(Guest Blogger Tom starts the review)

Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, swimming the English Channel and folding a fitted sheet; all daunting challenges, I’m sure.  But none as difficult as selecting a single highlight from our recent Sicilian get-together with the Brookses and Pavliks. 

Nevertheless, Bob has requested we do just that, so here goes… 

First, Karen and I should acknowledge all of the preparations and plotting done by our gracious hosts, Chris and Wendy.  They gauged our interest in seeing little, some, or most of Sicily.  We settled on “whatever,” and were rewarded with a comprehensive sampling of highlights which have already been well-chronicled here by two superb writers.  I will happily echo their appreciation of Palermo, Chefalù, Siracusa, Agrigento and Catania.  Each of these places offers something for everyone, from lively music to phenomenal food and abundant history.  Frankly, it was exhausting in the best way possible.  Every turned corner resulted in proclamations like “Wow!”, “Amazing!” and “Watch out for that Fiat!” 

But atop this list of highlights sits our preference: Joining the Pavliks in hanging out with Brookses in their adopted city of Mussomeli.  “Way to kiss up to the Pavliks and Brookses”, you say?  That’s fair, but I’ll explain.  There’s just something about seeing familiar faces in foreign lands.  Seeing Chris and Wendy at the airport in Catania, after a red-eye flight, put us immediately at ease.  And it only got better from there. 

Here’s the thing – Rick Steves will tell you a lot about “must-see” landmarks in any given tourist destination and that’s great.  But will he introduce you to Enzo the baker in Mussomeli?  I doubt it.  How about Mario the coffee roaster or Fabio the pet groomer?  Nope.  Can Fodor’s acquaint you with Gianni, a personable artist with a garden to die for?  Fat chance.  Can Lonely Planet  get you a seat at the community potluck, rich with diverse food and personalities?  I don’t think so. 

The Brookses can and did!  Even going to the local grocer or filling water bottles in town were mini adventures.  I’ll tell you this;  there is nothing mundane about walking two lovable and huge Newfies through the narrow cobblestoned corridors of Mussomeli at night.  Even the feral cat population, which is considerable, took intense interest. 

While Karen and I enjoyed touring through Palermo on an unofficial and delicious food tour (our shared runner-up highlight), seeing a remote Sicilian city through the eyes of new locals was just great.  Even better was sharing that privilege with Bob and Jen.  The six of us sitting on the piazza, fresh-baked bread and hot espresso in hand, sharing both a good laugh and a million-dollar view was as good as it got.  Everything else was delicious gravy.

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Tough to argue with that, Tom.

We were extremely fortunate to have such high-caliber hosts and accommodations for our week in Sicily. Most tourists do not get even a smidge of the concierge-level treatment that we received from Chris and Wendy — the advanced scouting and reservations, the flexibility, the Italian language skills, the kittens. Just the transportation services alone were beyond a point where we could attach a value. It surely is possible for visitors to navigate their own way through Sicily, but none would be able to do it as efficiently (and bravely) as Chris.

As a result, we got to see pretty much the width and bredth of the island with minimal stress to us. That might be the best part of the trip (aside from the cameraderie and sharing it with friends, of course). We got to see the mountains, and we got to see the sea, and we got to see a nice, liveable home environment as well.

Maybe you could say it was a Mediterrenian version of the New Hampshire home we are all so fond of.

Except with better nightlife….

and breakfast traditions

and sunsets

and photo ops

and castles

and means to settle disputes, however few there truned out to be.

Part two of our mini-vacation-within-a-vacation started slightly earlier than we expected. Although Jen and I got the prime bedroom — its windows opened onto a courtyard rather than the street, so it was presumed to be quieter. The courtyard, however, seems to be home to a rooster, who crowed at about 5 am. We managed to get back to sleep a bit, but there was some pressure this morning to get up and out early. Our checkout time was 10 am, and there were still things in Palermo that we wanted to see.

Palermo does not seem to be a place that would feature livestock in its courtyards. It very metropolitan, with many wide streets and sidewalks, and lots of traffic and bustle. Our accommodations were a block from the central train station, and there is an electric trolley that zips past our door. (Unexpectedly, there are small trains of the type that might chug around amusement parks — we have seen several of these here, only these wind right down the traffic lanes, presumably giving tourists a close up view of local commuters.)

Of course, Palermo has its share of narrow, cobblestone streets. Some are officially dedicated to pedestrian traffic, which appreciably cuts down on the number of cars trying to navigate among the walkers. Others are traditional Italian “yield to whomever blinks last” byways.

And then there are the streets that we looked for this morning — those lined with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, all manner of sea creatures, lots of spices and kitchen accessories. The Palermo food markets foiled us yesterday by closing down at 3 pm. We had planned to visit these markets for our street food dinner crawl last night, but everyone had already packed up shop. We ended up doing alright, of course, but we did want to walk through to get their flavor.

Then it was time to pack up the dogs and head out of town and up the coast. Cefalu is a beach community that shares a lot in appearance and atmosphere with the Cinque Terre villages we visisted last April. It is a little bigger, and less picturesqe than any of those towns, but it is much more accessible.

We had a fine afternoon exploring with the dogs in tow. We ate lunch in an alleyway just off the main square, then worked our way down to the shore where a stretch of sandy beach started where the city blocks ended. It was protected by a sturdy rock jetty that we could walk out on. From its furthest point, Jen took a 360-degree panoramic video of the town, beach, distant hill, and blue-green sea.

It seemed too difficult of a prospect to not stop for gelato on our way back up, though a different set of cobblestone walkways than the ones that had brought us down to the water.

We motored back to Mussomeli and got ourselves psyched for this evening’s challenge: navigating a Sicilian restaurant without Chris and Wendy.(Our Sicilian super-hosts were double booked for tonight and obliged to attend a friend’s going away party.) Our adventure veered toward disaster when the wait staff had trouble comprenending our request for a small aperitivo plate to open our meal. They solved the problem by bringing us two large aperitivo plates. The crisis was averted when I ate just about every small sandwich and french fry within reach. We all then were able to bring the primi pasta plates that we had planned to eat after just a sampling of aperitivo. It ended on a high note when the restaurant’s owner — like most people here, a friend of Chris and Wendy — saluted us with a round of a limoncello-like liquor called Aqua de Cedri.

Last year when we were in Florence visiting Nadia, Bob talked at some length about the crazy traffic patterns. Well, Sicily takes that same attitude and turns it up to eleven.

To start with, Sicily is an extremely hilly place. Looking out across portions of the landscape, you find it hard to imagine that roads can get through it at all. Those that manage it are steep, curvy, and narrow (though, to give Sicicly their due, in remarkably good condition). Then you get into a city, and realize that you didn’t understand the true meaning of the word “narrow”. If a street seems reasonably wide when empty, there will be cars parked on both sides. If you think a street is surely one-way due to its narrowness, you are likely wrong. If you think you are surely on a footpath, where you can stretch out your arms and practically touch the buildings on either side, it won’t be long before a car zooms around the corner. And if you are on a pedestrian alley with crowds of people, vendor stalls, and restaurants lining either side, then you will soon encounter a motorcycle.

Chris is the real hero here, as our chauffeur throughout this trip. He and Wendy usually drive a little Mini Cooper, but for our visit they rented a six-person minivan so we could all travel together. (This is a good thing — if one of the four of us had to drive, we’d likely still be stuck at the airport, unable to merge.) Just driving to their parking area in this larger car had us all holding our breath as we passed though alleys and around blind turns with approximately an inch to spare on either side.

All six of us in the car is a little tight, but workable. (Wendy, fortunately not prone to car sickness, has nobly been taking the back seat.) So today we decided to really amp up the difficulty level and add Pippa and Arlo, their two Newfoundlands. (For those who have not met Pippa and Arlo, that is about 270 combined pounds of dog.) We were headed for an overnight trip-within-a-trip to Palermo and the coastal city of Cefalu. Luckily the dogs are very patient and calm, but Wendy’s seat in the back became considerably more challenging. In the end we managed to fit ourselves, the dogs, and all our overnight supplies into the car.

Against all odds, the car also made it up the steep incline out of town, and over the mountain ridges on the way to the coast. Palermo represented its own driving challenges. One of the main roads into town didn’t have lanes, and it was hard to predict at any given time how many cars would attempt to get abreast of each other. I think we counted five at one point. But in the end we made it into the town center, which featured a lovely series of pedestrian-ish streets (featuring the occasional car, van, or motorcycle). We strolled around and took endless photos of picturesque alleyways, cobblestones underfoot and laundry hanging above. We caught some glimpses of the blue-green sea. We met lots of locals, given that Pippa and Arlo attract a lot of attention.

Eventually we were able to check in to our airbnb, a lovely spacious apartment in a cool walkable neighborhood. Then, minus the dogs, we headed out again to sample some of the culinary delights of the city. We were seeking out a few things that this area is particularly known for –firstly, drinks and apertivo at a lovely cocktail bar. We then sought out something called “mangia e beve” (oddly, “food and drink”) that consists of green onions wrapped in bacon. We didn’t quite have room left for arancini, but made sure to have some of the famous cannoli, which come in many varieties of shells and fillings. (Sicily claims to have invented the cannoli. The place we bought them from had “since 1024” on their business sign, which seems to be a bit of a stretch.)

The streets were lined with tables set out by the local restaurants, and packed with festive crowds enjoying food and drink. On our way back home on one of these streets, despite having already had our dessert, Chris was reeled in by a delicious burger smell so we all ended up having a late-night snack. It’s going to be hard for us to adjust to eating like normal people again once we return from this trip.

Never underestimate the power of six people who are able to motivate and coordinate each other in such a way that all of them are ready to hit the road at 7:30. Just this feat suggests extraordinary accomplishments are possible.

Thus, we were feeling full of potenial as we headed out this morning for the city of Siracusa, about three hours away. Along with the pleasant sunshine and windshield-filling views of Mount Etna, one other thing buoyed our spirits. It was a tiny cup of goodness called Crema Freda — so good it could only be served in thimble-sized contaners at the highway rest area close to Catania. Ours got passeed around, and even people who only got a few sips were smiling for hours afterwards.

We got to Siracusa and parked our car well before the pleasant feelings wore off. Our mood was barely scratched by the ranks of school groups at our first tour stop of the day, the Necropolis Archeological Park. If getting up and out by 7:30 were not enough, now we would hop a few millennia back in time to when the Ancient Greeks had a colony in this area of Sicily. They built a grand amphitheater on a hillside, using stone quarried from higher up the hill. The resulting structure still stands largely intact, and the holes made by the quarrying are visible and explorable after serving a variety of functions, including as tombs, over the past 2,000 or so years. Much of the original rock of the amphitheater is currently covered by wooden planks because the place now serves as a venue for a summer concert series. This dampened the effect a little, but the location is still stunning — from the top you can look out over trees and city streets to the sea.

Also, we weren’t done time traveling yet. After a stroll through another quarry that left sizeable grottos that we could walk through (and whose accoustics the school groups could test out by screaming and whistling persistently) we found another amphitheater built by the Romans slightly fewer millenia ago than the first ruins we saw. This one seems to have less concert venue potential these days, but it did serve nicely as a wildflower breeding ground. The school groups were unimpressed and didn’t make it past the first viewing point.

Of course, by this time it was pretty much lunch time, and we had a general destination in mind: the island of Origia which is connected to the city by two short bridges and which shares the brunt of Siracusa’s tourist traffic with the Archeological park. People who like narrow cobblestone foot-traffic passages though sun showered two-story residential canyons would be very happy to get lost wandering around here. We were those people, even a little bit past the pont where were started to hope that the passage we were on would lead us to lunch, which one of them eventually did.

This was our first real pasta meal of the whole trip, and it did not disappoint, though only one of us decided to pursue Ortigia’s reputation for seafood. The penne with swordfish and eggplant was quite good, as were, reportedly, the carbonara, lasagna, pasta norma, and ragu.

From lunch we followed a general touring plan that was designed to hit major points in Otigia, which featrured multiple views of the Mediterranian. Perhaps the best view was back toward the city of Siracusa on the mainland with the white top of Mount Etna loomng above.
We also saw the island’s Duomo, which was built in the fifteenth century AD, incorporating pillars and other elements from a temple to Athena dating to the fifth century BC. This was not our first Duomo, but was quite memorable.
From here, we continued wandering until we reached the very tip of Ortigia, where the Maniace Castle projects a rather fort-like military presence with stark, thick walls all around and stairways leading off in improbable directons.

We didn’t actually go inside because our parking was about to run out.
Still, the walk back to the parking lot was as scenic a jorney as anyone in our mild state of hurry could hope for. We followed the shoreline on the opposide side of the island, which included some beaches where several people seemed to be considering the idea of wading into the still-chilly Mediterranean.

We had a relaxed start to our day today, enjoying the amazing views from the Brookses terrace and playing with the kittens. Eventually we meandered down to Chris and Wendy’s favorite cafe for breakfast pastries. I had some kind of amazing pistachio creation — apparently they are famous for pistachios here — and we enjoyed the fresh-squeezed orange juice. (Since we frequently see oranges hanging from the trees here, my guess is that it’s VERY fresh.)

After breakfast we took a short drive over the hills to take in some more amazing views. This region is extremely mountainous, with artistic pillars of rock jutting out dramatically. Sometimes buildings are constructed right into the rock, with it not being clear exactly where the rock ends and the building begins. In between are fields of crops and flowers covering the steep hillsides. We stopped to take some pictures of a large flock of sheep and enjoy the chiming of the hundreds of little bells that they wear around their necks.

Our main event of the day was a tour and tasting Wendy had arranged for us at a nearby winery. Our guide, Aldo, was friendly and knowledgeable, and the setting was amazing. The family that owns the winery bought and restored a hilltop villa — on the highest point for miles around — to use as a tasting room. There were breathtaking vistas in every direction. We tasted five of the wines, all made from grapes exclusive to this region of Sicily. Aldo also had a feast of local delicacies for us, with the winery’s own olive oil and locally made breads, meats, and cheeses.

On our way back, Chris and Wendy wanted to make a stop to introduce us to their friend Gianni. He is an artist with a country house near the winery. It’s the perfect setting for an artist, with lovely views and an amazing garden that we wandered around in. Gianni showed us many of his paintings — he’s working on a series of noteworthy women from around the world — and bonded with Tom over art. He even gave Karen and I each a painting to bring home.

We were all a little too tired to venture out for dinner, so we ended the day with delicious pizza from a nearby pizzaria. We’re preparing for an early start and a full day tomorrow.

One of the main things in our lives that we do not write about in this blog is Potluck, which tends to happen once a week. It happens at home, or at least close to home, which is why you never find it in our travel blog.

Except now we are combing our home life with our travel life in rural Sicily. We have packed up Potluck staples Karen and Tom Palmer and traveled here to visit original Potluck co-founding family Chris and Wendy Brooks in their lovely European headquarters.

In fact, we haven’t seen Chris and Wendy for quite some time because they have been preparing this place for us. It should also be noted that if not for schduling conflicts we may well have the remaining club members, Michael and Carla, along with us.

But they went to London last week instead, and now they are missing out.

What are they missing out on? Well…

We had a totally comfortable and not-at-all stressful succession of flights from Boston to Munich to Catania, one of the larger cities on Sicily. It was marred only when Karen’s suitcase failed to come out onto the baggage carousel. Lufthansa’s miscue ate up a little of our first day, and caused Karen a wee bit of stress, but managed to pick it up later in the day because…

As we were riding back down the mountain back into Catania, we decided to check in at the airport to relay a suitable address for the airline to deliver Karen’s suitcase, should it ever be located. Chris and Wendy’s address was deemed not suitable for reasons we’ll see a little later. It turns out that they had managed to locate Karen’s suitcase and it was waiting for her at the airport when she checked in. What good news!

The only bad news was that all this driving up and down hills was making me carsick. This did not improve as we neared the Brooks’ home in a lovely city called Mussomeli in the Sicilian hill country. There was really nothing to be done. In order for us to get to our destination, we had to get through a tapestry of curves and switchbacks. Mussomeli was visible on its hillside for quite a while, but for much of the drive it did not seem to be getting any closer.

We did finally make it into town and got into our new accommodations. I recovered significanly once I got out of the car and saw the place. I even helped Chris walk the two local celebrities, the Brooks’ Newfoundlands Pippa and Arlo, though the narrow, winding cobblestone alleys of their neighborhood in the heart of Mussomeli’s historic s old district. Then I fell asleep pretty much as soon as I lay down in bed because it had been such a long day. Any lingering feeling of carsickness melted away overnight and was completel obliterated when I got up the next morning to see…

The lovely expanse of Sicilian countryside visible from Chris and Wendy’s sunroom. It beckoned us to explore, which we did for most of our first full day in town. Everywhere we walked in Mussomeli, people would call out to Wendy and ask where the dogs were. We got to meet many of Brooks’ new friends and neighbors and wander even more of the cobblestone streets.

We even got to take in the city’s the first ever auto race! The race cars had been parked along the main road the day before so Chris and Wendy looked into it and found some times when the cars would likely be zooming by. We were among a small crowd at the finish line and got to see several of the cars — all hatchbacks — navigate a traffic cone s-curve and then sprint up the hill to the end of the race. It was not something we had imagined we would get to see.

After seeing seven or eight cars finish the race, we contined our wanderings through town, taking in urban wildflowers and periodic vews of the farmland on the facing hillside. We made it to the dramatic Castle Manfredonico, which wraps itself around a giant pillar of craggy rock just outside of town. It was closed today, but we took the initiative to try to hike around the base of the stony island it sits on. At this point, it is not actually clear to us if there is a trail that goes all the way around it. We found a trail, but among the few thing we became certain about were that it puts you in close proximity to a lot of thorny thistle, and there is a random mud patch that took us all by surprise and muddied us up considerably. We abandoned our circumnavigation not long after the mud.

Still, there was more excitement to come. We saw two motorcyclists escape hot pursuit by the Carabinieri. We had a nice aperitivo on the sun porch. We played extensively with the two tiny kittens Chris and Wendy adopted just in time for our visit.

And we finished the evening in the most appropriate way possible: a potluck dinner thrown by some of Wendy’s friends in the old town’s main square.