Ciao !
Trapani – is a small beautiful town 90 minutes west of Palermo. It is sunbleached, quiet(er) and fully faces the sea as opposed to Palermo that only has its shoulder al mare.
A friend had been insisting I meet Nicola, an olive oil producer in Trapani, but he is also a medical doctor who practices at the prison on the island of Favignana. I took a bus from Palermo one morning to meet him and to taste his oil (it is fantastic by the way!). I also met and fell in love with his family including his mother Francesca, his father also a doctor, and Teresa who takes care of EVERYone. They are the ones who taught me the art of the sandwich drag through the olive oil.
I had an afternoon bus to catch back to Palermo in order to arrive for a meeting at my day job. We said goodbye to the family at the house which only meant we were going to meet more people. Nicola insisted we stop "just for a moment" to meet his sister and friends, at a location even further from my bus. One learns quickly that it takes roughly 30 to 60 minutes to properly say goodbye in Italy. And by the way, I had to say goodbye again to his family since they also showed up at the next destination 20 minutes after we did.
Nearly two hours later and with 15 minutes to make my bus departure and with 20 + minutes between us and the bus stop...we were still saying goodbye. And meeting new friends (who were awesome! by the way.). We finally were in the jeep "flying" across neighbors' fields and backroads with Nicola on the phone with his uncle asking for directions and his uncle sending him fotos of art projects he was working on, and asking Nicola about me since they were face timing...and forgetting about the directions.
We made it into town, saw the bus in the distance close its doors, power up and begin to slowly inch out into traffic. Driving on the opposite side of the road, Nicola pulled directly in front of the bus and parked. A huge smile, "Ciao"! un abbraccio and I was on the bus!
Favignana – is a beautiful tiny island about 23 km off the coast of Trapani and is part of the Egadi islands chain. It is known for its tuna fishing including a historical tuna canning facility, but today it is mostly known for tourism. It is easy to take a boat or ferry or hydrofoil there from Trapani or Marsala and spend the whole day eating and swimming and eating. You can only access the island by boat. And you can also access the best fresh tuna sandwich of your life smothered in local pistacchio sauce!
Friends of friends operate a boat company in Trapani and after doing a scouting trip with them to Favignana, I was invited out with the guys to dive for sea urchins and at the same time to try to not be thrown from the boat, as they drive a tad differently when tourists are not on board. Cicci, in the foto with me and one of those guys, also happens to be the best friend of Nicola since childhood.
They may share the same unique driving skills but I would NOT change ONE detail from those trips to Trapani and Favignana. You cannot help but fall in love with the genuineness and affection put forth from every single action mentioned above.
THIS...is my Italy. | 
