Seeing Sicily with the family (no not that family).

Only a few times in a trip do you experience something so remarkable that you know immediately it will become one of the enduring memories of the trip. One that really reminds you why you saved your pennies for months, quit your job, flew half way around the world and then lived out of a suitcase for months. Often it’s something you can’t buy, but comes from lucky timing or the generosity of other people. Staying in Sicily with Kelly’s Sicilian family would prove to be one of those experiences.

Stepping off the train in Catania we were greeted by Connie and Ottavio, Kelly’s 2nd or 3rd (or 4th or 5th) cousins who lived in Sicily. This was an unusual occurrence to us and a sign of things to come. Nothing would be too much for Kelly’s Sicilian relatives over the next 7 days. Saying they pride themselves on their hospitality just doesn’t really go far enough. Everything was taken care of and it became virtually impossible to pay for anything. Either the family had already paid or the shopkeeper, hairdresser (Kel took the opportunity to get her hair cut with the help of Connie who could translate) or hotelier would simply refuse to accept our cash. It seemed everyone knew everyone in Sicily and as we were family, no money need change hands. (Photo - Family "Welcome" gathering)

Despite the idea to bridge the small stretch of Mediterranean ocean between mainland Italy and Sicily being around for 5 years, plans have currently been shelved in preference for more important spending. Spanning 3.6 Km it would be the largest suspension bridge in the world and no doubt keep the mostly mafia owned construction industry busy for a good twenty years. Nothing it seems happens quickly in Sicily. So with no bridge to aid our crossing we took the train, which is then loaded, carriage by carriage, into the bowels of a ferry for the short trip across to Sicily. Thus we took the beautiful crossing on a train stuck in a boat with no windows and plenty of diesel fumes. However, despite this and the assurances of a late arrival by our Sicilian hosts, the train arrived in Catania on time. We were quickly whisked away to our hotel for the week to shower and await the arrival of the rest of the Australian Familia (Kelly’s Mum, Dad and Brother) who were flying in from London.
(Photo - Valley of the Temples, Agrigento)

The next 7 days would be a relaxing mix of food, family history, food, archaeological sites, food and Sicilian history. Kelly and I welcomed the opportunity to handover the day to day decisions of travelling to someone else for a while. We had accommodation, transport and activities largely organised for a whole week, more than we’d ever had organised the entire trip so far. We visited ancient Greek ruins, hunted down Kelly’s grandfathers house in a rural Sicilian hill town (see next post), and explored Catania, everyday finishing with a delicious feast of Sicilian food at a relatives home. The week was a rare and wonderful glimpse into Sicilian culture, an experience usually so hard to find as a tourist. (Photo - Sicilian home cooked food)