The joy of lunch

There is a serious risk that the majority of this blog will be about food. I love food; I love eating with my loved ones; I love being in welcoming restaurants; and I love drinking wine with good food. The opportunities to do all of these in Italy are great; and so far in Sicily, to do these while eating wonderful fish, are even greater.

But first, of course, for Easter Sunday, it was chocolate for breakfast. Then a morning of lounging about and playing, enjoying the sunshine, which had finally arrived properly (I sleep right next to the windscreen, and I could feel warmth coming off it when I woke up: a good sign for the day to come). Then we walked into the local town for lunch. There was a real chance that nowhere would be open; it was certainly quiet on the streets. But Kevin did some googling and we headed along the sea front in hope.

It was a glorious walk between the clear, dark blue sea on one side and the lush mountains on the other, looming over the town. The sun was warm - despite the fresh wind, I was happy with bare arms (and experienced the extraordinary situation where I was the person around with the fewest clothes on - normally I'm in at least two layers more than those around me, but the Sicilians, used to 40 degrees, were still in coats). It felt like holiday.

We walked right to the other end of the town, passing only closed restaurants, and our doubts grew. But when we found the restaurant on a side street, it was, miraculously, open. And it was wonderful: a lovely welcome; a few other tables of friendly Italian families, who all seemed to know each other; and lots of help with the specials and local white wine to go with them (including showing us the fish we were going to eat, which Jemima enjoyed).

Jemima had little grilled red local fish and Kevin had seafood pasta and another local grilled fish, while I had a Sicilian version of sashimi on a slate with nuts and flowers, and the biggest oyster I've ever seen. (It was all spectacular, apart from a heap of something tendril-y called neonata (newborns) which I did struggle with.) Then I had another local fish with mussels in a sort of tomatoey broth, which I said to Kevin was one of my best meals ever. Then more local specialities for dessert. The only non-local aspect was my mint tea, which I had to explain to them and caused some consternation.

While Kevin and I indulged, Jemima was making friends with a four year old called Carol: at one point they sat together at another table both drawing quietly; then we shared our Acorn Wood sticker book, swapping English and Italian names for the animals. It was so relaxed, no worries about upsetting other diners, because every table had children. The whole experience took about three hours; one of my favourite ways to spend time.

Back to the Beatrix, a nap for Jemima and sitting in the sun for Kevin and I. Then a quiet evening, and a very small dinner. Today was basically all about lunch, and it was lovely. 

PS now that the wifi is working again, I'm going to try to add a few photos to this post. (I'll also put all the maps in the previous posts tonight - I'll try to add some photos too, but not tonight.)

Morning sun:

 Happy Easter!:

Walking to lunch along the seafront at Sant'Alessio Siculo:

Lunch at Accabanna:

My Sicilian sushi:

Jemima and Carol:

Sant'Alessio Siculo: