Benvenuti in Sicilia! Welcome to Sicily! Time to check in your 4* hotel, unpack and settle in. Our hotel is centrally located and an easy walk to some main attractions. Get to know your new host city by taking in all the sites and sounds. Perhaps grab your first gelato of the week, but save room for dinner!

In the evening, we will enjoy our first group activity with a delicious welcome dinner. We will get to know our fellow travelers, get a first taste of Sicily’s unique cuisine, and enjoy some local wine. Questions about the week will be answered so you know what to expect during the week to come.

Welcome to Ortigia’s lively food market! One of our favorite aspects of traveling to Italy is visiting the food markets, and Ortigia certainly has one of the most entertaining and lively markets there is to see. In the morning, we will enjoy a guided walk in the market with our local favorite chef and instructor, Alessia. Here we will purchase our ingredients for our cooking class. With Alessia as our knowledgeable guide, we will walk along the market and learn about the products locals use every day to prepare delicious meals for their families. Sit down and enjoy ample samples at Fratelli Burgio, one of our favorite food specialty shops in Ortigia.

After the market, we head over to Alessia’s culinary studio to prepare a delicious meal. What’s on the menu? We won’t know until we visit the market, of course, because we will purchase what is freshest and best that day.

Time to walk off some calories, while taking some in! In the evening, we will bypass a traditional dinner and enjoy a food walking tour instead. We will visit several of our favorite restaurants and sample their specialties. After sampling seafood, meats and other savory dishes, we will end it all with dessert. Because what’s a foodie walking tour without dessert?

Time to step back in time a bit….Today we visit a dear friend of ours, Giuseppe, and tour his certified organic farm in the rustic corner of Sicily’s countryside. This is a traditional farm that completes the supply chain from the seed to the fruit. They practice sustainable agriculture based on the sowing and harvesting of fodder and on the cultivation of ancient grains for precious and rare flours.They produce organic oil and oranges, and some small seasonal productions directly from their garden. From the animals they obtain milk, meat and eggs. Here, they are proud not to force the production cycles, convinced that only in this way can livestock farming be a resource for the environment and not a source of pollution. They only host a few visits a year, focusing instead on quality events over quantity for folks who can really appreciate the essence of their farm and methods. 

Meet the rest of the family! After an insightful walk, we will sit down with Giuseppe and his beautiful family to enjoy a delectable feast, with products mostly from their farm.

Today we visit another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We depart our hotel in the morning and head towards the town of Ragusa for a unique visit and experience. We will visit an ancient flour mill, which was found abandoned and full of neglect. Restored by a private citizen, the structure has returned to its original use today, allowing for use of the traditional process of grinding organic wheat to be used in typical products of Ragusa and Sicily.

After a guided visit of the mill, we will enjoy a culinary journey of discovery of Sicilian eno-gastronomic culture with a hands-on cooking class. After our hard work, we will sit down to enjoy the fruits of our labor, with wine and dessert, of course.

Time to walk off some calories! After our cooking class, we will walk off the calories with a visit in town in Ragusa.

Ready to visit one of Sicily’s most loved winery? Heading north and away from Ortigia, today we spend the morning near Etna, and visit an amazing winery producing some of the best local wines, thanks in part to the unique volcanic soil provided by Etna herself. Learn all about the differences this soil provides and, enjoy ample samples throughout the visit. After our winery tour, we will enjoy a full lunch right on location.

A visit to a Sicilian treasure is on the schedule for this afternoon! Are you a fan of The White Lotus? If so, you’ll particularly enjoy our plans for the afternoon! After our winery visit and lunch, we head to Taormina, one of Sicily’s most prized jewel. Here, you will have some time on your own to walk the main piazza, enjoy a gelato and take in some shopping!

Today we learn about another Sicilian specialty, its olive oil! Stepping away from Ortigia, today we visit the beautifully historic city of Noto, another UNESCO World Heritage Site from our week in Sicily. Known for its baroque architecture and the Noto Cathedral, this small town, which is easily covered by foot,  begs to be visited, explored and photographed.  

After a walking tour, we head over to lunch. But it’s not going to be any lunch, we will visit one of the most reputable olive oil mills in the area. The ancient mill is located by the Iblei mountains, in Siracusa’s countryside. The location provides a rich soil, ideal for the olive’s cultivation. Here we will have the opportunity to visit the area, learn all about the olive oil making process and enjoy a delicious lunch on location.

Time to set sail! Our time in Sicily is winding down and by this time, we’ve eaten our way through some of Eastern Sicily’s most delectable cities. Today, you’ll enjoy some time on your own to shop, return to a magical site in Siracusa, or simply enjoy Italy’s Dolce Vita by relaxing by the sea and people watching in the town piazza.

In the early evening, we will meet for a sunset cruise ride and watch as the sun sets over the beautiful island.
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But one more delicious dinner awaits us! A final farewell dinner is planned for our last evening in Sicily. Enjoy some time with your travel companions, exchange stories and contact info as we salute to a wonderful week in Sicily!

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before checking out.