La Bella Sicilia

Jon and I spent the long weekend after Thanksgiving in Sicily... I'm putting together a long blog post on it but in the mean time I thought I would stick up a little teaser!!! I always used to dream about living in a villa in Italy, Sicily reinforced this dream. The light, the colors, the coffee, the fresh fruit and veg, my oh my.  After we got off the early morning ferry from Malta, Jon and I went looking for some coffee... We found a town center and ordered two cappuccinos, I kept wondering what was taking the lady so long. When they arrived  I quickly realized why it had taken her forever. She wrote welcome to Sicily on one of them!!! I was blown away by her gesture, plus they were super delish.

Sicilia part I Siracusa

Jon and I stayed our first night in Sicily at the lovely rustic Villa dei Papiri, a short drive from Siracusa (Syracuse) As you can see from the pictures the place is covered in groves, of lemon, orange and olives. Nearby is a wetlands nature reserve full of papyrus, which is where the villa got it's name. It's a perfect spot for a rustic Italian destination wedding, or a fun family get together. I think we were the only people there than night.  I think both Jon and I were just so overwhelmed with how different the landscape of Malta and Sicily are. Even though they are only a 90 min ferry from each other, Sicily is just so big and has so much agriculture. They had just had a bunch of rain and everything was so green and fresh looking. Oh Sicily I think I'm in love!

Thankful

I have so many things to be thankful for. Last week was Thanksgiving, and I felt a bit bummed that I was so far away from family and friends and unable to celebrate with others. I was feeling sorry for myself and complaining a bit to my lovely husband. He was so understanding, and just plain awesome. We decided to spend the long weekend in Sicily, as a little treat, and to do something fun since we couldn't be with family and friends this year.  I am soooo glad we went! (Pics will be coming soon.) It made me realize that I really do have SO much to be thankful for. The picture above is just a little pretty with many things I love and am so thankful for, beautiful flowers, stunning colors, great cook books, my super awesome cozy red and white stripey scarf from H&M in the background.... I could go on and on.
What are you thankful for?

Lovely Gozo

The Cornucopia Hotel never looked so good! That's where Jon and I have stayed a few times. Sweet and unfussy

The Grand Hotel in Gozo has a grand view as well. Jon's Aunt and Uncle stayed here a bit grander than ours.

The Azure window in Gozo is truly a spectacular sight.

Ta' Mena part deu

I was trying to get the baby goat to come a bit closer so I could pet it, I used a bit of bribery in the form of cactus leaves.

We took my husbands Aunt and Uncle to Ta'Mena Estate when we were visiting Gozo a few weeks ago. I was so pleased that we finally got a chance to see the baby goats and explore a bit more. We went up to see all the crazy farm animals of course the dogs led the way. We even ran into Grandpa picking olives, he is in his 80's and still working hard, amazing!!! We couldn't leave with out buying a fab bottle of wine, and their delicious sun dried tomato paste which is to die for it's so yummy!!! I think we are addicted to it. Not sure what we are going to do when we leave Malta!

That is one thing I have really been enjoying since living in Malta all of the incredible fresh produce. I've been cooking a lot of Mediterranean inspired dishes, last night I made a tasty Sicilian fish stew. I can't get enough of the tomatoes and olive oil, it's been such a treat. I do have to be careful not to go crazy with the pasta, because everyone knows what happens when you eat too much pasta!!! Not a pretty sight. I have found a tasty gluten free alternative which is pretty similar to the original thing.

Birthday adventures in Beaune

Le belle fille on her birthday..... riding the town carousel, all us girls got on for a spin.

Falls beauty

 

A few weeks ago I went on a 10 day trip to Switzerland and France (with out my husband, he stayed home and went to work, poor guy). It was the first time I had spent any time in France. We stayed in a little town called Beaune in Burgundy. I went for a friends birthday celebration, the food, wine, and company was top notch.  Fall was beginning to stretch her legs, I was able to capture some of it's gorgeousness  with my camera, I love the turning of seasons. 

Stumbled upon these little fungi on my way to play tennis with a friend in Switzerland, it was like a magical world at my feet with three or four different kind of mushrooms all growing in one small area of trees.

Stunning fall colors were beginning to show.

Down the street from the Emersons  house...