Aidone

The nearby town of Aidone. One thing I love about Sicily is almost every town is on a high spot, like a hill or mountain. Obviously it doesn't matter so much now but in years past the people wanted a strategic position to build a city.

Epic sauce with Mt. Etna in the background.

View from the very top of the city. When it's not cloudy you can see Mt. Etna clearly. 

There is a road that goes up to the top of the city and this is the view from the side. Ridiculously dreamy. 

Best arincini (rice balls) on the planet. There is a cafe located right across from the Archaeological Museum of Aidone where they make everything by hand and it's insanely cheap. I first went when Hans asked me if I wanted to come into a nearby town with him. We went in his old school Mercedes Van, and I met the owner who is German and speaks a couple languages. In the coming weeks I'd get to know the owner well because that was my spot! My favorite was buying a basilico & ragu rice ball and eating them together. Perfection. Me and Hans would joke around and call them tennis balls. Sometimes I'd walk the hour and half into town to get my fix and do some additional exploring.

Coming into Aidone over the bridge.

Vittorio has still been going into the shop almost everyday so I have a lot of time to myself which I love. Sometimes I walk out to the main road and hitch hike to either Aidone or Piazza Armerina. It's always funny when I get in the car and they start speaking Italian and I say, pointing to myself, Ameriiiiiiicaaaano. No Itaaaaliiiiiiano. Hahah. I can catch words here and there and certain phrases but it's really not much. Or sometimes I just walk into town. I realized how in shape I'm in when one day I walked the two hours back from Piazza Armerina and I felt my forehead and there wasn't a drop of sweat. And then after that I worked a few hours in the garden shoveling dirt for the new vegetable beds.

Almost everyone smokes here. I watched a Jr. High School get out and more than half the kids pulled out cigarettes, and some of the kids were trying to hitch hike. It's fun for me to sit back and watch a whole different society and culture in play. And they have some wacky hair styles, especially the guys ha.