Reflecting back to September, 2017…

We keep reminiscing about our great memories from when Sara’s sister‘sfamily came to visit last year. We enjoyed some amaizing adventures together…driving around Sicily!

Vittoria and our niece, Kendall followed along in the Smart 🚗

Of course, our first stop was Gambino Vini 🍷

First plate that beautifully pairs with the wine selection.

We went to our favorite local restaurant, Feudo Delizia

Up Mount Etna…

Sue, Kendall & Chad Santy

Kendall in the cable car on our way up to the top!
I’m feeling the heat coming from this steam vent
Me and Vittoria in the cable car

Our visit to Ortega

First taste of a cannoli cone!

We look forward to the next time the Santys come to visit. But we will also see them in October when we go visit Sara’s parents in Arizona. I’ll keep you posted 😉

Gambino Vini—Great memories 🍷🧀🍷

Recently we visited Gambino Vini again for a Full wine tasting with the Guarnaccia family…a wonderful experience before they traveled back to Australia.

And today we were reflecting back our many memorable visits to Gambino Vini!

We enjoyed several tastings with Amber and Greg! Actually, they introduced us to this wonderful gem!  This was our first visit to Gambino in 2016

April, 2017 with Nonna

May, 2017 with Carrie & Dan and Inga & Pierre

September, 2017 with Chad, Sue & Kendall

November, 2017 with the Guarnaccia’s

 

Devlin plus 3 !

In March we adopted Devlin, a cat from the streets of Motta Sant’Anastasia. Since she had been living on the street we thought she would be a good defense for mice and snakes (especially vipers).

Last summer our dog, Winni, was bitten by a European Asp.  She did kill that viper and since then we found one other carcus of an asp in our yard. We are told that cats are the best deterrent for snakes. So that’s how we came to welcome Devlin into our home and hearts.

After we brought Devlin home, she did not have any desire to leave the house! She was quite content sleeping on the couch. But after a few weeks we realized she was carrying a litter of kittens. Monday, May 1st, we woke up to discover a beautiful litter of three kittens.

Devlin is raising them well, and when they were 3 months old she began exploring outside with them. Our cat family is becoming great hunters! Here are the kittens climbing in the olive tree in front of our house  

Broken Pot Garden

Last summer we ended up with a lot of broken terra-cotta plant pots. (Some of our plants grew fast and blew over with a gust of wind, and the pot would be smashed.)  So we decided to put those fragments to use after seeing some creative broken pot gardens. So this is what we have created so far …

 

Of course most of these cacti will grow fast, and we will be modifying these planting… I’ll keep you posted.

Murgo Winery

Last month we booked a wine tour and lunch at Murgo Winery in Santa Venezia.  It was a nice tour and both the wine and the food were delicious!  We were so glad that we finally decided to go to Murgo.  It was a gray day, so we didn’t get to enjoy what appears to be an amazing view!  And we couldn’t help but bring home several bottles to enjoy at home!! We will return to Murgo again.

A visit to Agrigento

Sara and I decided to take a few days and travel to Agrigento. We stayed at B & B Giunone.  It was a perfect place for us to stay: A beautiful, clean, comfortable room with a private bath and balcony; an amaizing breakfast; wireless internet helped us plan our next day’s adventure; private off-street gated parking…it was exactly what we were looking for! (We booked with booking.com, but they are also on TripAdvisor) img_1341img_1343img_1416

We enjoyed walking around the old areas of Agrigento.  There are many quaint shops to browse through, beautiful views, and many restaurants. We ended up eating at a wonderful restaurant right next to our B &B, Trattoria die Templi. Amazing food!!!

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I ordered the spada flan with white fish cake. Sara got a baked fish with zucchini. So delicious!!!

We explored the Turkish Steps. Awe inspiring! img_1348img_1350img_1360img_1368img_1374img_1386img_1390

We also explore the Valley of Temples. Next time Sara said she will bring an umbrella for shade! It was a beautiful day to explore the site. img_1418img_1447img_1448img_1456img_1459img_1464img_1471img_1472img_1474img_1479img_1493img_1523

Another visit to the Catania Market

Monday we went into Catania so that we could shop at the open market. We had grown Thai basil in our garden and wanted to create some Thai dishes for dinner. The open market is a great place to get fresh fruits and vegetables, and we also went to Cristaldi Market and a small oriental market to get needed ingredients. imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage

Santa Teresa di Riva

Last week we enjoyed a day at the beach with friends! This was our first time at Santa Teresa di Riva beach, which is just a few minutes drive north of Taormina. It was a beautiful day, beautiful beaches, great time with friends, and some good food too!  In the afternoon we relocated to Lido Sunkisses.

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We picked up some stones and sea glass at Lido Sunkisses that we thought could be used to create some fun pieces of jewelry.

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Etna Meile

Our favorite source for fresh honey is Etna Miele in Zefferana Etna.  They have a wonderful traveling store that parks at the visitor center at Mt. Etna Sud, which is only 10-15 minutes drive from our house.

We drove up today to get some more of the Crema di Nocciole al Miele (hazelnut cream honey) that I love to add to my morning cup of coffee!

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We also love their lemon honey and orange honey to add to our tea. Their honey with eucalyptus and herbs is great as a cough syrup or to clear stuffed up sinus! Also other nut or fruit honeys are great served with biscuits or fresh bread, or even as a dessert topping!

We serve the mixed nuts packed in honey with an aged cheese and bread. A delicious appetizer or aperitivo.