Island Hopping

On Thursday eight of us seized a wonderful opportunity and visited the Aeolian Islands – specifically the islands of Salina, Panarea, and Stromboli. While we missed climbing La Rocco, we had a day filled with scenic views, quaint architecture, black sand and pebble beaches, and swimming. Aside from a slight sunburn, this experience has been...... KEEP READING

Posted by clairef on May 20, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

The One With La Rocca

On Thursday, May 18, we hiked up La Rocca in Cefalù:  Hiking up this mountain was something that some of my villa-mates and I were looking forward to from our very first day in Cefalù and when the time finally came it was even better (and also a little bit worse because of the heat...... KEEP READING

Posted by katiep on May 19, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Clothes Shopping in Cefalu

Cefalu is full of little local businesses- cheese shops, bread shops, souvenir stands, and even soap shops!  I love looking at the clothes boutiques, but the style of clothes found there did not seem like clothes you would wear on a regular basis.  There were sunhats draped with seashells, long, lacey, pastel dresses, and be-dazzled...... KEEP READING

Posted by cynthia on May 19, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Being Extra… But Also Frugal?

On Sunday, May 14th, we went to go see the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina.  The tour guide talked a lot about how the villa was constructed.  Most villas at the time were made symmetrical, but this villa was huge and historians say this is because additions were made to it over the...... KEEP READING

Posted by cynthia on May 19, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Some Good Home Cooking

Experience Blog 3 As much as I have loved Italian food, I had very little idea on how the food was actually cooked. All the appetizers, pizzas, and pastas have been masterfully presented to me but last Wednesday offered an opportunity to see how our food was prepared. Our group traveled into the mountains to...... KEEP READING

Posted by evan on May 19, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Food and Stuff

Here in Sicily, going grocery shopping is a completely different experience than it is in America. First of all, it is more common to frequent specialty shops rather than going to a supermarket to purchase all your goods. As I’ve found in Cefalu, there are shops that specialize in meat, cheese, wine, vegetables, and anything...... KEEP READING

Posted by fum on May 19, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Making Arincini

On Wednesday May 18, we took a bus into the rolling hills of Cefalù to the house of a man named Nino.  Him and his son Alessandro gave us a cooking lesson.  It was a four course meal with arancini as appetizers, pasta with fennel and lentils as the first plate, grilled sausage for the...... KEEP READING

Posted by pietro on May 18, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

A Long-Ass Dinner in the Mountains of Cefalù

Today, one of my long-time goals came true (in a way): I was “invited” to have dinner at someone’s home in Italy. Of course, I went with my entire group of around 24 kids and my teachers, but it only helped me to realize the beauty of how things always work out. If you know...... KEEP READING

Posted by chase on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Catholicism and Protestantism

On Tuesday, we took a tour of Cefalù on foot. At one point, we entered the cathedral that lies on Piazza Duomo after discussing its history. It’s a Catholic church, typical of Italy. The inside of the building was quite different from a typical American church (or at least the churches I’ve seen, which are all Protestant);...... KEEP READING

Posted by dylan on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Clothes shopping in Cefalù

https://youtu.be/TW0N21xlgro So far in Cefalù, I have eaten in the restaurants in town, gone to the beach, and had gelato (everyday), but I had yet to go shopping for clothes. I had no need for more clothes (and weight in my luggage), but I wanted to purchase something from Cefalù just to have it to...... KEEP READING

Posted by rita on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Experience Blog: Una Festa

Today we all took a cooking class in the hills of Cefalu’. Nino and company showed us a true Italian feast as we spent hours preparing and eating multiple dishes. The amount of care put into each dish made it truly seem like an art form. No shortcuts were taken as we individually crafted each...... KEEP READING

Posted by socrates on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

La casetta

pic.twitter.com/FCooqiib5r  Today after departing from Cefalu we ventured into the Sicilian countryside in the mountains where we took part in a three course feast with the residents of a beautiful casetta in the hills. The house was equipped with a rather large garden where the owners grew the majority of their vegetables to cook in...... KEEP READING

Posted by michaelp on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Villa Romana de Casale and the Valley of the Temples

On Sunday, we traveled to the western part of Sicily to visit Villa Romana de Casale near Piazza Armerina and the temples at Agrigento. The villa was enormous, boasting around 3,500 square meters of remarkably well preserved mosaics. The mosaics were beautiful and extremely intricate, each telling a different story to observers. My favorite mosaic...... KEEP READING

Posted by Caroline Powers on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Mass and Art at the Cathedral-Basilica

One experience of this past week was visiting the Cathedral in Piazza Duomo for Saturday evening mass, and then visiting it again in a tour with Vittoria. The mass was something I found particularly noteworthy, especially the subtle differences between the mass here and that of my parish back home. Hearing mass in a different...... KEEP READING

Posted by Izzy Lewis on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

---

Seeing the World in Photographs

Paintings of Cefalù done by a local artist, in the sand at the beach I see the world in pictures. When my eyes fall on a scene, I immediately frame a photo. I crop edges and play with colors and imagine adjusting the lighting. Our eyes work like cameras, with the power to change aperture, shutter...... KEEP READING

Posted by on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post, Blog posts

---