Overview
The Sicilian Adventure of a Lifetime...
Hundreds of thousands of people tour Sicily, but we promise there is nothing anything like this. You will have experiences that will have you telling stories for the rest of your life. It is a 9 day, 8 night all-inclusive experience that gives you an insider's view of Sicily that is nearly impossible to have in any other way. This trip is full of incredibly unique cultural experiences that you will never forget. You will live the Sicilian life as we cook authentic local recipes together, interact with and befriend the locals, get to know small-village artisans, and so much more. This trip will make you pinch yourself over and over in amazement that you are actually living it. It is an all-accss pass to true Sicilian life like nothing else out there, and we limit it to no more than 16 people per trip. Most of all, it is a week of fun, family and laughter as we share what makes Sicily so special in a very personal way.
|
The Cooking ClassesWe'll have four half-day completely hands-on cooking classes this week, Our cooking classes are not demonstrations. They are 100% hands-on. We structure them so that you can be as involved as you desire in every stage of every course we prepare. So, if you are up for it, we will get wrist-deep as we make Eggplant Parmesan from scratch, Sicilian Caponata, Cannoli, amazing Sicilian seafood dishes, and much more. We'll even have a class completely dedicated to Sicilian pastries, and one that is all about Sicilian sausage! In addition we will have a final cooking party... not a class, but a party in our fiend's private villa, during which we will cook together, take it easy, sing & dance with local friends and family. For those who would rather eat than cook, there is always something to do. Head down to the beautiful seaside with crystal clear waters, Opt for a Scuba lesson, spend the morning at the beach, or relax in the sun on the giant cliffs overlooking the sea. The ExperiencesThis vacation is all about rich cultural experiences that are never part of some touristy offering. Most of the cultural experiences are done with local friends that do what they do only with us, making each a truly intimate experience. When we go night fishing, we are not with a tour boat captain. We are out with a local fisherman on his nightly fishing trip. We cast the nets with him. We get to know him. We clean the fish with him, and we even help him sell the catch at the local market. When we are making Ricotta, we are on the private farm of a local shepherd, not at a commercial cheese factory that does "cheese tours". You will see many of the same locals over and over.. on the boats, in their homes for dinner. You will not be a tourist. You will be a guest. While thousands drive the Trapani Salt Road on their tours, they will be looking at the people out there harvesting salt. On our trips, WE are the people those tourists are watching out there harvesting the salt... and of course, we bring it home with us! The ExcursionsWe are in a part of Sicily that is still real, and you will find yourself discovering fantastic places that the travel business hasn't caught onto yet. We'll visit private wineries in Marsala, we'll take trips to incredible islands with breathtaking grottoes off the coast, we'll visit the mountaintop village of Erice, we'll experience the Salt Mines of Trapani, and we'll get right into the thick of it in Palermo's bustling markets. Our excursions are not the worn Sicilian history tours... they are excursions that bring you into a Sicily few foreign tourists ever experience.... seeing Sicily not just like an Italian, but like a Sicilian insider. The Food & WineWe are all about food & wine, and if there is one comment we hear more than any other from our guests throughout the week, it is "I can't eat another bite". You will never be hungry, and you will never want for more wine, period. All of the restaurant meals are in small, local restaurants that are considered the best of the best for their area. These are the places the locals rave about, not the touristy places. Other meals are in private homes of locals that invite us in as their house guests, or while out at sea, or on the cliffs of the Mediterranean. It is as one would expect when visiting friends and family that live here, giving you a sense of belonging as a guest, not a tourist. Furthermore, we don't do "tourist food". We insist on the highest quality at all times, and always pull out all of the stops. The seafood is always today's catch. The pastries are always just-baked. The wine is always flowing, and everything is always the best of the best. Additionally, the meals at our cooking classes are not little 'learn to make pasta' classes like many others. Instead, the first two classes are traditional Italian 'Sunday Family Meals', done to the max. Our third class, which is all about Sicilian pastries is so 'from scratch', that when we make Cannoli, we will make the dough from scratch. We'll roll our shells from that dough by hand, and the filling will be made by us, from the Ricotta cheese that WE made the day before. When the trip is over, you will have experienced the real Sicily that few tourists have ever experienced. You will have made new friends, and you will have learned why Italian culture is so amazing... because you will have lived it. |
|
Cities & Islands we'll visit...
|
|
What we'll be cooking...
|
|
Factories, Wineries, Mills, Artisans & Experiences...
|
Map
Please allow a few seconds for the interactive map to load.
Press the "Play" button below to start a 7 minute guided tour of the itinerary, showing day by day where we go, along with photos at each stop. At any time, you can press the little "hand" icon in the map to stop the tour, zoom in and out of the map, and go through the itinerary on your own.
Accommodations
For the first six nights of this vacation, we will be staying at the Nido del Pellegrino on our own private peninsula of Favignana Island, off the west coast of Sicily. The "Nido del Pellegrino" (Pellican's Nest), was once an Italian WWII Militay Base, and the old gun turrets are still visible on our peninsula. It went through a complete restoration process in 2010 converting the buildings into luxury mini-apartments. It boasts breathtaking 270 degree views of the Medeterranean sea. As we walk around the property, there are beautiful trails that take us along the clifss, and lead down to our private beach on one side, and private dock on the other. If we have a full group, it will be all ours while we are there. We will have a small "snack house" set up in the courtyard, which will alays be stocked with snacks, drinks, wine... and of course our Cappuccino and Espresso machine! AmenitiesAll of the mini apartments have an independant entrance, private bathrooms, kitchens, refrigerators, etc. They are all air conditioned and heated. They have television in each home with satellite service, allowing you English Language programming. Furthermore, free WIFI Internet access is available throughout.
For, our final two nights, we will be sleeping in Downtown Palermo. Finding a place that had the "Family Feeling" we demand, plus met all of our high standards was not easy in a major city like Palermo. But we did it. They call themselves a B&B, but it is really a Boutique Hotel. Each room is beatiful with all amenities and private facilities. It is absolutely beautiful and charming, but the location was really the slam dunk with this one. It is right in the heart of Palermo's "Il Capo" Shopping district. It is 'the place to be' in Palermo, but itn't a place you find many hotels. This one is absolutely perfect, and our guests will come to understand quickly what an amazing place this is. AmenitiesAll rooms are air conditioned and heated with private bathrooms. They have television in each room with satellite service, allowing you English Language programming. Furthermore, free WIFI Internet access is available throughout. See More Photos of Our Sicily accommodations |
Flight Info
Finding Flights
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Our vacation begins at the Palermo Airport (PMO), and reading this will help you plan your flights to and from Palermo.
If you try to search for flights between your home airport and Palermo, you may find that you wind up with very expensive flights, or very strange routing. This is often because of partnership agreements with major airlines. There is a better way. You will find that there are many very inexpensive and convenient flights between Rome and Palermo on airlines that don't normally combine with major airlines.
We suggest that you consider making two separate bookings, and consider a little time in Rome before and/or after your trip to Sicily, and do something like the following:
Trip 1:
Your home airport to Rome, getting you to Rome on Thursday or before, and has you leaving Rome on the Sunday after our trip ends, or after.
Trip 2
Rome to Palermo on the Friday we begin our trip together.
Info About Our Sicily Vacations
Sicily Cooking Vacations
Follow Us...
