Did I mention that it was our anniversary yesterday ?   Thank you all for your auguri (congratulations) !  We had a wonderful day celebrating.  We slept in late (which is becoming the standard...),  took a beautiful drive to Marsala and Trapani, and travelled  along the "via del sale"...the salt road.  The salt pans, as they're called, are collection basins from which windmills would collect and process salt.  Although the process is automated now, the windmills still stand...Don Quixote would have had a field day !

We had a lovely anniversary dinner of pizza (for an appetizer, of course), and the best pastas we've ever had...mine was spaghetti con pesto trapanese made with a pistacchio sauce, and Joe's was a pasta called busiata with shrimp and lobster...incredible !  The woman at the table next to us was celebrating her birthday...when she heard that it was our anniversary, she sent over a slice of her birthday cake for us to share...another new friend is made !

Speaking of food - which we seem to do pretty often - we had two great picnics the day before (I think it was Wednesday, but can't be sure of anything at this point...).  Our lunch was a take out order of spiedini - chicken rolled up with ham, cheese, and artichokes in it, then breaded and skewered with peppers...yum and yum.  For dinner, we had "fast food"...in this case, it means cooked to order by the chef while you wait...we had pasta con salmone (pasta with salmon and caviar !),  and cozze in lemone (mussels in a lemon and garlic sauce).  There had to be 50 or so mussels !  I repeat: yum and yum !  The cost of that gourmet fast food was less then $20.00.  While we were waiting for it, the chef came out of the kitchen with a small appetizer for us...chick pea fritters fried in olive oil...a specialty of the area.  It's so easy to eat well for very little money here, we're getting quite spoiled...

Today, we made an appointment at a winery nearby - Rapitala - we had a private tour and tasting of their best vintage Chardonnay and Syrah ( 100 % Syrah...)...both incredible.  Lucia, our hostess, was also one of the oeneologists...luckily, she spoke excellent English and it was a real pleasure to spend the time with her...she could not have been more accomodating...we hugged and kissed (of course) when we left, and we invited her to visit us in the US - you never know... The roads leading to the winery were the twisty, turny, one laners that Joe loves to drive...too much fun...

The countryside here is absolutely stunning...pictures do not do it justice...wildflowers in bloom line the roads and sheep dot the hillsides.  Workers are burning vine cuttings from the fields permeating the air with a perfume like no other.  Ah, Sicilia !

More to follow soon....
Chris and her gourmand husband