Jessica GoulburnEating our way through Sicilia
June 29th 2008 23:41
My family friend is a travel agent. So for her fiftieth birthday we were all invited to Sicily for two weeks. After a whirlwind flight, which took me to Cairns, Tokyo, London and then Rome, I boarded a flight with my family to Sicilia.
After picking up a hire car at the airport we drove to the magnificent villa that would house the adults. With an endless view of the ocean, it truly was paradise. Unfortunately for us, the 18-27 bracket was staying down the road. However, although we didn’t get the luxury of the enormous villa, we got the familiarity of home in a small bed-and-breakfast that the eight of us took over.
Every morning we would have breakfast at our “villa” and then join the adults at theirs for a second breakfast before hitting the road to explore the island. We drove in convoy to all of the main towns, losing each other along the way and almost running out of petrol on a couple of occasions.
Lunches would be bought during our exploration. We would often eat in little places. They always seem to be more authentic. With the abundance of pastas, meat dishes, salads and finally the incredible desserts, not one of them left me disappointed.
However, despite the amazing breakfasts and the scrumptious lunches, the best meals were definitely dinnertime. With a team of exceptionally skilled chefs, a four-course meal would be presented to us at the villa every night.
First would come the pastas – there’d be at least two to choose from. Then the abundance of salads to place on the side plate. And just when you thought you were full, the meat course would come out. There’d be some sort of red meat, some sort of white meat and a fish option as well. And then… the magnificent finale… dessert. And wow… what a dessert. Cakes, tarts, ice cream, chocolates and the list goes on. Whatever you can think of, we had it.
Needless to say, the hike up Mount Etna sure did us good. The volcano, that I must add was active while we were climbing it, is spectacular. Driving around Sicily you can see its peak from every angle. At night, when the red lava weaves its way down the peak, the picture opportunities are endless.
And yet, during the day, the mountain covered in snow, it is difficult to imagine exactly how much lava has spilled out until you are just underneath its peak. Standing there, after the long and daunting climb up, we watched the lava as it hardened in the snow, forever imprinting its path, before turning around, sitting in the snow, and sledding our way back down the slope to eat our way through the delicious lunch waiting for us at the bottom.
After picking up a hire car at the airport we drove to the magnificent villa that would house the adults. With an endless view of the ocean, it truly was paradise. Unfortunately for us, the 18-27 bracket was staying down the road. However, although we didn’t get the luxury of the enormous villa, we got the familiarity of home in a small bed-and-breakfast that the eight of us took over.
Every morning we would have breakfast at our “villa” and then join the adults at theirs for a second breakfast before hitting the road to explore the island. We drove in convoy to all of the main towns, losing each other along the way and almost running out of petrol on a couple of occasions.
Lunches would be bought during our exploration. We would often eat in little places. They always seem to be more authentic. With the abundance of pastas, meat dishes, salads and finally the incredible desserts, not one of them left me disappointed.
However, despite the amazing breakfasts and the scrumptious lunches, the best meals were definitely dinnertime. With a team of exceptionally skilled chefs, a four-course meal would be presented to us at the villa every night.
First would come the pastas – there’d be at least two to choose from. Then the abundance of salads to place on the side plate. And just when you thought you were full, the meat course would come out. There’d be some sort of red meat, some sort of white meat and a fish option as well. And then… the magnificent finale… dessert. And wow… what a dessert. Cakes, tarts, ice cream, chocolates and the list goes on. Whatever you can think of, we had it.
Needless to say, the hike up Mount Etna sure did us good. The volcano, that I must add was active while we were climbing it, is spectacular. Driving around Sicily you can see its peak from every angle. At night, when the red lava weaves its way down the peak, the picture opportunities are endless.
And yet, during the day, the mountain covered in snow, it is difficult to imagine exactly how much lava has spilled out until you are just underneath its peak. Standing there, after the long and daunting climb up, we watched the lava as it hardened in the snow, forever imprinting its path, before turning around, sitting in the snow, and sledding our way back down the slope to eat our way through the delicious lunch waiting for us at the bottom.
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