Review By Missa652 - Burlington, MA - USA (July 2012)
Culture Discovery and Sicily - a little bit of heaven on earth
IMPORTANT: Culture Discovery's Italian vacations have known to be addictive!
| Written By: | Missa652 |
| Rating: | |
| Location: | Burlington - MA - USA |
| Review Source: | Trip Advisor |
| Type of Traveler: | Couple |
| Itinerary: | Sicily - Favignana |
Full Review
IMPORTANT: Culture Discovery's Italian vacations have known to be addictive!
In June 2012 I took my 3rd Culture Discovery cooking vacation, this time to Sicily. I knew this trip was going to be good, but Michael and Paola have outdone themselves again. This trip was truly amazing on so many levels: the scenery was beautiful; the experiences authentic and unique; the people were warm and welcoming; and the food, well there are no words good enough to describe the food.
The scenery – Our home for the week was at, Nido del Pellegrino, on Favignana, an island off of Sicily. Nido was right on the water only a matter feet away from the bluest water you have ever seen. Betta, Ivan, and their staff made us feel so at home, we were continuously calling Nido a little piece of heaven on earth. Just when you thought the island couldn’t get any more beautiful, it did.
The experiences – In how many vacations can you harvest salt, sunbathing on several inches of solid salt, had a midday snack inside a running, functional windmill, help local fisherman put out and pull in their nets and I haven’t even gotten to the cooking classes. I could go on about some of the other cool things we did, but you’ll need to discover some of them for yourself :-).
The food - We were taught how to cook a lot of the dishes Sicily is famous for like caponata and one of my favorites, the cannoli. We also learned how to make ricotta cheese, sausage, arancini and more. And when we weren’t cooking something good, we were eating something really good like pesto made with pistachios or Sfincione (Sicilian pizza) off a street cart in Palermo or Tagliatelle pasta which is so good, you don’t waste time using a fork. Talk about some fun food!
The people – Of course there is Michael, Paola, and Spartaco from Culture Discovery who will feel like extended family by the end of the trip. They introduce you to such personable, warm, and interesting people that make you feel like you are part of the Sicilian community. Along with Betta and Ivan, there is Scipio whose amazing stories and insights entertained us as he guided through Sicily. And our different instructors all brought a different flavor and flare to our cooking classes. I am not sure what I did more of cook, eat, or, laugh.
There is a term in Italian cooking “quanto basta” that means “as much as is needed” which we used a lot during our time in Sicily. When asked how many times I plan on traveling with Culture Discovery, I tell them “quanto basta”. If you want to have a unique vacation that will have your Facebook friends drooling over? Do you want an authentic Sicilian experience? If so, Culture Discovery is the way to go.
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| Sample Photo from this Itinerary |