone to try once more for some ceramic shopping and touring. Arriving around noon we did not have much time to shop as everything closes around 1:30pm but that did not deter us as we found a lovely little shop and loaded up on bowls to take home.

The shop was just off the famous main stairs of Caltagirone; the stairs are famous as they are all tiled on the vertical face and present quite a beautiful view when seen from their base. We also stopped in at a local deli and bought meats, bread, olives and marinated mushrooms for lunch. Christos prepared two sandwiches on the road as we headed out for the two hour drive to Noto from Caltagirone; one proscuitto and one salami and we were in no need of olives or mushrooms (which we saved for a later date). Arriving at "Masseria degli Ulivi" around 5pm we noted its quaint charm and peaceful quiet, something we have been looking forward to as both Mandranova (near the highway) and Casa Talia (in the heart of Modica) were a bit loud. We checked out the lovely grounds (olive trees abound) and then rested until dinner at 9pm. We were a bit worried as the hotel is some 8km from Noto and if the restaurant was no good we had few other options. Fortunately, the restaurant is excellent! Christos had a tasty octopus carpaccio while Lisa had gnocchi for appetizers followed by veal (Christos) and mixed grill (Lisa) which were both excellent. We also enjoyed the bottle of Nero D'Avola wine in the room which we thought quite good but turned out to be just the hotel's house wine! After dinner we drifted off to sleep watching "The Americans" on the iPad; a new series for us.

The next morning it was off to Syracuse (or Siracusa as the Italians say), one of the first Ancient Greek colonies in Sicily and a town filled to the brim with sights to see! We arrived before noon and headed to Ortigia, an island that was once the heart of ancient Siracusa that is now linked to the main city by bridge. Our first stop was the ruins of the Temple of Apollo and while not much is left today, one could see the various stages of use from the Greeks, to the Byzantines to the late medieval; each adding a little of its own to the building. Adjacent to the temple is the local market which was in full swing when we arrived.

The market is primarily food oriented, although one can get underwear as well there. We strolled along looking at the stalls piled high with fruit and vegetables, local products such as lemoncella and olive oil but most appealing were the fishmonger stalls. The fish were all as fresh as can be with eyes as black as coal and no "fishy" smell at all.
We watched a fishmonger chop up a massive tuna in sight of the head of a swordfish.

It all looked so wonderful and we yearned for the days gone by when we could have brought such fine victuals back to Elifthiria for Sally to cook up. Lisa lamented our choice of domicile as fresh fish in Toronto is as rare as an honest politician. Next it was time to visit the church of Santa Lucia that houses a Caravaggio painting ("Martyrdom of Santa Lucia") that although not his best work (he rushed to get it done in time for a festival) still exhibits his amazing talent and is lovely to gaze upon. Then it was off to the Duomo next door which was quite amazing as it incorporates the ancient columns of the Temple of Athena from 2500 years ago!
With its massive stone blocks, the towering columns and the warm glow of the stained glass the gravitas of the place was quite astounding. We then stopped off for a glass (well two actually) of white wine at a local trattoria where we ended up purchasing some fine white wine before making the trek to the archeological museum. The museum houses a fine collection of Sicilian artifacts from the most ancient times (mostly grave goods dating back to 3000BC) through to the Greco-Roman era (lots of votive offerings, vases etc). The highlight is a roman era sarcophagus of supreme workmanship.

We then drove back to Masseria degli Ulivi and chilled until dinner, which was once more quite good (lamb for Christos, fettuccine with rabbit ragout for Lisa).

The next day was a Sunday and as such, we opted to just relax at the hotel as not much is open in Italy on Sundays. The day was spent lounging by the pool, reading and playing kingdom builder. Once more dinner was delicious; Christos had the squid ink pasta while Lisa had the lamb that Christos enjoyed the previous evening.

For our final day near Noto, we opted for a day trip in to Noto to see the Baroque architecture. We arrived before noon and spent about three hours in Noto. Lisa purchased an expensive but appropriate t-shirt (it says "beautiful shoes are my Prozac") and we also bought some pottery, a small painting, some postcards of old Sicily maps and two bottles of Noto DOC wine (both Nero D'Avola, a grape we have come to quite enjoy). Then it was time for a trip to Noto Antica, the old town hat was destroyed in the earthquake of 1693 (it had been inhabited since the 400s). We only saw one other group there and we quickly lost them as they wimped out soon after entering the ruins (he macro of the group was wearing totally inappropriate shoes for exploration). We spent about an hour and a half in the blazing sun wandering over the ruins visiting an old church, the castle, a palace and a hospital.

Quite a fun excursion for us. Christos also picked up some broken pottery shards that is likely older than Canada!

Four our final night at Masseria, we both opted to dine on the excellent fettuccine with rabbit ragout, washed down with a bottle of "Carthago" Nero D'Avola wine. Christos had an excellent potatoes and leek soup to start while Lisa had the yummy gnocchi. All the pasta at Masseria is made daily and it really makes a difference! After dinner it was time to watch a little more of "The Americans" before lumbering into sleep with thoughts of our next and final destination in Sicily; Mount Etna!!!!

Sicily - Modica

After four nights at Mandranova it was time to head to our next destination, the lovely hill town of Modica some two hours away by car. We left early as we planned to stop at a couple places on the way, first of which was the amazing Roman villa near Piazza Armerina. The villa hosts some of the most extensive and best preserved Roman mosaics in the world and they were definitely worth the time and price of admission. After a couple hours at the villa it was time to head to Caltagirone, a local centre of ceramic production. Unfortunately, our timing was bad and we arrived in the mid afternoon, when all the shops were shuttered! 

So we drove through the town and then headed on to Modica, arriving around 5pm. Our first night in Modica saw us dine at a local seafood restaurant where Lisa had a tasty piece of tuna while Christos enjoyed seafood pasta. After dinner we headed down to the main street where we discovered live music!!

We only caught the last two songs but it was enough to remind us how different social life is in Southern Europe compared to Canada; whole families with young kids were in attendance and it was after 11pm on a weeknight! We made it back to Casa Talia around midnight and laid down on the not so comfy bed they provided to drift off to sleep.

Our first full day in Modica was a leisurely one. After a delicious breakfast with freshly squeezed OJ  (and a magnificent view) we opted to see the town. We clattered down the steep stairs to the main drag of Modica (Via Umberto I) and wandered about for a couple of hours visiting the local Cathedral done in the Baroque style before making a fateful decision .... Wine with lunch!

With "day drinking" underway, we ended up a little tipsy by the mid afternoon and stumbled back to Casa Talia for some more drinks and eventually a much needed afternoon nap. Rising in the late afternoon, we decided to read a bit in the garden of Casa Talia, looking up every few pages to take in the stunning view of Modica. Finally it was time for dinner so we wandered down into town and had our most disappointing meal to date. While the appetizer was quite good (poached cod), both of our pastas were thoroughly uninspired and bland. Ah well, they can't all be winners! This night there was no live music in Modica so we found our way back to Casa Talia (many narrow winding alleys later) and settled in for a night's rest.

Our final day in Modica involved a road trip to the nearby (20 km away) town of Ragusa.

We arrived in the late morning and after parking in the new town, we walked to the old town with the sun blazing down on us. Like Modica, Ragusa is another charming hill town that was largely rebuilt in the Baroque style after a devastating earthquake in 1693. We visited a map museum at Christos' request on the way to the old town and a church in the old town but otherwise just spent the afternoon wandering about scrambling from one shaded area to the next as it was hot as the devil's backside! Lunch was at an awesome trattoria just off the main square called "Angelo's".

The hole in the wall had only three tables inside and two outside and a staff of two; Angelo behind the bar and a waitress. We ordered a bruschetta sampler and a meat/cheese plate. The bruschetta sampler had six different offerings ranging from the traditional tomatoes and basil to cheese with honey and cheese with tapenade. It turned out our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we could not finish the cheese/meat plate which Angelo promptly bundled up for us as takeout. Angelo insisted we try a local dessert wine (after we had paid the bill) which is similar to a Muscato but less syrupy. While we dined at Angelo's lovely tunes were being played on vinyl, much to the approval of Christos! We left Angelo's and shopped a bit on the way back to our car before embarking on the short drive back to a Modica, arriving around 4:30pm.

While we had initially planned to relax for the rest of the day, we changed our minds and decided instead for another walking tour of Modica, this time visiting the other side of the valley that hosts the town. We discovered a local artist but declined to buy anything, stumbled into a wedding where we watched from the sidelines for a bit and found a curiosity shop where Christos purchased an old print of a camel, a favourite animal of his. We finally made it back to Casa Talia around 7pm where we sipped white wine purchased earlier in the day at Ragusa that was unfortunately not quite up to par before heading down to dinner at a highly regarded new restaurant in town called "Accursio". Dinner was decent but not as good as we had hoped, portions were small and the food was good but not great. We were also disappointed that the chef came out to talk to most of the local tables but not ours. Finally, the service was poor; we ordered red wine and were brought white wine, they failed to bring the right utensils and we felt ignored for most of the evening. Christos refers to the restaurant as "Accursed".

We stumbled up the winding stairways of Modica back to Casa Talia late in the evening, finished off the mediocre white wine and slipped into sleep well after midnight. 

Sicily - Mandranova

We arrived in Sicily on Friday afternoon at Catania airport and hopped in our rental car, a black VW beetle convertible that we have named "Black Betty". Out we sped on the autostrada to the west towards Enna before turning south towards Gela and then west along the sea towards Agrigento. We arrived at our first Sicilian refuge, Mandranova, in the late afternoon and were famished, not having  had a bite to eat since before the flight. Fortunately, our hosts brought us out a lovely late lunch of pasta, cheese and salad. While it was all excellent, the lettuce was outstanding, particularly after the long winter of horrid greens in Canada this past year. After lunch we retired to our room for a brief nap and some reading before it was dinner time around 9pm on the grounds of Mandranova.

Mandranova is a working olive farm (with other veg as well) and all their food (well veg anyway) is from the farm to the table. The location is a bit isolated (which we love) except that the highway is close enough that one can hear the traffic, particularly the motorcycles. The food is prepared by the lady of the house, Sylvia, while her husband Guissepe takes care of the bookings etc. Their olive oil is excellent and oddly enough they ship to Toronto ... To Pusateri's to be exact!

After our yummy dinner we watched a little "Game of Thrones" before drifting off to a much needed sleep.

The next day we wolfed down breakfast before heading off to the Valley of the Temples near Agrigento. What a place! Situated on a hilltop it was once a flourishing city but what remains today are the remains of several temples and not much else. But oh what temples they are! The temple of Concord is largely intact, having been converted into a Christian church hundreds of years ago thus sparing it as a source of building materials for the locals. Fortunately it has been restored back to its original form.

The other temples (Hercules and Juno), although not as complete, are just as lovely.

We also visited an ancient garden in a valley just below where the temples are that in antiquity had served as the local tyrant's personal garden before being forgotten about and becoming a wilderness. In the recent past, the Italian government has re-invigorated it and now it hosts all manner of plants such as lemon, orange, fig and olive trees as well as more unusual ones such as persimmon, cumquats and loquats (a fruit previously unknown to us). Quite a peaceful and serene place as its location in the valley shields it from the heat of summer, the cold of winter and the winds. We made it back to Mandranova in the late afternoon and enjoyed another late lunch before relaxing until dinner time. Dinner was once more quite yummy, although perhaps not as awesome as we had hoped for, and the Sicilian wine quenched our thirst.

Our second day was a day of relaxing by the pool at Mandranova until 4pm when it was time for our cooking class with Sylvia. We spent the next three hours slaving in the kitchen preparing fried risotto balls, aubergine lasagna, beef rolls and chocolate semifredo. It was all a bit of a blur and tough to keep the details in mind so fortunately we received written recipe sheets for the meal. We also received Mandranova aprons which we will take home with us. Dinner was excellent, how could it not be as it was homemade; by us!!

For our final day in Mandranova we went on a boat cruise! After first passing through a small local town, where we encountered a gaggle of old Sicilian men, four couples (including us) and Guissepe boarded Guiseppe's power boat and set out for the cruise. We stopped at three locations during the cruise; the middle of nowhere for a dip in the Med, a small island close to shore for more swimming and a quick stroll around its perimeter and a beach that we swam ashore to, strolled upon and when done, we swam back to the boat.

During this time we noshed on a fine lunch of proscuitto, fruit, cheese and pasta (with beer and wine as well). All told an excellent way to spend five hours! Unfortunately, Christos was not prodigious enough with his application of sun screen and managed to burn himself a bit. Ah well, such is the price one pays for a wonderful day in the sun!

We relaxed in the colonnaded lounge and watched the swallows whose nest lay in the rafters fly about as the evening gave way to our usual 9PM dinner.

Roma, Roma, Roma!!

Wednesday June 4th was a  wonderful walking tour of Rome filled with Caravaggios, Churches, the Borghese Gardens (including a visit to the Pietro Canonica museum within) Italian beer
(not bad at all, from micro breweries) and good food from our favourite hole in the wall restaurant next to Gigli D'Oro.

In the Borghese gardens we stumbled upon the dress rehearsal for the 200th anniversary of the "Carabinieri, an Italian paramilitary police force considered a plum gig in Italy and open to both men and women. We saw several hundred men and women in full dress uniforms first preparing for and then executing a rehearsal for a military parade. They presented arms to what looked like their commanding officers.

There were more guns in one place then in all of Canada, or so it seemed to us.

On Thursday June 5th we awoke early, gulped down breakfast and headed off to meet Alex & Sal at the Capitoline museum for 10AM. We toured the museum (highlights were the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius and the Michelangelo temporary exhibit) until noon and then grabbed a pricey but yummy lunch of fried artichokes and arrabiata penne.

Of course we imbibed a tipple or two of white wine so after lunch Lisa and Christos opted on some down time at the hotel before heading out to meet Alex and Sally for Alex's 75th birthday dinner! Dinner was a marvelous affair with carpaccio, two different kinds of veal, copious wine, strawberries in cream and of course a fine cigar for Baba! We bid them safe travels home and stumbled back across town, engaging in a lively political discussion with two Ukrainian kids (their position was "Go Putin") before stumbling to a virtually deserted Piazza Navona. The Ukrainians in good cheer had of course offered us a gift on parting so we indulged and wandered about the Piazza analyzing as best we could the intracacies of the fine fountains therein.

Arrivederci London, Hello Rome!

After a fun Sunday (a little too much fun for working lady Lisa), Monday in London was a day of meetings for Lisa and fun for Christos.

Christos spent the morning wandering Hyde Park enjoying the flowers to be suddenly interupted by a procession of the Household Cavalry (alas no Queen though)!



Such near royal excitement was then followed by a stroll along tony Piccadilly and Jermyn streets and an afternoon at the National Portrait Gallery (btw Dave, they do have a Caravaggio!) before meeting back up with Lisa at the Connaught shortly after 5pm.

Lisa had a wee nap to help recover from the previous night's excess and then we were off to dinner at the Brasserie Cavot nearby for dinner at 8PM. It was a day free from our usual London poison, the dark and frothy pints of ice cold Guinness.

London, while not Paris, is certainly known for the quality of its international cuisine and what a delight dinner was! Christos had an excellent venison cassoulet (best venison he has had to date) while Lisa had a steak (she truly is a beef eater) and it was all washed down with a lovely bottle of Vacqueyras.

Tuesday saw rain in London (back to normal) during which Lisa had a couple meetings while Christos had a croque Monsieur at the Mount Street Bakery nearby and started reading "Millenium" by Tom Holand. In the afternoon it was off to Luton airport for our flight to Rome!

We arrived around 9pm and after dropping our bags at the hotel Gigli D'Oro it was time for a stroll through the piazza Navona, past the Pantheon and then back to a lovely restaurant near our hotel where we enjoyed vino and a lovely lasagna. We made it back to the hotel around 12:30am and drifted off to a good night's sleep.

One thing we have noticed is that Rome seems half empty compared to when we were here last year. I guess June is not yet full tourist season while July most certainly is.

London ... On the way to Sicily!

We arrived in London on the morning of Sunday June 1st and after a quick breakfast decided to have an afternoon nap before heading up the street to visit the lovely Wallace Collection. After an hour or so enjoying the fine art and other exhibits it was off to the Audley for a pint (or several) of Guinness. We made friends with a couple of blokes at the next table (Lee and Daniel)

and after more than three hours of good pub cheer (and excessive pints) we stumbled out of the Audley to head over to The Only Running Footman for an excellent roast beef dinner, washed down with more Guinness!!

The jet lag stuck with us and we were both up long before 4am ... Not the best given that Lisa has to work all day on Monday. Fortunately, Lisa is one tough cookie so the odds are she will make it through the day in good form.

So far we have been blessed with lovely sunny weather and we hope it follows us to Rome and Sicily, where we head on Tuesday.