Well, we have left Sicily and we are crying about it. With an unlimited bank account we could have stayed for a month easily. The air, sunshine, sea, countryside, and people all combined to make it one of the most fulfilling experiences that you could expect to have. Our final three days in San Vito lo Capo were quiet and serene. This area is known for its beautiful beaches and the clearest waters in Sicily, and it did not disappoint. The water was warmer because it was not more than five feet deep for the first one hundred yards from any beach, and it was swimmable. May is the perfect time to visit Sicily, before the Sicilians and Italian mainlanders themselves start flocking to the vacation areas in June, July and August, and I would assume that September is also an excellent time. Sicily is like the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and Southern California rolled into one, but without speed limits!
The only thing that stood in my way of a one hundred percent positive experience was the food. Yes, believe it or not, Sicilian food was not at all what I expected. Now, keep in mind that we were primarily on the Northwestern and Western parts of the Island, the couscous center of Sicily, so it may have been different in other areas, but aside from the pizza, which was incredibly good everywhere we went, the cuisine was not to my liking. The pasta sauce was not based on tomatoes, but seemed to be mostly a heavy, crude oil spill with chopped up little pieces of eggplant, almonds, and a few other greasy things. After a few sleepless nights I gave up experimentation with the menu items and just kept ordering caprese salads or caprese sandwiches, which were made with tomatoes, basil, olive oil, mozzarella, and oregano. This seemed to digest well enough to allow me to sleep.
So, my scorecard goes: Sicilian bread-outstanding everywhere, pizza-outstanding everywhere, tomatoes-the best ever, tuna and seafood-fresh, but thinly cut, pasta and couscous dishes-yuck, prices, like all of Italy-ridiculous! Everything is ala carte’ from the first basket of bread and water, which they have made into an art form. Our favorite line from the waiters was, “Gas or Naturale?” (I don’t even have to tell you what my jaded mind was thinking when they asked this.) A piece of fish is ten to fifteen euros-the salad is seven or eight euros-the bread is three euros-the water is two euros-the pasta is ten euros, and on and on it goes. So, you end up spending fifty or sixty American dollars constantly, if you don’t know what you are doing. Throw in some dessert and a café latte or two and you are up to seventy or even eighty dollars, and that may be just lunch! It’s one thing if you are in Tuscany, where the food is mouthwatering, and you have some confidence about what you will get, but to pay twelve or fifteen euros for a dish of vegetarian couscous, blows my mind. The current conversion rate of exchange has our dollar worth only sixty-two cents, so you can figure out what my side plate of couscous really cost.
There is one thing about Sicilian food that Aliyah would want me to emphasize: The desserts were the best she has had in Italy. Not the gelato, which she claims is better in Arezzo, but the cookies and pastries. Sicily grows almonds, so Sicilian cookies are made with an almond paste, which is her favorite. She also loves marzipan, which was everywhere, so she was in almond heaven. They also have numerous ricotta filled pastries, which she could not find in Arezzo, but it was the connolis that blew her mind. They were the best she has ever had, filled with the lightest ricotta filling, like nothing we have at home.
Yes, Sicily would definitely be a place worth returning to. I am not a seasoned, well- versed world traveler, but with my limited perspective I can tell you that this is a wonderful place, a beautiful place filled with background and interesting places. No, it is not the center of the Italian universe of art, intellect, history, background, and culture, but it is a remarkable place very much worth visiting with friendly, friendly people and beautiful elements. Ciao for Now, Senore' Alberto Novelli
So what do you do to avoid spending so much money on food?
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