Ice Cream You Scream

Today began at about noon with a stand up at the bar caffe macchiato, followed by a trip to Lido Kikis where we met up with Claudia and her family.

Then, it was five minutes by Vespa over to Lido La Playa for some chilling out and a few dips in the ocean.

For lunch, I had an "insalatona" or big salad, with lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella, corn and prosciutto.

We hung around La Playa until about 6:30 pm, then Francesco wanted to take me to his favorite ice cream spot in Mazara, called Mucho Gusto (which is actually Spanish).  It's an artisan ice cream shop along the water, and, no, burgers were not on the menu.

With some counseling from Ciccio, I opted for the tri-fecta of dark chocolate, baci (hazelnut chocolate) and fior de latte (cream).  It was definitely good, and Francesco was very curious to know which I liked better.  Agreed, the gelato here was more firmly packed and dense as compared to Claudia's spot in the city center, but I preferred hers, which I found creamier.  Anyway, both delicious.  Milly and Niccola thought so as well.

Okay ragazzi, that's all for now!  Time to head to dinner then out for a bit after that.  Hopefully you are having a great Friday and ready for the weekend!

...that's amore

Last night was a gorgeous evening in Mazara, with the moon peeking out over the buildings as we dined at a popular pizzeria near the city center.

Choosing a pizza can be difficult business due to so many tempting options.  I decided to go with one called the Uomini e Donne (Men and Women), which was topped with mozzarella, melanzane (eggplant), salami piccante, funghi freschi (mushrooms) and shaved scaglie (Parmesan).  This pie did not let me down.

 

There was a big group of us dining al fresco, and I grabbed one of the servers to snap a photo as we finished up.

Also, I had to snap one of my gracious hosts in Mazara, Fran and Claudia.

After dinner, at about midnight, we all took a nice stroll around the casbah, or ancient Arab quarter of the city.  In 2010, this area was partially restored, and there are some beautiful little streets and piazze.

Finishing up our stroll, which lasted about an hour, we ended up back in the center to chat with friends until about 2:30 am.  Mazara was still going strong, but we decided to call it a night, for another day of sun and sand awaited.

Torretta and Pozzitello

It is hard to say when today began and yesterday ended, since it was 6:00 am by the time I went to sleep.

I shut my eyes and what seemed like ten minutes later (in reality it was 2:30 pm), Franceco was banging on the door "Come on man, let's go."

We were already late for lunch at his parents' house.  Cruising over on the Vespa, we were greeted by his parents.  His aunt and uncle and sister also joined.

The primo piatto (first course) was linguine with a Sicilian pesto, which is red and made with almonds, as opposed to the Genovese pesto which is green and with pine nuts.  The pasta is served al dente with some freshly grated ricotta salata on top.

Our second course was a trio of grilled "maiale," or pork, including pancetta, chop and sausage.  And on the side, it was a make your own bruschetta with some ripe tomatoes, garlic and basil.  Everything is prepared with simple ingredients, just a touch of rosemary from the garden to garnish the meat.

This was accompanied by a nice bottle of Montepulciano, and a simple dessert of "angurie," sliced watermelon which are grown here in Mazara.

This guy here, Oliver, was begging for bite, but it was so good I just couldn't let him have any of my lunch.  Sorry bud!

After lunch, we hopped on the Vespa and headed out to another beach in a place called Pozzitello, but not before stopping in a small beach town called Torretta for a quick coffee and photo opp.  I would say that the view doesn't suck.

Pozzitello is very windy, and evidently one of the top places in Italy for kite surfing.  We watched the kite surfers and hung out on the beach for a few hours.  Everyone was still pretty tired from the night before, Francesco's friend Pippo with a few small bruises to show from his spill during our late night impromptu basketball game (No no no!  Not in my house!!).

Around 7:00 pm, it was time to head out.  On the way back, we all stopped in Torreta again.  Many of the group had not eaten, and opted for the typical Sicilian summer "colazione," or breakfast, of lemon granita and brioche.  I went with another coffee, and got some help translating this phrase from Napoleon, extolling the beauty and benefits of strong coffee.  I'm right there with you little buddy.

Here's a shot of me, Ciccio (Francesco) and Pippo (Giussepe), who didn't seem to harbor any bad feelings about his fall :).

And now, ragazzi, while I should have been napping, I am going to take ten minutes and shower, because Franceco will be back in a few to pick me up and we will head out for the evening.  I am guessing it may be an early one...you know, back by 3:30 or 4:00 type of early.  Ciao for now!

Pool Party

Hello ragazzi!  How was your day?

Well, Feragosto was a success.  We had a nice time at the pool party.  Franceco and I arrived to set up at about 4:00 pm, then a quick coffee and dip in the ocean before the festivities began.  Here's a pic of me, getting my game face on, resting up a bit before the big night.  Can you tell I've been getting some sun? :).

We started with some calcio di tavola, or foosball, and man are these guys good.  When I played, my team almost got mercy-ruled, losing 10-3.

Drinks were on ice, and the food on the table.  The evening consisted of various dips in the pool with games of keep away and lots of eating and drinking.  Mostly just small bites here and there.

Here's one of the group of guys, all close friends of Francesco since childhood in Mazara.  It has been great getting to know these guys a bit, who now live all over Italy and come home to Mazara for a few weeks every year in the summer.  Some of them, like Niccola, I had met in Bologna, but others just this week.  All have varying levels of English, and I have been able to practice my Italian a bit during this trip.

Here is another of Team Mojito in action.  At about 1:00 am, the mojito making began, lasting through the end of the evening and into the early morning.  

Franceco drove me home on his scooter at about 5:30 am, complaining how cold it was outside...mind you, about 70 degrees with a light breeze, really just perfect but I suppose brisk for Sicily in the summer.

Stop! Feragosto time.

Today started a bit late, with Francesco banging on my door at 1:00 pm.  It was a quick dip in the ocean, followed by a macchiato with Claudia and Annalisa.  The sea here is beautiful and the water is shallow several hundred feet out.

After that, it was party prep time for Feragosto.  Francesco and I headed to his parents' house to pick up ice and other supplies.  Did you think his mama was going to let us leave without eating? After a nice caprese with some local olives, pomodori secchi (sundried tomatoes) some pecorino and pecorino prima sale (actually a lot like pepper jack!), tabouleh (which is common here due to the Arab influence) and a beer, we were all set.

Then, it was time to head over to the piscina for party prep, which included cutting a bunch of lemons (limes are cost prohibitive here since they have to be imported) for mojitos...which are quite popular in Italy.

Here is a photo of Ricci, blowing up a kiddie pool, to be filled with ice and used to hold the beer...not unlike a tactic we would use in Beta, subbing beer for goldfish.  And what about Niccola, does he look like he's ready to party?

Francesco is now busy making things happen, making sure everything is in place, as it is only a few more hours before this place is teeming with people.

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...