Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Sicily: A Jewel in the Mediterranean

Where do I even begin? I could start with the color of the ocean and landscape as we hiked in the nature preserve along the North Western coast or the feeling of standing next to Grecian temple ruins from B.C. Sicily was amazing, with every twist and turn, there were beautiful landscapes, endless supplies of pizza and pasta and seafood, and beauty that continuously left us in awe. I want to capture every part of our honeymoon trip, not only to share, but so that I can remember the gem that Sicily is. Here's our story:

We arrived back to Germany on Monday, June 11 from our wedding week in Florida. We packed our bags, one backpack each, and drove 1.5 hours to the small Frankfurt Hahn airport. We boarded the RyanAir flight, and two hours later around 9:00 pm, landed in Trapani, Sicily. We received the keys to our prepaid Panda Fiat and plugged in the GPS. Since our first destination was in a small, tiny town and our B&B was not on a main road, the GPS couldn't find our exact destination. So we typed in "Scopello" and started our one hour journey to the first destination. Luckily Derek had looked at Google Maps Street View early in the day so that we actually recognized our first turn once we were in Scopello. We proceeded up the 1.5 km steep driveway and arrived at Antica Cascina del Golfo, a small B&B atop a small mountain that has stunning views of the water. We celebrated our arrival with a bottle of wine found in the mini fridge.
Our first B&B

Day 1

On the following day, we had a lovely breakfast of Sicilian cakes with marmalade and creme, croissants, juices and cafe lattes, and after the feast, we packed a bag and headed in town to the market. We ordered way to much food from the butcher- 200kg of salami, a large hunk of peppered goat cheese, and a large hunk of bread- and packed our picnic into our bag and drove a few miles to the Riserva Naturale Dello Zingaro, a 7km preserve of wild coastline filled with beaches and trails. Within our first view of palms, cliffs and Mediterranean blue waters, I knew this would be a perfect day. We followed the main trail along the coast for most of the day, stopping off at four different beaches. The park has no toilets, restaurants or cars and therefore, the beaches are remote, beautiful and popular. The first beach we found was a tiny pebbled beach with not much room for swimming, but a beautiful little cove nonetheless. The second beach was much larger, with rocks jutting out of the water and turquoise colored waters. We spread out our beach towels here and had lunch. The third beach was very unique- we climbed down rocky stairs and came to a rocky cove with absolutely stunning blue waters. At first we didn't think we would be able to swim, but soon a father and daughter waded into the cove, and Derek soon followed. I'll let the photos describe the rest. The fourth beach we discovered was so picture perfect, a rocky cove with tropical colored umbrellas and a few boats wading off shore. Oh Sicily, you are beautiful!

Beach 1: A little cove
Beach 2: A larger cove with many rocks
Beach 3: A perfect inlet with crystal clear waters
Derek swimming in beach 3
Beach 4: My favorite


Beach 4: Picture Perfect!
After our six hours of hiking and beach going, we headed back to the B&B and got ready for dinner in Scopello. We walked around the tiny, cute town and settled at a large outdoor restaurant. Most days we ate by ourselves since Italians eat later, around 8pm. This is usually normal for us as well, but after a full day of exploring, we were hungry around 6pm. After an appetizer of brushetta, Derek had a delicious looking pasta and I had Spaghetti Norma -the pasta norm of Sicily. It had pasta al dente, salted ricotta cheese, eggplant and basil. It was a great first dinner in Sicily!
Dinner in Scopello
Sunset photo overlooking Scopello from our B&B

Day 2


The Tonnara of Scopello
The second day of our journey proved to be just as exciting as the first. We awoke to delicious cannolis and pastries for breakfast and then packed the Panda and drove a few miles to the old Scopello Tonnara. This old building used to house a tunnery, a place where they housed tuna catches. I don't know too much about this industry except that it used to be very popular in this area. We grabbed some chairs and I laid on the concrete beach area while Derek went snorkeling with his newly purchased mask and goggles. I sat back and enjoyed the view of this stunning area.


After a refreshing swim, we drove about 30 minutes to the famous site of Segesta, an ancient temple and excavated city atop a mountain. We read much about this area, but what I concluded was that it was some sort of Greek/Norman civilization and some thought the descendants were refugees from Troy. All-in-all, this site was amazing. To see a construction still standing from B.C. times amazed me. The temple stands all alone in a valley surrounded by the green and brown countryside. After exploring this area we hiked 1.5km uphill to the amphitheater and excavated ruins. If I lived in this time, I would have watched any performance at the theater at any time; check out the view!

Me in front of Segesta
Derek at Segesta
View of the amphitheater overlooking the ocean

After Segesta, we drove another hour to our second B&B, Sotta la Palma, near the city of Sciacca. This bed and breakfast was perfect; it contained three cottages, a pool, a lovely breakfast area and a Sicilian garden surrounding everything. The host, Daniela, could not have been more welcoming and helpful. Her breakfast provided a large assortment, she gave us great recommendations for dinner, and even gave us a ceramic bowl made in Sciacca as a gift for our wedding. It was so, so sweet of her! We drove into the city for a harbor-side dinner. The restaurant overlooked the harbor and the town, and the views were spectacular. We decided to try the local specialties for dinner and both ordered seafood. Derek had a seafood pizza, and I had pasta with swordfish. Derek doesn't like to talk about his pizza. I think it was great of him to try it! Have a look:
Our view from dinner in Sciacca
Our B&B- Palma la Sotto
Derek's Seafood pizza



Day 3

After a breakfast of eggs, breads, and yogurt with fruit, we drove one hour to Agrigento to the Valley of the Temples. The valley is recorded as the best Grecian ruins outside of Greece. Although I loved seeing the ruins, this was Derek's place. He loves seeing the way ancient civilizations built structures -it's his engineering side. One of the most spectacular structures was a temple that survived many earthquakes due to its base being built in clay. The valley is overlooked by the large, somewhat intimidating city of Agrigento. The views surrounding the valley were beautiful, with the ocean to one side and the city to another. We walked through the remains four about two hours. This is the first place I've visited in Europe where you can actually walk among the remains, except for the largest temple. It was pretty neat to be standing in the temple remains dedicated to the god of Zeus.
Me with the remains of the sanctuary

Derek stands in front of the largest temple, Tempio della Concordia,  in the Valley of the Temples


After leaving the temples, we found the white cliffs of the Scala dei Turchi. I'm not sure of the history of this area, but the cliffs were chalk white against the blue water and sky, jaunting out into the sea. We then headed to another beach to relax and enjoyed a dinner of pizza and pasta.

Me on the white cliffs
Derek and I on the cliffs

Day 4

On the last day, we said goodbye to Daniela and drove 1.5 hours to Erice, a medieval city on top of a mountain overlooking the large city of Trapani. This place took my breath away. After eight kilometers of winding, sharply curved roads, we arrived to the top of the mountain, and what a view. Erice has castles, old, ancient looking churches, winding alleyways and delicious wine and cannolis. We started our journey through the town by picking a deserted road and exploring its cobblestones. We found ourselves bedazzled by the views of the blue waters, mountain cliffs and brown, yellow and green countrysides below us. We visited the castle and then walked through the town center and back to a restaurant pizzeria we had passed earlier in the day. We sat outside on a terrace overlooking old rooftops with a glimpse of the blue sea. For lunch, we consumed ample olive oil with bread, a calzone and a large pizza, with the house white wine, of course. It was such a lovely way to end our Sicilian visit. After lunch, we found our way to the "most famous pastry shop in Sicily" according to our travel books and tried two very large cannolis. I'm not sure how we manged to eat them after our large lunch, but we did of course! I bought two ceramic wine corks at a little store, then we climbed back in the Panda and headed towards the Trapanin Birgi airport. Erice was the perfect end to a perfect four days, and I can't wait to go back. Thanks for a wonderful honeymoon, Sicily!
View from the top of Erice
Castle and Church of Erice

Our last lunch in Sicily

Holy Cannoli!


My sidenotes:
  • Sicily was amazing. By a little pre-planning, I knew what we wanted to see and by leaving some wiggle room for recommendations, we were able to have a wonderful experience.
  • I wouldn't call this a relaxing honeymoon, it was quite the opposite. But with so much to see and such a beautiful island to explore, it was as perfect honeymoon for us.
  • A common conception/misconception of Sicily is the safety. Although we did avoid the large cities mainly due to the fact that we wanted to explore the countryside, we encountered nothing of the sort. Common sense is always a must, but everyone we met was wonderful and we never, ever felt in harm's way, except maybe when Derek adopted the Italian driving style and I just closed my eyes. At least we fit in like the locals!
  • We paid 26 euros for the following: two full glasses of wine, a large pizza (enough for two), a calzone, bread with olive oil and a large bottled water. Tip and service included. Pretty good deal I think!
  • I used Lonely Planet and National Geographic guides for trip ideas and looked to TripAdvisor for B&B reviews.
  • We didn't have to pay much for the excursions - 3 euros for the nature preserve, 3 for the Tonnara. The ruins were a bit more. Altogether, it was great priced.
  • I would go back in a heartbeat. We stayed only on the western side of the island, and there is still SO much more to see including Mt. Etna (The volcano), vineyards, more beaches, etc.



Sunday, June 17, 2012

We Tied the Knot in Paradise

(written on Monday, June 11 2012)

We have just arrived back from a whirlwind of a week in Florida celebrating our families, friends and wedding. It was the most perfect wedding I could have imagined thanks to our family and friends, with last minute changes adding to the beauty and perfection of the night. Here's a rundown of the wedding week:

Wedding Week
Location: Santa Rosa Beach, FL
The groomsmen in the "dance-off"
The wedding week was filled with family reunions, high school and college friend reunions as well as beach time, game time, great food and dancing. After all, it was the first time ever that my entire extended family was together for a vacation and six years since my high school friends spent a vacation together. It was wonderful!

After fitting everything into a trailer and driving nine hours on Sunday, we enjoyed our first beach meal of the week (mine was a cheeseburger - a food craving in Germany). On Monday, after purchasing our marriage license, we had a relaxing day at the beach and pool followed by a late night game night with our older cousins. On Tuesday, we had another beach day and then met with our wedding coordinator to touch up last minute details and later met friends out for some drinks and food- delicious coconut shrimp! On Wednesday night, the serious wedding celebrations started with our separate bachelorette and bachelor parties. I'd call mine a success at least- I was serenaded twice at the piano bar and had the privilege of playing the tambourine on stage with a live band. And Abby joined with the cowbell. It was a perfect night with our friends.

On Thursday, the rehearsal dinner was held at Derek's family's beach house rental. They cooked a low county sea food boil consisting of corn on the cob, potatoes, sausage and shrimp and the house was filled with about 60 people- all family and bridal party. After it monsoon-ed outside and flooded part of the house, we had a "dance off" between the girls and guys outside by the pool. My nerves were getting a little restless by this night, but it was still a wonderful time with family and friends.
Rehearsal dinner celebrations

The Wedding Day!
Location: Cabana Blue, Santa Rosa Beach
And now to my favorite day. Friday morning (June 8) we awoke to a bad weather forecast and a cloudy, murky sky. I had to make the decision by 10:00am about the ceremony location and the rain plan. So, I went with my gut feeling- a feeling I had for quite awhile leading up to this week- and moved the entire ceremony from the beach to our bay-side reception venue, Cabana Blue. Dinner was moved from outside in a beautiful garden to an inside bamboo-inspired room. In my mind, the rain option turned out better than the original option would have been. Everything was perfect.

My photographer, Marissa Davis, arrived to my family's house rental around 11am as all the bridesmaids trickled in from the hair salon. We had brunch, I shared my gifts with the girls- wristlets personalized from Etsy, and then we started getting dressed for the day. Marissa took many shots of us doing makeup, hanging out, etc, and then we headed to the original ceremony site - Grayton Beach State Park- for some group bridal party shots. After our fun shoot at the beach, we headed to Cabana Blue to relax a bit before the wedding. I can't wait to see the photos that Marissa took- I know she did a fabulous job! 

When we arrived at the reception site, the decor was perfect. (I had not seen it yet due to my abroad living and the rush of the week)  Derek's grandma and aunt had worked tirelessly on the reception decoration for the last six months, and it could not have looked more perfect for me and Derek's tastes.
Handmade table runners with shells, candle and vases. I printed the wine labels for the table numbers.
The ceremony was held on the bay - it was windy but beautiful.
The cake was delicious! We had chocolate, yellow and marble mixed with butter cream and  cream cheese frostings. Notice the chocolates- we brought about 100 of those from Deutschland!
We say "I Do"


Around 4:00, guests started arriving and getting seated on the beach and soon after, it was me and my girls turn to make our entrance. It was so moving and wonderful to see all of our family and close friends together to celebrate with Derek and I. I walked down the aisle and then Derek and I said our personally written vows and walked out to "Better Together" by Jack Johnson on the ukulele. We took family photos, my dad said a prayer, and we enjoyed a delicious meal of tropical chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, salad and rolls. After four moving speeches by my sister, Derek's brother and our dads, Derek and I proceeded to cut the cake and shove it into each others' faces. It was memorable, to say the least. Our first dance followed, as we swayed under the hanging lights to "Wanna Make You Love Me." After the father-daughter and mother-son dance, the dance floor opened up and everyone joined in. The bouquet toss, one of my favorite parts of the evening, gave me the opportunity to chuck the bouquet straight at my twin sister and MOH. Much to her surprise, I gave no one else the slightest chance of catching it.
Half of the Bridesmaids
Me and the MOH- my twin Abby

Yay! We're married!
The rest of the night was a blur to me, but so enjoyable. We tried our best to make our rounds to everyone who had made the journey to see us, while also making time for Love Shack and Rocky Top. The party ended with Derek carrying me into a receiving line of bubble-blowing friends and onto a party bus that took us to Baytowne Wharf in SanDestin to spend more time with our friends out and about. Note to self: Just because you are wearing a wedding dress, it does not mean that you will get into bars. You must show an ID. Seeing as how I had literally nothing with me - no phone, ID, money, etc, we proceeded to chow down on tator tots with a large group of friends. I'm glad my appetite returned. What a wonderfully joyous day that I wish I could re-live.

And then we headed back to Germany...and off to honeymoon in the Mediterranean, on the sun-kissed island of Sicily!

My sister took photos throughout the night. I have too many to include in this blog, but here are a few of my favorites! Also, I'll share a link to the professional photos when I receive them.