Friday, September 27, 2013

Friends, Food, and Vino

After we moved out of our apartment we had our last dinner with our landlord. Our landlord is a trip...but a really nice guy! He works at the Aci Trezza fish market and gets the freshest fish. He BBQ Mahi Mahi and made us lasagna. It was absolutely amazing. Every night for the last week we went to dinner with our friends. It was not very kind to my body but was delicioso! Our favorite was Il Cantiniere. It is a great restaurant/wine bar. They have over 40,000 bottles of wine in this restaurant. We went for dinner one night and wine tasting and appetizers another night. It is 10 Euro for unlimited wine (150 different bottles to choose from) and appetizers...my kind of place! 

getting the fish ready


and the rain came



starting out with some prosecco at Il Cantiniere

with Liz and Julio








learning about wine :)





dinner at Il Cantiniere...starting with an Italian meat and cheese platter for an appetizer



delicious pasta

Karina Liz Me




Thursday, September 26, 2013

Last few weeks in Sicily

During our last few weeks living in Sicily we were extremely busy! Between eating at our favorite restaurants and seeing places for the last time we barely had time to plan for our move. The movers showed up on September 19. We had 3 different types of movers in and out of our apartment all day. First the regular movers showed up to pack up our regular household goods. There were 8 Italian men strolling around the house, not moving too fast :) After about 30 minutes of packing it was time for a smoke break/breakfast break. In Sicily it is custom to purchase all food/water for the movers. I bought a lot of water, soda, American snacks, and Italian "tavola calda" which is hot prepared snacks from the cafe. The movers were very appreciative. They were even "able" to pack up some of my things that were not allowed. During the overseas move you are not allowed to bring liquids, spices, food, or jewelry. Since I have aquired a lot of nailpolish and spices I couldn't throw them away :) The movers were kind enough to look the other way. Next the express shipment movers showed up. Since it takes months to get everything we are allowed 800 lbs. of household goods to be express shipped so we have things when we arrive in Florida. We packed towels, kitchen supplies, clothes, and anything we may need right away. Our next pack up was the most important of all...the vino! Unfortunately the move came up on us sooner than we had expected and didn't collect as much wine as we had hoped. So we left with 90 bottles. It isn't much after time, but it is better than nothing! I have searched the States for my favorite Sicilian wines and have had no luck :( I guess I will have to go back to Sicily for visits.

After the movers left we packed up our car with any possessions we still had and our 2 kitties. We are officially homeless! Usually we would move into the Navy Lodge on base, but our friends Liz and Julio were awesome and let us stay with them. We moved in with our kitties and were still in Aci Trezza so we could enjoy our last week in our own town.

hanging out in Catania


buying some fresh roasted coffee to take back


market in Catania




Gene eating his favorite Indian food in Catania, Dahl Puri


the green oranges were really good!


The movers have arrived!!!!




I will miss that apartment ;(


that is one long hallway filled with LOTS of stuff




we moved into Liz and Julios...this is their amazing view!

Mr. Stripes loves the view too!



oh Tiny...the kitties adjusted so well