A "stroll" through Mistretta

Setting foot in Mistretta reminded me of the small mining communites near my hometown. The streets were narrow with houses aligned closely on both sides. There were people in front of many of the houses and as we wandered through town looking for any hotel, we noticed that more and more people were following closely behind us. Talk about strangers in a strange land, we could not speak Italian and no one else could speak English. As we walked on in eerie silence, we noticed that we now had a procession of more that 100 people following us. The only thing that I kept thinking about was the conversation about the Mafia with the young Italian student on the train . I was certain that these people were as wary of us as we were of them. Finally, we stumbled upon a small hotel.

Mistretta, Sicily

As we climbed the mountainous road, we were able to see Mistretta in the distance. Sitting at the peak of the mountain, we noticed that all the houses were constructed with stone from the surrounding hillsides. The bus soon stopped at our destination and we left the bus with our fellow passengers.

UP to Mistretta

Leaving the train station, we quickly discovered that our only means of transportation to Mistretta was an old school bus. We climbed on board, along with Italians bringing home chickens, vegetables, and pets, and began our journey along a winding, single-lane road to the mountain top where the town of Mistretta was located. Naturally, we were the center of attention on the bus ride and paranoia quickly set in. Every sideward glance or whispered tone, convinced us that everyone was talking about us.

Taking the Train to Mistretta

I have to preface this post by stating that I assumed that my grandfather was born in Mistretta, Sicily since his name was Alfonso Mistretta. Years later, I came to realize that this was not the case. I guess that happens whenever you are young and know everything that there is to know. However, our trip to Mistretta was quite an experience. Leaving Taormina by train, we continued by rail to Messina and proceeded along the Northern coast of Sicily to a small train station that was the closest to Mistretta.

On the train, we met a young Italian who was studying medicine in the United States and became involved in a lengthy discussion about our lives. During this conversation, I asked the young man if it were true that the Mafia was still active in Sicily. He immediately placed his hand over my mouth and warned me that I was to never utter that word publicly while visiting Sicily. Lesson learned. Other than this blunder, we had a delightful conversation until we arrived at our train station.

Some Helpful Sites for Messina and Taomina

For anyone travelling to the Eastern coast of Sicily, I have offered some helpful web sites.

Taormina

• 
  
  http://www.travelplan.it/taormina_guide.htm


• 
  
  http://www.tripadvisor.com/SmartDeals-g187892-Taormina_Sicily-Hotel-Deals.html


• 
  
  http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-485799-taormina_vacations-i

Messina

• 
  
  http://cruises.about.com/od/mediterraneancruises/ig/Mt--Etna-and-Messina--Sicily/


• 
  
  http://www.planetware.com/italy/messina-i-si-me.htm


• 
  
  http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-485794-messina_vacations-i

On to Taorimina

While touring the streets of Messina, we were told that we had to visit the town of Taormina. Hopping a train in Messina, we travelled the Eastern coast of Sicily to the resort town of Taormina. Believe me, we weren't disappointed. Our first activity was to rent a paddle boat with a tour guide who showed us the sights of Taormina and its' surrouding area from the vantage point of the Meditteranean Sea. Since we could clearly see the water floor, we remarked that we must be in fairly shallow water. The guide replied that the depth of water beneath our boat was approximately 70 to 90 feet. One had the feeling that you could simply reach down and touch the fish that were swimming between the plants at the bottom of the sea. The picture above is an example of the beautiful scenery that surrounds Taormina.

That evening we discovered that an International Film Festival was being hosted by the town of Taormina free of charge. We were told that the festival was held at the ancient Greek amphitheter which overlooked Taormina. At sunset, we climbed the steps to the amphitheater and watched with amazement as the sun disappeared over the horizon of the dark, blue Mediterranean Sea. Like our first meal in Messina, this scene and the atmosphere of the location was a truly memorable experience.

Images of Messina

The pictures posted here are from Messina, Sicily

A visit to Sicily

During the summer after my first year of teaching, my roommate and I toured throughout Europe for 2 1/2 months. It was so long ago that we actually used Fodor's "Europe on $5.00 a day" as our travel guide. One of our side trips was to spend a few days in Sicily in an effort to visit (where I thought that my grandparents were born) Mistretta, Sicily. After taking a train from Rome, we left the mainland of Italy by ferry and disembarked in Messina, Sicily. The harbor of Sicily is pictured above. My most memorable recollection of Messina was looking for a restaurant. What seems like a simple task was made difficult because we couldn't read or speak Italian and we didn't encounter anyone who spoke English.

After deciding on a restaurant, we quickly realized that we had no idea what was on the menu. Our perplexed looks must have been quite obvious to the waitress because, soon after being seated, the owner arrived at our table and invited us into the kitchen. The chef showed us the dishes that he was preparing for his patrons and our meal was selected by simply pointing to the items that we wanted him to prepare for us. Perhaps it was the unusual circumstances of selecting our meal, but it was a memorable moment. By the way, the food was wonderful.

Let's eat Italian!

Here are some interesting sites for your culinary delights.

• http://www.fineliving.com/fine/molto_mario/0,3147,FINE_29936,00.html


• http://www.1italianrecipes.com/


• http://italian.betterrecipes.com/


• http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/World-Cuisine/Europe/Italy/Main.aspx


• http://italianfood.about.com/


• http://www.italianhomerecipes.com/


• http://www.marianofoods.com/cart/index.php

A Family Delicacy

Now that the spaghetti and meatballs, rigatoni and sausage, linguini in white clam sauce, baked lasagna and breaded veal and chicken cutlets have been removed from the table, you might think that room is being made for dessert. Actually the table is being prepared for the dish that everyone has anticipated since we sat down to eat over an hour ago. Finally, my grandmother places two large pans of baked, stuffed artichokes on the table to the sound of resounding applause. I have tried time and again to duplicate this family delicacy, but I'll admit that it hasn't yet happened. Even so, stuffed artichokes are a wonderful conclusion for any festive meal. Here is the recipe that has been handed down to me.

• 2 cups of flavored bread crumbs


• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley


• 1 garlic clove - finely chopped


• 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil


• 3 tbls. of melted butter


• 1/2 tsp. of salt


• dash of ground pepper


• 4 medium size artichokes

Trim the bottom of each artichoke to form a flat base. Trim the sharp ends of each leaf of the artichokes.

Combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic in a mixing bowl. Sprinke the oil, melted buttter, and salt and pepper over the bread crum mixture. Toss until mixed well.

Spread open the artichoke leaves and place the stuffing inside of each leaf. Place the artichokes in a roasting pan which has one inch of boiling water on the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!