Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Ricci, ricci


Ciao ragazzi!  

Another beautiful day here in Mazara. Yesterday began at about noon, with Francesco pounding on my door to wake up.  We have been staying up pretty late, and I think that jet lag finally hit.

We did some more shopping for the party, then met Claudia's sister and her family at their lido for a quick dip in the ocean.  The water is nice, maybe around 75 degrees, and that woke me up.

After that, we headed to another beach that was a bit rocky, but with deeper water and had a nice lunch.  The fish was really fresh, and grilled with olive oil, herbs and delicious with a squeeze of lemon.
Following lunch, we took another dip in the ocean, and this time, we were hunting for "ricci," or sea urchin.  That was a lot of fun, using a snorkel and mask.  First, Francesco's friend Georgio's girlfriend, whose nickname is also "ricci," which means curly, was the first one to catch a riccio.

You have to dive down and run your hands through the kelp until you feel the spines, then grab on, not too tight but not too loose, then bring to the surface.

Of course, after she and Francesco both came up with ricci, I had to go grab one too, and now have a few scars to show for it :).


Francesco cracked open the ricci and we ate them right there on the beach; a bit salty and sweet.

After the beach, we headed home for a quick shower and change, then it was off to the airport in Trapani, to pick up Claudia's friend on her way in from Rome.

We grabbed Annalisa, then all headed to a cool spot in Marsala (yes, famous for the sweet wine) for an aperitivo.  It was a really cool spot with salt flats and windmills that are actually functional and used to process/mill the salt.

There was a group of about ten of us, and we watched the sunset while a cover band played Sting and Pink Floyd songs such as...."I 'has' become comfortably numb."  In all, a great spot with a beautiful sunset.

Following our aperitivo in Marsala, we headed out about thirty minutes or so, past Trapani, up the hill to the small town of Erice.  We hopped on a funicular (I even got the discounted rate for Sicilians) and went up the to the top of the mountain which is the cobblestone paved part of this medieval town, said to have been founded by Aeneas.

We walked around the town, which was actually really crowded with tourists, and for that reason, could not find anywhere to eat.  There were nine of us, and finally we settled in at a sort of touristy spot in the main center.  I had my first pizza this trip, with melanzane (eggplant) and Parmesan, which was pretty good, not the best but far from "una gran cagata," as Franceco described the place.

After dinner, they insisted I try the "genovese," which would mean from Genoa, nowhere near us, but apparently also a locally delicacy of Erice.  It was a light, chantilly cream filled tart.

We had to catch the last funicular back by 1:00 am, and get down to the car where the kind gentlemen were "watching our vehicle" for a small fee to make sure nothing happened.  As explained to me, everyone pays that fee, up to you how much you leave to make sure nothing happens.  Fortunately, the car was intact and we made the hour drive back to Mazara.

It was 2:00 am by the time we arrived, bit Franceco and I had to pick up ice and alcohol from Gianlucca's bar for the Feragosto party the next day.  We did that, stopped to chat for a while and by about 4:00 am, it was time to call it a night.  Until domani, ragazzi...

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