My relationship with Sicily feels both new and deep. I've only visited a few times over the last 25 years ('99, '19, & '24) and during those 3 visits my combined length of time on the island has been less than a month. Although I lack very much first-hand experience there, the ancestral connection has been blooming despite so much still being unknown. On my first trip, I knew very little about my grandfather's life beyond it being his birthplace. On my second trip, I returned having more historical detail but I left knowing that I needed to delve deeper. And now, that trend is destined to be on repeat... On my third and most recent visit, I dedicated more time (trip planning beforehand, staying longer, and digging into details afterwards) and it has now awoken an intense curiousity for more. All in all, it has been a mere sip of Sicily so far and my thirst for knowledge continues...
Halfway through our travels in October 2024 both my husband and I were feeling a bit under the weather. Thankfully, we were able to balance rest, nourishing food, and a bit of easy sightseeing while we were in Sicily. When we arrived in Modica mid-day, I browsed a list of recommended places for lunch. As soon as I saw soup listed on one of the online menus I knew we found our spot.
- Fresh Tagliolini egg pasta with cream of Modican broad fava beans and wild fresh fennel in the red bowl
- Fresh Lolli handmade pasta with whole Modican fava Cottoia beans in the yellow bowl
Conveniently both dishes were vegetarian and exactly what we were after (throughout the rest of this trip we never found another place that offered vegetarian soups!)
This delicious meal was thanks to a tip from Allison Scola of Experience Sicily who helped create a custom itinerary for our trip. Amidst my initial independent planning I quickly realised that there was so much ground I hoped to cover but not nearly enough time. Wanting to see it all and not sure what to cut out, I'm very grateful for the support Allison provided. She curated a perfect balance of spending time in my ancestral region of Messina as well as discovering new places around the island at a relaxed pace.
Tune in again soon for part 2 of this post- I promise it will be sweet 😋
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