ITALY // 01

 Hey guys!

Bella and I have just been looking through our combined photos from our Italy trip in September/October last year. I had forgotten how absolutely picturesque it was! These photos are all from Sicily, particularly the areas around Catania, Noto and Etna regions. 

As there were nine of us, we decided to rent a villa in the countryside - which I can highly recommend to get the local experience. We are all pretty intense cooks, so we took turns buying ingredients from the local fruit markets and 'alimentary', putting some of our newly-found Italian cooking skills to use. We shared our meals around one of four big communal tables. On arrival, we were welcomed by olives trees along the walkway from the car port to the stairs and an excellent view of Mt Etna in the West and the sea stretching far in the East. 

 We enjoyed delicious granita (a specialty shaved ice drink in Sicily, flavoured with fresh fruit, nuts or coffee) and gelato every day. Some of the best things we did in Sicily while we there, were day trips including 4WD/hiking Mt Etna (even though it is an active volcano!!) and exploring Taormina and the beautiful pebble beaches such as Isola Bella. We also tried some of the weird and wonderful street foods in Palermo (think arancine and chargrilled lamb intestines - which are surprisingly tasty), finishing off with a swim in the deep blue water of the Noto nature reserve and an aperitivo as we watched the sun give way to a midnight-blue sky over the San Francesco d'Assisi all'Immacolata church. Hope you enjoy some memories below! 

Alex and Bella xx