Calabria - the Toe of the Boot

The last part of this trip brought us back to the Italian mainland, specifically the region of Calabria. We first stopped in the small town of Scilla for lunch and a walk through town.  I had seen these long, thin, silver fishes called Spatola at a few fish markets so when I saw it on the menu I decided to checked it out. Good meal, I'll need to remember that fish.

This family business producing charcoal was an interesting stop.  It takes a month to burn the wood down to charcoal then 4 days for it to cool.  A large stack makes about 10 tons of charcoal.  

In the town of Pizzo we stopped at a gelato shop known for their ice cream truffles called Tartufo. The video I posted on Face Book of these being made elicited a number of requests for me to recreate them upon my return.  Ha! I can guarantee that will not be happening.

I always find it interesting that no matter what town you're in, you find groups of men hanging out in the parks, in the town squares, at the coffee shops.  From what I hear, the women kick them out of the house so they can get the cleaning and cooking done.  Personally, I'd put them to work!  One of the gentlemen below was excited to chat with my friend from California.  Apparently, he had lived in the US for 40ish years and owned an Italian restaurant not far from her.  He moved back to Pizzo when he retired. 

One of our group trying out a Tartufo. 

I never tire of the red tile roofs. 

The small village of San Lorenzo Bellizzi is situated in the mountains of Pollino National Park. The population has decreased over the years as people move to the cities and with a lack of restoration funds it's been impossible to salvage decaying buildings.  The major has been putting some of these old stone houses up for auction at low prices in an effort to revitalize his town. 

In a small town like this the shopping mall comes to you...

Just below our lovely B & B in Civita was the path down to Devil's bridge which spans the Raganello Gorge. 

Meeting the locals on the way down.

Hiking up in the hills above Civita.

A stop to see (and taste) cheeses made from water buffalo milk.  Probably the best ricotta ever. Not a bad ending to the trip!

Sicily

After Puglia we moved on to Sicily for two weeks.  The last time I was in Sicily was in 2011 and I was looking forward to a return visit.  This trip brought me to a couple of familiar places, but mostly new ones.  Below is a sampling of my Sicily experience.

Those of us coming over from Puglia missed our time to tour about Palermo due to an airline strike. So, moving on with the itinerary, next up was a day spent visiting the towns of Cefalu, (a wonderful waterfront town that I was happy to see again) and the medival town of Castelbuono.

Nestled in the mountains, Castelbuono is known for its castle.  I'm showing you one of its cute residents instead :).

Next up was the wonderful medieval hilltop town of Erice which sits high above Trapani.  It's narrow roads, great shops and the cliff-side Pepoli castle makes it one of my favorites.

Moving on to Segesta, we had lunch and a lovely walk amid acres of vineyards and olive trees.  An unfinished temple sits on a hill to complete the picturesque setting.

From the salt flats of Trapani we hopped a small boat to Mothya Island for a pretty hike and a picnic lunch. The island is known for some interesting ruins and the small but surprisingly good Whitaker Museum.

In the fishing town of Mazara we toured the Muslim Kasbah quarter.  Nice people and great tile work decorate the community at every turn.  The major who initiated the tile project also contributed by painting some tiles himself.

A bit of gelato along the seaside boardwalk. Sticking with the theme, it was served on a tile table 

The town of Ragusa was another gem with a wonderfully preserved old town and even a 2 Michelin star restaurant where some of the group met for a great lunch.  Definitely worth checking out the Ristorante Duomo!

We left Ragusa for a few hours one day and headed over to the town of Modica where we had a ball being driven through the narrow streets in vintage Fiat 500s.

There was also plenty of time out in the countryside as with this day at a dairy farm where we helped to make the bread and cheese for lunch.

This formed cheese we had fresh, drizzled with olive oil and some that had been aged in salt for 5 days.  Both were great. We also had the ricotta 'by product' that we ate hot off the fire that was unlike any ricotta I've ever had.  Quite good. 

The town of Catania had some of the best markets I've seen anywhere in Italy.  Beautiful veggies, olives, meats and hectic fish markets made for some fun wanderings with a couple of friends.  We tried some street-grilled artichokes (really good!) and later sat down at a restaurant to share a bottle of wine and a plate of seafood as we watched the market happenings.  

We had a fabulous hike around Mt Etna.  There wasn't much action going on, but it sure was pretty. 

I skipped quite a few places and activities, but you get the idea.  Just love Sicily!

Puglia - the Heel of the Boot

Going back to Italy, my favorite country, is always a treat and this time was no exception.  The trip started with a few days in Rome, then it was off to Puglia, Sicily and ending in Calabria.  

Puglia is an area that I'd always wanted to visit and it didn't disappoint.   We spent a couple of days in Sassi di Matera, a wonderful old city of stone & cave homes.  Until the 1950s, Matera was a source of shame for Italy, a place of poverty, malaria and high rates of infant mortality, where people lived in caves without electricity, running water or sewage.  Houses are piled on top of each other so that as you walk the paths you may be crossing over the top of someone's kitchen or bedroom.  Old, now uninhabited caves in the surrounding hills, are visible reminders of days not long past.

Evening view from our hotel balcony.

The local bread.

Visiting trullo houses was my main reason for wanting to visit the Puglia area, and the town of Alberobello was the place to go. These stone houses with their conical roofs have fascinated me for a long time so it was fun to walk through street after street of these whimsical homes and shops. We were even invited inside by one of the lovely locals and found that other than a cone shaped ceiling, they looked remarkably normal. 

We spent a few days in Lecce in the southern Apulia region, a city that I knew nothing about but came to love.  Photo's below are of a Roman theater (still in use today), the Piazza S. Oronzo, and an interior view of the beautiful Baroque Basilica di Santa Croce. 

The pizza was pretty good too!

Next up, it was back to Sicily...