Experience Sicily

16/03/2025

Viva San Giuseppe! Saint Joseph's Day is March 19, and today, I am thrilled to gather in New York City for our annual celebration of the father, the masculine, and spring's arrival, and to see friends and family. The feminine mother Earth is coming back to life after the famine of winter. The masculine father Sun is balancing the Earth's energy (That's what the upcoming spring equinox is all about!) to warm the earth and make everything grow. We need both masculine and feminine in balance for fertility, prosperity, abundance, and peace. This rendition of the holy family with Jesus (in other words, humanity) in the middle of Mary and Joseph was captured on a hand-painted Sicilian cart in Bagheria at Villa Cattolica's cart exhibition, part of the Museo Guttuso.

08/03/2025

Mimosa, the flower decorating my cafè table in Sicily today, is the symbol of International Women’s Day or la Festa della Donna in Italy. It is currently in bloom in warmer climates of the Italian peninsula. International Women’s Day is celebrated throughout the world. It recognizes the contributions of women to society, originating in the labor and suffrage movements in the United States of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. To celebrate today, recognize the women in your life and the leadership and caretaking they contribute to your life.

Buona Festa!

07/03/2025

Celebrate Saint Joseph's Day with in New York City on Sunday, March 16 at Cacio e Pepe restaurant in the East Village. We'll have a full traditional meal of maccu, pasta con le sarde, other dishes, and of course, sfinci di San Giuseppe (pictured)! Spots are filling up - - Note: this annual event sells out! I'll talk about the Feast's traditions and legends. We'll have an altar for Saint Joseph with ritual breads. You can enter our raffle for products from Sicily, and there will be live, Sicilian-inspired music. It's a wonder-filled afternoon that will warm your heart! Let's usher in spring together! Reserve today at link in bio or at https://ExperienceSicily.com

06/03/2025

Pizza in Palermo. This was so good. Oh, and it had fresh ricotta baked into the crust. Yup. Let us at show you the way...

28/02/2025

Wandering Sicily's last full day at Vendicari Nature Preserve. Lemon orchards, fields of white clover and asphodelus, the turquoise sea, white waves, an, ancient tuna fish farm and canning factory, and flamingos! Capped off with gelato in Marzamemi. Grazie sempre to for a renewing and wonder-filled week!

25/02/2025

23/02/2025

Even with the rain and fog, the UNESCO recognized Pantalica was beautiful and mysterious, thanks to our outstanding guide ! The day finished with a visit to the baroque town of Palazzolo Acreide... Wandering Sicily, our walking and cultural immersion tour continues...

17/02/2025

Our second day of hiking for Wandering Sicily with with lunch by . Cava d'Ispica is a magical place! I feel the millenia of souls who have walked along this canyon... The crossroads of humanity and the Earth itself. It vibrates with an unforgettable energy.

16/02/2025

Photography in Sicily with and Don Toothaker was once again amazing to host! Here are highlights from my lens... I can't wait to see what the participants photographed!

15/02/2025

Starting Wandering Sicily walking tour today!

24/01/2025

Find us this Saturday and Sunday at the Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City! will be at Booth 256. Hear live music and enter our raffle for Sicilian-inspired products at the Global Beats Stage on Saturday at 12:30PM and Sunday at 1PM. Enter to win our show only deals and to unwrap a special Travel Show Celebration offer on our 2025 Small Group Tours.

16/01/2025

Sicily is calling you! This February 15 to 22 embark on an unforgettable adventure with Wandering Sicily: Walking in Sicily small group tour, hosted by Experience Sicily. Join us to explore breathtaking landscapes, ancient history, and vibrant culture.

Be captivated by the stunning beauty of Sicily as you traverse its diverse terrain, from breathtaking mountains to stunning coastline with less than 10 other travelers. Immerse yourself in the island’s storied past. From the UNESCO recognized village of Ragusa Ibla, you explore hidden caves, baroque towns, and flourishing farmland. On your way, indulge in traditional Sicilian cuisine through cheese and chocolate demonstrations and a hands-on cooking class.

Join Experience Sicily's owner Allison Scola and Ragusa local, hiking guide on this remarkable journey to unveil the hidden treasures of Sicily, one step at a time.

Let us take care of the planning, preparation, and logistics during this renewing week of walking and community.

Learn more and register at link in bio .

11/01/2025

Etna today, covered in snow, is just glorious!

09/01/2025

This week the New York Times announced its annual 52 Places to Travel list. I am thrilled to see Sicily once again on this list at number 45. The Times focused its featured destinations based on *experiences,* mostly those which enable travelers to witness places respectfully through visiting off-the-beaten-path villages and scenic routes – exactly what we love to share with our guests. Specifically, the Times discusses the Sicily Divide, a cycling route that extends from western Sicily’s salt flats of Trapani (pictured) to eastern Sicily’s volcanic Mount Etna and Ionian Sea. As the piece explains, “the Divide shows adventurers the island’s more intimate side while brining new life to communities that have suffered from depopulation over the last decades.” Certainly, Experience Sicily tours include historic and culturally significant sites, always the initial draw to the Italian region. However, the art of a remarkable itinerary is balancing those renowned sites with poignant, unexpected connections that naturally occur in far-flung places. As the Times article quotes, “it makes it clear that people are Sicily’s real attraction.”

07/01/2025

The architecture of the Cathedral of Palermo is a salad of historic styles: Arab-Norman, Spanish, Gothic, and Baroque.

06/01/2025

Today is the Epiphany also know as Three Kings Day, the day that marks the end of the Christmas season and observes when the infant Jesus was presented to the Magi or three wise men. Epiphany means an illumination or discovery. Legend is that the Magi were Persian priests "from the East" who read the stars for information from the gods. In other words, for prophecies. They were men of science and wealth and from reading the night sky, they determined a king was born. They came to pay homage to him, following the stars to know where to find him. Once they arrived, the wise men presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the family. This scene is illustrated in this wood carving that came from a Sicilian cart I saw last week in the Museo Guttuso in Bagheria.

05/01/2025

We took a trip back in time today during the 40th Edition of the live presepio (Nativity) presented in Custonaci, Sicily. With Erice as the backdrop with Venus rising with the moon, this, was a, special visit! This is a lovely way to enjoy the Christmas season.

31/12/2024

Wishing you good health and joyful discoveries through many adventures in 2025!