Whining about Wine

Ok , so you got the idea that wine was a major theme on Monday in Scopello…I awoke Tuesday feeling like I’d just been through a wine-enders program and was really hoping I could just sleep it off. No luck. Had to get up early and trek on. Luckily for me, Tuesday’s agenda included a visit to a winery (help!)… First stop today was the town of Monreale to visit a cathedral known for it’s golden mosaics heavily influenced by the Arabs. It was pretty cool especially the light pouring through the windows firing up all that gold.

Short drive later and just as I was starting to feel normal again we arrived at the Calatras winery for a tour and tasting. It’s a pretty big operation, very modernized, so I did not get to hear Italian women in black dresses with purple-stained feet singing “stomp the grapes” which was kind of disappointing.

We were forced to try more wine and eat more incredible food. This is torture! The antipasti was one of the best so far - more delicious olives, roasted peppers, little meatballs, and other tasty stuff. The pasta was a creamy risotto that I really loved and there was also a penne dish. That was followed by grilled meats - succulent sausages, lamb kabobs, and thin pork chops. The whole meal came to only 3.5 WW points! Really!! Well, except for the dolce which was more of those little cheese packets wrapped in flaky dough that I cannot get enough of.

Then it was back on the bus. Amazingly, everyone was very quiet and I don’t remember much as I was totally zonked out. Not sure what happened, could have been a group alien abduction (or maybe just full bellies and good wine). I awoke as we wound our way into Cefalù a wonderful little fishing village with great atmosphere in the city center, sandy beaches, and la Rocca - a chunk of rock mountain that dominates the city.

We had a great hotel right in the heart of everything with a room the size of a linen closet. Not a villa like the last town, but the roof of the hotel had a patio and the party continued.

A little note of reality…we are in Palermo and can finally see news in English. It looks like the world is going to crap. Guess we’ll be working the rest of our lives, no retirement for us. I’m glad we got a chance to go on this incredible trip now.

Chow for now...