La Dolce Vita and The Abscess

I am so far behind in my posts that these next few paragraphs (if you can call them that) will be more poorly written than the preceding ones (if you can imagine that) but then I am planning to step up to the plate.


I had rose pistachio granita (the first of a three course dessert and that was after the seven course dinner).   It was a heavy, seductive scent of rose with a subtle pistachio flavour  and it was SOO GOOD.   I also had truffle granita and a lemon-celery granita both of which were out of this world.  I am a new fan of the savory ice.




The kids started cooking classes and they were a hit.   They charged up 50 of the 80 steps to the school, and were ready to sit down and cook for 90minutes by the time they got to the top.   They made, stratta which is a Sicilian specialty sort of a cross between pizza and a calzone.   Naturally I ate it but nobody else did.    I am eager to have them start preparing meals for me.



We also went on a driving tour with Giovanni (villa owner) and had a blast.   He quickly understood that I was a fan of the rugged and the wild and we went to a relatively isolated spot in all of six cities in addition to hitting the "centro" of each.     We decided he was so much fun that we are going to Rome on Saturday to celebrate Sean's big birthday with Giovanni and his wife.

We thought we were going out to dinner with Giovanni that night but instead we went to his brother-in-law's place - which was yet another palace.   The ceilings were all painted, as were the walls, the ceilings were at least forty feet high, it was just breathtaking.  But the people!  What a bunch of wonky swank Italians.   There was the architect, his wife, her lover, the owner of the villa, his good girlfriend, her special friend from Milan who just started a vineyard in Scicli and a couple of squares from Canada.   

The antipasti was blood orange and tangerine chunks, with fennel, salt and olive oil in addition to three marinated raw sardines.     We ate and drank for almost five hours, left at 12.30 and the streets of Modica were PACKED with people.   It was a zoo.   Just a regular night for the Sicilians who by the way, don't typically eat dinner until 10, with the kids, and rarely go to bed before midnight.  

We went to Ellen's beach house, rode some horses, and built sand castles on the beach.


Now I have an abscessed tooth.   I went to a dentist who didn't speak any English, cried in his chair for ten minutes before I let him poke around in there, he said I had to have the tooth yanked, gave me some drugs, and sent me on my way.   Lucky for me, I have Dana.   We sent her a digital picture of my lump in my mouth, and she quickly insisted that I take the drugs and have some fun and we will deal with it when I return.   So there it is.   Life in Scicli goes on...

My Abscessed Tooth
(that has already gone through three root canals)