Italy from the Inside

Our 8 day trip in Sicily. First day: Erice, San Vito lo Capo, Monreale (and back to Erice).

I discovered Sicily more than 20 years ago and immediately fell in love with it. We were still living in the B.I. age (Before Internet age) and I had to rely on books and guides to make our itinerary. The result was that after almost a week we weren’t able to see as much as we had planned to (maybe also because we were younger and lazier…).

So when this year we decided to make a family trip to Sicily, I admit my hopes were quite low: Sicily is a big island and with so many things to see that I strongly doubted we could check off and visit all the “items on the list”. Especially considering that we were a group of 9 people (ranging in age from 9 to 79). However, to my amazement, we did it. And we even did more than we planned to! These are the memories we want to share with you.

First day:

Erice

Erice

We arrived in Trapani very late the night before. At the airport, we rented a minivan for 9 people and went straight to our hotel, Hotel Erice Valle in Valderice. Therefore when the first day of our tour began, we were already on Sicilian land. We had breakfast at 8am and left at 9am (this became our – strict- daily routine). The first stop was Erice. Erice is a medieval town on the top of a mountain from where you can enjoy a spectacular view over Trapani. The town is very small, we visited it in less that two hours, however it is definitely worth a visit.

San Vito lo Capo

San Vito lo Capo

Our next stop was San Vito lo Capo, known for its beautiful beach.

After the kids played with the sand and bathed in the sea (which is something only they can do when the water is still freaking cold), we ate a pizza by the beach and headed to the airport of Palermo to pick up Paolo, who was coming from the States.

Monreale

Monreale

Then we headed for Monreale where we arrived around 4.30pm, still in time to visit the Cathedral with its stunning mosaics and the Abbey with its magnificent cloister. From Monreale you can also enjoy a nice view of Palermo.

Our last goal for the day was to go back to Erice, mainly for two reasons: first, I wanted Paolo to see it; second, we wanted to experience the cable car. And so we did: 6 of us went back to Erice by cable car, while the rest of the group drove up the hill. We visited Erice by night, had a delicious (but creeping expensive) dinner and then returned to the hotel.

PS
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Our first school reports: how the kids are doing after 6 months in an Italian school

Pagella

I’m a very proud Mom. Really proud. I knew this school experience would have been hard for the kids, but to be honest, I didn’t expect the first school reports to be this good. Not because I don’t trust my kids’ abilities, but because I know that Italian schools are very demanding compared to the American ones.

For example, Silvia’s schedule is identical to the one she had last year in 6th grade: Monday through Friday, 6 periods each day. But while in the States she was done with her homework in 20-30 minutes at the most, here it takes her the whole afternoon to do it. And we are talking about 3-4 hours every day. If you add to this the fact that periodically they have a lot of tests and “interrogazioni” (where the teacher calls you out, and ask you questions in front of the class), you can imagine the scope of the pressure for a kid coming from abroad and who is not used to this system.

Obviously she had a very though time in the beginning, but since she is a very diligent and organized student, she never gave up, even when she was down and kept asking me why I threw her into such a situation (needless to say that my explanations and attempts to comfort her were useless).

So, when I went to retrieve her school report and heard the professor say that, considering the situation, she was doing great, I was thrilled. And happy to see that her efforts paid off.

Alessio also did an excellent job, to my surprise I have to say, since every day I have to beg him to do his homework and, most of all, concentration is not his forte. However, he has this superb ability to learn quickly and remember even the smallest detail just by listening.

So, if I think back to the first day of school when Silvia returned home with tears in her eyes and I felt a thousand doubts falling all over me, wondering if I was doing the right thing, now I can say that we made the right decision. I still keep telling them that this experience is a privilege that only a few kids have and that they’ll understand its benefits only when they’ll be older. They say I’m wrong, but I know, in my heart, that one day they’ll agree with me and they’ll thank Paolo and I for doing this. For now, I thank them for being such bravi ragazzi.

How to make a Focaccia alla Cipolla e Rosmarino in about 20 minutes

Focaccia alla cipolla e rosmarino

Focaccia is a kind of thick pizza which is usually topped with herbs and other ingredients such as onion, cheese and some kind of vegetables. Focaccia is a very popular snack that many Italians eat “on the go”. Check any bakery and try a piece, you won’t regret it!

-1 ready pizza dough
-1/2 onion
-1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-Salt

Pre-heat the oven to 425° and heat the olive oil in a skillet. Cut the onion into thin slices and cook them in the oil until they become golden. In the meantime roll out the pizza dough on a parchment sheet and put it on a baking tray. When the onion slices are ready, spread them on the dough and place it into the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes (check the base of the pizza by lifting the parchment sheet to see if it is ready), remove from the oven and add the dried rosemary along with some salt (preferably coarse salt).