a friendly visit

My friend Ana and her friend flew from Spain to Sicily for a visit :) We mostly relaxed and caught up on old times while sitting on the beach and going to yummy dinners. It was really nice having another familiar face here to keep us company. While they were here I was able to meet some really nice girls, one was Italian and said she can teach me Italian!

Aci Trezza

Pizza at Rosso Pomodoro

dinner in Catania

Siracusa

relaxing at the beach

Favignana - Egadi Islands

Gene and I took Nick over to Palermo for a night where we were able to go inside the Massimo Opera House. They were doing tours for a charge, but the doors were open so we snuck inside for a peak :) The next day we drove an hour to Trapani where we took an 8 Euro ferry to the island of Favignana. Favignana is part of the Egadi islands which are part of Sicily. We were absolutely amazed by its beauty. The islands water is so blue that it looks fake. We rented 3 scooters and spent 3 days motoring around the island which was second best to the beautiful water. The first day I took a fall on the scooter which bruised my hand and knee pretty good. After I got the hang of it we had a blast and went from beach to beach all day every day (the hard life). Spring flowers were in full bloom which made the scenery even more breathtaking, but the water was a little chilly. It was hard saying goodbye, but we came home with a lot more sun and some good memories.

Teatro Massimo - Palermo

inside the opera house

going to dinner in Palermo

arriving to the island!

our hotel

renting scooters :)

first stop on the scooters

Blue Marino, the prettiest beach on the island

Blue Marino

Blue Marino

stopping for directions

first day, a little cloudy

my very own scooter!

already needed some gas

the castle of Favignana

getting some sun at Blue Marino

first time in the water

"tunnel beach" the most comfortable to lay out at

"tunnel beach" not sure what the name of this beach is, but there is a tunnel next to it :)

Siracusa and Gambino Winery

Yesterday we all went to Siracusa and enjoyed some beautiful weather. We stopped at the Greek and Roman amphitheaters and then went to Ortygia to see the city and the church built around a Greek Temple in the middle of the piazza. Today the boys went kayaking in the morning and then we went to Gambino winery to enjoy some wine and food.

Siracusa

caves in Siracusa

Roman Amphitheater

soccer game in Siracusa

castle in Siracusa

having a glass of wine in Siracusa

boys kayaking in Acitrezza

Gambino winery

Agrigento

going to a nice fish dinner in Acitrezza

fried calamari

spaghetti with clams

various fresh grilled fish 

swordfish

lunch in Agrigento, Valley of the Temples

group shot :)

Greek catacombs

trying real hard to push the column over :)

smoking ribs