Exploring Scicli's Hidden Gems: A Day of History, Picnics, and Gelato in Sicily | Day 12 of my 2023 Journal

Scicli, Sicily, Italy!

Yesterday, we did our second walk in beautiful Scicli, Southeast Sicily. We bought some early strawberries at the fruit and vegetables van and walked around one of the many churches to look at the houses in caves, now mostly garages.

This time the house in a cave museum was open, and it was simply amazing. The host was the grandson of the last father, actually living in the cave. He had restored the home, where six children grew up in one room, with a full-size loom, a big bread oven, everything for spinning and knitting, a huge kneading area, and a separate room/part of the cave for the donkey and the chicken.

The museum host showed us around with so much detail, and I realized I understood quite a lot of Italian, as I ended up being the translator for the group. What a great challenge for the brain! It worked fine. Now, I just need to begin to speak the language!

Later, we had a lovely picnic; Sicily features produce of extremely high quality, making any lunch simply a feast.

Then we walked up to the abandoned church at the top of the cliffs, enjoying the amazing view, the sunlight, and the fresh air. Something happened during the Second World War, so a graveyard was abandoned. Today, there are human bones in the caves behind the church, and with deep respect, we collected as much of a skeleton as possible.

Sitting in the sun on the wall, with the view all the way to the ocean, I re-read the Wikipedia page for Sicily, absorbing new details.

Back down, we had gelato and coffee and saw a church or two more. All of this with our friends, who had just arrived from Denmark.

What a beautiful day.

Scicli is UNESCO-protected. It is a lovely place on earth for a walk or a picnic or an afternoon or a nice dinner. We will have to come back.

Love and light

Cecilie Conrad

#12 of my 365 writing challenge - Read them all here

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