Posts Tagged ‘Hello’

Hello From Sicily – A Driving Tour Through Lipari And A Magical Evening In Vulcano

Our beautiful dinner in the old town of Lipari last night was another opportunity to get to know Sicilian cuisine. A light-hearted evening was followed by a night of deep sleep and by 8 am this morning I stuck my head out of the boat: another gorgeous day! Everyone was still sleeping and I had about an hour and half to walk into town and catch another glimpse of picturesque Lipari. I mailed my postcards and picked up some fresh locally grown oranges for the gang on the boat.

Once back at the boat, my co-travellers Herbert, Claudia and I were ready for another excursion: a driving tour of Lipari. Herbert is a German TV travel journalist and is planning to bring a television crew to Sicily next year to film the Italian language learning experience aboard a sailboat provided by Laboratorio Linguistico. Naturally he has to scout out the various locations to check into sights of interest, lighting, and facilities – all the factors that will have a bearing on the shoot.

He had asked our captain Francesco to arrange for a local guide who would drive him around the island and generously invited Claudia and me to come along. Our driver Pasquale Liberatore (what a great name), a Lipari resident, arrived punctually at 9:30 am to pick us up at the Lipari pleasure craft harbour to take us on a tour through this beautiful island.

Pasquale packed us into his vehicle and off we went. His personal story, incidentally, is also quite interesting: Pasquale was born and grew up in Lipari and then in the lat 1950s his family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where there is a large community of southern Italian émigrés. Southern Italy went through real economic hardship after World War II, and many hundreds of thousands of people emigrated from the mainland and the islands. Pasquale spent a few decades in Australia but as the only person from his immediate family, he returned to Lipari to live here. He has now been back for about 15 years and loves living here although he occasionally misses his brothers and sisters and their families who are still living in Australia. Of course he speaks excellent English, and that is how he markets himself – Pasquale, the English-speaking cab driver and tour guide.

The first place he took us to was a village north of Lipari called Canneto which has a beautiful waterfront location, draped around a horseshoe-shaped bay. We decided to catch a little late breakfast first, and I really enjoyed my refreshing lemon granita, a typical Sicilian specialty – crushed ice that comes in a variety of flavours, a great idea for starting off the day. Herbert enjoyed a fresh croissant and an espresso.

On our way out of the bar, parked by the lungomare, the waterfront promenade, a local fisherman was selling fresh fish he caught this morning out of a little three-wheeled cargo vehicle. He shouted out the names of the fish with a peculiar cadence that was sure to attract the attention of passers-by. This is one thing I noticed about Sicily: street selling, particularly of fish, produce and other edible products, is still a popular way of marketing one’s merchandise.

We continued our drive towards the white pumice quarries that Lipari is famous for. This volcanic stone is used for the production of cement, as an abrasive and a cosmetic exfoliant. Pumice is a highly porous, extremely light-weight, usually white stone that is formed during volcanic eruptions. Just a few dozen meters away from the pumice quarries we stopped to see another type of volcanic stone: obsidian, or volcanic glass, which is a dark-brown, dense, virtually opaque and heavy substance.

Pasquale explained that the chemical make-up of obsidian and pumice is essentially the same, but that they are ejected a different temperatures during volcanic eruptions. Obsidian has been used for eons; because of its flint-like quality it can easily be shaped into blades and spear tips and other cutting instruments. Today obsidian is even used as for surgical scalpels which produce less trauma than steel scalpels. Another less high-tech use of obsidian is as a gemstone, and many stores in the Eolian Islands sell jewelry crafted from this volcanic glass.

We came around the northern tip of Lipari where a beautiful view opened up toward the island of Salina. Pasquale took us up a mountain road to the Santuario di Chiesa Vecchia di Quattropani, a beautiful country church located on a hill with a phenomenal view over several of the Eolian Islands. As we were standing by the railing of the terrace, a jet fighter flew by at what seemed like supersonic speed, literally a few meters above the water. By the time we realized where the booming sound was coming from it was already disappearing into the horizon.

Another 15 minutes further on the west side of the island we stopped at an abandoned kaolin quarry. Kaolin is a silica-based mineral that is used in the production of ceramics, as a food additive and even as an ingredient in toothpaste. Everything was blooming around here, and yellow and purple flowers lit up the crags overlooking the sea.

At the southern tip of Lipari we stopped on a parking lot beside a private village and had a phenomenal view of the nearby island of Vulcano. We could even see the columns of sulphur fumes emanating from the fissures near the crater of this still active volcano. A flat stretch of land called Vulcanello is located in front of the main island of Vulcano. This part of the island appeared only about 2000 years ago in a volcanic eruption. Volcanism is still reshaping the earth all around here.

We had seen almost every corner of this small island and Pasquale dropped us off near downtown Lipari. This guided tour provided by a local expert was a great way of getting to know the island of Lipari. Claudia and I headed straight for an outdoor restaurant on the piazza by Marina Corta and had a well-deserved lunch and another nice stroll through town before we started to head back to our sailboat.

Around 3 pm we said goodbye to Lipari and set sail for our next destination: Vulcano. On our way our skipper Francesco took us past some very interesting rock formations at the southern end of Lipari. One protruding rock column was reminiscent of a praying pope while several tall isolated rocks grew right out of the sea in front of Lipari. We circled around to the eastern side of Vulcano and dropped anchor in the bay in front of Porto di Levante, the only landing place on the island. Several ferry boats were making their entries to and exits from the bay, and several other sailboats were anchored at a distance from the island.

Now it was time for our Italian lesson: for two hours in the late afternoon Claudia, Agnieszka and I were studying concepts such as the Italian Condizionale as well as the Congiuntivo under the guidance of our expert teacher Franco. You would definitely be hard-pressed to find a more stimulating environment to study Italian than a sailboat anchored in a beautiful bay in Southern Italy.

The wonderful thing about this sailing trip has been so far that it has been a nearly perfect immersion in Italian, where we are hearing the language all day and both our teachers communicate only in Italian with us. This concept is as close to full immersion as one can imagine, and the learning process is very intense and fast.

For the evening we stayed on the boat and watched a beautiful sunset which bathed the entire scene in hues of pink and purple. After our on-board dinner we retreated outside where Agnieszka, a gifted singer, and Franco, a great guitar player, teamed up and entertained us with many different soulfully delivered classics.

Sitting on a sailboat at night, by candlelight, in the beautiful bay of Vulcano, listening to the touching melodies of two gifted artists, was a magical, almost spiritual experience. I knew tomorrow was going to be our last day on this sailing trip, but I didn’t want this moment to end…..

Hello From Sicily – Exploring Lipari And A Sicilian Seafood Dinner In Salina

My first afternoon and night on a sailboat had gone surprisingly well. After our little late night excursion into the town of Lipari I had slept like a stone, only to awake this morning at about 8 am to see in daylight what the island of Lipari actually looks like. So I peeked my head out of the sailboat and I saw it was an absolutely gorgeous day! Blue, sunny skies, not a cloud to be seen. Perfect for exploring Lipari, the capital of the Eolian island of the same name.

Our skipper was up already while my three other co-travellers were still resting. Francesco and I each grabbed a little snack from our plentiful stash below deck, sat down and enjoyed the gorgeous ambience. We were surrounded by dozens of boats, mostly sailboats, some power boats, and a few of them rather imposing yachts, while towards the land we saw a number of local fishing boats tied up and fishermen straighten out their nets.

I mentioned to Francesco that the experience on this sailboat and in Sicily in general is so different from our hurried, frenetic pace in our North American urban centres. I added that it was an extremely welcome change from my usual routine. The rhythm of life is definitely slower here, and people appear to have different, simpler priorities: they focus on their friends and family, and eating good food, drinking good wine, and enjoying life, every day. Our skipper himself, authentically Sicilian, also radiated a profound sense of calm and contentedness.

Around 10 am I was ready to start exploring and started my walk towards downtown Lipari. The half-hour walk along a busy road is very scenic, with mountains on one side and the sea on the other, and the hilltop fortification of the town of Lipari beckoning in the distance. On my way into town I saw a scooter rental place, and at 15 Euros per day I was very tempted to rent one for a couple of hours. Instead I decided to get a bit of exercise and continue my walk into town.

With about 11,000 residents, Lipari is the largest and most populous island in the 7-island Eolian archipelago. It is an extremely popular tourist destination: during the summer the population swells to over 200,000 people. It is a vibrant commercial centre and active ferry boat harbour. I strolled into town on one of the main streets which was full of retail stores, vegetable and fruit stands and a variety of restaurants.

A fairly steep cobble-stoned street pointed up toward a hill, so I followed it and arrived at the fortification of the town of Lipari which has a long and convoluted history. Inhabited from at least 5000 BC, the island has been ruled by successive waves of Greeks, Carthaginians, Etruscans, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Saracens, Normans, Hohenstaufen, Angevins and Aragonese. The imposing city walls were built by the Spanish on top of an ancient Greek acropolis in the mid 1500s. Within the walls of the fortification is an imposing cathedral, an old castle, excavations of an ancient Greek settlement as well as the Museo Archeologico Eoliano.

A long set of steps leads up from the lower level of town to the Cathedral and on a small patch of grass beside the steps an old local man had set up shop to sell a variety of handcrafted doilies as well as volcanic stones such as pumice and obsidian which both occur naturally on this island.

I came up to him to see what he had for sale and he introduced himself as “Nonno Dorino” (“Grandpa Dorino”) and told me that he crochets all the doilies himself. Quite charmingly he engaged me in a conversation and I ended up purchasing two of the crocheted masterpieces from him. Along the way he showed me a picture of his granddaughter and gave me free samples of each type of volcanic stone. I always love interactions with the locals, and Nonno Dorino was a real character. He definitely knows how to charm the tourists.

I descended the steps from the cathedral and took a left turn which took me into the second harbour of Lipari, Marina Corta, which features a large square with a view up to the fortress and a variety of outdoor cafes with beautiful patios. Today there was a large group of children on bicycles, accompanied by various local police people. It looked like a special bicycling event and drew spectators among the locals and the tourists.

A small chapel is located at the southern end of the piazza and narrow streets with various retail stores lead up to different parts of town. On my stroll on this sunny day I explored some of these side streets and found tight but neatly kept living quarters, children playing in the street, cats and dogs lazing in the sun, and many older ladies sweeping the pavement in front of their houses.

On my back to the ferry boat harbour I connected with Herbert, one of my travel mates, and we walked back to the ship together. Around 2 pm we were ready to leave Lipari and we started chugging out of the harbour and our captain set the sails once we were in the open water.

We travelled next to the coast of Lipari and arrived at the next bay which featured a town that hugged the coastline and sprawled up into the hills, and looking further north a huge section of the island consisted of white stone. Francesco, our captain, explained that this stone is pumice, a white porous stone of volcanic origin.

We anchored the boat in the bay in front of the pumice quarries, some of which had been shut down several decades ago and continued to exist as industrial ruins. Claudia, Francesco and Lorenzo took a dip in the still rather frigid Mediterranean waters. The temperature could not have been much higher than 18 degrees, and as a real wuss, my policy is to only go swimming if the water temperature is above 28 degrees. So for me it was a no go, but my shipmates enjoyed the brief, yet refreshing dip. We also saw a jellyfish, aptly called “medusa” in Italian. These animals are apparently more common when the water is cooler and are seen less during the summer months.

Towards 6 pm we reached the next island called Salina, an island that used to be called “didyme” (“twins”) by the ancient Greeks, due to its two major mountains, Fossa delle Felci (altitude 962 m) and Monte dei Porri (860 m). We arrived in the main village of Santa Marina, which features a large pleasure boat harbour. Two other main villages exist on this island: Malfa and Leni, and the total population is about a couple of thousand people.

My friend Herbert and I went on a little exploration of the town on foot. Santa Marina is essentially composed of two streets that run parallel to the coastline, the Via Lungomare Giuffré right next to the waterfront and parallel to that the Via Risorgimento, further inland. The town features a larger church on Via Risorgimento, and a smaller chapel on a square right next to the harbour. Activity around the main square is quite lively, with several restaurants, ice cream and street vendors.

Since we were going to meet for dinner at 8 pm, I headed back early to actually grab a shower – on land! The sailboat harbour of Santa Marina actually features a comfort station with modern shower and washroom facilities. And since I was still squeamish about using the tiny on-board toilet/shower combination room I couldn’t wait to actually jump into a real shower. When you occasionally take yourself out of your regular comfort zone, you realize how treasured simple things like a real warm shower can become. I thoroughly enjoyed my land-based cleansing ritual and got dressed up for dinner.

Francesco took us to a local restaurant on the main street called “Nni Lausta” (http://www.isolasalina.com/default_eng.htm – Sicilian dialect for “lobster”), a highly renowned local seafood restaurant which is even listed in the Michelin Guide. Our skipper had made arrangements with Fabio, the restaurant’s owner, to produce a real multi-course Sicilian meal for our group. Fabio himself had spent some time in the United States and also owns a restaurant in the north of Italy, obviously an accomplished restaurant entrepreneur.

We settled in and our meals started to arrive. Fabio’s sister, Sabina Giuffré, owner of a local bed and breakfast, also dropped by, and she recognized Lorenzo, who had visited the island about 12 years ago and met Sabina at that time. For Lorenzo, this was a real home-coming, a back-to-his-roots kind of experience, to return to the small island that his paternal grandparents had left in 1910. He had already walked through the whole town of Santa Marina, chatted and connected or reconnected with many of the locals, and despite his limited Italian skills, he was not shy to talk to anyone.

Sabina and Lorenzo commented on the fact that almost everyone in town seemed to be named “Giuffré”, indeed a popular name that seems to date back to Catalan settlers centuries ago. Indeed a website about Sicilian surnames indicates that “Giuffré” is the most popular last name in the town of Santa Marina. It was great to see this man from Boston, a Catholic priest no less, reconnect with his family’s roots and have such a great time.

The first course of our dinner was ready to arrive: each of us received five different types of morsels of fish on an oblong plate which included tuna, mackerel and anchovies. One of the dishes was called “tartan di tonno” which meant it was raw fish. The group loved the appetizer, me not so much because I am not a fish eater in general. Unfortunately the wonderful world of seafood in Sicily is totally lost on me.

But, I said to myself, you are going to try each of these dishes. At least I gave it a shot and I decided to open my mind. So I did try all five varieties of fish and there were two that seemed semi-pleasant to my palate. The rest of the group was rather shocked to find out that I don’t eat fish, but happily obliged and cleaned up the remainder of my appetizer. Nothing will go to waste here!

The meal continued with two different types of pasta: “battarga di tonno” (with tuna), and “pasta verdure di stagione” (vegetarian), which was a very pleasant dish. The main dish was a big whole fish for the entire group: “scorfano” which I believe translates as “hogfish”. It was a big, mean yet aesthetic looking fish and definitely sufficient to feed an entire group of four people. My main dish was a pasta dish with eggplant which was followed by a lemon ice cream dessert for everyone. A glass of local “malvasia” (malmsey) wine followed and a few of my shipmates also had a grappa for good digestion. A real Sicilian meal definitely consists of many courses, always features wine and fish, and probably a glass of liquor to cap it all off.

After this extensive culinary experience we headed back to the boat and sat up chatting until 2 am. Time to rest up for a new day of adventures….

Hello From The Canadian Rockies – Part 18 – Our Celebrity Breakfast At The Twin Gables B

Bed and breakfast travel is one of our favourite ways of discovering new places and the historic Twin Gables B&B is a real treat. It is a 4.5 star-rated bed and breakfast, located in the upscale Mount Royal neighbourhood in Calgary, which is about 25 minutes away by foot from downtown, and the restaurant area on 4th Street takes just a 10 minute to walk to. It was the perfect location for our Sneak Peek at Calgary and after a good night’s rest after our feast at Il Giardino’s last night, we enjoyed the comforts of our Mount Royal Suite, complete with its own sitting area, a private bathroom, an in-suite jacuzzi, a fireplace and a laptop computer with high-speed Internet access.

Well, a good portion of the B&B experience is the breakfasting experience and boy, were we in for a treat. We were just waiting to sit down for our morning meal in the historic parlor, when the two other B&B guests came down the stairs: a good-looking couple about our age was about to join us for breakfast.

I thought the face of the young man looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. My husband, on the other hand, recognized him right away: Michael Damian , a.k.a. “Danny Romalotti” from the famous “The Young and The Restless” daytime television show.

I did some research on our famous breakfast companions and was rather astounded at their achievements. Not only did Michael star in the #1-rated daytime drama (with an audience of over 100 million around the world), he is also enjoying great success in music and theatre. He captured the starring role in Andrew Lloyd Webbers “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” which became the highest grossing revival in L.A. history. He then continued his success in New York, breaking box office records on Broadway. Michael has also released 5 albums and has had 8 top 40 hits and earned a BMI Songwriting Award. Recently Michael has moved into directing, writing and producing movies and music videos.

Mike’s wife Janeen (formerly Janeen Best) is a celebrity in her own right: she is a former Solid Gold dancer and her film credits include Basic Instinct, Bugsy, Earth Girls Are Easy, Footloose and many more. Her television credits include Solid Gold, the Academy Awards, American Music Awards, Grammy Awards, the Young and the Restless, Matlock, Fantasy Island, Love Boat, Johhny Carson, the Dukes of Hazard and many more. So, it finally dawned on me that we were indeed surrounded by stars.

Well, after I got over this initial surprise, the breakfast was excellent, we started off with a yoghurt with fresh fruits, followed by beautiful home-made blueberry scones. The main course was a delicious Western omelette with green peppers, onions and mushrooms. The meal was delicious and we had a great conversation with our famous breakfast companions.

Mike and Janeen shared with us that they were in town to scout out a location for their upcoming movie project and they were staying at the Twin Gables for a few days. They mentioned that they launched a movie production company called Riviera Films a few years ago, and that they enjoy a great collaboration writing, producing and directing movies. Their latest project “Hot Tamale” was recently completed and will be premiering shortly at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

For a moment it felt a bit strange, sharing the breakfast table with real celebrities, but Mike and Janeen were so natural and down-to-earth, it was like sitting down with a regular couple from next door. There was not even a hint of snobbishness or arrogance here and all four of us had a delightful conversation.

For me it was very interesting because I myself have been making a transition into the creative / media field with my website, so it was very informative for me to listen to Mike and Janeen share their own stories of moving from acting in front in front of the camera to stepping behind the camera into directing and producing movie projects, a field where they had to prove themselves all over again. We also shared lots of laughs and parted, wishing each other good luck for our respective projects. Our encounter goes to show you that some of the stereotypes that we associate with celebrities often don’t apply and that fame doesn’t automatically inflate people’s egos. It was a real delight meeting Michael and Janeen, two successful, creative and down-to-earth people.

After breakfast I wanted to sit down a little with Deirdre and Henry Brost, the owners of the Twin Gables, to find out more about the background of this historic home and how it came to be this special bed and breakfast. Deirdre explained that in 1909 there was a big boom in Calgary and CP Rail owned all the land in the neighbourhood and decided to sell it off in lots. American investors wanted to call it American Hills, but CPR’s founder would not allow that. He decided to name the area Mount Royal, in keeping with making it the most exclusive area in Calgary.

The house itself was built between 1910 and 1912 by a lawyer, a certain Mr. Milliken, who had come to Calgary from Toronto. Due to the economic crisis following the 1929 stock market crash he lost the house to the bank in 1931 and a certain Wellington Walker, an entrepreneur also from Toronto, bought it in 1932 for $10,500. He was involved in the coal and cattle business and owned several sign shops. In 1965, at 91 years of age, he willed the house to his caregiver who turned it into a lodging house after his death. After she passed away in 1972 it remained a rooming house and slowly started to fall in disrepair.

The house’s previous owners, Marge and Tsak Rogers, are local artists who produce highly sought after paintings and they started renovating the house from top to bottom in 1976. In 25 years they gutted it and completely renovated all three floors. Henry & Deirdre bought the house about 4 years ago after they had already owned a bed and breakfast in the suburbs of Calgary. Deirdre wanted to move into the center of town where there would be demand for tourist accommodation all year round. It was a big step for both of them, and the taxes in the city proper were a significant increase in costs, but Deirdre loves the location. She said that this is the house she has always dreamed of owning.

Henry & Deirdre’s story of how they opened their B&B is rather amazing in itself: They took possession on a Saturday and their friends helped them move. On Sunday they unpacked their 3-bedroom house, on Monday the B&B inspector came, and Monday afternoon they were open for business. Sure enough that Monday evening they had their first guest.

They filled me in on a whole litany of renovation adventures: they added bathrooms to two of the three guest bedrooms. A big surprise hit them when they found out they had to rewire the whole house, but Henry, an expert electrician himself, rewired the house by leaving the walls and the historic wallpaper intact and installing wires from the floors above. They installed extra plugs, extra telephone wires and high-speed Internet access all throughout the house.

Another adventure befell them when their sewer pipe collapsed: they had several guests in the house when the clay pipe leading away from the house broke and a rather unpleasant liquid started backing up into the house. They had to get a work crew in with a back hoe and many thousands of dollars later they had not only a new sewer pipe, but also a new driveway and parking lot.

They also had to redo the chimney, and while they were at it they had to remove a family of squirrels. The chimney’s mortar had deteriorated and they had to redo the joints between the bricks. From 2004 to 2005 the house was completely repainted and holes behind the eavestroughs were fixed: it took 72 packets of silicon to fill in the cracks. Then they handwashed and painted the house. And all this had to be scheduled while the B&B was hosting a wide variety of guests. Both Deirdre and Henry say that owning an old house is like a moneypit, but they both love the house. Henry, always with a smile on his face, did virtually all the renovations and says he enjoyed them all. They even redid the entire garden, not surprising considering that Deirdre is an avid gardener.

Deirdre runs the bed and breakfast full-time while Henry helps her as much as he can, considering he is working full-time as an electrician. Deirdre said she had to train him not to snatch strips of bacon away from her B&B guests on his way to work. With a boyish smile on his face Henry says he has learned the rules of the house in the meantime and no longer grabs tasty morsels from the guests’ breakfast.

With all the renovations, Deirdre and Henry tried to preserve the outstanding architectural features of the house. The dining room has not changed at all, the wallpaper, furnishings and hand-moulded cornices are original to the house. The room also features a built-in mahogany china system. To this day, Twin Gables has a functional “maid call system” with bells to call the household help on every floor.

The parlour features a wall surround wallpaper with scenes of Hyde Park in London. Deirdre believes the wallpaper dates back to either the first or second owner. The first owner, Mr. Milliken, was friends with the Prince of Wales, who is said to have been here at the Twin Gables.

The living room and parlour feature original light fixtures with a copy of the original Edison lightbulbs. Certainly not the brightest lighting, but truly historic. The previous owners got the house designated as a provincially registered “historic resource” in 1984 because of the house’s historic arts and crafts style.

Twin Gables’s overseas guests mostly come from England, Scotland, Ireland as well as Germany and Holland. Of course they also see a lot of Ontarians, British Columbians and travelers from the United States. Off-season they get a lot of “urban romantics’” who are local Calgary residents, just trying to get away for a weekend of pampering and romance. They also see their fair share of business travellers, particularly during the week. Many of the travellers are teachers, doctors and lawyers, but they have even hosted NASA rocket scientists.

Overall they have had a really positive experience with their bed and breakfast and they have hardly ever had “the guests from hell”. The only thing that bugs them is when guests don’t come downstairs on time for breakfast or when they don’t show up at all. Freshly made breakfasts don’t taste that great a half hour later and Deirdre works hard to make sure her food tastes just right. She commented that she has truly found her niche in life and strives to deliver the best possible service. “Ï am here to serve”, she says, and Henry agrees, nodding with his characteristic smile.

All guest rooms are equipped with their own private bathrooms, telephone, and individual laptops with high speed access. Each room has a personal fridge and a coffee maker, and our suite had a wonderful Jacuzzi tub with a great view of the Calgary skyline.

Deirdre and Henry’s dedication to delivering a great B&B experience definitely shows.

For the entire article including photos please visit
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/calgary_twin_gables.htm

Hello From Sicily: My Italian Language Learning Adventure – Exploring The Beauty Of Sicily And Sailing Through The Eolian Islands

Sicily – the name alone conjures up images of an exotic island, a mysterious and fascinating past. I have wanted to explore Italy for some time now since I had not been there for a long, long time, and when I was pondering which region of Italy to explore Sicily came to mind. I figured this island would offer a combination of fascinating history, rich culture, scenic beauty, and an opportunity for a wide variety of activities. One activity I definitely wanted to pursue was to combine my journey with language studies: my earlier language study trips to Havana and Cuernavaca, Mexico, not only got me closer to the Spanish language, but these on-site language learning experiences really allowed me to explore the culture from within.

So this time I was going to focus on learning Italian, and I was able to locate two language schools in Sicily that would both provide a totally different experience and a different way of exploring the island. Armed with no prior knowledge other than having read through an Italian grammar book, I was going to see how much of this beautiful language I would pick up in my three weeks in Sicily.

My first eight days were spent in Taormina, a gorgeous mountain-top town on the eastern side of Sicily, whose main distinguishing feature is an ancient Greco-Roman Theatre that is still in use today. The town itself has to be among the most picturesque destinations anywhere, with its beautiful buildings, narrow streets and passageways and stunning views of Mount Etna and the Mediterranean.

Shortly after my arrival I got to meet the people at the Babilonia Language School where I would be learning Italian for a week and exploring the culture of Sicily. My accommodation was in a lovely 13-room privately owned hotel that has been operated by the Sciglio family for more than 50 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Sciglio are in their mid-eighties and continue to work extremely hard, without even a thought of retirement, and their son Salvatore works with them. In an interview I learned more about the hotel’s history and the family’s involvement in this business. On the second day I joined my first guided excursion with the Babilonia language school: a guided hike to the ancient village of Castelmola which was followed by a tasting of Sicilian delicacies in a local bistro.

My first weekend in Sicily promised to be great: an excursion to the ancient town of Siracusa and an exploration of the gorgeous coastline just east of Taormina, including the town of Mazzaro and Isola Bella. The following Monday was my first day of language studies: first we went through the placement test, and then we had our first lesson which included some unique yet effective teaching methods. The next day was May 1, Italian Labour Day and a national holiday: a perfect opportunity to rent a car and drive into the countryside surrounding Mount Etna, Europe’s largest volcano, which by the way, had erupted the night before.

The next day it was back to school, and Alessandro, the director of the Babilonia language school, gave me a personal history lesson about Sicily and also explained the origins of that famous Sicilian institution, the Mafia, to me in detail. That evening I joined in a cooking class in a private home offered by the language school. I was going to see first-hand how a real multi-course Italian meal was prepared, using authentic, locally grown ingredients. And of course, I would have a chance to taste the finished delicacies afterwards and partake of a nice meal with other language students and the local Ferrari family.

My language studies the next day were followed by a visit to a local pottery painting artist, as Babilonia also offers pottery decoration courses, in addition to hiking, biking, golfing and diving programs. Perched on the rooftop patio of a Taormina hotel, with a perfect view of an ancient palazzo right next to Mount Etna, I learned about Sicilian pottery painting techniques. In the late afternoon I joined another excursion to hike up the southern flanks of Mount Etna. A visit to a winery and a nice dinner followed.

Then I had reached my last day in beautiful Taormina and after my final language lessons it was time to say goodbye to the folks at Babilonia, and to my co-students, whom I had gotten quite fond of. With the exception of the occasionally grey and drizzly weather, my experience in Taormina had been great: the language learning, the interesting excursions and activities and the interaction with my international co-students had been a really great experience. I was a bit sad to leave Taormina where I had gotten so comfortable.

But a new adventure was about to begin: I took the train to Milazzo on the northeastern side of Sicily, where the next day I would embark on a seven-day sailing trip through the beautiful Eolian Islands, offered by Laboratorio Linguistico, a Milazzo-based Italian language school. After meeting some of my six shipmates, who were really cool by the way, we were off on our sailboat, the 4 cabin “Solitaire II”, to our first destination: the island of Lipari, the largest of the Eolian Islands, and an extremely scenic place.

Our expert skipper Francesco, a licensed captain, also happened to be the co-owner of the language school, and one of our two resident language teachers on this sailing trip. After Lipari we continued our sailing trip to Salina, a neighbouring island, where three of us went on a driving tour to see local villages and also the house where “Il Postino” was filmed. An Italian lesson on the backyard patio of a bar was our first introduction to Laboratorio Lingustico’s language teaching program. Of course Francesco and Franco, our second teacher and co-owner of the school, conducted all conversations during the entire sailing trip in Italian only, which allowed us to be fully immersed in the language all the time. After we had nourished our brains, a Sicilian seafood feast capped off our second day on the boat.

On the third day we set sail for the island of Stromboli, which is still an active volcano. The town of Stromboli features such narrow streets that they are impassable to regular vehicles. No wonder the local “carabinieri” (Italian police officers) have to ride in golf carts.

After a somewhat turbulent late-night voyage from Stromboli to Panarea we arrived late and anchored in a bay off the island. On a gorgeous morning the next day we first had another language lesson – where else but on the outdoor patio of a bar in Panarea, surrounded by gorgeous sunshine and beautiful flowers. Panarea is an extremely photogenic destination and offered great opportunities for hobby photographers like me.

Our voyage continued to Lipari again where we would end an eventful day with a scrumptious outdoor feast on the main square. The next day three of us went on a driving tour of this beautiful island and from the south end we already saw our next destination: the island of Vulcano, which also features an active volcano. We anchored in a bay off this island, enjoyed some Italian lessons on the boat and after a delicious on-board dinner, our shipmates Franco, a gifted guitar player, and Agnieszka, a talented singer, entertained us with soulful melodies by candlelight on the back of the boat – magical moments that I will not forget for a long time.

Then our final day on the boat arrived: we hiked up to the “Gran Cratere”, the active crater of Vulcano. Yellow rocks and thick clouds of sulphur announced that the forces of geology were indeed active right underneath our feet. And the view from the top over the six other Eolian Islands was breathtaking. After another Italian lesson on an outdoor patio overlooking the Mediterranean we had to say goodbye to the Eolian Islands and start to head back to Milazzo.

Just as I thought our 7 day sailing trip would come to an anticlimactic end, one of my shipmates announced “DOLPHINS!!!”, and indeed four of these playful sea creatures were accompanying our sailboat, jumping in and out of the water, and having fun with us. The excitement continued when we ended up catching three tunas on a fishing line we had been dragging behind our boat. The following decapitation and evisceration scene though was a bit hard on my tender vegetarian soul…

So we had reached land, and to celebrate the conclusion of a wonderful sailing trip and one of my shipmates’ birthdays we enjoyed another big Sicilian feast in Capo di Milazzo. The next day, we had a chance to relax a bit in our five-bedroom apartment conveniently located above the Laboratorio Linguistico Language School and do simple things like laundry and sit on the balcony. Franco, our language teacher took us on a guided walk of Milazzo which features a huge fortification that dates back more than 1000 years.

After saying goodbye to my roommate Claudia I spent my final Sunday in Sicily in the picturesque medieval town of Cefalu, about a two-hour train ride from Milazzo. That city’s medieval core and huge Norman cathedral together with the ruins of an ancient castle on top of the rock that towers over the town left me with many vibrant treasured memories. Now I only had two full days left in Sicily.

Following a tour of the Milazzo headquarters of Laboratorio Linguistico I went on a country excursion into the surrounding Nebrodi Mountains with my two Italian teachers Francesco and Franco. We visited the Rocks of Agrimusco, a cluster of mysterious-looking rocks on a high plateau with a gorgeous view of Mount Etna. Then we headed into the hilltop town of Montalbano Elicona, an authentic small Sicilian town, completely untouched by tourism. I finally had a chance to snap some pictures of the locals who love to congregate next to the church and discuss important issues of the day.

My final day in Sicily had arrived – I had to say goodbye to the great team at Laboratorio Linguistico and board the bus towards Messina and from there to Catania from where I would catch a plane in the early morning the next day. After my arrival in the late afternoon I had a chance to briefly explore this city, the second-largest city in Sicily, and get ready for my flight home.

On this trip I found out that Sicily is gorgeous, and a visit in the late spring around April / May is perfect since everything is in full bloom and the hoards of tourists do not really arrive until June, July and August. Sicily has remained amazingly authentic and is fortunately free of many of the signs of mass tourism that mar other Mediterranean coastlines.

Taormina and the Eolian Islands are all stunning destinations, but the Sicilian hinterland in itself holds many hidden treasures. The history, architecture, culture and scenic beauty are astounding. And seafood lovers will definitely fall in love with this destination.

I myself really enjoyed the language learning experience at Babilonia and Laboratorio Linguistico – as a matter of fact, my three weeks in Italy took me all the way up to Intermediate level and when I came back I was quite capable of communicating fairly competently in this new language.

The people were great: the staff at both language schools was very helpful and knowledgeable, and the interaction with my co-students from all different countries was a real treat. Our crew on the sailboat in particular came together really nicely and some close personal bonds had developed after this experience.

Without a doubt, language study travel is one of the best forms of travel in my opinion, giving you the chance to learn, to expand your mind, and to really discover the local culture. And without a doubt I’ll be back in Sicily – this fascinating island has so much more to explore.

This entire article including photos is located at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/sicily_2007.htm