Kissing Sicily Goodbye

Being separated from your husband for six months isn't the best thing in the world, but it has been a great excuse to take almost monthly getaways to Sicily. After four trips to visit Jared over the last six months I've come to know the island a little bit (and at this point, I'm also very familiar with the airport in Catania as well as the London Luton airport) and I'm going to miss my mini vacations. A couple of weeks ago Abigail, Samantha, and I boarded a plane to Catania and set off for one last Sicilian adventure! 

These two hadn't seen their dad in five months so they were excited about this trip! We arrived around midday and spent the afternoon relaxing, working out, and getting the girls oriented to the base. That evening we headed into Catania for paninis, which is usually Jared's Friday night thing but he made an exception for us. The girls weren't sure about them, but I think they were surprised by how delicious a sandwich from a slightly greasy food truck can be. We all chose chicken, even though they had beef, pork, and horse (eek!) as well. There's nothing like a panini, we like them best with chicken and melty cheese on a toasty bun with french fries on top! 

The next day Jared had to work so the girls and I were on our own. Jared had signed us up to go on a tour to Mascalucia for shopping and brunch, but not enough people signed up for the tour so it was canceled. Instead, the girls and I worked out and then went to find shopping and brunch on our own. We rode the base shuttle bus to the other base where the movie theater, bowling alley, and main shopping center are located. We watched a movie in an almost empty theater (Coco was so fun and colorful and I only cried a little), went bowling (I won!), raced through an obstacle course at a playground, did a little shopping, and tried on some crazy outfits at the NEX. It was a fun day; I always love it when I have the chance to spend (almost) one on one time with the girls. 

This picture was taken at a high cost - I was paying more attention to the photo than to where I was walking and stepped right in a pile of dog poo. 

Creepy, spooky catacombs

Our not very classy, but very authentic, restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious and the waiters were friendly, but the bathroom still didn't have toilet paper. 

The next day we drove to Palermo, where Jared had arranged for us to stay overnight in a bed and breakfast. We got to town before check-in time and poor Samantha really had to use the bathroom. We were lucky enough to find a nearby gelateria with indoor seating and restrooms. We got gelato and brioche and Samantha was able to use the bathroom - the dirty bathroom with a toilet that didn't have a toilet seat or any toilet paper. Sweet girl was in tears when she came out of the bathroom and I don't blame her. Actually, finding a decent restroom would be a challenge all weekend. Finding a clean, well-stocked bathroom in Sicily is like the quest for the Holy Grail!

Once we got checked in we almost immediately headed back out into the rainy day so we could visit the catacombs of Palermo. I'm not really sure why we wanted to go see a basement filled with mummies, but we did. It was so, so creepy and kind of spooky. Plus, you couldn't help but feel as if you were breathing in dead people skin cells the whole time. The catacombs were built in the 16th century and initially, the catacombs were only for the monks but they did such a good job preserving the bodies that the catacombs soon became a final resting place for many across Europe.

Palermo is a beautiful city! Jared and I left the girls at the B&B and headed out into the city to do a little exploring. We found a deli with the most amazing prosciutto sandwiches and piles of little sugared donuts which we ate while walking through the city. We stopped along the way to sit on a park bench and kiss like all the Italians do. We didn't know where the cathedral in Palermo was, but we found it accidentally and it was such an impressive, imposing building. It was easy to see why it's a UNESCO site.

The next morning Jared and I headed out to go running and see more of the city. Jared is so good at pushing me to do more than I would otherwise. His goal was three and a half miles, but I'm out of shape and didn't feel as if I could run that far. So we settled on a two-mile run but once we started running I felt pretty okay so we just kept going and did three and a half miles after all. Along the way, we saw the Sicilian parliament building, a library with some cool statues out front, and were able to run around the cathedral in the light of day. After our morning run, we grabbed the girls and walked to the Ballaro Market. It was noisy and crowded and wonderful. 

I actually like this photo of us getting ready for the picture more than the picture itself. 

We left Palermo and headed along the coast to Cefalu, a very beautiful city with sandy beaches, a historic city center, and a Norman cathedral. We chose to stop at Cefalu because the girls really wanted to see the ocean and the cathedral is another UNESCO site and, well, Jared and I love visiting them. We've now been to five of the seven listed sites together and Jared checked Agrigento, another site, off the list last weekend. We arrived in Cefalu, found parking, and started walking toward the ocean. Once again, Samantha needed to use the toilet. The bathrooms at the beach were closed and probably wouldn't have had toilet paper anyway had they been open. We ended up stopping at a hotel on the beach with a cafe and used the bathroom there. And all we had to do was buy a couple of hot chocolates and some doughnuts which was totally worth it to use the most beautiful bathroom I've ever seen in Sicily.  Oh man, it was clean, well-stocked, and brightly lit. Bathroom jackpot! After our hot chocolate/bathroom break, we walked down to the beach. The water was so blue and that, combined with the picturesque city in the background, made me wish I had another trip to Sicily planned so I could spend a whole week in Cefalu.

But I don't have another trip to Sicily planned, even though these long weekends away on a sunny island with my man have been so fun. Instead, I'm looking forward to having Jared with us every day on the grey, rainy island where we live!