Some Academy Love

One thing I love about the Bay Area is the number of places to explore. We usually opt for the free activities like hiking, or we splurge on some tasty food at a local restaurant. The Cal Academy of Sciences though has been on our list of places to visit ever since we moved out here.

The Academy has a variety of different exhibits to explore, including a planetarium, rain forest  aquarium, and (right now) an earthquake exhibit. I think my favorite part was the earthquake exhibit and planetarium show featuring the San Francisco earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. One part of the earthquake exhibit is the Shake House, a simulator of what the two major SF earthquakes would have felt like. Since moving here, the biggest earthquake we have felt was around 3.0 and only lasted a few seconds. I'm not sure how I would even react to a 7.0 earthquake lasting up to a minute! (Seriously, earthquakes freak me out!)

We also enjoyed walking through the Rain forest and seeing all of the beautiful and bright creatures. The rain-forest is a 4-story dome structure with birds and butterflies flying around inside. Unfortunately, we had just missed the parrots, but the smaller birds were just as pretty, though much harder to photograph. I really loved trying to capture some of the gorgeous butterflies, but they don't like sitting still too long...

From the rain forest, we took an elevator down to the aquarium. Sam and I have visited a number of aquariums, but for some reason they never get old! This one was definitely a little smaller since it shares its home with other exhibits, but it still housed some very cool sea creatures. I especially loved this gold, sparkly fish. I also love fish faces- they have the funniest expressions!

We ate lunch at the in-house cafe, and it was delicious! Seriously, the food was great, and they even had a coffee bar where you can order coffees, teas or hot chocolate (or something a little stronger). We ate outside on the patio, and then ventured over to watch the baby ostriches. They were so freaking cute!

The visit was tons of fun, and I'd definitely recommend it for both adults and kids. They also have a program on Thursday nights called Nightlife at the Academy for visitors 21+. They serve cocktails, have a DJ or live band, and have a special theme for the night with guest speakers and special activities. It is DEFINITELY on my list of things to attend sometime soon.

Birthday Celebrations: Sailing on the Bay!

As part of my "becoming 25 celebrations," Sam and I scored a great deal through Living Social to take a sailboat ride around the bay. We both concluded that this is a fantastic way to see the bay and really experience its beauty.

The ride began at Pier 33, right off of Fisherman's Warf. One thing I would recommend is to definitely dress warmly. Even though Berkeley was a lovely 70 degrees, the wind coming off the bay was not so warm. Sam and I both wore sweaters and wind breakers, and I could have seriously used some gloves. BUT, the sun was shining, and you certainly can't take a sail boat ride without wind!

We sailed on The Privateer, a 41 foot traditional style sailboat, with about 15 other people. The deal included 2 free drinks, and we could bring snacks or other drinks if we wanted. The captain and first mate/bartender were very nice and offered extra blankets and windbreakers for anyone not prepared for the chilly wind.

Our route was to leave the Fisherman's Warf area and head out toward the Golden Gate Bridge, then we went around Alcatraz and by Angel Island, before swinging back along the coast and into the warf. 

One of the coolest aspects of the cruise was the fact that tons of other sailboats were on the bay competing. Many of the sailboats we saw were just magnificent with beautifully colored sails and large crews. I was surprised at how fast some of them cruised by us. I especially love the picture below of the blue, white, and black sailboats in a row.

 

At one point, our boat must have been cutting through the course because we heard a lot of shouting directed in our direction from an oncoming boat, and our captain actually turned on the motors to move us out of the way quickly.

 

I have never watched a sailing competition before, so I was curious as to how they made sure people don't cheat. Towards the end of the trip, we noticed these boats that had "Jury" written on the side which were sitting around markers on the course, presumably to make sure everyone was following the rules. You learn something new every day :)

 

 

Anyway, it was just a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with my hubby. I could have taken a nap right there on the water with the sun in my face and the gentle rocking of the boat. It was perfect!

 

There's always more after the pasta.

If you haven't noticed yet, Sam and I love food. Maybe it is because growing up in an Italian family, dinners weren't just dinners, but more like the event of the day. Our family social gatherings always take place in the kitchen, and preparing food is more than just pulling something frozen out or going to a restaurant. Dinner in Sicily was no different.

Every morning, my Nonno would pick us up from my aunt's house and take us to a small coffee bar in the city. We would order a stuffed cornetta (croissant), an espresso for Sam, and a cappuccino for me. These cornettas were so delicious, and filled with sweet ricotta cheese, nutella, or vanilla custard. Hmm, wondering which one I got EVERYDAY? Nutellla all the way :)

Another summertime breakfast, which Sam especially enjoyed, was granita with bread. Granita is a frozen lemon mixture similar to sorbet or italian ice that is served with bread or brioche for breakfast. It is cool, sweet, and refreshing, especially when it is so hot out! One morning my grandfather went and bought a 2 kilogram container of it for us- I think Sam had 2 or 3 servings that morning. 

After breakfast and beach time, we would come back to one of my aunts' houses for lunch. For us, lunch has always been something small- a sandwich, soup and salad, something filling but not overwhelming. Even though we had visited Sicily before, we had forgotten our mantra, "there is always more after the pasta." The first day, my aunt brought out a huge bowl of delicious pasta with red sauce and eggplant. I stuffed myself; it was just so good! Then, my plate was taken away, and chicken cutlets were brought out. Of course, I was given a plate with a perfectly made breaded cutlet. It is one of those comfort foods that my grandparents have always made, and I absolutely love. After finishing that, I didn't think I could fit another thing! 

But, then my Aunt brought out fresh fruit, cheese, and bread. Well, cheese, bread? I am Italian after all. How could I pass these up? And the fresh pears from my uncle's tree? They were the sweetest and most delicious pears I have ever had. And after all of this, there was also a gelato cake! And of course, more espresso. So much for my diet. After living alone all summer, I think this was the most food I had eaten in one sitting in months! It was just so good though.

Pasta + Meat was our usual lunch combination, while dinner was usually eaten later in the evening and consisted of something a bit lighter. Since Sicily is a port city, there is always plenty of fresh fish. My nonno loves fish, and wanted to make some for us while we were visiting. He took us to the local fish market one day to pick out some things for dinner. All of these fish were brought in daily from the local fisherman.

 

Sam and I were horrified at the sights of these rays. I couldn't believe they had faces! Of course Sam and I are off snickering to the side about how we could absolutely not eat something like that when my nonno orders three of them!

 

Apparently the catch of the day was a sword fish. I guess I had no idea how big a sword fish was until I saw it all chopped up on the back table.

Our meal that night consisted of these tiny little fried fish, octopus, salad, and the rays. The octopus was delicious, steamed with parsely, lemon juice, and olive oil. The little fish were also good, but Sam and I were just not very good at eating whole fish. These ones were fairly manageable because they didn't have any small bones, but some of the other fish meals were a struggle. Usually, a family member stepped in to debone our fish for us before we ate. Oh, the silly Americans who don't know how to eat fish...

 

 

Nonno posed for me while I took a picture of our meal. On a side note- there was always Coke to drink with dinner (never diet), as well as beer and some wine. I was very rarely offered any alcohol to drink, unlike Sam who was offered some at every meal.

 

Speaking of alcohol...Grappa is an after dinner drink that is supposed to aid in digestion. My mother's cousin offered us a bit of some after dinner one night. I had had it before, but this aged variety was delicious. Grappa is pretty strong- so we only had a shot glass full. 

 

One thing I absolutely love about the my families' kitchens is they all had wood burning or brick ovens. As a special treat, one of my great aunts made muffuletta for us using her brick oven.

 

Muffuletta is a type of sicilian bread that is used to make sandwiches. The bread is seasoned with different spices and then topped with sesame seeds. It was amazing to watch my family first make the buns and then my aunt and uncle slide them into the oven to bake. There was definitely plenty for the whole family!

 

 

We stuffed the muffuletta with salsiccia (italian sausage) and tuna. The dinner was delicious, but the atmosphere was also perfect- my whole family sitting around outside eating the food with music playing and kids running around. Eating in Sicily really was all about spending time with family, one thing that I think Americans don't always embrace.

 

This trip was so amazing, and I know it is something that Sam and I will always look back on. The family time, especially with my grandparents and great aunts and uncles, is absolutely priceless.

 

A Sicilian Summer



Two years ago, Sam and I made our first trip to Sicily during our post-graduation Europe trip. We were only able to stay there for a few days though and were heavily reliant on my second cousin, Laura, to be our guide as the only English speaking family member. So, earlier this year when my grandparents told us they were making a trip back, Sam and I decided this was one opporunity we could not pass up! My mother was born in Licata, Sicily and moved here with my grandparents and my two aunts when she was 15. I have always loved learning about that part of my heritage, so visiting the city with my grandparents was just too awesome of an experience! My grandparents were staying for a total of 7 weeks, so with our weird summer plans (Sam in LA, me in school), I'm thankful we were able to find a week to spend there.

I still have a fair amount of extended family settled in Licata. The "key players" would be my Nonno's two sisters and their husbands and children, and my Nonna's sister and her daughters. We stayed with one of my Nonno's sisters in her "country house" on the farm. The house was fairly large, and we occupied what I would call the guest wing :) It was a seperate section with two bedrooms and a large bathroom. The main door to the rooms was huge and metal with a pretty intense lock.

The farm my great aunt and uncle own has been in my uncle's family for many years, and now their 4 sons are also part of the business. They grown tons of vegetables and fruits that they sell all over Sicily/Italy as far north as Rome. Over our week long stay, we watched them prepare a new green house and plant pepperoncini.



My grandparents were staying with my Nonno's other sister and her husband in their country house about 5 minutes away. Many of the houses there have huge covered patios that are essentially extensions of the house. We ate, drank, and just sat around in these areas much more often than sitting inside. Oh, and there's no air conditioning (we don't have air conditioning in our apartment in Berkeley, but it also doesn't reach 90's or higher!), so it was also frequently cooler than sitting inside.



This uncle also has a small farm where he grows fruits and vegetables for the family, but his main occupation is wood working. He carves Sicilian carts or carretti by hand. Sam and I found it fascinating that he could make such beautiful pieces with little more than a chisel and his hand. 

He made three of these, one for each of his daughters:

 

We also visited with my Nonna's older sister and her daughters. It was so wonderful to see my Nonna and her sister spending time together. The picture I'm holding is one of my great aunt holding my mom as baby. My whole family kept calling me Little Nuccia (my mom's nickname in italian) the whole time I was there.



 

Most of the family lives within a 10 minute drive of each other and a 5 minute drive to the beach. When we weren't eating delicious food, drinking espresso, or sleeping, we were at the beach. The same is probably true for the rest of the city's inhabitants! All of the beaches are little alcoves along the coast with some sporting sand and others smooth pebbles and rocks.

 

 

The beach we frequented most often was Molarella. It is a beach my mom went to as a child and one of the main public beaches in the city.

 

The beach is separated into different sections by umbrella color/fanciness. The red cabins are rentable each year and lock, so families can use it as a place to store all of their beach gear for the season instead of hauling it to the beach every day. We were in the nice section with the thick cushioned lounge chairs and palmed umbrellas :) 

The beach itself was so picturesque with all of the large rocks and the perfectly clear water. I could walk in up to my neck and still see my toes! The water was much cooler though than what you would find at the gulf, though definitely warmer than what we have access to here in Cali. It was wonderfully refreshing to dip in after laying out in the sun, but after 10 minutes or so, it started to become chilly. 

One of the things that most amused me during our beach time was people watching. Besides the boys/men sporting speedos, all of the women were also wearing bikinis. ALL of them- even the older grandmothers, we aren't talking supermodels here. I found the lifeguards fairly entertaining as well. Below is a picture of their setup, you can sort of make out the lifeguard laying out in the lounge chair on the left. They all were wearing their little speedos with their hair perfectly styled, and I think the majority of their time was spent interacting with other locals while paying very little attention to the water. At a different beach, we saw huge speakers off of the side of the lifeguard stands. We assumed these would be for announcements, but 15 minutes later we realized they were actually there to blare house music for everyone to listen to.

Sam spent some time exploring the rocks and looking for fish- those are ricci or sea urchins that people found admist the rocks. People will also search for these little shelled clam type things on the rocks and eat them right there at the beach. My mom's cousin gave me one to try. It was okay, a little on the crunchy side. Sam thought I was crazy for eating something raw like that, but as another cousin said "we do things differently in Sicily!"

 

 



We also spent a lot of time just relaxing and listening to my grandfather tell us stories about living in Licata and moving to America. I usually only see my grandparents once or twice a year, so it was so special to be able to spend a whole week with them :)

 

One day, after our delicius lunch (more on that in the next post) we went to a different beach with my cousin instead of taking our usual afternoon nap. This beach was smaller and frequented by more of the locals. It was called Caduta Colonne. The beach itself was made up of smooth pebbles and rocks instead of sand. We had a lovely afternoon dipping in the water and playing Scopa (an italian card game) on the beach. The water was so clear and calm- just a total paradise.

On Saturday, my whole family went to the beach together. It was fun to play in the water with the little kids, although they probably thought I was a silly American for wearing my sunglasses all the time :) The big rock in the picture below is called La Rocca.

Besides going to the beach, and eating... A LOT, we did a little bit of site seeing driving to Catania and exploring Gole Alcantara with my cousin. First of all, Sam and I did not drive in Sicily, and if you ever visit, I would recommend that you not drive either. The drivers there are crazy! Stop signs and speed limits are only a suggestion, and almost no one wears seatbelts (except us). There are also tons of people, mostly teenagers, on mopeds zipping in and out around cars. Thankfully, my grandfather is a good driver, although he did spend the majority of his time yelling at the "idiots" around us.

Gole Alcantara was a beautiful gorge created by the Alcantara river located a little north of Catania. The water flowing through the gorge is FREEZING, like stand-in-it-for-more-than-5-minutes-and-your-feet-start-to-hurt freezing. I don't know how so many people were able to walk around in the waste deep waters. My cousin and her friends arranged for us to go on an adventurous body-rafting tour of the gorge. Thankfully, we wore wet suits. Much of the tour consisted of us floating down the stream over small rapids. I was mildly concerned that I would hit my head and drown, especially considering all of the safety instructions were given in Italian, but thankfully my helmet and life-vest kept me safe :)

 

Most evenings, we went out with my cousins to the Port for gelato, wine, and general socializing. I was amazed at how busy the port was for 11pm at night. There were whole families with small children and babies out.

The first night we went out, I desperately needed a coffee. I ordered a cappucino, only for my cousin to explain that you really only drink those in the morning. Oh well... it was still DELICIOUS! I loved spending time with my cousins, Laura and Lavinia. I don't have any cousins my age in the states, but Laura is 6 months younger than me and Lavinia and I have the same birthday. Thankfully, they both speak English very well, so we were able to get to know each other a lot better. It was just such a wonderful experience to spend time with my whole family and see a bit of the culture and customs my mom grew up with.

p.s. I'm working on another post just to cover the food. We ate so much, and it was all so delicious!