July 30, 2007 — Palermo, Sicily

Good evening. It’s 12 Midnight and I’m doing my day wrap up from atop the Magic near the family pool, with the Med to my left nine stories below and Pirates 2 playing on the ship’s massive funnel-mounted jumbotron. It don’t get much better than this. Today was another magical day. We arrived in Palermo, Sicily around 8am. It’s hard to describe the breathtaking beauty of the scenery.



We woke up early and had a quick coffee again from room service. We awoke the groggy girls and got ready for our shore excursion, “A Day on the Farm.” Information about this particular trip was nearly non-existent in previous trip reports, so we didn’t know what to expect. But we knew it combined two of favorite things—beautiful scenery and great food. So, off we went. I estimate there were about 60 passengers—mostly families—taking this excursion. We weren’t disappointed. After boarding two hired motorcoaches we left the port for a scenic drive to our first destination of the day, Alia, which is southwest of Palermo. The drive was stunning, with our knowledgeable local tour guide giving us nonstop information as we meandered first through the ancient city of Palermo and onward to one of the country’s major highways (a narrow two-lane one at that). We climbed up and up on our 90-minute drive, going from one small road to an even smaller road, finally stopping on a dirt farm road. We departed the bus and walked the last 300 yards up a cobblestone way to two large, natural grottos, or caves. No longer in use, our guide said their known habitation by Sicilans dated back to 200 B.C. Inside, you could visibly see the remnants of a spiral staircase that had been carved out of the heavy stone. Small holes lined the walls and led up to a natural flume at the top of each cave. Here, the Sicilians lived and baked bread, using the openings as flumes. It’s clear by the landscape that agriculture plays a huge role in the life of Sicilians, past and present. Crops of citrus groves, olive trees and the special durham wheat are present everywhere you look.



After departing the grotto we backtrack about 15 meters to a small agritourista where local artisans showed us how they make fresh Italian bread and ricotta. We sample each from a huge table lined with small sandwiches and hearty pizzas topped with fresh tomatoes, olives, cheese, salty anchovies and olive oil. We wash it down with local red wine. I ask if the dry wine is Chianti and am summarily corrected that Chianti comes from northern Italy, and that this is southern Italy. I am learning that Italians are a very proud nation, very territorial. Everything is delicious and our hosts are very gracious. The farm itself is beautiful.



We again board the bus for a short 300-meter drive to the adjoining inn. While we wait for our farm lunch to be prepared we are invited to walk the grounds and take a dip in the stunning pool. There are about two dozen tourists here from the local area and we seem to be crashing their party. “Excusimo.” Angie and I grab a beer (2 Euros each) and take a breather in the pool-side lounge chairs while Maddie and her new friend splash in the pool.



Meg grabs the camera and heads off to snap some terrific shots of the scenery. Maddie’s new friend, Marney, is from southern California. We chat it up with her parents, Brian and Karen, and decide to share a table at lunch. They recently hosted an Italian exchange student and arrived a week earlier, spending time with their student’s family in Torino. They know some Italian and make for wonderful tablemates during our grand lunch. The food is made from fresh local ingredients (including the bread and cheese we just saw being made). The meal is expansive and massive, staring first with seven appetizer courses: bread, wine-marinated olives, tasty Peccorino cheese, huge white beans marinated in olive oil, arugula and herbs, two different eggplant servings and sundried tomatoes. Then they bring on two different pastas—a spaghetti with red sauce and another with white sauce. It’s delicious. But the feast is not over. Then comes the potatoes, followed by the main entrée, braised lamb (sheepherding is the main livestock here). We finish our meal with fresh-picked fruit and a rolled cake stuffed with sweetened ricotta. To wash it all down we drink red wine from glass pitchers placed on every table. We all enjoyed it immensely. As previously noted, meals here are slow and deliberate. A celebration as opposed to our often eat-as-fast-as-you-can dinners. I remark that despite all of this luxurious food that the locals are slim and trim and in excellent health. We could learn a few things from the Italians. Happily satisfied we thank our local hosts and head back to the busses. But we have one more stop to make at the nearby sheep farm. Here, the girls (and me at their insistence) milk the animals.



It’s heavy and dense, which explains the very rich taste of the cheese and white sauces. Wow! We return to the busses. Our guide gives a few more morsels of local history and leaves us to take a much-needed siesta as the bus drives navigates the winding narrow highway back to Palermo and the awaiting Magic. All in all, I give this excursion a big thumbs up—especially for families that don’t necessarily want to spend a great deal of time exploring architecture.



Back on board we head to the room and catch a breather before going to tonight’s 6:30pm Magic show. The French magician is entertaining, but not quite ready for the Vegas strip. Throughout the show he amuses the audience with jokes and European one-liners. Afterwards we return to the room and prepare to be Santa Claus. It’s out night to hand out small gifts to our other DIS board families. Voluntarily, each one has prepared a hanging “fish extender”—a handmade cloth hanger with pockets that dangles from the small metal fish outside of each cabin. Fish extenders have now become a staple on the DCL thanks to returning members from the DIS boards. Anyway, tonight is our turn to give out gifts. Before the cruise I collected small trinkets from home to give out—pens, pencils, notepads, stickers, magnets and more from our local universities, Chamber of Commerce, museums, etc. I like promoting our hometown and state and I hope they will be accepted by my fellow DISers with thankfulness for their advice, counsel and friendship while planning this dream vacation. Meg heads out to have dinner with her friends and the rest of us make our way to Parrot Cay restaurant for dinner. As you might expect, we’re not al that hungry, but can’t pass up tonight’s wonderful selections. We swap stories from the day with our new friends from Belgium. As with previous nights, dinner ends after 10pm. Erick excuses himself to go catch the latest Bond film in the theater. We say our goodnights and return to the room to prepare for tomorrow’s private excursion in Naples. Sorrento, the ruins of Pompeii and more are on the agenda and it will be a long day. Mary Jo from California, who organized the private trip, leaves us a phone message saying to meet up in the lobby at 7:15am. The girls hit the sack and I head up to do today’s write up. I hope you’ve had as much fun reading these entries as much as I have enjoyed writing them. I’m sure I’ll have more exciting tales tomorrow. For now, good night from atop the Magic.