Sicily

After Roma, there couldn't be a better place to visit for cultural contrast than Sicily.

It has its own unique history yet at the same time, one can't help but think of Italy. And if Hulya and I were traveling alone through this incredible landscape, we would have understood so little of what makes Sicily special. But we had the honor of visiting Sonia who hosted us at her family house, and from there we road-tripped across the entire country with friends. For the last three days, we had the most incredible time in this goregous country, so without further introduction, “Amunì!"

(Let’s go!)

 We flew into Palermo, stepped off the plane, and from the tarmac this was the immediate view—and it was breathtaking. Bold and vivid landscapes became the theme of the trip. As well as "maxing"...because you see, we cannot ignore the global trends while abroad. So maxing (or taking things to the max) is what we did. And so inbewtween the airplane ride and the the long bus ride to get to Sonia's family house in the outskirts of Palermo, we had to get some quick calories. 

 

 

Potato Chip Maxing!!!

 

 After the sodium and fat boost, we wandered through the old and new neighborhoods of Palermo. The new were reminiscent of Mexico City and the old were just like i'd seen in the amazing TV show "The Leopard". 

 

 

 

 

After Palermo, we bussed to Cammarata and stayed with Sonia and her family for a two days. We'd just missed a major town celebration: Signuri di la Città (The Procession of the Black Christ) but there was plenty more interesting things waiting for us, thanks to Sonia's expertise guidance through the hills and valleys of Cammarata.

The first day was centered around cheese. We assembled the forces and piled into two cars to drive down to the valley where we met Pasquale, the owner of an incredible dairy farm and cheese factory: Fattoria Giambrone. He gave us a delightful tour. His family makes some of the best cheese in Italy. And besides giving Hulya a hands-on mozzarella lesson, he also walked us through the small zoo, an arboretum, a cool labyrinth, and gave us an incredible lesson into Sicilian history. This country is the "Granary of Italy" — and previously the "Breadbasket of Rome."

After a legendairy session of Chaxing (aka cheese-maxing) we ended the day with three more wonderful moments: a drive up to Sonia's family farmland, a celebration of Sonia's birthday with friends and family, and a visit to another universe. The only one i have well documented is the latter Andromeda Galaxy Temple. Which cannot be properly explained unless you experienced it for yourself. 

The next day, we said goodbye to Sonia's family and the gang packed into the cars again for a road trip across the country to Marlasa on the west coast. Along the way we spotted incredible olive orchards full of well established frantoia trees.

We also stopped along the way for a gelato (each time discovering a new flavor that truly shook our faith in American ice cream) before arriving to a very groovy beach with strong Greek vibes. We ate some delicious "Red Riding Hood" calamari and sipped wine next to the water then split into two groups: the walkers and the surfers. I joined the surf group and headed to the beach across the bay where there was the largest collection of kite surfers i'd ever seen! 

The wind was perfect for surfing, and i wanted to wing-surf but the water was too shallow so Niko and i decided to have our first lesson in kite surfing...and it was EPIC! Truly. I cannot do justice to the sensatino of guiding the force of a powerful kite through the air. Cutting and carving the sky with the most subtle movements of the wrist and elbow. And we would have kept practicing (and eventually surfing) if not for the sun setting. So we rinsed off the salt and rejoined the gang for a beautiful sunset near a famous windmill were local salt is collected and crushed.

(the moon and stars were aligned for us that evening)


The final day in Sicily was remarkable and more memorable than all previous days. I wish the kite surfing lesson was the most memorable, but unfortunately the sunburn i got from the 10 hour sail boat trip became the more memorable...but hey, Futu-tini!  

Which literally means "fuck it" or "let it be".

That day we all mosey'd over to the ferry port early in the day, energized ourselves with espressos and pastries, then loaded into the boat that took us to and the iconic island of Favignana. 

Incredible boat trip around the island revealed relics from Phoenician history and the Punic war, a castle on top left over from Normand occupation, and fascinating limestone mines which the Romans carved into the seashore. 

Also, in the late 1800s, the famous Florio family sought a way to preserve bluefin tuna for long-distance transport without relying solely on salt. They were inspired by early French food preservation techniques and experimented with steaming the tuna and packing it into tin cans with high-quality olive oil. This method extended the fish's shelf life dramatically and turned tuna into a globally exportable product, which was popularized with the invention of the innovative tin can with an opening key.

We arrived back to land, and chowed on more seafood (the fried sardines and tuna burgers were incredible!) and began to wander back through the streets. We were so relaxed from the whole day out on the water, but the only problem was that we also felt like fried fish (or some sort of red lobster). So while the evening was still warm and our bodies were properly sun burnt, we kept meandering through the streets to get a double scoop of gelato. That helped distract us for a moment. But it was so good we had to turn back around and get another double scoop!

Gelato-maxxed nearly to the limit, we let ourselves get lost in the old streets and alleys. Around each corner we were happily surprised by grand stone buildings and royal promenades. The craftsmanship was endlessly pleasing to the eyes.

The next morning, we woke up before sunrise; took a final walk through the now deeply memorable town of Marsala; sat at a corner cafe drank our espressos whilst observing the locals slowly begin their days; then packed up and readied ourselves for Istanbul. We will miss you Italy.

 

A BIG THANK YOU to Sonia and Francesca. Your hospitality has filled us with joyous moments and remarkable memories that will always be part of us and warm our hearts.

 

"Cu nesci arrinesci.”

(Whoever goes out, succeeds)