Posted by meghan on Saturday, May 13, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

Calzone from Nadolina (daytime version)

Last night was the first night we truly experienced Italian dinner and wine on “Italian time” at the wine bar, Nadolina, directly below our apartment.  Upon arriving to the bar at 10 o’clock, the small inside area had only one customer casually enjoying dinner to the ambient sounds of classic American artists such as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin.  About an hour and a half later, we left the bar and decided to get gelato at Piazza Duomo before returning to Nadolina for dessert wine.  As we turned the corner on our way back to the restaurant at approximately 12:00 A.M, we were stunned by the tremendous mass of customers crowding the bar, the outside seating, and nearly blocking off the entire bottom half of the street.  We eagerly grabbed our drinks and made our way to the last remaining seats open outside on the street.  Before we knew it we had made friends with a large group of locals, both parties trying to converse in broken Italian and English and laughing at how silly we sounded.  The social scene in the street was incredible.  Friends were very playful with one another, laughter and shouts were abundant, and everyone was dressed stylishly while sipping wine and smoking cigarettes.  We soon learned that most of the crowd somehow knew each other as many of them had lived in Cefalú all of their lives, something no longer common to the U.S.   That night we left Nadolina at 3:30 A.M. despite the fact that the bar was still teeming with people and did not stop the music until 5:00 A.M.  This experience truly opened my eyes to European night life and the manner in which their entire way of life seems to follow a time table shifted 4 to 5 hours ahead of the average American’s schedule.  More than this, this experience provided unparalleled insight in regards to the value of food, wine, and socialization that shape Sicilian culture. Our Sicilian friends raved about their favorite wines, traditional dishes, and even their past loves and current relationships with both friends and family.  Such starkly contrasted the private and more reserved personalities many Americans adopt in regards to personal information and honest emotions.  Thus it became evident that these three elements of Sicilian culture have fostered a close knit community that lives in the moment and enjoys the richness that life itself has to offer.  As an American used to the excesses and materialism innate to the lifestyle back home, I aspire to live in the moment, forget the calories, and savor the flavors and relationships that I often rush right past while looking forward to the next big thing.