We left the hotel traveling through green fields partitioned by beautiful low stone walls. The walls show what was the outline of each rented property in the past. Today despite plenty of stone material, wall building is very expensive because the two sides lean towards each other held together by a shaped stone cap and filled in the center by small rocks left over from digging in the fields. It costs about 300 euros per day to hire a wall builder.
We arrived at the farm that is run by Jessica 46 and Raoul 48. He was originally a construction site manager and she worked in a bakery in Northern Italy. They had a child Sophia together, and moved to Sicily to start their dream. They found a property after 2 years that was long abandoned and owned by a French family. They rebuilt the house, added electricity and water, and cleared the land of bamboo. It took several years to make the place livable. Now they have a small air B&B business in summer.
The farm is charming. They have pigs, ducks, turkeys, chickens, sheep goats and a large land area with a field of hay and a man made pond for irrigation. We were greeted with tea and coffee and then taken around to visit the animals. It is an impressive work that they have established such a working farm. They have become suppliers to local markets and a 2 star Michelin restaurant in Ragusa. We had a delicious farm lunch. The scraps we didn’t eat were collected to feed the animals. Nothing is wasted. We left after having homemade pomegranate or lemon and bay digestives …after dinner shots.
I took a required nap upon return and then Patricia and I decided to visit the upper town. It was pouring rain ans we got on the bus. Our plan was to take the bus up and walk down so we did a round trip cycle on the bus for a mere 1 euro 50. The bus driver wasn’t busy and he was clearly amused.
Before dinner we met with Andrea, our leader, for a short outing. It was called “don’t judge a book by its cover”. We walked to a back street in town to a very plain building. It took a while for our host to answer the door BUT inside was an incredible trove of antique furniture as well as musical instruments. The house has been in the family since the 16th century. The man who now lives there is a bachelor in his late 70’s or early 80’s. He plays the organ in the Duomo and gives music lessons. His house is an overwhelming mix of furniture, paintings, silver, china and clothing. The house will eventually pass to his nephew. The owner played one of his pianos for us. He said he had once accompanied Maria Callas as she was preparing to sing Norma.
We wandered off to dinner after. The streets are lined with blinking lights for Valentine’s Day. Tomorrow we leave to go towards Catania.
The Adventures of Anne 