Sicily Rome with 2 kids - Spring 2008 Trip Report
Mar 28th, 2008, 10:44 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 515
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sicily Rome with 2 kids - Spring 2008 Trip Report
We're back from an amazing 10-day trip to Sicily and Rome with our two boys (5 and 7). Thanks to everyone on the board for your terrific advice on Sicily, especially the food and wine - we ate and drank beautifully during the entire trip.
I'll try to give a detailed report below (in installments), but here is an overview. We flew from NY to Catania (via Rome) and spent 7 days in a villa on the eastern slope of Mt. Etna. We had two friends from NY staying with us at the villa. We all took one overnight trip to Agrigento. Highlights of the Sicily portion were: pescheria in Catania, the lovely hill town of Ragusa, temples at Agrigento, the Greek theater in Siracusa, Mt. Etna! Then our family headed off to Rome for 3 days (including Easter). It was pouring rain and chilly, but no matter - Rome never disappoints. The boys especially loved the Colosseum and the children's museum. My husband and I loved long lazy dinners, especially at Maccheroni.
Day 1: We took the 5:30 p.m. flight from Newark to Rome. No one could sleep, and we were exhausted on arrival. But the boys were troopers and we found our way through immigration, to our bags, and to the Alitalia connection to Catania. Had my first caffe macchiato at the airport bar - excellent. Tried to sleep again on the flight to Catania, but about 30 minutes into the flight - Mount Etna! Wow - what a view. Snow still covered most of the peak. Really incredible. Boys were very excited at this point.
We landed in Catania at around 10 a.m. and rented a car from Hertz. No problems there - we had international driving permits, but no one asked for them. Then we drove in to the city. Driving in the city was nutty (especially with zero hours of sleep). The parking situation was chaotic, vespas were buzzing around, and pedestrians were jumping out into the street. After one loop through the city, I pulled over and made my husband drive (his theory - a good offense is a good defense - seemed effective).
We parked and headed straight to the fish market. Even if we had to turn around and go home after that, the transatlantic journey would have been worth it. The market is truly awesome. Fish of every type and size, including huge swordfish and tuna, giant shrimp, sea urchins, baby eels and squids, 10 varieties of clams, etc. Amazing to watch the fishermen cleaning anchovies by the dozen - popping of their heads and tails, and pulling out the bones. Lots of meat too - skinned goats and lambs, organs everywhere (including freshly steamed lungs of some sort). The boys were fascinated with the sausage making process. Of course, all of this activity was done by salty Sicilian men with cigarettes dangling from their mouths.
We wandered through the market for a while - with our mouths undoubtedly wide open in amazement. Eventually the boys cried uncle and demanded to get back in the car. We bought some provisions (fruit, salami, cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, carciofi, eggplants, wine, etc.) and headed out. Everything in the market was quite inexpensive, even with the awful conversion rate.
Our villa was about 45 minutes north of Catania, in a charming town called Sant'Alfio, home to the Castagno dei Cento Cavalli (chestnut of a hundred horses). The chestnut tree is supposedly the oldest living thing in Europe and so large that it was able to provide shelter to Giovanna d'Aragona and 100 knights during a storm. More on the tree later.
We were too early to meet the villa caretaker, so we headed to lunch at a lovely agriturismo, Case Perrotta. If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend a meal here. It was full of local families enjoying a beautiful spring day. There was no menu, everything was served family style. House wine - delicious - already on the table when we sat down. Lunch started with a variety of antipasti - caponata, olives, salami, fried cheese, chick-pea fritters. We were probably full after that, but then came the pastas. There were four kinds and we got a taste of each, served on our plate from huge bowls by the waitress. A beautiful maccheroni alla norma, risotto with fennel, penne with pistachio, and a pasta with porcini. Ok, we were really full after that. But then came the grilled carciofi and delightful homemade sausages. We just couldn't stop. THEN came desserts -two geli, one cinnamon one almond. Very light, very yummy. And limoncello after that. A great meal - one of our favorites during the trip - and an excellent augur of meals to come.
We rolled ourselves out to the car (did I mention that one of our sons slept through nearly the entire lunch?) and down to the villa.
Stay tuned . . . .
I'll try to give a detailed report below (in installments), but here is an overview. We flew from NY to Catania (via Rome) and spent 7 days in a villa on the eastern slope of Mt. Etna. We had two friends from NY staying with us at the villa. We all took one overnight trip to Agrigento. Highlights of the Sicily portion were: pescheria in Catania, the lovely hill town of Ragusa, temples at Agrigento, the Greek theater in Siracusa, Mt. Etna! Then our family headed off to Rome for 3 days (including Easter). It was pouring rain and chilly, but no matter - Rome never disappoints. The boys especially loved the Colosseum and the children's museum. My husband and I loved long lazy dinners, especially at Maccheroni.
Day 1: We took the 5:30 p.m. flight from Newark to Rome. No one could sleep, and we were exhausted on arrival. But the boys were troopers and we found our way through immigration, to our bags, and to the Alitalia connection to Catania. Had my first caffe macchiato at the airport bar - excellent. Tried to sleep again on the flight to Catania, but about 30 minutes into the flight - Mount Etna! Wow - what a view. Snow still covered most of the peak. Really incredible. Boys were very excited at this point.
We landed in Catania at around 10 a.m. and rented a car from Hertz. No problems there - we had international driving permits, but no one asked for them. Then we drove in to the city. Driving in the city was nutty (especially with zero hours of sleep). The parking situation was chaotic, vespas were buzzing around, and pedestrians were jumping out into the street. After one loop through the city, I pulled over and made my husband drive (his theory - a good offense is a good defense - seemed effective).
We parked and headed straight to the fish market. Even if we had to turn around and go home after that, the transatlantic journey would have been worth it. The market is truly awesome. Fish of every type and size, including huge swordfish and tuna, giant shrimp, sea urchins, baby eels and squids, 10 varieties of clams, etc. Amazing to watch the fishermen cleaning anchovies by the dozen - popping of their heads and tails, and pulling out the bones. Lots of meat too - skinned goats and lambs, organs everywhere (including freshly steamed lungs of some sort). The boys were fascinated with the sausage making process. Of course, all of this activity was done by salty Sicilian men with cigarettes dangling from their mouths.
We wandered through the market for a while - with our mouths undoubtedly wide open in amazement. Eventually the boys cried uncle and demanded to get back in the car. We bought some provisions (fruit, salami, cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, carciofi, eggplants, wine, etc.) and headed out. Everything in the market was quite inexpensive, even with the awful conversion rate.
Our villa was about 45 minutes north of Catania, in a charming town called Sant'Alfio, home to the Castagno dei Cento Cavalli (chestnut of a hundred horses). The chestnut tree is supposedly the oldest living thing in Europe and so large that it was able to provide shelter to Giovanna d'Aragona and 100 knights during a storm. More on the tree later.
We were too early to meet the villa caretaker, so we headed to lunch at a lovely agriturismo, Case Perrotta. If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend a meal here. It was full of local families enjoying a beautiful spring day. There was no menu, everything was served family style. House wine - delicious - already on the table when we sat down. Lunch started with a variety of antipasti - caponata, olives, salami, fried cheese, chick-pea fritters. We were probably full after that, but then came the pastas. There were four kinds and we got a taste of each, served on our plate from huge bowls by the waitress. A beautiful maccheroni alla norma, risotto with fennel, penne with pistachio, and a pasta with porcini. Ok, we were really full after that. But then came the grilled carciofi and delightful homemade sausages. We just couldn't stop. THEN came desserts -two geli, one cinnamon one almond. Very light, very yummy. And limoncello after that. A great meal - one of our favorites during the trip - and an excellent augur of meals to come.
We rolled ourselves out to the car (did I mention that one of our sons slept through nearly the entire lunch?) and down to the villa.
Stay tuned . . . .
Mar 28th, 2008, 06:02 PM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 515
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
More on day 1 . . . .
Two fabulous things I forgot to mention about our lunch (yes, there was more): an orange salad antipasto and an interesting grilled meat dish, what seemed to be seasoned ground pork, flattened onto a big lemon leaf and grilled. Both were delicious. And both involved citrus, which is what I miss most about Sicily. The citrus was beyond compare.
Our villa (through Think Sicily, who were fantastic in every respect) was very nicely situated just outside the town. It was made entirely of lava stone, as were many of the other buildings in the area. There was an orchard full of fruit and nut trees in full blossom, and tons of wild flowers all around. Though the boys were wiped out, they were pretty excited to explore the surroundings. It was warm during the day, but by nightfall it had grown chilly, so we built a fire and waited for our friends, who were driving in from Palermo. We made a small picnic dinner and all crashed early.
Day 2 (Palm Sunday): We spent the day relaxing at the house. I took a long walk up the mountain past the chestnut tree, which turned out to be quite a popular spot among the Sicilians. There was a charming little market set up in the parking lot with local treats (honey, lemons, wine). I received any number of curious stares on my walk - drivers who seemed shocked to find anyone walking up the road, much less a woman in walking shorts. The countryside was stunning - lots of trees in blossom, wildflowers everywhere, incredible vineyards and orchards, bizarre lava flows. And every so often, a view of Mt. Etna's snowy peak. I ended up taking the same walk pretty much every day we were in Sicily - it was steep and beautiful, just perfect for trying to walk off some of the food I was devouring!
When I returned, I grabbed my family and we all hiked back up to the tree. It is quite a marvel - immense and aged - though there was a more beautiful tree (Castagno Sant'Agata) further up the road, which I was able to admire on my walk. Lots of Italians were visiting the big tree, and were eating at one of the pizzerias nearby or at the bar, which had small picnic offerings (cheese, salami, olives, wine). We opted for a gelato, while our boys amused themselves on the playground. It was the first time they'd ever seen a see-saw (have they been banned from US playgrounds?), and they thought it was the best thing ever. Back to the villa for a simple lunch on the terrace. The boys played detective and figured out what kinds of trees were in the orchard by picking up fruit pits - lots of peaches, apricots and cherries. They planted bunches of the fruit pits and made us promise we'd go back in two years to see if any more trees grew. They also became friendly with the villa cat (the grown-ups dubbed him Mahogany on account of his color, but the boys called him Hungry, since he was that too).
Late afternoon we drove into Taormina, just in time for a stunning sunset and a passegiatta. The town was packed, mainly with Italians. Very few foreign tourists and even fewer Americans. After making our way up and down Corso Umberto, stopping into various churches and courtyards, we had a drink near the Piazza del Duomo and watched the world go by with their elaborately woven palms. Then off to dinner at La Botte. Our meal was good, though not nearly as good as it should have been. We had a nice wine, a Tenuta San Michele Etna Rosso. Dessert at Gelatomania - perhaps the best gelato we had on our trip. I had blood orange and lemon. Really excellent.
Day 3: Siracusa. First stop, the Greek theater. To my surprise, the boys LOVED it. There were tiny lizards everywhere, creeping in and out of the rock crevices, and the boys ran around trying to catch them. We talked with them for a bit about the history of the place but pretty much let them wander. Everyone also loved the Ear of Dionysus. Stories of prisoners whispering to each other grabbed the boys' attention, and they spent a good deal of time experimenting with the acoustics. We spent probably 2 hours at the theater, which was a long time with two kids!
Then off to Ortygia for lunch. We were on the late side (2p.m.) so we went to the first restaurant we saw - Don Camillo. It was fancier than I had expected from the simple front door, but they were gracious with the boys. This was my husband's least favorite meal of the trip. He loves food, but does not like fancy. I thought it was delicious. We started with an amuse bouche of creamy tomato soup (very good, my son asked for seconds, which they kindly gave him), accompanied by a glass of Murgo sparkling wine. Pasta pomodoro for the boys was very tasty. My husband and I shared the Grand Crudo plate to start. It was, ahem, a challenge, even for us. Many raw delicacies, which were interesting to try, but we got a lot of them! Hard to finish the enormous pile of tiny baby eels. . . . Then for me, a beautiful grilled pescespada topped with caponata. Simple and perfect. My husband was less thrilled with his tuna pasta, mainly because it had that classic Sicilian combination of sweet raisins and salty anchovies, all stirred up with tomatoes. He doesn't like raisins. Forgot to mention the great wine: Planeta Cometa. A real treat, and definitely helped me down the sliced raw squid in the crudo.
After lunch, we met up with our friends in Piazza Duomo. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the Duomo was amazing. One of our friends, an art historian, treated us to a mini-lecture on the baroque features. Then we took turns looking at the interior, while the boys ran around the piazza (I was somewhat relieved to see some young Italian boys engaged in similar rough play!). After relaxing in the sun, we wandered off to find gelato (success!) and coffee. We found the Teatro dei Pupi - it was closed but we were able to peer in and see the (creepy) puppet workshop. We wound our way through Ortygia, a really lovely city, great for walking. We stopped at the Piazza Archimede and talked about how a Roman soldier had mistakenly killed the great mathematician (our boys were particularly interested in the part of the story where Archimedes devised catapults to keep the Romans away).
It was near the Temple of Apollo that the boys used their pocket money (a treat from their grandmother) to score their first pack of Italian pokemon cards. If you're interested, the descriptions on pokemon cards make even less sense in Italian than they do in English! Totally incomprehensible! Still, our boys loved them.
Back to the villa. We made a lovely dinner of pasta with pesto, grilled steak, tomato salad, and carciofi (sort of Roman style). One of the luxuries of our villa was a wine cellar with a nice selection of Sicilian wines. We kept track of our consumption and paid up with the caretakers at the end. I think that night we had another Etna Rosso, which I loved.
More to come (this is hard!) . . . .
Two fabulous things I forgot to mention about our lunch (yes, there was more): an orange salad antipasto and an interesting grilled meat dish, what seemed to be seasoned ground pork, flattened onto a big lemon leaf and grilled. Both were delicious. And both involved citrus, which is what I miss most about Sicily. The citrus was beyond compare.
Our villa (through Think Sicily, who were fantastic in every respect) was very nicely situated just outside the town. It was made entirely of lava stone, as were many of the other buildings in the area. There was an orchard full of fruit and nut trees in full blossom, and tons of wild flowers all around. Though the boys were wiped out, they were pretty excited to explore the surroundings. It was warm during the day, but by nightfall it had grown chilly, so we built a fire and waited for our friends, who were driving in from Palermo. We made a small picnic dinner and all crashed early.
Day 2 (Palm Sunday): We spent the day relaxing at the house. I took a long walk up the mountain past the chestnut tree, which turned out to be quite a popular spot among the Sicilians. There was a charming little market set up in the parking lot with local treats (honey, lemons, wine). I received any number of curious stares on my walk - drivers who seemed shocked to find anyone walking up the road, much less a woman in walking shorts. The countryside was stunning - lots of trees in blossom, wildflowers everywhere, incredible vineyards and orchards, bizarre lava flows. And every so often, a view of Mt. Etna's snowy peak. I ended up taking the same walk pretty much every day we were in Sicily - it was steep and beautiful, just perfect for trying to walk off some of the food I was devouring!
When I returned, I grabbed my family and we all hiked back up to the tree. It is quite a marvel - immense and aged - though there was a more beautiful tree (Castagno Sant'Agata) further up the road, which I was able to admire on my walk. Lots of Italians were visiting the big tree, and were eating at one of the pizzerias nearby or at the bar, which had small picnic offerings (cheese, salami, olives, wine). We opted for a gelato, while our boys amused themselves on the playground. It was the first time they'd ever seen a see-saw (have they been banned from US playgrounds?), and they thought it was the best thing ever. Back to the villa for a simple lunch on the terrace. The boys played detective and figured out what kinds of trees were in the orchard by picking up fruit pits - lots of peaches, apricots and cherries. They planted bunches of the fruit pits and made us promise we'd go back in two years to see if any more trees grew. They also became friendly with the villa cat (the grown-ups dubbed him Mahogany on account of his color, but the boys called him Hungry, since he was that too).
Late afternoon we drove into Taormina, just in time for a stunning sunset and a passegiatta. The town was packed, mainly with Italians. Very few foreign tourists and even fewer Americans. After making our way up and down Corso Umberto, stopping into various churches and courtyards, we had a drink near the Piazza del Duomo and watched the world go by with their elaborately woven palms. Then off to dinner at La Botte. Our meal was good, though not nearly as good as it should have been. We had a nice wine, a Tenuta San Michele Etna Rosso. Dessert at Gelatomania - perhaps the best gelato we had on our trip. I had blood orange and lemon. Really excellent.
Day 3: Siracusa. First stop, the Greek theater. To my surprise, the boys LOVED it. There were tiny lizards everywhere, creeping in and out of the rock crevices, and the boys ran around trying to catch them. We talked with them for a bit about the history of the place but pretty much let them wander. Everyone also loved the Ear of Dionysus. Stories of prisoners whispering to each other grabbed the boys' attention, and they spent a good deal of time experimenting with the acoustics. We spent probably 2 hours at the theater, which was a long time with two kids!
Then off to Ortygia for lunch. We were on the late side (2p.m.) so we went to the first restaurant we saw - Don Camillo. It was fancier than I had expected from the simple front door, but they were gracious with the boys. This was my husband's least favorite meal of the trip. He loves food, but does not like fancy. I thought it was delicious. We started with an amuse bouche of creamy tomato soup (very good, my son asked for seconds, which they kindly gave him), accompanied by a glass of Murgo sparkling wine. Pasta pomodoro for the boys was very tasty. My husband and I shared the Grand Crudo plate to start. It was, ahem, a challenge, even for us. Many raw delicacies, which were interesting to try, but we got a lot of them! Hard to finish the enormous pile of tiny baby eels. . . . Then for me, a beautiful grilled pescespada topped with caponata. Simple and perfect. My husband was less thrilled with his tuna pasta, mainly because it had that classic Sicilian combination of sweet raisins and salty anchovies, all stirred up with tomatoes. He doesn't like raisins. Forgot to mention the great wine: Planeta Cometa. A real treat, and definitely helped me down the sliced raw squid in the crudo.
After lunch, we met up with our friends in Piazza Duomo. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the Duomo was amazing. One of our friends, an art historian, treated us to a mini-lecture on the baroque features. Then we took turns looking at the interior, while the boys ran around the piazza (I was somewhat relieved to see some young Italian boys engaged in similar rough play!). After relaxing in the sun, we wandered off to find gelato (success!) and coffee. We found the Teatro dei Pupi - it was closed but we were able to peer in and see the (creepy) puppet workshop. We wound our way through Ortygia, a really lovely city, great for walking. We stopped at the Piazza Archimede and talked about how a Roman soldier had mistakenly killed the great mathematician (our boys were particularly interested in the part of the story where Archimedes devised catapults to keep the Romans away).
It was near the Temple of Apollo that the boys used their pocket money (a treat from their grandmother) to score their first pack of Italian pokemon cards. If you're interested, the descriptions on pokemon cards make even less sense in Italian than they do in English! Totally incomprehensible! Still, our boys loved them.
Back to the villa. We made a lovely dinner of pasta with pesto, grilled steak, tomato salad, and carciofi (sort of Roman style). One of the luxuries of our villa was a wine cellar with a nice selection of Sicilian wines. We kept track of our consumption and paid up with the caretakers at the end. I think that night we had another Etna Rosso, which I loved.
More to come (this is hard!) . . . .
Mar 28th, 2008, 06:24 PM
#5
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,478
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
txtree...
I'm enjoying your report. I'm thinking of a trip to Sicily possibly in 2009 and your information is great!
Thanks for taking the time to write this report. I know it can me time consuming, but it's much appreciated!
I'm enjoying your report. I'm thinking of a trip to Sicily possibly in 2009 and your information is great!
Thanks for taking the time to write this report. I know it can me time consuming, but it's much appreciated!
Mar 29th, 2008, 05:13 AM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 515
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 4: Piazza Armerina/ Agrigento. We got an early start, stopping at the first ERG service station on the autostrada to pick up some panini for our kids (even gas station food is decent in Sicily!).
Two things struck me about the drive from the Etna area to Piazza Armerina. First, this part of Sicily is stunningly beautiful, even along the autostrada. The rocky hills were carpeted in lush grasses, the most gorgeous colors of green. Very pastoral, lots of cows and sheep. Second, Sicily is (as everyone on this board has noted) really big and really hilly! And if you're not on the autostrada, you are going to go slow. In some respects, the driving reminded me of Costa Rica - it took twice as long to get from point A to point B as you would have expected.
In any event, as we approached Piazza Armerina, we started following the tour buses to the Roman villa. This site and the valley of the temples were the most heavily touristed places we saw during our trip. A contrast to the other parts of Sicily we visited, which were surprisingly empty of tourists.
Our boys were not into the Roman villa at all. Not even tales of Hercules' labors or Titans with arrows in their backs could convince the kids that there was something interesting to see. They strongly protested my lingering. I had been to Piazza Armerina 20 years ago and was excited to see the current extent of renovation. But we didn't stay longer than an hour, which was just as well, because we were barely going to make it to Caltanisetta for lunch. We bought a big bag of oranges for the road and set off. Can we just talk for a minute about the oranges in Sicily? They are amazing. My boys must have eaten a dozen oranges each during the next three days.
Caltanisetta didn't work out for us. I'm not sure what happened, but we never did find the center of the city, even though we diligently followed the centro signs. Alas, it was getting late (nearly 2:45 p.m.), and after driving around for a while, we headed in the direction of Agrigento. Fortunately we found a restaurant (Il Cacciatore?) not far outside of Caltanisetta. Upon tasting his pasta, my 7 year old commented, "Hey, this is really quite good." (funny how kids talk like that sometimes.) Indeed, the restaurant was nothing special, but the food was plentiful and tasty.
Back on the road to Agrigento. Not quite as beautiful a drive as the first leg of the trip, but still lovely. Finally we arrived at the valley of the temples at about 4:30 p.m. We rushed to buy tickets and I ran ahead to catch some pictures of the temples before the beautiful late afternoon light disappeared. The temples are amazing, even more so than I remembered from my previous visit. Our boys were in awe. We wandered from temple to temple, seeing how different they looked as the daylight faded and the temples became illuminated. Also, there were fuzzy nut pods on the almond trees, which captivated the kids.
As I watched the boys' reactions to the temples, it occurred to me that it really is difficult for them to see a place like Piazza Armerina, which is mostly in ruins, and appreciate it. On the other hand, they were able to enjoy the temples (and the greek theater) because they were mostly intact - and huge. No great leaps in imagination required.
After 2 hours among the temples, we went off in search of our B&B - Villa Diana. It was about 10 minutes away. We were greeted warmly by Dario and his dogs. Our friends - who spent the day in Noto - had arrived just before us. Our room at Villa Diana was immaculate and comfortable. And the location was convenient to the temples. After relaxing for a while, we went to a local pizzeria that was recommended to us by Dario (I can't recall the name). We ate well (again) and went to sleep.
Still to come: Ragusa . . . .
Two things struck me about the drive from the Etna area to Piazza Armerina. First, this part of Sicily is stunningly beautiful, even along the autostrada. The rocky hills were carpeted in lush grasses, the most gorgeous colors of green. Very pastoral, lots of cows and sheep. Second, Sicily is (as everyone on this board has noted) really big and really hilly! And if you're not on the autostrada, you are going to go slow. In some respects, the driving reminded me of Costa Rica - it took twice as long to get from point A to point B as you would have expected.
In any event, as we approached Piazza Armerina, we started following the tour buses to the Roman villa. This site and the valley of the temples were the most heavily touristed places we saw during our trip. A contrast to the other parts of Sicily we visited, which were surprisingly empty of tourists.
Our boys were not into the Roman villa at all. Not even tales of Hercules' labors or Titans with arrows in their backs could convince the kids that there was something interesting to see. They strongly protested my lingering. I had been to Piazza Armerina 20 years ago and was excited to see the current extent of renovation. But we didn't stay longer than an hour, which was just as well, because we were barely going to make it to Caltanisetta for lunch. We bought a big bag of oranges for the road and set off. Can we just talk for a minute about the oranges in Sicily? They are amazing. My boys must have eaten a dozen oranges each during the next three days.
Caltanisetta didn't work out for us. I'm not sure what happened, but we never did find the center of the city, even though we diligently followed the centro signs. Alas, it was getting late (nearly 2:45 p.m.), and after driving around for a while, we headed in the direction of Agrigento. Fortunately we found a restaurant (Il Cacciatore?) not far outside of Caltanisetta. Upon tasting his pasta, my 7 year old commented, "Hey, this is really quite good." (funny how kids talk like that sometimes.) Indeed, the restaurant was nothing special, but the food was plentiful and tasty.
Back on the road to Agrigento. Not quite as beautiful a drive as the first leg of the trip, but still lovely. Finally we arrived at the valley of the temples at about 4:30 p.m. We rushed to buy tickets and I ran ahead to catch some pictures of the temples before the beautiful late afternoon light disappeared. The temples are amazing, even more so than I remembered from my previous visit. Our boys were in awe. We wandered from temple to temple, seeing how different they looked as the daylight faded and the temples became illuminated. Also, there were fuzzy nut pods on the almond trees, which captivated the kids.
As I watched the boys' reactions to the temples, it occurred to me that it really is difficult for them to see a place like Piazza Armerina, which is mostly in ruins, and appreciate it. On the other hand, they were able to enjoy the temples (and the greek theater) because they were mostly intact - and huge. No great leaps in imagination required.
After 2 hours among the temples, we went off in search of our B&B - Villa Diana. It was about 10 minutes away. We were greeted warmly by Dario and his dogs. Our friends - who spent the day in Noto - had arrived just before us. Our room at Villa Diana was immaculate and comfortable. And the location was convenient to the temples. After relaxing for a while, we went to a local pizzeria that was recommended to us by Dario (I can't recall the name). We ate well (again) and went to sleep.
Still to come: Ragusa . . . .
Mar 30th, 2008, 04:44 PM
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 515
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 5: But first, more about Villa Diana. My husband wanted to be sure I complimented it enough. It was, as I mentioned before, close to the temples and pristine. In some respects, the house is built like a hotel, with a large lobby and breakfast room on the first floor, and guest rooms above. A portrait of Diana (Dario's aunt, if I understood him properly) hangs in the foyer. Dario was very friendly and accommodating. He came through with a cold beer for our friends (very much appreciated after a long drive), and had lots of helpful advice on dinner options. The villa dogs were super friendly and sweet with our boys.
Our room (yellow) was perfect for our family - a queen bed with two twins. Everyone loved the bathroom. It's a bit hard to describe, but the sink and shower were mod pods, almost like you might see in a sleeper compartment of a train. The enclosed shower was circular and, with the doors closed, resembled a rocket. Above the sink was a mirror, flanked by very cool pockets, including a radio. Quirky, but clean (did I mention that before?) and fun.
Breakfast was excellent. Dario and his sister (also Diana) supplied us with eggs, in addition to the usual continental breakfast of yogurt, pastries, fruit. Soft and chewy almond cookies from the bakery in nearby Favara were excellent.
The highlight of Villa Diana was a visit to the goats. Dario took us out back to see them. I will try to figure out how to post photos, but they were a special breed of goat, with long, curved horns. Gorgeous. And there were three babies (kids) who were tiny and sweet. Dario explained that they don't give off a lot of milk, especially now that the mothers are nursing babies, but that when they do, the cheese made from the milk is excellent.
So, after our excellent breakfast and the animal excitement, we bade farewell to Dario and his sweet dogs, and were off to Ragusa. We had hoped to make it to Noto too, but the driving on our trip out made us realize that there was no way we could do both. It turned out to be a good decision because even getting to Ragusa was a slog. It required a drive through Gela - really not an attractive city (nor was the Agrigento-Gela road). I think Gela is on the coast, but it was hard to tell. There were oil tankers and lots of horrible concrete constructions. Nothing charming about it at all. Gela kind of bummed us out. My husband commented that, though he was a bit ashamed to admit it, he might pretty, easy Tuscany to untamed, rough Sicily.
But then . . . Ragusa. It took some time to wend our way up the hill, but what a delight. A totally charming hill town, especially Ragusa Ibla. We parked near Santa Maria della Scale and climbed down the stairs toward the Duomo. After being treated to some lovely views of the town, we got lost. It was fun! And reminded me a bit of Venice - lots of dead-ends and roads that started going one direction but suddenly veered in another. Since it was lunch time (1:30 p.m.), all was quiet - only a few old guys hanging out at the bar. We asked where to find 'U Saracino (a restaurant recommended by the blue guide) and were told it was "that way, near the Duomo." After a 15 minute walk (10 minutes longer than the route we took back!), we eventually found the church and the piazza, both of which are gorgeous.
'U Saracino, which is on the eastern side of the piazza, was welcoming and friendly, with very good food. Our sons had cutlets with french fries (a recommendation from our waiter that turned out to be right on the money for our pasta-saturated boys), as well as a bowl of tomato soup (delicious). My husband had pasta with lamb ragu (again, a nice antidote to all the seafood we'd been eating). I opted for more pescespada with caponata (both excellent).
After lunch, we meandered down to the Giardino Ibleo, a delightful garden at the edge of the town. We visited the Chiesa dei Cappuccini and admired the simple interior before letting the boys loose. There was a playground with lots of activities that kept the boys amused for an hour or so. By then, the little touristic shops had reopened. We bought all of our Sicily souvenirs here - torrone (from pistachio and almond), honeys (of all variety), pistachio pesto, etc. The boys were thrilled with gelato from Gelatodivino (a gelateria and wine store). I bought a few wines here (the owner was very helpful and accommodating) - we drank most of them back at the villa, but I got a bottle of passito to carry home (I'll open it when I need a little bit of Sicily). We also bought some simple provisions for dinner.
The sun was setting as we waved goodbye to lovely Ragusa. It took us a LONG time to get back to the villa. Traffic between Siracusa and Catania was bad. My husband was grumpy. But we finally made it home and were able to make a fire and relax. I spent a bit of time reviewing our pictures of Agrigento (don't you love digital?).
Two more days to go . . . . .
Our room (yellow) was perfect for our family - a queen bed with two twins. Everyone loved the bathroom. It's a bit hard to describe, but the sink and shower were mod pods, almost like you might see in a sleeper compartment of a train. The enclosed shower was circular and, with the doors closed, resembled a rocket. Above the sink was a mirror, flanked by very cool pockets, including a radio. Quirky, but clean (did I mention that before?) and fun.
Breakfast was excellent. Dario and his sister (also Diana) supplied us with eggs, in addition to the usual continental breakfast of yogurt, pastries, fruit. Soft and chewy almond cookies from the bakery in nearby Favara were excellent.
The highlight of Villa Diana was a visit to the goats. Dario took us out back to see them. I will try to figure out how to post photos, but they were a special breed of goat, with long, curved horns. Gorgeous. And there were three babies (kids) who were tiny and sweet. Dario explained that they don't give off a lot of milk, especially now that the mothers are nursing babies, but that when they do, the cheese made from the milk is excellent.
So, after our excellent breakfast and the animal excitement, we bade farewell to Dario and his sweet dogs, and were off to Ragusa. We had hoped to make it to Noto too, but the driving on our trip out made us realize that there was no way we could do both. It turned out to be a good decision because even getting to Ragusa was a slog. It required a drive through Gela - really not an attractive city (nor was the Agrigento-Gela road). I think Gela is on the coast, but it was hard to tell. There were oil tankers and lots of horrible concrete constructions. Nothing charming about it at all. Gela kind of bummed us out. My husband commented that, though he was a bit ashamed to admit it, he might pretty, easy Tuscany to untamed, rough Sicily.
But then . . . Ragusa. It took some time to wend our way up the hill, but what a delight. A totally charming hill town, especially Ragusa Ibla. We parked near Santa Maria della Scale and climbed down the stairs toward the Duomo. After being treated to some lovely views of the town, we got lost. It was fun! And reminded me a bit of Venice - lots of dead-ends and roads that started going one direction but suddenly veered in another. Since it was lunch time (1:30 p.m.), all was quiet - only a few old guys hanging out at the bar. We asked where to find 'U Saracino (a restaurant recommended by the blue guide) and were told it was "that way, near the Duomo." After a 15 minute walk (10 minutes longer than the route we took back!), we eventually found the church and the piazza, both of which are gorgeous.
'U Saracino, which is on the eastern side of the piazza, was welcoming and friendly, with very good food. Our sons had cutlets with french fries (a recommendation from our waiter that turned out to be right on the money for our pasta-saturated boys), as well as a bowl of tomato soup (delicious). My husband had pasta with lamb ragu (again, a nice antidote to all the seafood we'd been eating). I opted for more pescespada with caponata (both excellent).
After lunch, we meandered down to the Giardino Ibleo, a delightful garden at the edge of the town. We visited the Chiesa dei Cappuccini and admired the simple interior before letting the boys loose. There was a playground with lots of activities that kept the boys amused for an hour or so. By then, the little touristic shops had reopened. We bought all of our Sicily souvenirs here - torrone (from pistachio and almond), honeys (of all variety), pistachio pesto, etc. The boys were thrilled with gelato from Gelatodivino (a gelateria and wine store). I bought a few wines here (the owner was very helpful and accommodating) - we drank most of them back at the villa, but I got a bottle of passito to carry home (I'll open it when I need a little bit of Sicily). We also bought some simple provisions for dinner.
The sun was setting as we waved goodbye to lovely Ragusa. It took us a LONG time to get back to the villa. Traffic between Siracusa and Catania was bad. My husband was grumpy. But we finally made it home and were able to make a fire and relax. I spent a bit of time reviewing our pictures of Agrigento (don't you love digital?).
Two more days to go . . . . .
Mar 30th, 2008, 05:06 PM
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 515
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh - before I forget - I wanted to thank everyone who recommended On Persephone's Island and Midnight in Sicily. They are great reads, got me super excited for my trip, and both provided helpful insight into Sicily's history and culture. Also, I thought the Blue Guide was by far the best guide to the sites. I also loved a book called Authentic Sicily for its tips on great food treasures in various towns (bakeries, shops, markets, cafes, etc.).
Mar 31st, 2008, 02:08 PM
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 515
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Day 6: A relaxing day at the villa. After our journey to/from Agrigento, no one wanted to get near the car. So we hung around in the morning - another vigorous walk up the hill for me. We wanted to take our friends to Case Perrotta for lunch, but sadly it was closed. So instead we drove up the mountain to another lovely agriturismo, Ai Vecchi Crateri, which I would recommend.
Day 7 (Good Friday): Back to Catania, this time a little less bleary-eyed. We parked and toured through the city, checking out the architectural highlights, before hitting the fish market. This time we actually bought fish (shrimp, baby octopus, tuna), which was quite fun. We also found a beautiful fresh pasta store and bought some gnocchi.
Lunch at Osteria Antica Marina, situated right in the middle of the pescheria. I highly recommend a meal here - it was one of our favorites, a real feast. There was so much food, I honestly can't remember everything we tasted. To start, cold and warm antipasti, almost all of it was fish or seafood, with a little caponata - fried and grilled sardines, fresh anchovies in lemon and olive oil, fried anchovies with pickled onions, tiny raw shrimp that tasted like butter, teeny-tiny clams sauteed in garlic, stuffed mussels, octopus salad. The boys shared a fritto misto with calamari, shrimp and fish. Then we tried two pastas, linguine with sea urchin (delicious, very delicate taste like the ocean) and a spaghetti with the tiny baby eels (only this time they were sauteed, so they had a slight crunch to them). Finally, the fish we had picked from the case (as if we hadn't eaten enough!), grilled to perfection - giant gamberi, pescespada and a whole fish (I don't know what it was called, but it was a delicate white fish, very good).
You may be wondering how we finished this lunch and then went home and cooked the fish we had bought for dinner. Well, the short answer is we didn't. We couldn't. We ended up giving a lot of it to the villa caretaker (who was happy to have it, it being Good Friday and all).
Next up - Rome!
Day 7 (Good Friday): Back to Catania, this time a little less bleary-eyed. We parked and toured through the city, checking out the architectural highlights, before hitting the fish market. This time we actually bought fish (shrimp, baby octopus, tuna), which was quite fun. We also found a beautiful fresh pasta store and bought some gnocchi.
Lunch at Osteria Antica Marina, situated right in the middle of the pescheria. I highly recommend a meal here - it was one of our favorites, a real feast. There was so much food, I honestly can't remember everything we tasted. To start, cold and warm antipasti, almost all of it was fish or seafood, with a little caponata - fried and grilled sardines, fresh anchovies in lemon and olive oil, fried anchovies with pickled onions, tiny raw shrimp that tasted like butter, teeny-tiny clams sauteed in garlic, stuffed mussels, octopus salad. The boys shared a fritto misto with calamari, shrimp and fish. Then we tried two pastas, linguine with sea urchin (delicious, very delicate taste like the ocean) and a spaghetti with the tiny baby eels (only this time they were sauteed, so they had a slight crunch to them). Finally, the fish we had picked from the case (as if we hadn't eaten enough!), grilled to perfection - giant gamberi, pescespada and a whole fish (I don't know what it was called, but it was a delicate white fish, very good).
You may be wondering how we finished this lunch and then went home and cooked the fish we had bought for dinner. Well, the short answer is we didn't. We couldn't. We ended up giving a lot of it to the villa caretaker (who was happy to have it, it being Good Friday and all).
Next up - Rome!
Apr 2nd, 2008, 08:24 AM
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 515
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, I seem to have run out of gas (and time). But I do want to say a few words about Rome. Even though the weather was terrible during our stay - rain, rain, rain - we had a blast. Because of the weather (and two young kids) we took more taxis than we normally would have. But we still managed a lot of great walks around the city. It never disappoints!
On our first day, we had a private kid-focused Context tour of the Colosseum. I thought the guide was excellent with our children. It was very interactive ("Where would you build your palace if you were emperor? How would you let people know if you just did something really great?"
. And who doesn't love the Colosseum?
We managed to get our kids down for a nap that afternoon, which allowed us to have a late dinner at Maccheroni. We adored that restaurant. It has a great, relaxed atmosphere and super good food. We loved that you can see into the busy kitchen. The carciofi alla romana were excellent. We tried four pastas (carbonara, arrabiatta, ai funghi, bolognese) - huge portions, very comforting food. Then we split an order of tagliata. Only weak part of the meal was our side of spinach, which was not very good.
Fortunately, by the time we finished dinner, the rain had stopped and the evening turned out to be gorgeous. We took a post-dinner stroll over to Giolitti. We all agreed that the gelato in Sicily is superior to even the great Giolitti. Then over to the Pantheon, which was open for a mass. We couldn't go inside, but the boys got a peek, and then promptly got distracted by all the excitement in the piazza (bubbles, flying illuminated disks, etc.).
The next day (Easter) it was pouring rain. The boys stayed at the hotel with my husband while I went to mass at Chiesa Nuova, which is a beautiful church. Even though the weather was crappy, I had a great walk. And mass was lovely (though I did not understand much of what was said). I met up with my family near Piazza Navona for pizza lunch at Dal Paino, then we walked over to Explora, the children's museum, which is on Via Flaminia near the Piazza del Popolo. Our kids had a blast at the museum and it was fun to see real Roman families. The rain had abated by the time we left the museum, so we walked back to our hotel near the Campidoglio via the Spanish steps (with a stop for gelato, of course!).
After another brilliant nap, we took a taxi to Il Matriciano for dinner. Didn't love it nearly as much as Maccheroni. Just a little too formal for our taste. Plus our abbacchio was served cold. We took a post-dinner stroll to the now-deserted St. Peter's square. Boys were suitably impressed with its majesty. We intended to return the next day, but alas, not enough time.
On our first day, we had a private kid-focused Context tour of the Colosseum. I thought the guide was excellent with our children. It was very interactive ("Where would you build your palace if you were emperor? How would you let people know if you just did something really great?"
. And who doesn't love the Colosseum?We managed to get our kids down for a nap that afternoon, which allowed us to have a late dinner at Maccheroni. We adored that restaurant. It has a great, relaxed atmosphere and super good food. We loved that you can see into the busy kitchen. The carciofi alla romana were excellent. We tried four pastas (carbonara, arrabiatta, ai funghi, bolognese) - huge portions, very comforting food. Then we split an order of tagliata. Only weak part of the meal was our side of spinach, which was not very good.
Fortunately, by the time we finished dinner, the rain had stopped and the evening turned out to be gorgeous. We took a post-dinner stroll over to Giolitti. We all agreed that the gelato in Sicily is superior to even the great Giolitti. Then over to the Pantheon, which was open for a mass. We couldn't go inside, but the boys got a peek, and then promptly got distracted by all the excitement in the piazza (bubbles, flying illuminated disks, etc.).
The next day (Easter) it was pouring rain. The boys stayed at the hotel with my husband while I went to mass at Chiesa Nuova, which is a beautiful church. Even though the weather was crappy, I had a great walk. And mass was lovely (though I did not understand much of what was said). I met up with my family near Piazza Navona for pizza lunch at Dal Paino, then we walked over to Explora, the children's museum, which is on Via Flaminia near the Piazza del Popolo. Our kids had a blast at the museum and it was fun to see real Roman families. The rain had abated by the time we left the museum, so we walked back to our hotel near the Campidoglio via the Spanish steps (with a stop for gelato, of course!).
After another brilliant nap, we took a taxi to Il Matriciano for dinner. Didn't love it nearly as much as Maccheroni. Just a little too formal for our taste. Plus our abbacchio was served cold. We took a post-dinner stroll to the now-deserted St. Peter's square. Boys were suitably impressed with its majesty. We intended to return the next day, but alas, not enough time.
Apr 2nd, 2008, 09:52 AM
#14
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,942
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a treat is your Sicily trip report. It brought back so many memories of our trip in 2006. Sicily was certainly one of the highlights of our extensive travel experience and you captured it beautifully! I can just see the countryside between Catania and Piazza Amerina and the walk among the temples in Agrigento. I can taste the swordfish (I ate it almost every dinner while in Sicily)and the blood orange juice. Sicily had the best pizza I have eaten anywhere and the bluest skies. Thanks so much!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
palatino82
Europe
28
Jul 29th, 2016 10:52 AM
