(Written Thursday, Aug 14)

I arrived in Sicily to an erupting Mt. Etna. Beautiful. Giulia and her dad picked me up at the airport and her dad gave me a fresh orange juice slush made from his oranges in his garden. So fresh. We drove around an hour to their house on the sea. We stopped to take pictures of the lava flowing from the volcano at dusk. Incredible.

I got a quick house tour… You can see the sea from the terrace on the top floor of Giulia’s house. Awesome.

And then I entered a scene from the Sicilian version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding… Minus the wedding. Giulia’s dad is the Sicilian version of the Greek dad in that movie, I’ve decided. “Do you like wine?.. We have the best in Sicily!” “Do you like cheese? You see, pecorino is our specialty.” “Sicily is the best.” “Pizza is not Sicilian – it’s no good. Sicilian fish is the best.” “Ah you like lemons?.. Let me show you my lemon tree!” “Oh peaches?… Yes, here, try this… It’s Sicilian”.

And then I got offered SOOO much food. It was all delicious, but I jut get full so easily. I ate as much as I could without popping. Stuffed squid. Swordfish. Fresh tuna from a guy who caught it that morning. Peppers. Olives. Bread. This kind of fruit and that. Pecans… Oh, ya, and at least 5 different kinds of alcohol. Wine. Liquor. Home made liquor.

After dinner, … Oh, I should mention that dinner was at 9pm, and by the time we finished it was nearly 10:30 … Giulia’s best friend, Rosella, came and met us, and the 3 of us went to Savoca – and old historic town… And also where some of the godfather was filmed.

That was pretty cool, but I was EXHAUSTED by the time we got home after like 1am. I can already tell you I’m not made for this late Italian night life…

Today we explored Taormina nearby, including an ancient greek ampitheater that’s still used for tragic plays on weekends. Afterwards, we took a gondola to the sea and spend the afternoon on the rocky beach and sparkling water. Wow.

Tomorrow is a huge holiday. Something about Mary and her ascension that I don’t understand. So the celebrations start tonight. After dinner, I’ll go to an all-night party on the beach in front of Giulia’s house with some of her friends. We’ll run into the sea together at midnight and then “sleep” out on the beach… At least until we decide to migrate back inside to the comfort of a bed. 🙂 then tomorrow afternoon, we’ll go to a huge festival type celebration in nearby Messina.