Eloise

I think Kismetchimera is right that (most) Sicilians do not consider themselves Italian. Why should they, considering the neglect that they have suffered for decades from the central government in Rome?

And Sicilians, unlike most other Italians, have been invaded for millennia by anyone and everyone who was out there invading, starting with the Greeks, then the Romans, then the Byzantines, then the Arabs, then the Normans, then the Angevins, then the Spaniards, and then finally by Garibaldi, who suddenly wanted them to become Italians!

And I must disagree with Bob the Navigator (Has he navigated to Sicily? Not that I am aware of from his postings...) that Greece compares favourably with Sicily. Having loved Greece with a passion in the 1970s, I hated it in 1994. The entire country has been turned into a tourist trap; the Greeks have sold their heritage not for a mess of pottage but for the tourist dollar. Fira on Santorini, which had a lovely hotel even in 1971, was then a maze of narrow streets with shops selling wine and groceries to those who lived there; in 1994, there were more jewellery stores per square meter than one would have thought possible, all of them selling the same mass-produced goods. In Lindos on Rhodes, where in 1978 one lodged, very comfortably, I might add, and was received with great warmth, in rooms set aside by the locals in their homes, one took a donkey, if one was lazy, up to the Greek citadel; in 1994, one walked -- past hundreds and hundreds of stalls along the route, each of them selling embroideries made in China.

In comparison, the Sicilians have not sold their souls; they have remained Sicilians. Yes, there are times when one wishes they were just a little bit more efficient, but I am willing to wager that there are few restaurants in all of Greece that will compare favourably with the better restaurants in Siracusa and that there is not a single similar establishment in all of Greece that will compare favourably, from the point of view of amenities, of cuisine, of civilized -- as compared to commercialized or servile
-- behaviour with some of the agriturismi in southeastern Sicily.

By all means, go to Greece if you rejoice in the lengths to which the Greeks will go to get your almighty dollar. But if you are looking for civility and for tradition proudly upheld -- and, I might add, for more and better preserved Greek temples than any in Greece itself -- you can do much, much better in Sicily.

m_kingdom2

Firstly, try not mixing your first and third persons - if you're going to use "one", don't suddenly revert to "I".

Secondly, things evolve, places will inevitably become more popular so locals change businesses to supply this new demmand. Sicily is just as touristy as anywhere else in Italy - lots of wonderful hotels, well a few notable ones - except for the rural areas, but this is the same for any country. Athens is distinctly non-touristy, with the locals getting on with their daily life and business as normal. Tourism (except for this year's Olympics) is not their main interest. Italy relies far more heavily upon tourism than Greece. As for "selling their souls" what a ridiculous concept, the Greeks saw a niche in the market and adjusted to it - it's called enterprise, please move with the times dear or go and live in Tanzania where you're not even allowed modern domestic appliances (such as washing mashines/dishwashers) to be imported - this is certainly non-touristy.

toni

Hey Pat Woolford, you don't live in Sydney do you, cause that's where I am. Maybe Australians take a different view of Greece. Anyway, back to the debate. Travelled for 11 weeks last year, had a ball but even after reading everything were stilled surprised at just how many times people tried to rip you off. Especially in Italy (not Sicily). Having said that it never happened once in the three weeks we were in Greece. In fact, every time we had a meal we received either a complimentary drink, dessert or both. Greeks befriended us at every turn and by the time we left the much praised Oia in Santorini we felt like locals. The language is difficult but hey give it a try, it is always appreciated. Yes, I went to Greece twenty years ago and it was a paradise and there a still plenty of beautiful places left, get off the tourist track!

pat_woolford

Hey Toni - yes, I lived in Sydney for most of my life, now in Cairns, North Q'ld. I loved Greece too - for all the reasons you mentioned. We bought a new Citroen(guaranteed "buy back" in Paris) and drove for over 4 months through France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Slovenia, down to Dubrovnik then inland to Greece (would have gone to Turkey but ran out of time) and back via Corfu, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France and for hospitality, generosity and friendliness ("do you know my brother in Melbourne?&quot, the Greeks outshone them all. Just another example - an old fisherman at Skiathos liked the Greek version of my name which happens to be Patricia so on the strength of that he presented us with wonderful freshly caught lobster. Next nicest people we found in those countries were Portuguese and Spanish (in rural areas). There's another thread going here about Americans not going to Greece for reasons of distance - still not nearly as far from them as it is for us in Oz!