Buongiorno Italia!! – Our First Week in Italy
After 151 days of planning and over 17000 kms later, our feet were finally planted on Italian soil!
Despite the odds and the speed bumps along the way, I’m so grateful to be able to visit such a beautiful country with my favourite person by my side.
With zero sleep in the last 24 hours and the 9 hour European time change, I felt like a zombie. Luckily, Paul has a superpower. He can sleep anywhere, anytime. He managed to catch some zzz’s on the overnight flight, so I relied heavily on him to navigate us safely to our accommodations at Hotel Antonella, located 35 kms south of Rome, Italy.
I’m convinced our taxi driver to the hotel might’ve had a death wish. We barely made it alive, dodging cars left and right. Paul’s convinced that all Italians want to be race car drivers. I thought the drivers in downtown Toronto were bad, but this was next level. Luckily, I was so exhausted that I slept through most of it.
While I caught up on some sleep at the hotel, Paul received a call from customs that his motorcycle was ready to be picked up. That was music to his ears. He spent the next 4 hours communicating with Italian officials in a foreign language, in the hopes of having his motorcycle released from custody. Between the armed guards, 117 official documents, and 20 signatures later, a simple “I am from Canada” and a smiling face can get you out of any potential trouble.
Hotel Antonella had this old school charm to it with elegant vintage furniture, corded telephones in the bathroom and other unique features. I also found a gelato truck on-site that matched my outfit. I feel like I accidentally dressed for my job interview. We’re made for each other.
As we strolled through the oak trees on the property, we were fascinated by the distinct buzz that filled the air. It was the sound of thousands of cicadas in mating season. Their mating calls can reach more than 100 decibels (the same as a motorcycle!). With the scorching temperatures outside, their buzzing increased and continued for hours everyday.
While the cicadas rejoiced in baby making time, we embarked on an epic multi-day trip to Sicily. At times, the motorcycle ride was grueling with the extreme heat. Thankfully, we were entertained along the way with an impromptu bagpipe session, a visit to an authentic cheese farm, endless granitas with the ultimate ‘brain freeze’ (but so worth it!), and supported by the generous hospitality of the locals.
Our first stop was Campobasso, Italy, but we took a detour to track down family members of Paul’s friend in Toronto for a reunion.
To our surprise, street names are non-existent in many rural areas, so we were relying solely on map coordinates. After finding ourselves a little lost, we found a farm property that appeared to have someone living there. With our poor internet connection and poor Italian skills, we really didn’t know if we’d be able to find the property. Thankfully, the owner and her daughter (who spoke some broken English) were very patient. Over 30 minutes went by and it suddenly clicked. The woman recognized the family’s last name and the local cheese-maker nearby, so we were sent on our way for a long awaited reunion.
We were greeted with open arms. We successfully did a zoom call between Paul’s friend Romeo and his mom Alberina in Toronto, with her sister and husband who live in the countryside near Castropignano, Italy. With only flip phones and no access to the internet, they hadn’t seen each other in over 20 years! It felt so amazing to be part of something so special. Despite not understanding the majority of the conversation, you could feel the pure joy in their enthusiasm and uninhibited laughter as if no time had passed.
The hospitality of the Italians is so genuine that we instantly felt like family. I experienced this once when I went to visit my sister’s Italian in-laws. We were quickly invited inside to have refreshments. They showed us their home with stunning views of the countryside, and we took turns using Google translate (combined with lots of hand gestures) in an attempt to communicate. They were intrigued with the whole process. As we walked outside, the sister stuffed the pockets of my motorcycle jacket full of mints. Italians don’t like to leave you empty-handed, or with an empty stomach.
They were eager to introduce us to their friend Mario, the local cheese maker, who’s fluent in English. So, we made our way to his farm, Carmela Colavecchio Farm. We were greeted by a friendly and eccentric man with a love of cheese, exceptional bagpipe skills and a natural born entertainer.
I’ve since learned that Mario and his wife Carmela have other interesting services on their farm. They offer classes year-round, apprenticeships to work on the farm, and of course, cheese tasting. There’s a cellar dedicated solely to their cheese with some of them aging for many years. I may not pick up the hobby anytime soon, but I’ll gladly be a certified cheese-taster! As much as we wanted to stay to socialize longer, we were ready to say our goodbyes to get some rest for our journey tomorrow.
After settling in at our Airbnb in Campobasso, Italy, we searched for a restaurant that was still open at nearly midnight. With the help of the locals and other restaurant owners, we were directed to Pizzeria da Tony.
Tony not only saved the day with his delicious pizza, but he served a big ball of fresh mozzarella right on top. This was a first for me, but it was love at first bite. My cheese craving was satisfied for yet another day.
With a fresh start, we made our way to the coast of Marina di Camerota, Italy. Our initial greeting with the host of our accommodations was (mostly) as expected: friendly, helpful…and without bottoms. We were still in the middle of a heat wave, so he wasn’t shy about strutting around in his tighty whities and a buttoned up dress shirt (he had a little class) to stay cool. And, his daughter was only in underwear. Like father, like daughter. No need to fuss about clothes when you feel like a boiling lobster.
All jokes aside, they were friendly hosts and served delicious coffee with chocolate stuffed croissants for breakfast the next morning. In case you’re wondering, breakfast wasn’t served in his underwear.* A dose of chocolate early in the morning is always a good start to the day!
On our way toward the coast to Villammare, Italy, I spotted a jolly man standing on his balcony overlooking the main road with a tank top 2 sizes too small rubbing his big beer belly and, yes, in his tattered tighty whities. Maybe this is an upcoming new trend? They may be onto something. With our bellies full, we were ready to tackle the heat one kilometer at a time.
Except, the heat was relentless. My body felt so drained. I caught myself repeatedly passing out for split seconds despite the loud rumbling from the motorcycle. I had to fight hard to keep my eyes open.
We stopped for some relief in the cold tunnels, despite the trucks zipping by us at over 100 km/h.
‘Just don’t die’ is all I kept thinking.
We continued to push on and stopped for photos down a dirt road, and unintentionally caught the attention of one of the farmers. He stopped his tractor to give us a tour of his property and to take our photo. Before we left, he gave us a gift for safe travels. He handed us a dozen apricots picked straight from his tree. It doesn’t get any fresher than that! With a fresh dose of sugar and lots of love coming our way, I knew we could dig a little deeper to reach our destination.
As the sun caressed our faces once again that morning, we were the last ones to nudge our way onto the ferry to Sicily. A perk of riding a motorcycle! It felt like a weight was beginning to lift off my shoulders. Our journey to Palazzolo Acreide was coming to an end.
Our stopover in the iconic tourist-filled town of Taormina was an ideal spot to grab a bite to eat and marvel at its beauty. Situated on a hilltop with spectacular views, it’s home to many filming locations, such as the hit tv show, The White Lotus.
It has a different vibe with more English speakers, so it’s a perfect place to explore if you don’t want to venture too far away from your comforts. I’d love to return again to see more of the sights.
The final 150 kms flew by. Our Airbnb host in Palazzolo Acreide greeted us with exceptional hospitality with a welcome gift of fresh fruit, cookies and drinks, and a perfectly timed sunset on our rooftop patio.
To celebrate our arrival in Sicily, we had dinner at Ristorante il Monsù, which was just down the road from our Airbnb. With quality customer service, a two course meal plus a bottle of wine later, we left with smiles on our faces.
With back to back days on a maxed out motorcycle, interrupted sleep in foreign beds, and battling the sweltering sun in sweat drenched clothes, it was time to settle down for the next month.
My ‘high priority’ grocery list: Chocolate (for me), and Peanut butter (for Paul). Keep it simple.
Our decision to take a ‘scenic route’ to Castropignano, Italy for a friend’s family reunion is one of those moments where it feels like an external force helped guide us where we needed to be that day.
We found out that Paul’s friends’ mom, Alberina, was diagnosed with cancer a couple months after our visit with her sister, and she passed away within months of the diagnosis. It seemed like a simple, kind gesture to arrange a zoom call, but it ended up being life changing for someone else. I’m grateful that we were able to spread a little joy before she passed away.
