Sicilia

During my first summer here in Italy, just before I became pregnant with Ray, Andrea took me on what my friends called "the kidnapping" - a two week trip to Sicily via ship (Ravenna to Catania) transporting our scooter and without any hotel reservations. This was unlike any vacation I had been on, it was to be the last big ka-bang before parenthood, and I was stubborn and reluctant to "rough it" (a.k.a. no hotel reservations) and with only the amount of clothing that could be crammed into the container attached to the back of the scooter seat. But, naturally, in spite of all my reservations, the trip was amazing and I will always remember it as one of the most beautiful and fulfilling vacations. The ocean coast and internal desert scapes in addition to the amazing number of Greek and Roman ruins made every new region and town a treasure, and the scents of the land and sea (and dust) inhaled from the back of the scooter could never be experienced from the interior of a car.

But the most unexpected discovery were the Sicilians - we were approached with outstretched hands regularly and given tours and recommendations. They were extremely friendly and hospitable (and rather petite to us!). The only downfalls of this beautiful island are the areas that are heavily polluted with trash, the high number of stray dogs, and the vulnerability of the more isolated homes - many of them were obviously vandalized and our idea of perhaps one day buying a former shephard's hut for retirement was quickly shot down - if you don't live there full-time you run the risk of losing all your possessions; even the plumbing and water heater might get ripped out. But in spite of her thorns, Sicily is beautiful, mysterious, enchanting and raw.

This article appears in this weekend's NYT and reminded me of the beauty of the land and the history of her people: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/travel/06leopard.html?pagewanted=1wanted=1
(that is not me adjusting my bathing top, unfortunately)