We started off the morning driving to the tiny town of Savoca where a large part of the Godfather was filmed. This little town of 1,700 has definitely capitalized on this movie. Also while we were there we met with a journalist who basically has made it his life to fight the Mafia. He gave us a very in depth history lesson dating back 100 years. Although he was very passionate, he and others in his organization seem to be fighting a losing battle when the Mafia have infiltrated the government and the legal system in Sicily.

We wandered around this cute little town, stopping at bakeries and stores.

After leaving Savoca we returned to Taormina for one of the best afternoon of the trip, the home hosted lunch. We broke into 3 groups and we went to the home of Rafaela who prepared a fabulous vegan lunch. I was not the only person that had dietary issues, There were also 2 people that were vegetarians. Our guide Nino joined us because Rafaela was not confident in her English. The picture below is the appetizer portion of the meal.

We started out with a delicious vegetable soup. In the large bowl was camponata which is basically a vegetable stew with eggplant, tomatoes, olives, onions, peppers and garlic. The only way I have made it at home is the addition of tomato paste and you cook it down until it becomes basically like a spread that you can use with crackers, etc. Also on the table was a caprese plate with olives, mozzarella and the best tomatoes I have eaten in a long time. Cold green beans with garlic like my mother-in-law used to make. Roasted red peppers with lemon. A dish of greens with cooked onions. No one knew the English name for the greens but they were very good.

The main course was Pasta alla Norma that has been my go to since I got here.

This wonderful meal was prepared in this tiny little kitchen,

And finally a picture of the hostess with the mostess, the talented, Rafaela. She even wears earrings bigger than me.

Dinner with the girls did not happen until 9:00 PM. We are definitely turning into Italians. We just stopped into a local restaurant that looked good and we were not disappointed. Teri and Janice finally had their Pasta Con le Sarde (Pasta with Sardines). I had my go to – Pasta alla Norma. I am sad to say that this version was better than Rafaela’s.

My next post will be a little risqué to some and X rated to others so read it with caution!