Off to a great New Year

Though we may not have rung in 2012 in fashion, our year is starting off beautifully.  On New Year's Eve we were in bed (and asleep) by 9:30.  I made a dinner of baked coconut shrimp, halibut olympia, parmesan potatoes, and mixed salad.  I figured that when I woke up around midnight for one of my many trips to the bathroom, I would wake Patrick up and we could have our kiss.  Luckily the background fireworks did the trick for us.  We woke briefly to wish each other a 'Happy New Year!', exchange a quick kiss, then back to the land of nod for us.

If you haven't noticed these last few months have been sparse on travel for us.  With my trip to Alaska, and now not being able to fly, we haven't made many trips abroad.  Though to be honest we still have a few places around Sicily we would like to visit.  Sicily may not be a huge tourist destination (especially when you compare it to the rest of Italy), but there are some very lovely towns to explore.  We likely won't be straying too far from home for the next few weeks, but we are still hopeful that we will get out a bit more.

Sunday we thought it would be fun to head up to Mt. Etna.  When we lived out in town we were on a direct (or as direct as an Italian road is) to the top of the mountain.  In fact, we could have driven there in about 15-20 minutes, but really never did.  We decided to drive up through our old town and straight up to the mountain.  It's been snowing some up there and we were desperate for some snow.  (Sorry to those of you reading this from Alaska, mainly my parents.)  While we were happy that we ventured up there, we didn't think about it being the first of the year, a Sunday, and a holiday.  It was nuts!  We didn't do much exploring, but we plan to go back sometime soon.

Monday we took a quick trip up to Taormina.  We've been there a few times, but wanted to go back again.  When our friends visited in April they bought a vase, but after staring at it for a few months decided they would prefer a different color.  I knew exactly where they bought it, so when she asked if we could go to pick it up for them, I told her 'no problem.'  To be honest, this was a few months ago, but I kept forgetting.  I blame my forgetfulness on pregnancy brain, it's a real thing, you know!

We walked through the beautiful city, picked up some ceramic bowls, and a beautiful painting.  I think my favorite part of the day was lunch.  Yes, I'm pregnant, but trust me you would have liked this place too!  So many of the touristy cities are filled with the typical trattoria and pizzeria type fare.  Think pizza (duh), pastas, salads (consisting of mixed lettuce, tomatoes, maybe some corn, tuna, mozzarella, olive oil, and vinegar), pannini, etc.  Each restaurant has much the same menu, and the food tastes about the same.  However, on this trip we stumbled across a wonderful little place.

Mt. Etna from the East.  It almost constantly has steam
rolling off the top.  It is one beautiful mountain.

The chef came out to our table to ask if we had any questions.  He told us about the homemade pastas and sauces that were on the menu, and made some wonderful recommendations.  Patrick had carpacio of beef, we split an amazing eggplant appetizer (thinly sliced eggplant, fresh pesto, tomato sauce, parmesan), and tried what I would describe as a caprese fritter (buffalo mozzarella and tomato wrapped in a bread dough and fried).  For our main dishes Patrick had homemade ravioli stuffed with potatoes and shrimp, and I had pillowy soft homemade gnocchi with pistachio pesto.  It was divine!  And I promise that for those of you who come to visit us, we will go to Taormina (a must!) and eat at this wonderful restaurant.  It was my favorite meal we've had here.