Now that Todd finally has some leave accumulated, and since
my sister Suzanne and company are leaving mid-July, we decided to check
RyanAir’s schedule to find exotic destinations on the cheap.
 |
| Ready for adventure |
As Todd’s favorite cuisine is Italian, Italy beckoned. Even better, Sicily, the island at the toe of
Italy’s boot with its bad-boy reputation as the mafia stronghold, seemed like
the ideal place to eat well. We bought
the tickets (60 euros round-trip) and booked a villa in the lesser-traveled
southern part of Sicily.
 |
| Cathdral of Modica |
We arrived late one Wednesday night to a villa that was half
romantic medieval palace, half grandma’s creepy Munster mansion. The flickering fluorescent lights jammed into
the cobwebby chandeliers did little to enhance the pictures of dead relatives
and jampacked 50-year-old décor and doilies, and I watched my sister for her
reaction—a dead giveaway when she said nothing at all. “This is so—interesting!” said Ethan, my ever polite
brother-in-law. Todd, Tia, Sasha, and I
took the small, plain guest house, leaving Suzi, Ethan, and the boys to fend
off the phantasms certainly inhabiting the villa.
 |
| Maybe the Addams family live here? |
 |
| Romantic entrance |
The bright Sicilian sunshine the next morning made all the
difference. We threw open all the
French doors, lace curtains blowing in the breeze, turned around some vases
with unsettling faces painted on them, and hid several pieces of the worst
clutter in closets. The pool was simply
glorious, a recent addition to this 300-year-old residence, and the balconies
and pathways afforded views of the pastoral countryside, rock walls everywhere,
testimony to generations of Sicilian attempts to clear the land. We loved it.
 |
| Sun makes all the difference |
 |
| Picture-perfect countryside |
Sicily has heavily touristed areas; we visited Taurmina’s
cliffsides and Agrigente’s Roman ruins.
But our villa lay near the hidden gem of Modica, its claim to fame the
Aztec chocolate brought from the New World (similar to but even better than the
very familiar Ibarra chocolate from Mexico).
We wandered Modica’s streets, climbing up to the top of the town through
winding footpaths, and dined al fresco
in an unassuming but delicious street café.
 |
| Modica's winding streets |
 |
| Icarus outside of Agrigente temple |
 |
| Italianesque beauty |
Tia and Sasha were in search of “turquoise waters,” their
brains full of images of Tahiti and the Caribbean, but while Sicily’s beaches
were pretty, we had to wait until Mallorca, one of the Balearic Islands of
Spain, to finally bask in blue. Two
weeks later (squashing months of travel into a span of several weeks), we
arrived at our catamaran, home for a week of sailing around this famous (and
overrun by Germans) island. We all
prayed that we wouldn’t kill each other cooped up in 500 square feet of living
space!
 |
| Now this is what we were looking for! Frogman courtesy of Ado |
 |
| Usually windy! |
 |
| Mallorca cathedral |
Sailing, sailing, over the bounding blue…leads to
seasickness. I was okay after a day, but
every beach landing led to mal d’embarque, the rocking sensation you feel once
again on dry land. Ethan had it worst,
the wristbands and Dramamine not particularly helpful, and he spent most of the
first few days gazing at the horizon from topside.
 |
| The kids were untroubled |
 |
| Gorgeous despite seasickness |
Still, the turquoise, crystal-clear water was
enchanting. Snorkels and masks in hand,
we paddled through the seagrass, finding fish, rays, an octopus,
and—uh-oh—jellyfish! Despite our best
efforts, Ado came screaming out of the water, big welts forming on his
backside, but thanks to a lovely enfermera on the little island of Cabrera, he
was fine in an hour.
 |
| Ready for the plunge |
 |
| Cabrera sunset |
 |
| Underneath such beauty lurks stinging danger |
 |
| Stay away from ME!!! |
Sleeping on a boat is charming and taxing at the same
time. A catamaran affords more space,
but still, it’s a boat. Cooking
anything resembling our typical gourmet meals was also a big challenge, given
that Ethan could spend approximately 30 seconds in the kitchen before needing
to skedaddle topsides. But we managed,
pasta and rice our staples, and managed to feed ourselves and Sergio (although it will be a while before he wants pasta and rice AGAIN!).
 |
| The castle-fortress of Cabrera |
 |
| At the lookout |
We traversed the southern coast of Mallorca, seeking turquoise
coves (easy) and uninhabited beaches
(impossible!). The more daring showed
off their cliff-diving skills, and we watched the US lose to Belgium (World Cup
fever is alive and well in our family) at a fancy resort we sneaked into. We
were set upon by pirates, but talked them out of attacking with an offer of
pasta with tuna, arugula, and grated cheese with a side of rice.
 |
| Cliffs and caves |
 |
| Sergio jumps! |
 |
| Suzi right behind him! |
 |
| Coming in for a perfect landing...Ethan and Todd were not so perfect |
 |
| Watch out for pirates |
The weather was fickle, bringing us a couple days of
overcast and high winds which led to big waves, not great for a catamaran nor
for seasickness. A catamaran is wide,
its living areas spread out across two pontoons, and this square design creates
a rolling tossing bucking sensation that the kids loved. We made them put on
life jackets.
 |
| Windswept |
 |
| Aunt Steph makes us wear life jackets |
 |
| All safe with Sergio |
But in the end, we were happy to have sailed together,
traveled together, and bonded even further in the confines of what is equal to a
small apartment. We were happy to get
home to our palace, where we spent the final days preparing for Suzi and Ethan’s
departure back to the states. Cousin
Olga came to visit as a distraction, and of course the world cup drama captured
everyone’s attention. Now for our next challenge: Getting ready for Todd’s retirement October 1st!
 |
| Happy sailors |
 |
| Pirate dreams |
