Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Sicily is FAMOUS

Whytney is in Sicily today and only has 20 days to go - less than three weeks!  I really hope that she is able to go to Sicily today and experience the Sicilian culture and landscape.  In searching for information about Sicily, I found that it has 10 things that it is famous for and I wanted to share those.  I was able to locate this information at www.investsicily.com - great website - check it out!

1. Sicilian Red Wines – Some of the best red wines in the world come from Sicily and what makes many Sicilian wines so great is that some of them are grown on the Etna. The Etna with its volcanic soil on the hills of the Etna, means that the land is far more fertile and this enables the wines to have that extra special bite.


2. Mafia - Films such as the Godfather make many people worldwide fascinated by the mafia. Sicilians for the most part, do not hold the same affection for the mafia and often do not understand the adultation of them. If you are interested in the mafia though, there are some tours you can do in cities such as Palermo on the West coast.

3. Arancini - is a real Sicilian food and one which is perfect as a snack style food. It is not the healthiest of foods but you have to eat to enjoy sometimes. Arancini is fried and it is basically a ball of rice with pieces of meet in it.
4. Etna - has to be one of most well known things about places in Sicily and this is a treasure that Sicilians are very proud of. The Etna offers skiing in the winter and it there are also some beautiful villages located on the hills of the Etna.
5. Capers - If you go onto onto one or two of the Aeolian Islands, particularly on Salina island, you can pick capers. Capers are a type of flower which grow on the side of rocks and which taste perfect with food, including with many pasta dishes. The best way to preserve the capers in salt, to keep the flavour.
6. Taormina - has to be one of the coolest and classiest villages in the whole of Italy. The annual film festival attracts stars from worldwide and how many beaches do you know of that you can get a cable car down to from the main village. Taormina is a truly scenic and lovely village on the Eastern coast of Sicily.
7. Sicilian Ice cream - which is also known as gelato is very good in Sicily, with some interesting flavours including my favourite, jasmine (gelsomino). Another icy alternative and very popular in Sicily is granita. Granita is a flavoured ice crush.
8. Cannoli - is yet another Sicilian food and one which is much loved in Sicily, Italy. This pastry like food, filled with a a sugary type filling and a sheep's milk cream called ricotta, is a popular dessert in the bars of Catania, Palermo and across Sicily.
9. Island Living - Sicily is the biggest Mediterranean island and it is very much an island style of living. Many Sicilians see themselves as independent of mainland Italy, although when the Italian national team are playing, Sicilians are as Italian as anyone.
10. Agrigento is known in many countries and is famous for its greek temples.


Whytney would probably enjoy several of these top tens!  I hope that she has had an amazing day in Sicily and is as excited as we are about her fast approaching return home.....tomorrow she will be at sea and as always will face a challenging a busy day.  Are prayers remain with you.

LUM&L

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